Commercial Litigation UK

Expert Analysis

• Leveraged Trading, Margin Calls And The 'Retail Client'

  

  A rise in margin losses due to pandemic-related market turbulence could lead to disputes in the context of leveraged trading products, and retail investors involved in such disputes should pay particular attention to recent additions to the Financial Conduct Authority Handbook, says Katherine Harper at Forsters.

• UK Top Court Ruling May Be Problematic For Global SEP Suits

  

  There are several reasons to question the wisdom of the U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that English judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents, including that it encourages forum shopping, says Thomas Cotter at the University of Minnesota Law School.

• Why Damages-Based Agreements Aren't More Popular

  

  Although the U.S. contingency fee model may seem attractive, similar fee structures in the U.K. risk being deemed unenforceable based on any alleged noncompliance with the establishing statutes, as a recent High Court of Justice case shows, says Andy Ellis at Practico.

• Creditors Welcome UK Supreme Court's Reflective Loss Decision

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court's recent Sevilleja v. Marex decision benefits creditors and other stakeholders by excluding their claims from the reflective loss principle, which precludes third-party complaints that merely reflect company loss, say Robert Fidoe and Jack Moulder at Watson Farley.

• Challenging The Use Of Anchor Defendants In UK Litigation

  

  With the merits test for anchor defendants in U.K. litigation involving European Union defendants back before the English courts this summer, the London High Court's recent decision in Tsareva v. Ananyev provides useful precedent for jurisdictional challenges to anchor defendants' inclusion, say Egishe Dzhazoyan and Kateryna Frolova at King & Spalding.

• How Credit Card Fee Antitrust Cases Fare In UK Versus US

  

  When compared with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Ohio v. American Express opinion, two recent U.K. Supreme Court rulings holding that credit card companies' payment schemes violated antitrust law suggest that corporations operating two-sided platforms are much more likely to win an antitrust case in the U.S., say Allison Gorsuch and Lauren Weinstein at MoloLamken.

• LCIA's 2020 Rules Play Catch-Up With Venue Rivals

  

  The London Court of International Arbitration's 2020 rules governing its processes and procedures include welcome improvements in the technological space, but may merely mimic what is already happening in tribunals across the globe, says Shantanu Majumdar at Radcliffe Chambers.

• UK Ruling Shows Global SEP Enforcement Dilemma

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling that U.K. judges have the power to set extraterritorial licensing royalty rates for standard-essential patents highlights a problem with global patent enforcement coordination and efficiency that could potentially be solved through the Patent Cooperation Treaty, says Roya Ghafele at Oxfirst.

• Opinion

  German Facebook Antitrust Ruling Should Prompt FTC Action

  

  Following the German high court's recent holding that Facebook abuses its market dominance through data collection, the Federal Trade Commission should increase the severity of sanctions for user data exploitation in anticipation of potential U.S. antitrust violations, says Garrick Josephs at Wilson Elser.

• Wirecard Class Action Raises Regulator Immunity Questions

  

  Investors in German payment processor Wirecard are suing the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, calling attention to whether allegations of gross failings can overcome regulator immunity, say Anna Battams and Isobel McNaught at Collyer Bristow.

• 8 Questions For Cos. After EU Top Court Privacy Shield Ruling

  

  While the European Union high court's recent privacy shield invalidation makes complying with the General Data Protection Regulation harder, eight practical considerations can help companies shape their business practices, including using standard contractual clauses for personal data transfer, to avoid violations, say Alan Brill and Yvette Gabrielian at Kroll.

• German FRAND Decision May Shape Global SEP Landscape

  

  The German high court's recent decision that patent owner Sisvel didn't breach its fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing obligations by refusing to grant Haier a license represents a shift in the standard-essential patent landscape in favor of SEP holders' enforcement freedom, say Erik Puknys and Michelle Rice at Finnegan.

• The Tiger In The Car Wash

  

  The continuing story of wrongdoing at the Brazilian state-owned oil producer Petrobras uncovered by an anti-corruption investigation called Operation Car Wash is both disturbing and instructive of the country's system of law, says Stephen Baker at Baker & Partners.

• UK Court Of Appeal Ruling Clarifies US Sanctions Compliance

  

  The U.K. Court of Appeal's recent decision in Lamesa Investments v. Cynergy Bank considered whether U.S. secondary sanctions were a mandatory provision of law under a standard agreement clause and is a valuable reminder of the importance of bespoke drafting of sanctions-related contractual clauses, say Jason Hungerford and Paul Whitfield-Jones at Mayer Brown.

• HSBC Suit Shows Challenge Of Designing Tax Relief Laws

  

  Investors' recent lawsuit against HSBC over film-related tax avoidance schemes spotlights the difficult balancing act of crafting practical tax relief legislation while safeguarding against abuse, says Andrew Parkes at Andersen Tax.