Commercial Litigation UK

  • March 20, 2024

    Dentons AML Ruling Deals Blow To SRA's Enforcement Plans

    The failure by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to secure a sanction against Dentons over the firm's handling of anti-money laundering checks on a former client is a blow to the regulator's enforcement ambitions which – if upheld – could prompt caution in future prosecutions, lawyers say.

  • March 20, 2024

    Slaughter And May Cuts Partner Promotions By Half In 2024

    Slaughter and May said on Wednesday that it is adding to its bench of up-and-coming leaders by promoting five lawyers to its partnership — only half the number it elevated in 2023.

  • March 20, 2024

    Ex-LC&F Chief Says SFO And FCA 'Wrecked' His Career

    A former director of London Capital & Finance had his career "wrecked" by the finance regulator and fraud investigation agency when they forced the investment company into administration without reason, his lawyers said at his trial Wednesday.

  • March 20, 2024

    EU's AI Act Disclosure Rules Could Spark Further Litigation

    The European Union's new artificial intelligence law included some welcome guardrails to protect intellectual property rights. But lawyers say it remains to be seen whether these new rules will bridge the gap between concerned rights holders and AI pioneers.

  • March 20, 2024

    Wise Hits Back At Bad Faith TM Allegations From Tech Rival

    Payments firm Wise has hit back at a counterclaim from software company WithWise, urging the High Court to reject WithWise's claim that Wise's trademark is invalid because it is overbroad and being used as a legal weapon.

  • March 19, 2024

    Aspiring Atty Should Be Off HP Jury, Ex-Autonomy Execs Say

    Counsel for former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and another defendant accused of deceiving HP into buying Autonomy at an inflated price of $11.7 billion urged a California federal judge Thursday to dismiss a juror who contacted a federal prosecutor during voir dire seeking law career advice.

  • March 19, 2024

    Firm Fights To Ax Property Investors' Joint Claim On Appeal

    Williams & Co. Solicitors launched a fresh bid Tuesday to block 134 investors from jointly bringing negligence claims over failed property developments, arguing a lower court misinterpreted the rules on claimants bringing linked claims in a recent authority case.

  • March 19, 2024

    NMC Healthcare And Dubai Islamic Bank Settle Global Suits

    United Arab Emirates hospital operator NMC Healthcare and Dubai Islamic Bank announced on Tuesday that they have reached an out-of-court settlement resolving all litigation between them and associated third parties.

  • March 19, 2024

    British Gas Beats Claim That It Paid Off Staff To Avoid Talks

    British Gas did not break U.K. labor laws when it made a direct offer to over 3,000 engineers amid collective bargaining because it did not realize that negotiations were still ongoing, a tribunal said Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    Criminal Case No Excuse For Missing Tribunal Claim Deadline

    A customer service worker for a British train company can't pursue his sex discrimination and unfair dismissal claims against his former employer because he missed the deadline to bring legal action while on trial for sexual assault allegations brought by a colleague.

  • March 19, 2024

    Vale Sued For £3B In Netherlands Over Brazilian Dam Collapse

    Mining giant Vale SA is facing a new £3 billion ($3.8 billion) action in the Netherlands over a dam collapse that triggered the "worst environmental disaster" in Brazil, lawyers for the claimants said on Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    Metals Trader Loses Bid To Halt $500M Trafigura Fraud Case

    Metals trader Prateek Gupta failed on Tuesday to have a $500 million fraud claim from Trafigura put on hold as a judge ruled that pausing the case before full disclosure would be premature.

  • March 19, 2024

    Clydesdale Bank Beats Fraud Case Over Loan Interest Rates

    A London court dismissed on Tuesday claims that Clydesdale Bank and its former owner fraudulently misrepresented calculations for fixed interest rates on business loans and imposed unjustified charges for repaying early.

  • March 19, 2024

    Tycoon Denies Staveley Feared For Life Over Loan Demand

    Amanda Staveley was not under any duress when she signed new repayment demands that allegedly make her personally liable for a £36 million ($46 million) demand from a Greek shipping magnate, his lawyers told a court on Tuesday.

  • March 19, 2024

    UK Energy Co. Fights To Deduct £2.5M Deal Advice Fees

    An investment holding company told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that £2.5 million ($3.2 million) it paid to Deutsche Bank and others for deals advice is tax-deductible because they were the "type of services procured all the time."

  • March 19, 2024

    Gov't Had 'No Option' But To Fire Worker Over Welfare Fraud

    A civil servant at the Department for Work and Pensions cannot claim he was unfairly dismissed after he used his position to process personal claims for universal credit knowing he wasn't eligible, an employment tribunal has ruled.

  • March 19, 2024

    Tesco Branding Infringes Lidl TMs, Appeals Court Rules

    Tesco failed Tuesday to persuade an appeals court that its loyalty pricing scheme branding doesn't infringe trademarks for Lidl's logo, even though the justices acknowledged the lower court's decision that customers might be misled by the blue-and-yellow signage could be "surprising."

  • March 18, 2024

    Ex-Autonomy CEO's Fraud Trial Over $11.7B HP Deal Kicks Off

    Autonomy's former CEO Michael Lynch duped HP into buying his company at the inflated price of $11.7 billion, a federal prosecutor said Monday during opening statements in the British entrepreneur's criminal trial, while Lynch's lawyer countered his client had "all the money in the world" and no motive to commit fraud.

  • March 18, 2024

    Activist Was Harassment Whistleblower, Tribunal Rules

    An employee at a bottling company counts as a whistleblower because he told his employer he had witnessed a senior manager inappropriately massage a junior employee, an employment tribunal has ruled.

  • March 18, 2024

    World Champ Race Walker's Appeal Of Doping Ban Denied

    The ban against an Italian champion race walker will remain in place after an international arbitration tribunal denied the Olympic gold medalist's appeal of an eight-year punishment over alleged doping violations, according to a Friday statement.

  • March 18, 2024

    Axed HMRC Staffer Wins £16K Disability Discrimination Case

    HM Revenue and Customs must pay a disabled former employee £15,900 ($20,200) after it unfairly sacked him for gross misconduct and wrote off his claim that his sleep apnea was to blame, a Scottish tribunal has ruled.

  • March 18, 2024

    Barrister Before Tribunal For Allegedly Dodging Practice Ban

    An English legal regulator told a tribunal on Monday that a suspended barrister had continued to practice under the pretense of being a "solicitor's agent" in order to sidestep a ban for sending hostile emails and making false statements to a judge.

  • March 18, 2024

    AI Voice Platform Faces UK Litigation Over 'Deepfake' Songs

    The U.K.'s trade association for recorded music has threatened legal proceedings against a deepfake artificial intelligence platform, alleging that the former Voicify's collection of AI voices infringes artists' rights.

  • March 18, 2024

    UPC Shows No Sign Of Dimming UK's IP Role — Yet

    Lawyers and participants seem happy with the Unified Patent Court so far, but it has yet to move the needle on the popularity of the English courts for cross-border IP disputes — particularly after the U.K. Supreme Court set a crucial precedent.

  • March 18, 2024

    Sterlite Says Rival's Fiber-Optic Patent Is 'Mere' Co-Location

    Sterlite Technologies has hit back at Fujikura's claim that it infringed a U.K. patent for a fiber-optic cable, arguing that protection should have never been granted because it was a "mere" co-location of known features.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At 2023's Landmark Insolvency Developments

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    The insolvency landscape in 2023 witnessed pivotal court decisions that will continue to shape the industry in 2024, with a focus on refining director and administrator duties and obligations, and addressing emerging challenges, says Kerri Wilson at Ontier.

  • Hague Judgments Treaty May Boost UK-EU Cooperation

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    The U.K.'s recent decision to sign the Hague Judgments Convention could help rebuild post-Brexit judicial cooperation with the EU by creating a holistic arrangement on mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, say Patrick Robinson and Stephen Lacey at Linklaters.

  • 5 Key UK Employment Law Developments From 2023

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    Key employment law issues in 2023 suggest that topics such as trade union recognition for collective bargaining in the gig economy, industrial action and menopause discrimination will be at the top of the agenda for employers and employees in 2024, say Merrill April and Anaya Price at CM Murray.

  • Emerging Trends From A Busy Climate Litigation Year

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    Although many environmental cases brought in the U.K. were unsuccessful in 2023, they arguably clarified several relevant issues, such as climate rights, director and trustee obligations, and the extent to which claimants can hold the government accountable, illustrating what 2024 may have in store for climate litigation, say Simon Bishop and Patrick Kenny at Hausfeld.

  • Key 2024 Arbitration Trends In A Changing World

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    As key sectors such as ESG and the global mining and commodities market will continue to generate more arbitration in 2024, procedural developments in arbitral law will both guide future arbitration proceedings and provide helpful lessons on confidentiality, disclosure and professional duty, say Louise Woods and Elena Guillet at V&E.

  • 2024 Will Be A Busy Year For Generative AI And IP Issues

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    In light of increased litigation and policy proposals on balancing intellectual property rights and artificial intelligence innovation, 2024 is shaping up to be full of fast-moving developments that will have significant implications for AI tool developers, users of such tools and rights holders, say lawyers at Mishcon de Reya.

  • Regulating Digital Platforms: What's Changing In EU And UK

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    Lawyers at Mayer Brown assess the status of recently enacted EU and U.K. antitrust regulation governing gatekeeper platforms, noting that the effects are already being felt, and that companies will need to avoid anti-competitive self-preferencing and ensure a higher degree of interoperability than has been required to date.

  • Dyson Decision Highlights Post-Brexit Forum Challenges

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    The High Court's recent decision in Limbu v. Dyson, barring the advancement of group supply chain claims against Dyson subsidiaries in the U.K. and Malaysia, suggests that, following Brexit, claims concerning events abroad may less frequently proceed to trial in England, say lawyers at Debevoise.

  • 9 Takeaways From The UPC's First 6 Months In Session

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    Six months after its opening, the Unified Patent Court has established itself as an appealing jurisdiction, with its far territorial reach, short filing deadlines and extremely quick issuance of preliminary injunctions showing that it is well-prepared to provide for rapid legal clarity, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.

  • How Boards Can Mitigate Privacy, Cybersecurity And AI Risks

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    In 2023, data privacy, cybersecurity and AI persist as prominent C-suite concerns as regulators stepped up enforcement, and organizations must develop a plan for handling these risks, in particular those with a global footprint, say lawyers at Latham.

  • The Year In FRAND: What To Know Heading Into 2024

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    In 2023, there were eight significant developments concerning the fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory patent licensing regime that undergirds technical standardization, say Tom Millikan and Kevin Zeck at Perkins Coie.

  • The Outlook For UK Restructuring Plans At Home And Abroad

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    The U.K. continues to be a center for large-cap, cross-border restructurings, though its competitive edge over the EU in this regard may narrow, while small and medium-sized enterprises are already likely to avoid costly formal processes by reaching out to their secured lenders for restructuring solutions, say Paul Keddie and Timothy Bromley-White at Macfarlanes.

  • Foreign Assets Ruling Suggests New Tax Avoidance Approach

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent ruling in His Majesty's Revenue & Customs v. Fisher, which found that the scope of the transfer of foreign assets is narrow, highlights that the days of rampant tax avoidance have been left behind, and that the need for wide-ranging and uncertain tax legislation is lessening, says James Austen at Collyer Bristow.

  • Class Action-Style Claims Are On The Horizon In 2024

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    Following the implementation of an EU directive enabling consumers to bring actions for collective redress, 2024 will likely see the first serious swathe of class action-style cases in Europe, particularly in areas such as cyber exposures, ESG and product liability, says Henning Schaloske at Clyde & Co.

  • Cos. Must Monitor Sanctions Regime As Law Remains Unclear

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    While recent U.K. government guidance and an English High Court's decision in Litasco v. Der Mond Oil, finding that a company is sanctioned when a designated individual is exercising control over it, both address sanctions control issues, disarray in the law remains, highlighting that practitioners should keep reviewing their exposure to the sanctions regime, say lawyers at K&L Gates.

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