Commercial Litigation UK

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Barclays Exec Loses Appeal Over FCA Ban On Senior Job

    Former Barclays wealth boss Thomas Kalaris has lost his appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority's decision banning him from holding a regulated senior management position at the firm he founded, as a London tribunal found in a judgment made public Tuesday he had given false evidence during interviews with the regulator. 

  • August 27, 2024

    Law Firm To Pay £109K For Discriminating Against Paralegal

    A former paralegal at a London law firm has won more than £109,000 ($144,239) from the firm after a tribunal found that the firm refused to pay her full salary for more than a year before firing her because of her disabilities.

  • August 27, 2024

    Ex-Rice Co. Execs Deny Exploiting Company Secrets

    Former executives of a British rice manufacturer have denied exploiting the company's confidential business strategies and customer contacts to run a competing business.

  • August 27, 2024

    The Impending Litigation Fallout Of The Lynch Yacht Tragedy

    As Italian authorities begin investigating what caused the deadly sinking of the Bayesian superyacht that claimed the lives of Mike Lynch and six others, maritime insurance experts anticipate substantive claims on behalf of victims and survivors.

  • August 27, 2024

    Next Workers Win Landmark £30M Equal Pay Claim

    A group of retail workers has won a landmark equal pay case against high street fashion chain Next, as the Employment Tribunal ruled that it was unlawful for the company to pay sales consultants, who are mostly women, a lower rate than its warehouse employees.

  • August 27, 2024

    Hong Kong Woman's Asset Freeze Extended Over Fraud Case

    A London judge on Tuesday allowed a freezing order to be extended against a woman accused of defrauding her former employers of 164 million Hong Kong dollars ($21 million).

  • August 27, 2024

    Huawei Fights MediaTek's Bid To Revoke Comms Patent

    Huawei has insisted that its U.K. protections over a communications system are valid amid Taiwanese chip developer MediaTek's bid to revoke the patent in a London court.

  • August 24, 2024

    Italian Prosecutors Open Criminal Probe Into Yacht Sinking

    Italian prosecutors said Saturday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the sinking of a superyacht that claimed the lives of seven people including a partner at Clifford Chance LLP and his client, British technology mogul Mike Lynch.

  • August 23, 2024

    Labour Sacking After Antisemitism Leak Not Discrimination

    The Labour Party's governing body did not unfairly dismiss or racially discriminate against a Muslim of South Asian heritage in the aftermath of a damning leaked report on how the body mishandled allegations of antisemitism, a tribunal has ruled.

  • August 23, 2024

    Google Faces £1B Antitrust Claim Over App Store Practices

    Google was hit Friday with a £1.04 billion ($1.37 billion) claim at the U.K.'s competition regulator over alleged anticompetitive practices on its app store, adding to the tech giant's legal troubles.

  • August 23, 2024

    Drone Manufacturer Sues University For Research IP Rights

    A company which makes self-flying cargo aircraft has launched a suit to stop the University of Southampton from taking over the rights to an uncrewed aircraft patent that resulted from a research project between the drone maker and the university.

  • August 23, 2024

    Ex-Iraqi Minister Foils Reporting Org.'s Defense In Libel Case

    An Iraqi politician has successfully persuaded a judge to throw out an investigative reporting organization's qualified privilege defense to his defamation claim, with the judge ruling Friday that an article about alleged corruption in the Iraqi oil business did not accurately reflect court proceedings.

  • August 23, 2024

    Talent Management Co. Sues Rival Over Instagram Model's TM

    A talent management firm has accused a U.K. rival of using the trademarked name of one of its Instagram models as fake bait to lure others into signing management contracts.

  • August 23, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    The past week in London has seen Google sue several Russian media outlets in response to challenges to the tech giant's response to international sanctions, easyGroup bring an intellectual property claim against delivery company Easycargo, and e-money business Nyavo challenge action by the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • August 23, 2024

    Recruiter Claims Agency Wrongly Withheld £20K Commission

    A recruiter told a tribunal Friday that a London agency unlawfully deprived her of approximately £20,000 ($26,400) of commission after she left the business, and claimed that it failed to do "due diligence" to communicate its policy on the matter.

  • August 23, 2024

    Oligarch Denied Bid To ID Client Linked To $20M Transfer

    A judge refused Friday to let an imprisoned Russian oligarch force a group of companies to disclose the identity of a client who requested a $20 million transfer, saying that revealing the person's identity runs the risk of violating criminal law in Liechtenstein.

  • August 23, 2024

    HMRC Can Be Liable For Damage To Biz Shut Over £7.4M Debt

    The tax authority cannot lift a court order that requires it to repay a payroll business damages for losses suffered after it was put into provisional liquidation, as a court found on Friday that it had failed to pursue that action for law enforcement purposes.

  • August 23, 2024

    Events Venue Can Be Liable For Firing By Director, EAT Rules

    An events manager has won her appeal to revive her attempt to hold the restaurant and wedding venue where she had worked liable for a director's decision to fire her.

  • August 22, 2024

    UK Antitrust Arm Pauses Google, Apple Probes For New Law

    United Kingdom antitrust authorities hit pause on investigations into Google and Apple policies allegedly locking app developers into their in-app payment systems, preferring to wait until new powers come online even as officials said commitments offered by Google aren't enough to address their concerns.

  • August 22, 2024

    Fidelis Denies Liability For $238M Over Stranded Planes

    Fidelis has argued it should not be liable for paying out claims totaling more than $238 million over planes stranded in Russia, arguing the lessors had not been irretrievably deprived of the aircraft under the terms of the policies.

  • August 22, 2024

    Gym Manager Suspended After Alleging Sex Bias Wins Claim

    A retirement village gym manager has won his claim that his boss unlawfully suspended him for complaining that he was treated worse than a female colleague during a disciplinary probe over his refusal to stop taking personal training clients.

  • August 22, 2024

    Barclays Denies Losing Trader £6.7M On Investor Platform

    Barclays has denied costing a customer £6.7 million ($8.7 million) after he was blocked from trading on the bank's investor platform, claiming the market trader was aware of the uncertain situation of his shares and any loss was his own.

  • August 22, 2024

    Pilates Equipment Maker Sues Over IP On Chinese Imports

    A U.S. Pilates equipment maker has sued an English workout studio, accusing it of infringing its patent for reformer machines by importing Chinese products.

  • August 22, 2024

    Mike Lynch's Path From Tech Founder To DOJ Target

    Friends and colleagues paid tribute to Mike Lynch following his death in a yachting accident on Thursday, hailing the British tech entrepreneur for the decades he spent furthering the industry despite the legal troubles that threatened to overshadow his career.

  • August 22, 2024

    Ukrainian Man Hits Cyprus Companies For £1.2M Loan Debt

    A Ukrainian man has sued two banks in a London court for allegedly defaulting on a £1 million ($1.3 million) loan.

Expert Analysis

  • 4 Legal Privilege Lessons From Dechert Disclosure Ruling

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    The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Al Sadeq v. Dechert LLP, finding that evidence may have been incorrectly withheld, provides welcome clarification of the scope of legal professional privilege, including the application of the iniquity exception, says Tim Knight at Travers Smith.

  • BT Case May Shape UK Class Action Landscape

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    The first opt-out collective action trial commenced in Le Patourel v. BT in the U.K. Competition Appeal Tribunal last month, regarding BT's abuse of dominance by overcharging millions of customers, will likely provide clarification on damages and funder returns in collective actions, which could significantly affect the class action regime, say lawyers at RPC.

  • Key Points From EC Economic Security Screening Initiatives

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    Lawyers at Herbert Smith analyze the European Commission's five recently announced initiatives aimed at de-risking the EU's trade and investment links with third countries, including the implementation of mandatory screening mechanisms and extending coverage to investments made by EU companies that are controlled subsidiaries of non-EU investors.

  • Following The Road Map Toward Quantum Security

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    With the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent publication of a white paper on a quantum-secure financial sector, firms should begin to consider the quantum transition early — before the process is driven by regulatory obligations — with the goal of developing a cybersecurity architecture that is agile while also allowing for quantum security, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • Why EU Ruling On Beneficial Ownership May Affect The UK

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    Following the EU judgment in Sovim v. Luxembourg that public access to beneficial ownership information conflicts with data protection rights, several British overseas territories and dependencies have recently reversed their commitment to introduce unrestricted access, and challenges to the U.K.’s liberal stance may be on the cards, says Rupert Cullen at Allectus Law.

  • Opinion

    Labour Should Reconsider Its Discrimination Law Plans

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    While the Labour Party's recent proposals allowing equal pay claims based on ethnicity and disability, and introducing dual discrimination, have laudable intentions and bring some advantages, they are not the right path forward as the changes complicate the discrimination claim process for employees, say Colin Leckey and Tarun Tawakley at Lewis Silkin.

  • AI Is Outpacing IP Law Frameworks

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    In Thaler v. Comptroller-General, the U.K. Supreme Court recently ruled that artificial intelligence can't be an inventor, but the discussion on the relationship between AI and intellectual property law is far from over, and it's clear that technology is developing faster than the legal framework, says Stephen Carter at The Intellectual Property Works.

  • Tracing The History Of LGBTQ+ Rights In The Workplace

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    Pride History month is a timely reminder of how recent developments have shaped LGBTQ+ employees' rights in the workplace today, and what employers can do to ensure that employees are protected from discrimination, including creating safe workplace cultures and promoting allyship, say Caitlin Farrar and Jessica Bennett at Farrer.

  • Ruling In FCA Case Offers Tips On Flexible Work Requests

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    In Wilson v. Financial Conduct Authority, the Employment Tribunal recently found that the regulator's rejection of a remote work request was justified, highlighting for employers factors that affect flexible work request outcomes, while emphasizing that individual inquiries should be considered on the specific facts, say Frances Rollin, Ella Tunnell and Kerry Garcia at Stevens & Bolton.

  • Pension Scheme Ruling Elucidates Conversion Issues

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    In Newell Trustees v. Newell Rubbermaid UK Services, the High Court recently upheld a pension plan's conversion of final salary benefits to money purchase benefits, a welcome conclusion that considered several notable issues, such as how to construe pension deeds and when contracts made outside scheme rules can determine benefits, say Ian Gordon and Jamie Barnett at Gowling.

  • New Fraud Prevention Offense May Not Make Much Difference

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    By targeting only large organizations, the Economic Crime Act's new failure to prevent fraud offense is striking in that, despite its breadth, it will affect so few companies, and is therefore unlikely to help ordinary victims, says Andrew Smith at Corker Binning.

  • Aldi Design Infringement Case Highlights Assessment Issues

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    The forthcoming English Court of Appeal decision in Marks and Spencer v. Aldi, regarding the alleged infringement of design rights, could provide practitioners with new guidance, particularly in relation to the relevant date for assessment of infringement and the weight that should be attributed to certain design elements in making this assessment, say Rory Graham and Georgia Davis at RPC.

  • Generative AI Raises IP, Data Protection And Contracts Issues

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    As the EU's recent agreement on the Artificial Intelligence Act has fueled businesses' interest in adopting generative AI tools, it is crucial to understand how these tools utilize material to generate output and what questions to ask in relation to intellectual property, data privacy and contracts, say lawyers at Deloitte Legal.

  • Decoding UK Case Law On Anti-Suit Injunctions

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    The English High Court's forthcoming decision on an anti-suit injunction filed in Augusta Energy v. Top Oil last month will provide useful guidance on application grounds for practitioners, but, pending that ruling, other recent decisions offer key considerations when making or resisting claims when there is an exclusive jurisdiction clause in the contract, says Abigail Healey at Quillon Law.

  • Litigation Funding Implications Amid Post-PACCAR Disputes

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    An English tribunal's recent decision in Neill v. Sony, allowing an appeal on the enforceability of a litigation funding agreement, highlights how the legislative developments on funding limits following the U.K. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Paccar v. Competition Appeal Tribunal may affect practitioners, say Andrew Leitch and Anoma Rekhi at BCLP.

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