Commercial Litigation UK

  • May 13, 2026

    Merricks Owes £75K For Halted Bid To Rep Rail Fare Class

    Walter Merricks must pay £75,000 ($101,000) to cover the costs of his involvement in a proposed £400 million collective class action against rail operator Govia Thameslink, a London court ruled after he backed away from serving as the claim's class representative.

  • May 13, 2026

    Crispin Odey Settles Several Women's Sex Assault Claims

    Crispin Odey has settled sexual assault claims brought against him by several women, a month after he dropped his £79 million ($107 million) libel claim against the Financial Times over articles which brought the allegations to public attention.

  • May 13, 2026

    Nokia Ruling Maps Route To Arbitration In UK FRAND Cases

    Nokia has offered a glimpse into the future of standard-essential patent licensing disputes in London by persuading an appeals court to let arbitrators take the reins, with lawyers expecting other patent holders to follow suit.

  • May 13, 2026

    Ex-BDB Pitmans Client Challenges Denial Of Fee Protections

    A former client of BDB Pitmans urged a London appellate court on Wednesday to overturn rulings that their agreement for contentious work with the firm did not meet the requirements for statutory protections.

  • May 13, 2026

    Asterix Publisher Revives Challenge To 'Obelix' TM On Appeal

    A European court ruled Wednesday that the publisher behind the Asterix comic franchise can continue challenging a Polish arm maker's "Obelix" trademark, finding officials failed to consider that consumers would recognize the character outside of the series.

  • May 13, 2026

    Gov't Draws Funders' Ire After Avoiding PACCAR Again

    Litigation-funding companies said Wednesday that they were "deeply disappointed" by the absence in the King's Speech of legislation to reverse the effects of a landmark ruling that upended their business model.

  • May 13, 2026

    Stephenson Harwood Sues Bulgari Jewelry Heiress Over Debt

    Stephenson Harwood has sued a member of the Bulgari family, upping the stakes in her fight against another jewelry heiress over a $130 million family trust. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Diamond Tycoon Denies Family Ran Firms In $1B Gold Fraud

    A diamond and jewelry tycoon accused of swindling more than $1 billion from banks has denied controlling various businesses that carried out the Indian gold bullion fraud, as he testified on Wednesday at the trial brought by the liquidators of U.K. companies.

  • May 13, 2026

    Diocese Wins 2nd Shot To Fight Staffer's Religious Bias Claim

    A U.K. Catholic diocese has won a second shot at showing that it didn't discriminate against an employee because she wasn't Catholic, as an appellate tribunal found that the first judge had lumped her claims together instead of considering each alleged incident. 

  • May 13, 2026

    Artist Sues Everton FC Over Unlicensed Stadium Artwork

    An artist has accused Everton Football Club of displaying a reproduction of one of his works at its stadium without his consent, costing him thousands of pounds in potential licensing fees.

  • May 13, 2026

    Chubb, Fidelis Lose Russian Aircraft Contribution Claim Bid

    A High Court judge on Wednesday blocked an attempt by insurers Chubb and Fidelis to claim contributions from a group of underwriters for their liability to aircraft lessors for planes stranded in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

  • May 13, 2026

    TUI Pilots Say Union Deal Couldn't Cut Illness Benefits

    A group of TUI Airways pilots told an appeals court on Wednesday that a judge had wrongly dismissed their claims of breach of contract after their employer slashed an income protection program for those unable to fly because of illness.

  • May 13, 2026

    Ex-QPR Player Wins Racist Banter Claim Against Ex-Manager

    A professional footballer has won his claim that he endured racist banter from the manager of a lower-league team where he was on loan, although his home club has avoided liability for the offending comments.

  • May 13, 2026

    Tesco Loses Appeal To Ax Training Docs From Equal Pay Feud

    An appeals court has rejected Tesco's attempt to exclude training documents from an evaluation of the jobs done by staff at the retailer amid an ongoing equal-pay claim from thousands of mostly female workers in its stores.

  • May 12, 2026

    MFS Owner Accused Of 'Plundering' £1.3B For Lavish Lifestyle

    The administrators of Market Financial Solutions have accused the collapsed lender's owner of systematically plundering £1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) in a "widescale" fraud to fund his "lavish lifestyle."

  • May 12, 2026

    Frasers Wins Appeal To Dodge Payout In 10-Year TM Dispute

    A London appeals court said Tuesday that Frasers does not need to pay damages to reflect the losses of various sublicensees of trademarks that it infringed around 10 years ago, ruling that the claim came too late.

  • May 12, 2026

    Deutsche Bank Can Question Billionaire In $360M Debt Fight

    Deutsche Bank can seek to force Monaco-based billionaire Alexander Vik to answer questions about his company's assets to help claw back debt exceeding $360 million, after a London appeals court ruled Tuesday it does have the power to issue such an order.

  • May 12, 2026

    Whitestone Denied Judicial Review In BSB Pupillage Row

    Whitestone Chambers was denied permission on Tuesday to challenge a decision by the Bar Standards Board which prevented the London commercial set from continuing to train pupils, with a London court ruling the chambers had not used alternative routes to resolve the dispute. 

  • May 12, 2026

    VTB Can't Lift Block On $156M JPMorgan Russian Funds Case

    VTB Bank has lost its bid to lift an injunction that blocks it from bringing a $156 million case against JPMorgan in Russia over frozen funds, with a London appeals court upholding a ruling that the claim was "vexatious and oppressive."

  • May 12, 2026

    Farmers Can't Challenge UK Inheritance Tax Relief Cut Plans

    Two Cambridgeshire farmers and a campaign group can't challenge the U.K. government's plans to slash inheritance tax relief for farms on the grounds that there should have been a public consultation before the proposals were announced, a London court ruled Tuesday.

  • May 12, 2026

    Nokia Halts RAND Case On Appeal After Pitching Arbitration

    A London appeals court has ended Acer and Asus' claims that Nokia failed to offer suitable licenses for its essential video-coding patents, ruling Tuesday that the Finnish tech firm has fulfilled its obligations by offering to arbitrate.

  • May 12, 2026

    Barrister Loses Bid To Revive Race Bias Case Against 10 KBW

    A criminal barrister has lost her appeal, in which she claimed that she was racially discriminated against by her chambers, as a judge ruled on Tuesday that her case had "no merit whatsoever."

  • May 12, 2026

    Ex-Privatbank Owners Say Payments Erased $3B Fraud Loss

    The former owners of PrivatBank urged an appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a finding that they owe the Ukrainian lender $3 billion, arguing that a later repayment to the bank "extinguished" the loss resulting from their fraudulent loan recycling scheme.

  • May 12, 2026

    Split Trial Unworkable In £4.5M Claim Against Post Office

    An appellate court ruled on Tuesday that practical difficulties render a split-trial order unworkable in a £4.5 million ($6.1 million) claim brought by a former sub-postmaster against the Post Office and Fujitsu over a judgment that was allegedly fraudulently obtained.

  • May 12, 2026

    Judicial Watchdog To Reopen Bullying Judge Complaints

    The Judicial Conduct Investigations Office will reopen complaints by several women who say that they were bullied by an Employment Tribunal judge, conceding before an upcoming court hearing that it had misapplied rules on how it investigates conduct.

Expert Analysis

  • How New E-Evidence Rules Will Affect EU-US Data Transfers

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    The forthcoming European Union e-evidence regulation signals the need to preserve digital evidence that is stored outside the issuing jurisdiction, bringing the EU significantly closer to the model employed by the U.S. and reflecting a shift in the legal landscape for cross-border data transfers, say lawyers at MoFo.

  • SFO Plan Focuses On Resilience But Funding Doubts Persist

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    The Serious Fraud Office’s emphasis on tighter case management and making greater use of technology in its latest business plan suggests a concern with strengthening complex financial crime enforcement, however the agency may not have the resources to deliver meaningful change, say lawyers at Signature Litigation.

  • Dutch Order Enforcing Award Tests Spain's Immunity Shield

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    The recently recorded enforcement award from The Hague District Court, allowing an investor to seize Spanish real estate in the Netherlands in satisfaction of an arbitration award, exposes the precise point at which International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes enforcement becomes coercive sovereign execution, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Darchem Ruling Clarifies Status Of JV Members' Solo Claims

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    The High Court’s recent decision in Darchem Engineering v. Bouygues on whether individual members of an unincorporated joint venture can pursue claims against an employer provides a helpful road map for considering a JV's standing, and a reminder of the importance of contract construction, say lawyers at Squire Patton.

  • Lessons From Spain's Decision Not To Enforce UK Judgment

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    In a recent ruling, a Barcelona court refused to recognize a €365 million U.K. judgment against Cerberus Capital, showing that a foreign decision may be sound, final and enforceable in its own jurisdiction, yet still be refused entry where it threatens to displace a dispute already before the Spanish courts, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square.

  • Lessons From ESMA's Record €1.4M Trade Repository Fine

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    The European Securities and Markets Authority's recent fine against REGIS-TR for data and procedure breaches under Market Infrastructure and Securities Financing Regulations demonstrates that a license confers no immunity from sanctions, and that dually registered trade repositories face a greater financial exposure in the event of noncompliance, say lawyers at White & Case.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Tracing Paths To Award Recovery

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    Recent subpoenas to Adidas and Hilton deployed in Blasket Renewables v. Spain, pending in D.C. federal court, show arbitration award recovery to be a disciplined exercise in constructing visibility, applying pressure and sequencing procedural advantage, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • ECJ Ruling Shows When Cos. Can Reject Data Requests

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    The European Court of Justice’s recent decision in Brillen Rottler v. TC clarifies that although data controllers must be cautious in declining data subject access requests under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, a company may refuse to respond where the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, even at first contact, says Rob Dalling at Jenner & Block.

  • Dubai Ruling Delineates Standard For Foreign Arbitration Aid

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    By delineating the limits of its jurisdiction with clarity, in the recent Orabelle v. Orzenia decision, the Court of First Instance of the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts enhances predictability and reinforces the court's standing as a forum combining international openness with strict adherence to statutory constraints, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • What Oatly's Loss Means For Plant-Based Food Industry

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Dairy U.K. v. Oatly demonstrates that under European Union agricultural marketing regulations courts consider fair competition to take precedence over consumer protection, and that dairy labeling challenges can succeed even where there is no realistic prospect of demonstrating consumer confusion, say lawyers at TLT.

  • New French In-House Privilege Reshapes Arbitration Strategy

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    The French Constitutional Council’s recent granting of legal privilege to in-house counsel marks a structural evolution in French arbitration practice and alters the evidentiary balance of document production in cross-border disputes, although the new protection is neither absolute nor risk-free, say lawyers at King & Spalding.

  • What 2nd Circ. Discovery Stay Means For Sovereign Litigation

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    The Second Circuit’s recent stay of a postjudgment discovery order against Argentine officials in an oil investment dispute is worth examining in its full doctrinal and practical context, as limiting enforcement efforts that pry into foreign governments' internal workings could quietly reshape the trajectory of sovereign litigation in the U.S., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • EU Ruling Signals More Intrusion Into Commercial Arbitration

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    Three things stand out from the recent opinion of the advocate general of the European Court of Justice in Reibel v. Stankoimport, which is the next step in a long line of measures chipping away at the viability of international arbitration in the European Union, say attorneys at BakerHostetler.

  • UK Top Court Clarifies Time Limit Issue In Shareholder Claims

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    The long-awaited U.K. Supreme Court decision in THG PLC v. Zedra Trust confirms that even historical acts can be remedied without a firm limitation date by allowing courts to order appropriate relief for unfairly prejudicial conduct, which will be welcomed by both petitioners and respondents, say lawyers at Stewarts.

  • Crypto-Asset Market Downturn Is Driving Litigation Risk

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    Recent volatility in the crypto-asset market has placed a strain on balance sheets and laid bare weaknesses that may have been overlooked during more stable periods, increasing the risk for disputes over whether procedures or enforcement have been carried out correctly, say lawyers at Kennedys.

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