Commercial Litigation UK

  • October 29, 2026

    Frasers Unit Loses £5.6M VAT Dispute Over Marketing Photos

    A Frasers Group unit lost its bid to overturn assessments that it owed value-added tax of £5.6 million ($7.4 million) when a London court ruled that the company's marketing photos were linked to taxable retail sales and consumer credit.

  • October 29, 2026

    Wyo. Court Flags AI Use In Defamation Case Against Tax Atty

    A Wyoming federal judge threatened sanctions against an exiled U.K. financial services provider who is suing a tax attorney for defamation, noting the businessman's filings indicate the use of artificial intelligence and potential perjury regarding his residency status.

  • October 29, 2026

    Poundland To Hire Administrators After Failing To Secure Deal

    Discount retailer Poundland indicated Thursday that it plans to appoint administrators after it said it was unable to find an acceptable buyer following years of financial troubles.

  • October 29, 2026

    Brassware Biz Sues Rival For Mimicking Heritage Branding

    Brassware maker Armac Martin has accused a rival of selling knockoffs and falsely claiming a similar British manufacturing heritage to cash in on the reputation of Armac's 97-year-old family business, arguing that shoppers would struggle to tell their branding apart.

  • October 29, 2026

    Chinese Co. Calls UK Excavator Dumping Decision Irrational

    The British arm of a Chinese construction equipment giant told a London tribunal Thursday that the U.K.'s trade regulator had been irrational to include battery-electric excavators in an antidumping probe into Chinese imports of the heavy construction equipment.

  • October 29, 2026

    Pogust Funder Says Firm Can't Dodge Pay Over Client Turmoil

    Pogust Goodhead cannot hide behind internal client turmoil to avoid paying back an £84 million ($112 million) loan, one of the firm's biggest funders has told a London court. 

  • October 29, 2026

    Insurers Gain Route To 'Neutralize' Hostile Foreign Judgments

    Insurers in London have gained greater protection against claimants that ignore U.K. arbitration clauses and sue them in foreign courts, after a landmark ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

  • October 29, 2026

    Berkeley Hit With £95M BLO Fire Defect Claim By Lendlease

    Property company Lendlease has sued developer Berkeley Group, arguing it should be held liable for fire defect repairs costing £95 million ($127 million) to 20 buildings developed by Berkeley's subsidiary, now owned by Lendlease.

  • October 29, 2026

    Ex-Oil Co. Execs Win Damages Over 10-Year Asset Freeze

    Two former executives at oil trader Arcadia secured "very substantial" compensation Thursday for a decade-long asset freeze imposed over an unfounded fraud claim, although the award will likely fall short of the more than $1.1 billion they sought.

  • October 29, 2026

    Investment Biz Directors Deny £55M Fintech Invoice Fraud

    Two directors of an investment firm have denied running a £55 million ($75 million) invoice fraud, telling a London court that the claim against them is based on missing documents and flawed calculations. 

  • October 29, 2026

    Health Insurer Sues For £4M Over Cap On Virtual GP

    A health insurance company has sued a digital healthcare subcontractor for more than £4 million ($5.3 million) alleging it breached a contract by capping access to virtual GP appointments and forcing the insurer to find alternative providers. 

  • October 28, 2026

    Questions Remain In $1.5B Iraq, Turkey Feud, Court Hears

    Turkey is pressing a D.C. federal court to reject a magistrate judge's recommendation to enforce an arbitral award ordering it to pay some $1.47 billion in damages to Iraq, saying the judge wrongly analyzed the issue of interest and that the ultimate prevailing party still isn't clear.

  • October 28, 2026

    UK Director Owes Tax On Shuffled Debt, Tribunal Affirms

    The moving of a roughly £513,000 ($684,000) loan a U.K. director owed his company to its parent holding company still counts as a release of the loan, a London court affirmed Wednesday, sticking the director with an additional £195,000 in income tax.

  • October 28, 2026

    Accused Celeb's Suicide Risk No Bar To Naming, Media Argue

    Naming a well-known public figure accused of using his power to sexually abuse young women would be "a valuable contribution of public importance," lawyers for The Guardian and Independent Television News argued in a London court on Wednesday. 

  • October 28, 2026

    Stellantis Can't Block Motorist Group's 'Dieselgate' Claim

    Auto group Stellantis failed Wednesday to immediately strike out a claim brought by around 5,000 motorists outside the main "Dieselgate" litigation, as a London court gave them 21 days to serve detailed pleadings or face automatic dismissal.

  • October 28, 2026

    Amersi Says BBC Lacks Evidence Of Corrupt Telecoms Deals

    A prominent political donor and businessman argued at the start of a London trial Wednesday that the BBC had falsely accused him of being involved in corrupt business dealings in three different countries, saying the broadcaster's case that the allegations were true was "plainly not sufficient."

  • October 28, 2026

    UK Atomic Authority Denies Procurement Process Was Unfair

    The Atomic Energy Authority has denied unlawfully awarding an ultra-high-temperature testing equipment contract to a German manufacturer, rejecting a rival bidder's allegation that the winning company did not have the required manufacturing capability.

  • October 28, 2026

    Burges Salmon Beats Buyer's Claim Over Property Deal

    Burges Salmon LLP defeated a claim on Wednesday from a prospective buyer of two east London properties who alleged that the firm mishandled information and evidence he provided about potential fraud exposure during the transaction.

  • October 28, 2026

    Crypto Co. Denies Promising Fintech Execs 'Founder' Stakes

    Digital asset business Haycen has denied two former associates' claims they were promised co-founder-level stakes in its digital currency arm, arguing that they worked mainly as advisers and consultants and have "grossly overstated" their contributions.

  • October 28, 2026

    Insurer Revives Damages Bid In Oil Spill Fight At Top Court

    The U.K. Supreme Court on Wednesday backed a marine insurer's attempt to seek damages from Spain and France for suing it in Spanish courts over damages from a massive oil tanker spill rather than using arbitration in London.

  • October 27, 2026

    Fla. Court Orders Trump Depo By Dec. 11 In $10B BBC Suit

    A Florida federal magistrate judge Tuesday ordered President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition in his $10 billion defamation suit against the BBC over the broadcaster's documentary on the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

  • October 27, 2026

    Biosimilar Makers Join Forces To Fight Takeda Entyvio IP

    Four biosimilar drugmakers have asked a London judge to revoke a slew of Takeda patents covering its blockbuster drug for inflammatory bowel ailments such as Crohn's disease, arguing that its dosage and makeup were obvious.

  • October 27, 2026

    EasyJet Supplier Seeks £4.3M Over Faulty Wi-Fi Boxes

    An in-flight retail services provider has sued a technology company for more than £4.3 million ($5.7 million), alleging defective battery-powered hardware designed to provide in-flight Wi-Fi on easyJet planes repeatedly failed despite attempts to fix it.

  • October 27, 2026

    Insurer Beats Liability Appeal Over Bouncer Headlock Injury

    Insurance firm QBE isn't liable to compensate a man who had a stroke after a bouncer held him in a headlock outside a bar, a London appeals court ruled Tuesday.

  • October 27, 2026

    Freight Operators Shift Blame In £5.5M Derailment Claim

    Two freight operators have challenged Network Rail's £5.5 million ($7.3 million) claim over a train derailment in Wales that caused a major oil spill and serious environmental damage, blaming each other and others for maintenance failures.

Expert Analysis

  • Landmark UK Ruling Broadens Tipping Off Liability For Cos.

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    The recent Court of Appeal ruling in R v. Osmond, the first appellate decision on the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 tipping off offense, confirms that even where a wider investigation is publicly known, disclosure of a nonpublic strand of the inquiry may engage the offense, say lawyers at Norton Rose.

  • UK Corp. Crime Landscape Raises Global Governance Stakes

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    The Crime and Policing Act 2026 recently entered into force, highlighting a growing emphasis on governance and senior management oversight, the influence of compliance on commercial decision-making, and an overlap between legal and regulatory risk across jurisdictions, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Shakespeare's David Vaughan

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    David Vaughan, international disputes lead at Shakespeare Martineau, discusses how a European upbringing and working across different firms have shaped his leadership abilities, the challenges of representing a sovereign in a foreign court, and how proper global networks are needed to deliver results in cross-border disputes.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Award Enforcement Is Just Step 1

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    In Qatar National Bank v. South Sudan and Bank of South Sudan, a D.C. federal court recently confirmed a $1 billion arbitral award, but the judgment itself remains only the entrance to the asset-recovery exercise, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • UK Top Court Eases Creditors' Path To Enforcing Foreign Debt

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    The recent U.K. Supreme Court ruling in Drelle v. Servis-Terminal that an unrecognized and unregistrable foreign judgment may found a bankruptcy petition presents a real risk for debtors, who could find themselves facing insolvency proceedings with very little warning, say lawyers at Dechert.

  • Int'l Arbitration Can Serve As Critical Tool In Hormuz Crisis

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    As the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to severely disrupt global commercial navigation, companies should understand the key claims likely to arise in emergency and expedited arbitration procedures — including force majeure, breach of contract and pricing disputes — and the contractual safeguards and protective measures to consider, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • Despite Acquittal, Gallery Case Warns Of UK Sanctions Risk

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    Although art gallery Hauser & Wirth was able to defeat criminal charges of breaching the U.K. Russia sanctions regime, the ruling illustrates that prosecution for those operating in high-value international markets is a real-world risk, say lawyers at Fieldfisher.

  • Saxon Woods Ruling Clarifies Directors' Duty Of Good Faith

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent landmark judgment in Saxon Woods sends a clear message to businesses that a director's conduct must withstand objective scrutiny, affirming that even if an individual believes they are acting in the company's best interests, they cannot deceive fellow board members, says Richard Clayman at Kingsley Napley.

  • Entain Ruling Offers Parties Key E-File Guidance

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    The U.K. Commercial Court’s recent decision in Various Claimants v. Entain PLC provides guidance for the first time for those navigating a court document filing pilot scheme, offering a practical template for parties to litigation involving sensitive issues by balancing transparency obligations with legitimate confidentiality concerns, say lawyers at HSFK.

  • BlueCrest Decision Tightens Test For LLP Tax Treatment

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    The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent judgment in HMRC v. BlueCrest Capital Management clarifies the tax framework for assessing whether limited liability partnership members are genuinely operating as partners or should be treated as employees, which is likely to be significant far beyond the hedge fund sector, say lawyers at Stewarts Law.

  • Patent Dispute Takeaways From Ruling In Kodak Appeal

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    The Unified Patent Court’s recent appeal decision in Kodak v. Fujifilm, confirming that the UPC may exercise jurisdiction over non-UPC patent designations, creates opportunities for patentees to pursue claims involving both UPC and non-UPC designations before a single forum, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

  • How Employers Can Prep For EU Pay Transparency Directive

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    Although most EU member states failed to implement the Pay Transparency Directive by the June deadline, employers should take steps to address the overarching requirements, as compliance obligations could come into force quickly and with little advance notice, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

  • Series

    Practice Leader Insights From Covington's Louise Freeman

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    Louise Freeman, Covington's co-chair of commercial litigation, discusses how she combines a longer-term outlook with a fast-paced approach, the challenges of representing clients from six different jurisdictions, and why junior lawyers need to be ready to adapt and pivot to where the work is.

  • A Practical Guide To Key Changes In ICC Int'l Arbitration Rules

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    The International Chamber of Commerce’s recently revised arbitration rules, while not a seismic reset, create a coherent set of practical reforms focused on streamlining the process to parties’ needs, sending the message that preparation and strategic clarity will be rewarded, say lawyers at White & Case.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Post-Award Noncompliance

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    Grainful Holdings v. Mineev, a recent Commercial Court decision that resulted in a sentence for contempt following post-award enforcement proceedings, illustrates the point at which proceedings, having moved beyond recognition of an arbitral obligation, engage the court's own coercive jurisdiction, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

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