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Commercial Litigation UK
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April 26, 2024
Europeans Try To Ease Dispute Process In Canada Trade Pact
The European Commission on Friday proposed new rules to help small and medium-sized businesses access a yet-to-be established investor court that was included in the bloc's nearly seven-year-old trade deal with Canada.
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April 26, 2024
ECJ OKs Later Limits For Borrowers Stuck With Unfair Contracts
Consumers should not be time-barred from seeking repayment of costs stemming from unfair contract terms because they were unaware of the unfairness, but the clock should start ticking in the event of a court decision to that effect, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday.
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April 26, 2024
NHS Trust Must Pay £74K, Apologize To COVID Whistleblower
A National Health Service trust must pay £73,900 ($92,300) and apologize to one of its surgeons after punishing him for blowing the whistle on the risks of face-to-face appointments amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a tribunal has ruled.
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April 26, 2024
Vitol Sues Tanker Owner For £3M Over Contaminated Oil
Dutch multinational commodity trader Vitol is suing Pisa Shipbuilding Corp. for over $3 million, alleging the shipowner failed to make its vessel "seaworthy," thus resulting in the contamination of approximately 3,697 metric tons of petroleum products.
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April 26, 2024
Coca-Cola Chews Up Greek Rival's 'Tsakiris' Snack TM
A Coca-Cola subsidiary defeated a rival that wanted to register the trademark "Tsakiris" to sell cereal snacks, after a European court ruled that it would take unfair advantage of the soft drink giant's reputation in Greek potato chips.
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April 26, 2024
Insurer Signs First Settlement Over Russia-Stranded Planes
An aircraft lessor and an insurer have settled their fight over payouts for planes stranded in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, the first agreement out of dozens of battles worth billions of dollars involving major insurers.
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April 26, 2024
Black Met Constable Wins £25K In Race Bias Claim
An employment tribunal ordered the Metropolitan Police commissioner to pay £25,403 ($31,790) to a Black constable, after ruling that a sergeant had discriminated against him by remarking that he had stared "menacingly."
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April 26, 2024
Tourists Owed Compensation Over Northwest Passage Cruise
A couple who sued over a disappointing Arctic cruise are entitled to compensation, a London appellate court ruled on Friday, rejecting a bid by Reader Offers Ltd. to overturn a ruling that found the travel company had breached a contract by changing the route of a cruise because of ice conditions.
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April 26, 2024
Sheikh Cleared Of €67M Damages Ruling Over Share Transfer
An Arab tycoon does not have to pay €67 million ($72 million) in damages for transferring shares out of his company after liquidation because the creditors failed to establish any actual loss, an English appeals court ruled Friday.
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April 26, 2024
Billboard Biz Gets OK To Fight To Opt Back Into UPC System
Billboard advertising firm Aim Sport can have another chance to challenge a ruling by the Unified Patents Court, which held that its decision to opt out of Europe's umbrella patents court system is permanent and cannot be revoked, the UPC ruled Friday.
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April 26, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
This past week in London has seen budget airline Ryanair file a claim against NATS PLC after the air traffic controller's system collapsed, Mastercard and Visa Europe face group claims from Christian Dior and dozens of other beauty retailers, an intellectual property clash between the publisher of The Sun and ITV, and ISC Europe sue a former director for alleged money laundering. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Recruiter Can't Bring Claim Over 'Eye-Rolling' Boss
A former HSBC recruiter with an obsessive-compulsive disorder can't sue the bank for disability bias over his manager's eye-rolling after a tribunal ruled the claim was brought too late.
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April 26, 2024
Petrol Mogul Says Subsidiary Liable For $7M Baker Botts Fees
An Egyptian energy tycoon has denied allegations in a London court that he owes Baker Botts LLP almost $7 million in fees for two of his petrochemical companies, arguing that a partner at the law firm said his company would not be liable for the costs of its subsidiaries.
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April 26, 2024
Director's 'OK Babes' Comment Was Sex Discrimination
The managing director at a vehicle recovery business discriminated against a female employee by saying "OK babes" in response to her complaints about him citing her appearance as a reason to invite her to a meeting, a tribunal has ruled.
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April 26, 2024
Amazon Sued For Allegedly Coercing UK Staff To Quit Union
The GMB union said Friday that it has sued retail giant Amazon for allegedly inducing workers to quit their union following a successful bid for a shot at official recognition.
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April 26, 2024
HSBC Beats Investors' £1.3B Disney Film Scheme Fraud Case
HSBC fended off on Friday a £1.3 billion ($1.6 billion) fraud claim brought by hundreds of investors who alleged the bank misled them into financing a Disney movie tax relief scheme it developed which turned out to be worthless.
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April 25, 2024
Game Cheat Tools Don't Infringe Copyright, EU Advocate Says
Third-party video game cheating software should not infringe game creators' copyright in the European Union if it only manipulates a gamer's input rather than the game's code itself, a legal adviser to the bloc's top court said Thursday amid Sony's dispute with a British gaming business.
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April 25, 2024
Law Firm Escapes £68M Ponzi Fraud Negligence Claim
Lupton Fawcett LLP has averted a £68 million ($85 million) professional negligence claim against it, as a London court ruled the claimants' alleged loss as victims of a Ponzi fraud could not be linked to the law firm's actions.
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April 25, 2024
Ex-Lawyer At Clarke Willmott Accused Of Obfuscating Email
Britain's legal regulator has referred a solicitor from Clarke Willmott LLP to a disciplinary tribunal, accusing him of deleting a client's email from the firm's system and lying about it.
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April 25, 2024
Higher Greek Limit For Fire Claim No Reason To Stay UK Case
A London court refused Thursday to let the owner of a boat that sank in a Corfu marina pause English proceedings over liability for the accident in favor of pursuing the matter in Greece, where the payout cap would be higher.
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April 25, 2024
TM Applicants Must Prove Lost Reputation, EU Court Rules
A European court said Wednesday that a trademark's reputation can be "progressively" lost over time, ruling that companies must prove another trademark's reputation has fully dwindled in order to register a similar mark in a dispute over an LVMH-owned perfume brand.
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April 25, 2024
Disciplinary Chair Wins Worker Status, Holiday Pay
A barrister who served as a chair on the regulatory board for the Nursing and Midwifery Council has won his bid for paid annual leave, with the Employment Tribunal finding that gig economy workers must have an incentive to take holidays, so they do not swap cash for rest.
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April 25, 2024
Waitress Made Redundant While Pregnant Wins Bias Appeal
A waitress has revived her pregnancy discrimination claim after a tribunal ruled that previous judges made "fundamental" errors when they sided with the cafe owner who made her redundant.
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April 25, 2024
Compliance Officer To Face Tribunal Over Accounts Failures
A solicitor must face a disciplinary tribunal after he allegedly failed to provide accountants' reports for two law firms in southeast England and allowed the client account of one of those firms to be used as a banking facility, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.
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April 25, 2024
Experian Judgment Provides Privacy Guidance, Lawyers Say
A tribunal decision affirming the lawfulness of Experian's marketing services has industrywide implications, emphasizing the need for more detailed privacy information to be provided to individuals when their data is sourced from publicly available records, the credit reference agency's lawyers said Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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Pharma Remains A Key Focus Of EU Antitrust Enforcement
The recently published European Commission report on pharmaceutical sector competition law illustrates that effective enforcement of EU rules remains a matter of high priority for EU and national authorities, say lawyers at Dechert.
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Employment Tribunal Fee Proposal Raises Potential Issues
The proposal to reintroduce employment tribunal fees in a recent U.K. government consultation poses serious concerns over the right of access to justice, and will only act as a deterrent for claimants and appellants, says Yulia Fedorenko at CM Murray.
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ECHR Climate Rulings Hint At Direction Of Future Cases
Three recent climate rulings from the European Court of Human Rights show the court's tendency toward a more formalistic, hands-off approach to procedural issues but a more hands-on approach to the application of the European Convention on Human Rights, setting the first guiding principles for key issues in EU climate cases, say Stefanie Spancken-Monz and Leane Meyer at Freshfields.
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What UK Energy Charter Treaty Exit Would Mean For Investors
While the U.K.'s recent announcement that it intends to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty is a bold political signal, investor protections will remain in place for a significant period of time, ensuring that an element of certainty and business continuity will remain, say Karel Daele and Jessica Thomas at Taylor Wessing.
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What To Know About The Russia-Stranded Plane Ruling
The High Court's recent decision in Zephyrus Capital Aviation v. Fidelis Underwriting, rejecting reinsurers' U.K. jurisdiction challenges in claims over stranded planes in Russia, has broad implications for cross-border litigation involving exclusive jurisdiction clauses, says Samantha Zaozirny at Browne Jacobson.
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Uber Payout Offers Employer Lessons On Mitigating Bias
Uber Eats' recent payout to a driver over allegations that the company's facial recognition software was discriminatory sheds light on bias in AI, and offers guidance for employers on how to avoid harming employees through the use of such technology, says Rachel Rigg at Fieldfisher.
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Apple Ruling Offers Morsel Of Certainty On Litigation Funding
An English court's recent decision in Gutmann v. Apple, finding that a litigation funder could be paid via a damages award, offers a piece of guidance on the permissibility of such agreement terms amid the ongoing uncertainty around funded group litigation in the U.K., says Mohsin Patel at Factor Risk Management.
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Clarifying Legal Elements To Support A Genocide Claim At ICJ
Reporting on South Africa’s dispute against Israel in the International Court of Justice largely fails to clearly articulate what a case for genocide alleged in the context of war requires — a technical analysis that will evaluate several key factors, from the scale of the devastation to statements by officials, say Solomon Shinerock and Alex Bedrosyan at Lewis Baach.
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Opinion
Employment Tribunal Fees Risk Reducing Access To Justice
Before the proposed fee regime for employment tribunal claims can take effect, the government needs much more evidence that low-income individuals — arguably the tribunal system's most important users — will not be negatively affected by the fees, says Max Winthrop, employment law committee chair at the Law Society.
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Tribunal Cases Illustrate Balancing Act Of Anti-Bias Protection
Recent employment tribunal discrimination cases show employers the complexities of determining the scope of protected characteristics under the Equality Act, and responding proportionately, particularly when conflicts involve controversial beliefs that can trigger competing employee discrimination claims, say Michael Powner and Sophie Rothwell at Charles Russell.
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EU Ruling Exposes Sovereignty Fissures In Int'l Arbitration
The European Court of Justice's recent ruling that the U.K. had breached EU law by allowing an arbitral award to proceed underscores the diminished influence of EU jurisprudence in the U.K., hinting at the EU courts' increasingly nominal sway in international arbitration within jurisdictions that prize legal autonomy, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray’s Inn.
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UK Arbitration Ruling Offers Tips On Quelling Bias Concerns
An English court's recent decision in H1 v. W to remove an arbitrator because of impartiality concerns offers several lessons on mitigating bias, including striking a balance between arbitration experience and knowledge of a particular industry, and highlights the importance of careful arbitrator appointment, says Paul-Raphael Shehadeh at Duane Morris.
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UK Amazon Ruling Spotlights TM Rights In International Sales
Highlighting the conflict between the territorial nature of trademark rights and the borderless nature of the internet, the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision — that Amazon's U.S. website could infringe EU and U.K. rights by targeting local buyers — offers guidance on navigating trademark rights in relation to online sales, say Emmy Hunt, Mark Kramer and Jordan Mitchell at Potter Clarkson.
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UK Courts Continue To Struggle With Crypto-Asset Cases
Although the common law has proved capable of applying established principles to crypto-assets, recent cases highlight persistent challenges in identifying defendants, locating assets and determining jurisdiction, suggesting that any meaningful development will likely come from legislative or regulatory change, say Emily Saunderson and Sam Mitchell at Quadrant Chambers.
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Why Computer Evidence Is Not Always Reliable In Court
Recent challenges to the admissibility of encrypted communication from the messaging tool EncroChat highlight the flawed presumption in the U.K. common law framework that computer evidence is always accurate, and why a nuanced assessment of such evidence is needed, say Sam De Silva and Josie Welland at CMS Legal.