Commercial Litigation UK

  • April 08, 2025

    Barclays Denies Ex-Employee's Role In Transfer Fraud Case

    Barclays Bank told a London court that it is not responsible for a $643,000 fraud targeting a Singaporean fire safety company, arguing that the loss resulted from the company's "own failures" rather than any wrongdoing by the bank.

  • April 08, 2025

    Legal Advice No Shield For Ex-Metro Bank Execs, FCA Says

    The City watchdog told a tribunal on Tuesday that two former Metro Bank executives could not use legal advice from Linklaters LLP as a "get-out-of-jail-free card" for publishing a statement at the heart of a £900 million ($1.2 billion) scandal.

  • April 08, 2025

    Plastics Biz Accuses Cosmetics Co. Of Copying Brush Design

    A French plastic products manufacturer has maintained that its designs for a makeup brush stand out from existing products on the market, following an attempt by a cosmetics firm to revoke its rights in an ongoing infringement dispute.

  • April 08, 2025

    Prince Harry Says He Was 'Singled Out' To Lose Security

    Prince Harry urged a London appellate court on Tuesday to overturn a refusal of his challenge to the decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded security when he quit his royal duties, saying that he was "singled out."

  • April 08, 2025

    Nigerian Villagers Seek Shell Execs' Docs In Pollution Case

    Thousands of Nigerian villagers urged the High Court on Tuesday to rebalance the "inequality of arms" in their battle with Shell by giving them access to documents that they believe could reveal the involvement of senior executives in decisions that led to widespread pollution.

  • April 08, 2025

    Single Mother Wins Sex Bias Claim Over In-Office Policy

    A construction company discriminated against a former employee by requiring her to work in the office for five days a week when she was a single mother who had to care for her young child, a tribunal has ruled.

  • April 08, 2025

    Former Georgian PM Wins Fight To Nix $1.8M Extortion Case

    A former prime minister of Georgia won his bid on Tuesday to avoid a court case in London over allegations that he extorted a businessman for almost $1.8 million and tried to take over a tobacco business.

  • April 07, 2025

    UK Gov't Fails To Keep Apple Legal Battle Secret

    The legal challenge by Apple to the U.K. government's attempt to create a "back door" to personal encrypted data will not be kept secret, after a tribunal refused Monday to accept that revealing the bare details of the case would threaten national security.

  • April 07, 2025

    HMRC Says Hospital Parking Should Not Be VAT-Free

    HM Revenue and Customs told Britain's top court on Monday that a National Health Service trust providing car parking services should not be exempt from value-added tax, a case that could affect dozens of stayed appeals by NHS entities that total £70 million ($90 million).

  • April 07, 2025

    Tata HR Boss Denies Redundancies Targeted Non-Indians

    A director at Tata told a tribunal on Monday that the conglomerate chose a "reasonable" redundancy pool as the business fights claims by three former managers that they were made redundant because they were non-Indian nationals.

  • April 07, 2025

    Employment Lawyers Warn Against Ditching DEI

    British companies that follow U.S. businesses in rolling back their diversity, equity and inclusion policies risk being held liable for discrimination, the Employment Lawyers Association has warned.

  • April 07, 2025

    Hospitality Exec Sues Law Firm Curwens For Botching Claim

    The former director of a restaurant business has accused London law firm Curwens LLP of mishandling legal action brought against his fellow directors, alleging that his claim was marred by the firm's numerous errors and lack of competent advice.

  • April 07, 2025

    Designer Accuses Businessmen Of Copying 'Iconic' Tote Bag

    The designer of a tote bag accused two businessmen at the start of a High Court trial on Monday of producing an almost identical design but making it "just different enough" to avoid allegations of selling counterfeit goods.

  • April 04, 2025

    Appeals Court Won't Halt Russian Investment Litigation

    England's Court of Appeal will not nix an order refusing to halt "vexatious" litigation in Russia initiated by sanctioned entities against third parties to an arbitration agreement, issuing an opinion that chided an investment manager for leaving the court "in the dark" about its relationship to the third parties.

  • April 04, 2025

    Bulgarian Tax Authorities Violated EU VAT Law, ECJ Rules

    Bulgarian tax authorities violated European Union value-added tax law by removing a construction company from the nation's VAT registry for nonpayment of taxes without conducting a thorough investigation into whether it should be stricken, the European Court of Justice ruled.

  • April 04, 2025

    Soho House Brand Says Next Copied Its Furniture Designs

    The interior design brand of London private members' club Soho House has sued Next for copyright infringement, alleging the multinational retailer passed off 24 kinds of furniture that closely resemble the brand's home designs.

  • April 04, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Russian industrialist Oleg Deripaska target the intelligence arm of CT Group with a commercial fraud claim, Big Technologies sue its former CEO for allegedly concealing interests in several shareholders, and an investment firm tackle a professional negligence claim by Adidas. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • April 04, 2025

    Businessman's Daughter Sees £79M 'Sham' Loan Case Tossed

    The daughter of a deceased businessman had her attempt to bring a claim on behalf of one of her father's companies over a "sham" loan thrown out by a London court owing to a rule mandating that only the company itself can bring such a claim.

  • April 11, 2025

    HSF Hires Patent Litigator From EIP In Germany

    Herbert Smith Freehills LLP has hired a new intellectual property partner to its Düsseldorf office from EIP, with the new arrival saying Friday that the draw of working at a global firm led him to jump ship.

  • April 04, 2025

    TUI Pilot Wins Pension After Losing Forced Retirement Claim

    An employment tribunal has ruled that a former TUI Airways pilot is entitled to almost £15,000 ($19,500) in pension contributions, despite tossing his claim for age discrimination and unfair dismissal the year before.

  • April 04, 2025

    Denmark's £56M Cum-Ex Fraud Case Struck Out On Appeal

    Denmark's roughly £56 million ($72 million) tax refund fraud claim against an English brokerage was struck out Friday after a London appeals court ruled that an issue "fundamental" to the case had been decided in earlier proceedings.

  • April 04, 2025

    Ex-Everton FC Director Calls Sanctions Decision 'Political'

    A former director of Everton Football Club accused the British government of being improperly politically motivated when placing him under sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine, as he asked a court Friday for further information to challenge his designation.

  • April 04, 2025

    Scaffolding Biz Says Rival Infringed Safety-Gate Patent

    A scaffolding company has accused a rival of infringing its patent over a loading bay safety-gate by marketing its own version with an "identical" structure, asking a London court to block any further sales of the competing goods.

  • April 04, 2025

    Engineering Biz Challenges Ex-Director Over Shares Transfer

    An engineering company has urged an appeals court to side with it in a shareholding dispute, saying a former director should be deemed to have transferred his shares to the company when he was fired as an employee, despite the fact that he stayed on as director.

  • April 03, 2025

    International Disputes And Trade Lawyer Heads To Foley Hoag

    A trade lawyer with experience in World Trade Organization dispute settlement and commercial mediation has joined Foley Hoag LLP's international litigation and arbitration practice in Paris as senior counsel, according to the law firm.

Expert Analysis

  • A Look At Enforcing And Contesting Arbitral Awards In Qatar

    Author Photo

    As Qatar aspires to become a regional investment hub as part of its Qatar Vision 2030, it has committed to modernizing its arbitration practices in accordance with international standards, including updating the process of enforcing and contesting arbitration awards, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • Deal Over Jets Stranded In Russia May Serve As Blueprint

    Author Photo

    In the face of a pending "mega-trial" over leased airplanes held in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, a settlement between leading aviation lessor AerCap Holdings NV and NSK, the Russian state-controlled insurance company, could pave the way for similar deals, say Samantha Zaozirny and Timeyin Pinnick at Browne Jacobson.

  • Oil And Gas Case Highlights Judicial Review Climate Trends

    Author Photo

    Although the High Court recently dismissed a judicial review challenge concerning the U.K. oil and gas industry licensing regime, the case highlights how environmental campaign groups are increasingly taking formal steps through court proceedings to challenge the fossil fuel industry and influence government policy, say lawyers at CMS.

  • Collapse-Risk Buildings Present Liability Challenges

    Author Photo

    Recently, buildings, such as Harrow Crown Court, have been closed due to risk of collapse from use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in their construction, but identifying who will pay for the associated damages may be challenging due to expired limitation periods, say Theresa Mohammed, Jonathan Clarke and Villem Diederichs at Watson Farley.

  • Age Bias Cases Illustrate Key Employer Issues On Retirement

    Author Photo

    Recent Employment Tribunal cases demonstrate that age discrimination claims are increasingly on employees' radars, particularly regarding retirement, so employers should be proactive and review their current practices for managing older employees, say Jane Mann and Lucy Sellen at Fox Williams.

  • Why Indonesia Feels Frustrated By Airbus Dispute Outcome

    Author Photo

    Although the U.K. Serious Fraud Office’s Airbus bribery investigation achieved a record payout for regulators, Indonesia’s threat to sue for lack of credit for its contribution serves as a reminder of the need to take care when settlements are distributed among investigating partners, says Niall Hearty at Rahman Ravelli.

  • UAE Bank Case Offers Lessons On Enforcing Foreign Rulings

    Author Photo

    The High Court recently clarified in Invest Bank v. El-Husseini that foreign judgment debts may be enforceable in England, despite being unenforceable in their jurisdiction of origin, which should remind practitioners that foreign judgments will be recognized in England if they are final and conclusive in their court of origin, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • 9 Hallmarks Of The New German Class Action Regime

    Author Photo

    By recently adopting a new class action regime, Germany is taking an incremental step toward more collective redress, which may fundamentally change its litigation landscape amid increased European regulatory activity, a growing focus on private enforcement of regulations, and a consumer-friendly German judiciary, say lawyers at Gibson Dunn.

  • Protecting The Arbitral Process In Russia-Related Disputes

    Author Photo

    Four recent High Court and Court of Appeal rulings concerning anti-suit injunction claims illustrate that companies exposed to litigation risk in Russia may need to carefully consider how to best protect their interests and the arbitral process with regard to a Russian counterparty, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • Examining US And Europe Patent Disclosure For AI Inventions

    Author Photo

    As applicants before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the European Patent Office increasingly seek patent protection for inventions relating to artificial intelligence, the applications may require more implementation details than traditional computer-implemented inventions, including disclosure of data and methods used to train the AI systems, say attorneys at Finnegan.

  • Incontinence Drug Ruling Offers Key Patent Drafting Lessons

    Author Photo

    In a long-awaited decision in Astellas v. Teva and Sandoz, an English court found that the patent for a drug used to treat overactive bladder syndrome had not been infringed, highlighting the interaction between patent drafting and litigation strategy, and why claim infringement is as important a consideration as validity, says George McCubbin at Herbert Smith.

  • RSA Insurance Ruling Clarifies Definition Of 'Insured Loss'

    Author Photo

    A London appeals court's recent ruling in Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance v. Tughans, that the insurer must provide coverage for a liability that included the law firm's fees, shows that a claim for the recovery of fees paid to a firm can constitute an insured loss, say James Roberts and Sophia Hanif at Clyde & Co.

  • Putin Ruling May Have Unintended Sanctions Consequences

    Author Photo

    By widening the scope of control, the Court of Appeal's recent judgment in Mints v. PJSC opens the possibility that everything in Russia could be deemed to be controlled by President Vladimir Putin, which would significantly expand the U.K.'s sanctions regime in unintended ways, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

  • EPO Decision Significantly Relaxes Patent Priority Approach

    Author Photo

    In a welcome development for patent applicants, a recent European Patent Office decision redefines the way that entitlement to priority is assessed, significantly relaxing the previous approach and making challenges to the right to priority in post-grant opposition proceedings far more difficult, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Landmark EU Climate Case May Shape Future Disputes

    Author Photo

    The European Court of Human Rights' recent hearing in its first-ever climate change case Agostinho v. Portugal, concerning human rights violation claims due to countries' failure to curb emissions, may develop the law on admissibility and guide future climate disputes before domestic courts, say Stefanie Spancken-Monz and Leane Meyer at Freshfields.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Commercial Litigation UK archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!