Commercial Litigation UK

  • May 02, 2025

    Law Firm Can't Ax €213M Action Over Claim Form Blunders

    A London court ruled Friday that an asset manager can amend its €213 million ($241 million) professional negligence claim against the London arm of an international law firm, as it would be unjust to strike out the action merely because the claim form had been prepared with "a remarkable lack of care."

  • May 02, 2025

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

    This past week in London has seen Premier League football club Newcastle United FC sue the owner of the land next to its stadium, Laurence Fox face a defamation claim by TV presented Narinder Kaur and a further sexual assault claim filed against actor Kevin Spacey.

  • May 02, 2025

    Windfarm Accuses Nexans Of Overpricing In £50M Cartel Trial

    Companies behind an English windfarm have alleged that the Norwegian arm of power cable giant Nexans charged artificially high prices as a result of an anticompetitive cartel, in a trial in which they are claiming £49.8 million ($66.2 million) in damages.

  • May 02, 2025

    AirPlus Fails In Bid To Block 'R+' TM At EU General Court

    A German card payment company has failed to persuade the EU General Court to overturn a ruling from the EU Intellectual Property Office allowing petrochemical giant Repsol SA to register a trademark for "R+".

  • May 02, 2025

    BBC Arabic Journalist Wins £13K For Racial Harassment

    The BBC must pay one of its journalists more than £13,700 ($18,210), a London tribunal has ruled, after a senior staffer claimed that his tendency to shout and appear aggressive was because of his Algerian heritage.

  • May 02, 2025

    EY Can Reveal $9.7B Settlement At UAE Health Biz Fraud Trial

    EY won an attempt on Friday to reveal a $9.66 billion settlement inked by a United Arab Emirates health care business and senior company officers accused of a $4 billion fraud as it defends itself against allegations it failed to stop the alleged wrongdoing.

  • May 02, 2025

    Drone Maker Disputes University's Claim To Autopilot Tech

    A cargo drone manufacturer has told a London court that an academic project at the University of Southampton did not form the basis of its patented autopilot technology, disputing the university's claim to ownership of the innovation.

  • May 02, 2025

    Govia Thameslink Loses Bid To Cross-Examine Class Rep

    Britain's antitrust tribunal refused Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd. permission to cross-examine the campaigner representing rail passengers in a class action over allegedly unfair ticket prices, saying it was unpersuaded there has been "serious mismanagement" of the case.

  • May 02, 2025

    Prince Harry Loses Appeal Over UK Security Downgrade

    Prince Harry has lost his fight to challenge the government's decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded security when he quit his royal duties, as an appeals court ruled on Friday that the decision was "understandable" and "predictable."

  • May 02, 2025

    Bank Sues Fintech Execs For Fraud Over £4M Investment

    A German specialist property lender has sued the co-founders of a financial technology startup for £4.2 million ($5.6 million) in London over claims that the former investment bankers hid the fact they had obtained additional investment in their business prior to its collapse.

  • May 01, 2025

    Ex-Exec's Claims Against Dechert Still No Good, 2nd Circ. Told

    A North Carolina trade executive's latest trip to the Second Circuit in his quest to win damages for alleged hacking by a private investigator on Dechert LLP's behalf should end like the others, with a dismissal, defense counsel argued Thursday.

  • May 01, 2025

    Getty Loses Most Late Case Additions As AI Trial Looms

    A London judge refused Thursday to let Getty Images go ahead with the bulk of its late-stage additions to its case against the company behind Stability AI, ruling that there was not enough time to address fresh claims about the disclosure of new datasets so close to trial.

  • May 01, 2025

    5 More Things For Employers To Consider After Sex Ruling

    The ruling in April by the U.K. Supreme Court on the legal definition of a woman will compel employers to rethink much more than who uses what toilet, lawyers say.

  • May 01, 2025

    Crystal Palace Owner Denies Promising Coach $7.6M Contract

    Crystal Palace FC's owner has denied promising a professional football coach a head role at either the southeast London Premier League outfit or French giants Lyon, arguing that the alleged $7.6 million contract was merely an opportunity to negotiate for the position.

  • May 01, 2025

    Shareholders Claim Biogen Skipped $50M Drug Payment

    Former shareholders of a U.K.-based drug company accused Biogen of failing to make a $50 million payment under a deal to acquire the company and its nerve pain medication, on the first day of trial on Thursday.

  • May 01, 2025

    Lawyer Bids To Ax 'Greedy' Allegation In $11B Award Ruling

    A solicitor asked the Court of Appeal on Thursday to strike out references to his being "greedy" and "corrupt" in a judgment over a fraudulent arbitration award against the Republic of Nigeria, arguing that these comments breached his due process rights.

  • May 01, 2025

    BNY Can't Escape A&O Shearman's £93M Negligence Claim

    Bank of New York Mellon lost its fight Thursday to escape a claim from Allen Overy Shearman Sterling alleging that the lender caused Nationwide Building Society to face a £93 million ($109 million) tax bill by bungling the issuance of notes.

  • May 01, 2025

    Apple Hit With $502M SEP License Rate In Optis Appeal

    An appeals court hiked on Thursday the amount Apple must pay for a license to equip its iPhones with Optis' essential 4G patents from $56 million to $502 million, plus interest, saying the technology giant had strategically held out to try to secure a lower rate.

  • May 01, 2025

    Injury Lawyers 4U Defeats Law Firms' Case Over Ad Prices

    Injury Lawyers 4U has beaten a case brought by three law firms in a fight over prices for TV advertising, with a court ruling that the company's directors were legitimately appointed before removing preferential ad rates.

  • April 30, 2025

    Dentist Fights HMRC Over Alleged Tax Avoidance

    A dentist's firm urged an appeals court on Wednesday to find that it had not engaged in tax avoidance by making loan payments to its owner through a trust, saying the payments had no connection to its owner's employment and therefore were not taxable as income.

  • April 30, 2025

    Lufthansa Gets $5M Interest Bump Over Patent Infringement 

    A London judge on Wednesday ordered a Panasonic unit and two aircraft hardware manufacturers to pay Lufthansa over $5 million in interest for selling in-flight charging systems that infringed its patented technology. 

  • April 30, 2025

    Lebanon Bank Loses Jurisdiction Fight In $24M Transfer Case

    A Lebanese bank on Wednesday lost its bid to block a Saudi sheikh from suing it in a London court to force it to transfer $24 million to his Swiss bank account amid an economic crisis in Lebanon.

  • April 30, 2025

    'Vagisan' Too Close To 'Vagisil' For EU Pharma TM, Court Says

    A German pharmaceutical company has failed to revive its efforts to get a trademark for "Vagisan" in the European Union because of its likeness to rival feminine health product "Vagisil."

  • April 30, 2025

    Stability AI Says Getty's Late-Stage Filings 'Intolerable'

    The company behind generative artificial intelligence model Stable Diffusion asked a London judge Wednesday to throw out what it says is Getty Images' fresh pleadings that it infringed its intellectual property during development and training, saying the document inflicts on the defendant a copious workload as the clock ticks down to the summer trial.

  • April 30, 2025

    Ex-Newcastle Utd. VP Can't Lift Arrest Warrant In Ashley Row

    The former vice president of Newcastle United FC failed on Wednesday to suspend an arrest warrant issued against him for breaching a court order over a £6 million ($8 million) debt he owes Mike Ashley, the former owner of the Premier League outfit.

Expert Analysis

  • Analyzing The Merits Threshold In Interim Injunction Ruling

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    In Kuznetsov v. War Group, the High Court recently dismissed an interim injunction application, reminding practitioners to be mindful of the possibility that they may be required to meet a higher threshold merits test, say Mark Cooper and Tom Parry at Eversheds Sutherland.

  • Use Or Lose It: European TM Ruling Stresses 'Genuine Use'

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    The European Union General Court recently dismissed an action to revoke trademark protections for a lack of use in Sta Grupa v. EU Intellectual Property Office, offering significant insight into the intricacies of assessing evidence of genuine use in revocation actions, says Sumi Nadarajah at FRKelly.

  • Decoding Plans To Simplify The Transfer Of Undertakings Law

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    The prior Conservative government's proposed reforms to the Transfer of Undertakings Regulations to simplify processes protecting employee rights have generally been welcomed, but the fact that Labour is now in power casts significant doubt on whether they will be pursued, says Robert Forsyth at Michelmores.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Intra-EU Enforcement Trends

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    Hungary recently declared a distinct stance on the European Court of Justice's 2021 ruling in Moldavia v. Komstroy on intra-EU arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty, highlighting a critical divergence in the bloc on enforcing investment awards and the complexities of balancing regional uniformity with international obligations, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.

  • Adjudication Dispute Ruling Elucidates Merit Of Cross-Claims

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    In Morganstone v. Birkemp, the High Court recently found that an adjudicator's refusal to consider cross-claims outside the scope of an interim payment breached natural justice, highlighting inherent risks in the adjudication process, including that not all decisions will be enforced automatically, say Ryland Ash and Jonathan Clarke at Watson Farley.

  • Employer Lessons From Teacher's Menopause Bias Win

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    A Scottish employment tribunal’s recent decision to award a teacher over £60,000 ($77,829) for unfair dismissal is a reminder that menopausal symptoms can amount to a disability, and together with potentially stronger measures from the new Labour government, should prompt all employers to implement effective menopause support policies, say Ellie Gelder and Kelly Thomson at RPC.

  • Why Ukraine Aircraft Insurance Case Failed To Take Off In UK

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    In Aercap v. PJSC Insurance, the High Court decided the claimants could not avoid an exclusive jurisdiction clause and advance their case in England rather than Ukraine, and the reasoning is likely to be of relevance in future jurisdiction disputes, say Abigail Healey and Genevieve Douglas at Quillon Law.

  • What UK Digital Markets Act Will Mean For Competition Law

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    The new Digital Markets Act’s reforms will strengthen the Competition and Markets Authority's investigatory and enforcement powers across its full remit of merger control and antitrust investigations, representing a seismic shift in the U.K. competition and consumer law landscape, say lawyers at Travers Smith.

  • UK Supreme Court Confirms Limits To Arbitration Act Appeals

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    Every year, disappointed parties come out of U.K.-seated arbitrations and try to seek redress in the English courts, but the U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Sharp v. Viterra serves as a reminder of the strict restrictions on appeals brought under the Arbitration Act, says Mark Handley at Duane Morris.

  • Examining The EU Sanctions Directive Approach To Breaches

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    In criminalizing sanctions violations and harmonizing the rules on breaches, a new European Union directive will bring significant change and likely increase enforcement risks across the EU, say lawyers at Hogan Lovells.

  • Trends, Tips From 7 Years Of EPO Antibody Patent Appeals

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    Recent years of European Patent Office decisions reveal some surprising differences between appeals involving therapeutic antibody patents and those for other technologies, offering useful insight into this developing area of European case law for future antibody patent applicants, say Alex Epstein and Jane Evenson at CMS.

  • 4 Takeaways From Biotech Patent Invalidity Ruling

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    The recent Patents Court decision in litigation between Advanced Cell Diagnostics and Molecular Instruments offers noteworthy commentary on issues related to experiments done in the ordinary course of business, joint importation, common general knowledge and mindset, and mosaicking for anticipation, say Nessa Khandaker and Darren Jiron at Finnegan.

  • Why Reperforming Loan Securitization In UK And EU May Rise

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    The recently published new U.K. securitization rules will largely bring the U.K.’s nonperforming loan regime in line with the European Union, and together with the success of EU and U.K. banks in reducing loan ratios, reperforming securitizations may feature more prominently in relevant markets going forward, say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

  • What French Watchdog Ruling Means For M&A Landscape

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    Although ultimately dismissed due to lack of evidence, the French competition authority’s recent post-closing review of several nonreportable mergers is a landmark case that highlights the increased complexity of such transactions, and is further testament to the European competition authorities’ willingness to expand their toolkit to address below-threshold M&As, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • How Life Science Companies Are Approaching UPC Opt-Outs

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    A look at recent data shows that one year after its launch, the European Union's Unified Patent Court is still seeing a high rate of opt-outs, including from large U.S.-based life science companies wary of this unpredictable court — and there are reasons this strategy should largely remain the same, say Sanjay Murthy and Christopher Tuinenga at McAndrews Held.

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