Commercial Litigation UK

  • April 03, 2025

    Property Co. Sues Broker For £2M Over Fire Claim Refusal

    A property developer has sued an insurance broker for almost £2 million ($2.6 million) for its allegedly bungled handling of an insurance policy that resulted in Aviva refusing to cover for a fire that destroyed a Grade II listed building.

  • April 03, 2025

    Antique Shop To Pay £56K For Mistreating Part-Timer 

    An employment tribunal has ordered an antiques shop to pay £56,022 ($73,816) to a sales assistant after it wrongly refused to give her employment rights because she was a part-time worker.

  • April 03, 2025

    Lenovo, Ericsson End Patent Spat With Cross-Licensing Deal

    Lenovo has settled all ongoing litigation with Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson after the two companies struck a cross-licensing deal for their respective standard-essential patents, Lenovo said Thursday.  

  • April 03, 2025

    Door Maker Denies Design Infringed Rival's Copyright

    A door manufacturer has admitted copying the design of a rival's bottom roller for sliding doors, but denied infringing any copyright because the product had no original features.

  • April 03, 2025

    GP Surgery Must Rehire Clinician Fired After Whistleblowing

    A National Health Service doctors' surgery must reinstate a clinician who lost her job soon after she blew the whistle on the surgery for offering some services without authorization, a tribunal has ruled.

  • April 02, 2025

    Ex-Metro Bank CFO Followed Legal Advice Over £900M Error

    Metro Bank PLC's former chief financial officer, David Arden, said at a London tribunal Wednesday that he had followed legal advice when preparing to publish a market announcement at the center of a £900 million ($1.1 billion) reporting scandal, arguing he and the bank's former chief executive officer should not face "career-ending allegations" for doing so.

  • April 02, 2025

    Consumers Tell UK Justices Car Dealers Owe Transparency

    Consumers bringing a test case on motor finance commissions told the U.K. Supreme Court in a hearing Wednesday that car dealers arranging financing for the purchase of vehicles were acting as "classic" credit brokers and owed a duty to act in borrowers' best interest.

  • April 02, 2025

    Hospital Operator To Pay £54K For Firing Disabled Worker

    An employment tribunal has ruled that U.K. hospital operator Circle Health must pay its former pathology coordinator over £54,000 ($70,000) after it found that her former employer sacked her without attempting to accommodate her postpartum health condition.

  • April 02, 2025

    Royal Mail Database IP Claim Gets Off To Rocky Start

    Royal Mail Group and the operator of an address search website argued Wednesday that software firm Codeberry Ltd. copied millions of addresses from the courier's postcode data without permission, as the High Court case opened without counsel for defendants.

  • April 02, 2025

    Safestand Wins Appeal To Protect Scaffolding Design

    An appellate judge on Wednesday reinstated a scaffolding manufacturer's three registered designs for builders' trestles, ruling that its many components all formed a single product rather than several alternative goods.

  • April 02, 2025

    Enablers In The Spotlight As First Al-Fayed Claims Emerge

    Employers that allow sexual misconduct to go unpunished in the workplace are increasingly likely to be held liable, lawyers warn, as five women who worked for the late billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed launch claims against his estate.

  • April 02, 2025

    Ex-Ryanair Pilot Fights 'Fiction' Of Contractor Status In Appeal

    A former pilot for Ryanair told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday that his contractor status was a "fiction" as he fought efforts from the airline and a staffing company to overturn rulings that he is entitled to equal conditions with Ryanair's directly employed staff.

  • April 02, 2025

    Class Rep Says Appeal Court Entitled To Allow £2.7B FX Claim

    A class representative said Wednesday that the Court of Appeal was entitled to allow a £2.7 billion ($3.5 billion) foreign exchange claim to go ahead as an opt-out class action, arguing Britain's specialist competition tribunal was wrong to effectively end the proceedings.

  • April 02, 2025

    Taxing School Fees Doesn't Restrict Choice, Gov't Tells Court

    The U.K. did not break human rights law by imposing 20% value-added tax on private school fees because families can still access education through other options, the government told a London court.

  • April 02, 2025

    Management Biz. Loses Costs Bid Over Consultant's Theft

    An employment tribunal has refused to force a director to pay the £12,060 ($15,645) that a workforce management firm incurred in defending his claims of unfair dismissal, ruling he didn't sue vexatiously.

  • April 02, 2025

    Apple Challenges Funding Deal In £853M Battery Class Action

    Apple sought on Wednesday to ax an £853 million ($1.1 billion) collective action accusing the tech giant of concealing problems with batteries, arguing that the class representative had unlawfully agreed to prioritize paying the litigation-funder over the other claimants.

  • April 02, 2025

    Toy Seller Denies Copying Rival's 'Paw Bear' IP

    A toy seller has fought back against claims that it copied a teddy bear design to steal customers, arguing that its rival was not the first company to give the stuffed animals a neck bow and rough patches.

  • April 02, 2025

    'Snow White' Email Shows Staley's Ties To Epstein, FCA Says

    The inability of former Barclays boss Jes Staley to remember "now infamous" emails with Jeffrey Epstein undermines his credibility and his attempts to overturn his ban for lying about his ties to the sex offender, the Financial Conduct Authority said Wednesday.

  • April 02, 2025

    Paddington Bear Owner Sues Souvenir Seller Over Copyright

    The owner of Paddington Bear has hit a souvenir wholesaler with a copyright infringement claim in a London court, accusing it of using copies of the iconic bear on products without its permission.

  • April 02, 2025

    Gov't Confirms Major Delays For NHS Workers In Pension Fix

    The government has admitted that hundreds of thousands of people receiving a National Health Service pension will need to wait nearly two years to see their benefits potentially increase.

  • April 02, 2025

    Developer Sues Law Firm For £5M Over Failed London Project

    A conveyancing law firm has been hit with a £5.1 million ($6.6 million) negligence claim from a property developer that alleges the solicitors scuppered the company's plan to redevelop its four-story building in southwest London.

  • April 01, 2025

    Ex-CEO Loses Dismissal Case After Going AWOL

    An employment tribunal has dismissed a former chief executive's claims that a heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer forced him to resign by blackmailing him into signing onerous warranties before a restructuring, ruling that he had "overplayed his hand" despite his duty to help. 

  • April 01, 2025

    Celtic Football Club Settles Sex Abuse Cases For £1M-Plus

    Celtic Football Club has agreed to settle numerous sexual abuse claims brought by former members of the club's boys team for a seven-figure sum, the law firm representing the claimants announced Tuesday.

  • April 01, 2025

    DWF Avoids Doc Request In Health Data Breach Claim

    DWF Law LLP dodged an order in court Tuesday to hand over documents to three people who allege that the law firm unlawfully shared their health data, after a London judge concluded that the request was merely a fishing expedition.

  • April 01, 2025

    Reckitt Age Bias Ruling Is 'License To Discriminate'

    A retired Reckitt Benckiser executive urged a London appeals court on Tuesday to overturn a tribunal's dismissal of his claim that the pharmaceutical company discriminated against older employees, saying the decision creates a "license to discriminate for large corporations."

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!