Commercial Litigation UK

  • August 21, 2024

    VAT Fraudster Loses Bid To Escape Repaying £1.4M

    A man involved in a £40 million ($52 million) criminal tax fraud scheme has lost a bid to avoid repaying £1.4 million as a London court ruled on Wednesday that he had failed to prove he no longer had hidden assets.

  • August 21, 2024

    Tribunal Lifts 21-Year Practice Ban, Praises Lawyer's 'Tenacity'

    A tribunal praised a solicitor for her "tenacity" on Wednesday as it restored her to the profession 21 years after she was struck off for taking a loan from a client and paying clients' money into a personal account.

  • August 20, 2024

    Judicial Proceedings Immunity Thwarts Whistleblower's Suit

    An appellate tribunal ruled Tuesday that immunity from judicial proceedings blocks a former aide from claiming he faced groundless and malicious arbitration from his work after blowing the whistle on alleged staff mistreatment.

  • August 20, 2024

    Council's Failure To Help Disabled Staff Led To Early Retirement

    An employment tribunal has ordered a county council to pay more than £184,000 (almost $240,000) to an assistant manager with a spinal disability, after failing to make reasonable adjustments enabling her to work at a children's home for a few more years.

  • August 20, 2024

    Firing For Saying You Can't Be Gay And Muslim Ruled Wrong

    DHL Services Ltd. should not have fired a Muslim worker for his religious beliefs after he said he believes that people cannot be both gay and Muslim, a tribunal has ruled.

  • August 20, 2024

    Imprisoned Oligarch Bids For ID Linked To $20M Transfer

    An imprisoned Russian oligarch pursuing a $13.8 billion conspiracy claim urged a London judge Tuesday to order a group of wealth management companies to disclose the identity of a person who requested a $20 million transfer that he alleges was a bribe.

  • August 20, 2024

    Insurers Deny Liability Over $790M Stranded Aircraft Claims

    Two insurers have argued they are not liable for paying out claims totaling more than $790 million over planes stranded in Russia, arguing the aircraft had not been "lost" to their lessors under the terms of the policies.

  • August 20, 2024

    Barclays Told To Reassess Promotion Process After Bias Case

    A former vice president of Barclays was not passed over for a promotion because she was an Asian Muslim woman, but a split employment tribunal urged the bank to look at its promotion process.

  • August 20, 2024

    Royal Mail Strike Claims Axed After UK Supreme Court Ruling

    A tribunal has struck out dozens of claims by postal workers that Royal Mail cut their pay and benefits for going on strike, concluding that their case was bound to fail because legislation did not protect them despite going against European human rights laws.

  • August 20, 2024

    Clifford Chance 'In Shock' Over Missing Partner

    Clifford Chance said Tuesday that it is "in shock and deeply saddened" that a partner is among six passengers missing from a yacht that was reportedly chartered to celebrate the legal victory of technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch.

  • August 20, 2024

    Ex-Bird & Bird Partner Banned For Pursuing Junior Colleague

    A former partner at Bird & Bird LLP has been banned from the legal profession for five years after he admitted behaving inappropriately toward a junior female colleague and abusing his position in an attempt to pursue a sexual relationship with her.

  • August 19, 2024

    Mike Lynch, Clifford Chance Pro Among Missing After Yacht Sinks

    Former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and a Clifford Chance LLP partner who helped him beat federal fraud charges back in June are among those missing after their chartered luxury yacht sank during a storm off Sicily early Monday during a trip reportedly to celebrate Lynch's legal victory.

  • August 19, 2024

    Broker Wins Claim Over Bosses' Postchemotherapy Demands

    Vantage Capital Markets Ltd. discriminated against a broker by withholding her pay until she completed excessive requirements to prove she was fit to work following cancer treatment, an employment tribunal has ruled.

  • August 19, 2024

    Bipolar Solicitor Loses Bias Claim Over Offer Withdrawal

    An employment tribunal has ruled that a law firm did not know about a candidate's bipolar disorder when it reneged on a job offer because he never brought it up during the hiring process.

  • August 19, 2024

    Ex-Premier League Pro Loses Challenge To £120K Legal Bill

    A former Premier League footballer has lost his fight to challenge a £120,000 ($156,000) legal bill following a multimillion-pound dispute with his brother as a London court on Monday rejected his case that his fee deal was not enforceable.

  • August 19, 2024

    German State Liable In €500M Timber Sales Antitrust Fight

    A German state breached antitrust laws for decades in its sales of round timber, leaving it liable to antitrust suits worth an estimated €500 million ($553 million), a German regional appeals court has ruled.

  • August 19, 2024

    HMRC Did Not Victimize Female Civil Servant, Tribunal Finds

    A former caseworker at HM Revenue and Customs was not unlawfully victimized by her manager who proposed a work meeting at her home because the request had nothing to do with her being a woman, a London employment tribunal has ruled.

  • August 19, 2024

    J&J, Others Pay Out To Settle Pelvic Mesh Group Claim

    A group of women who suffered "years of pain and suffering" after being given pelvic mesh implants has secured undisclosed payouts from Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific Corp. and Bard in the first successful group claim over the devices in the U.K., Pogust Goodhead said on Monday.

  • August 19, 2024

    Pharmacist Painted As Aggressive By Colleagues Wins £59K

    A Black pharmacist has won almost £59,000 ($76,600) in his claim against Boots as a judge found that his former colleagues racially profiled him as an aggressive Black man when he complained about their behavior.

  • August 19, 2024

    Ex-Finance Co. Director Denies Forcing CEO's Share Transfer

    The former director of a lending business has denied forcing the chief executive of the company to transfer shares by concocting a false fraud allegation, and told a London court that his report to a regulator was justified.

  • August 19, 2024

    Former BHS Directors Liable For £110M Over Collapsed Biz

    Two former directors of the defunct British Home Stores retail chain have been found liable for more than £110 million ($142 million) after they allowed the company to continue trading when there was no prospect of recovery.

  • August 16, 2024

    Saudi Arabian Embassy Harassed Catholic Worker, Judge Says

    An Employment Tribunal has ruled that Saudi Arabia's U.K. embassy harassed a post room clerk over her Catholic beliefs and suggested she convert to Islam.

  • August 16, 2024

    Judge OK To Ignore Officer's Inhaler In Disability Bias Claim

    A tribunal did not need to consider a staffer's inhaler prescription when tossing his disability bias claim against a local council because there was no proof he was using the device when the alleged discrimination occurred, an appeals tribunal has ruled.

  • August 16, 2024

    Telecom Directors Deny Adviser's HMRC Fraud Claim

    Two directors have denied owing a financial adviser a fee for attempting to source a £5 million ($6.4 million) investment for their telecommunications business, characterizing his July claim that they hoped to defraud the U.K.'s tax department through the company as "entirely fictitious."

  • August 16, 2024

    Freeths Faces £7.5M Claim For Negligent Planning Advice

    A Jersey-based property developer has accused Freeths LLP of torpedoing plans for its warehouse unit, alleging the law firm failed to advise the developer that starting the demolition meant agreeing to unfavorable noise restrictions, which caused a decline in the property's value.

Expert Analysis

  • Economic Crime Act Offers Welcome Reform To AML Regime

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    The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act exemption for mixed-property transactions that came into force on Jan. 15 as part of the U.K.'s anti-money laundering regime is long overdue, and should end economic harm to businesses, giving banks confidence to adopt a more pragmatic approach, say Matthew Getz and Joseph Fox-Davies at Pallas Partners.

  • What Venice Swaps Ruling Says About Foreign Law Disputes

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    The English appeals court's decision in Banca Intesa v. Venice that the English law swaps are valid and enforceable will be welcomed by banks, and it provides valuable commentary on the English courts' approach toward the interpretation of foreign law, say Harriet Campbell and Richard Marshall at Penningtons Manches.

  • Key Litigation Funding Rulings Will Drive Reform In 2024

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    Ground-breaking judgments on disputes funding and fee arrangements from 2023 — including that litigation funding agreements could be damages-based agreements, rendering them unenforceable — will bring legislative changes in 2024, which could have a substantial impact on litigation risk for several sectors, say Verity Jackson-Grant and David Bridge at Simmons & Simmons.

  • How Data Privacy Law Cases Are Evolving In UK, EU And US

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    To see where the law is heading in 2024, it is worth looking at privacy litigation and enforcement trends from last year, where we saw a focus on General Data Protection Regulation regulatory enforcement actions in the U.K. and EU, and class actions brought by private plaintiffs in the U.S., say lawyers at Morgan Lewis.

  • Misleading Airline Ads Offer Lessons To Avoid Greenwashing

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    Following the Advertising Standards Authority's recent decision that three airlines' adverts misled customers about their environmental impact, companies should ensure that their green claims comply with legal standards to avoid risking reputational damage, which could have financial repercussions, say Elaina Bailes and Olivia Shaw at Stewarts.

  • Supreme Court Ruling Is A Gift To Insolvency Practitioners

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    As corporate criminal liability is in sharp focus, the Supreme Court's recent decision in Palmer v. Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court that administrators are not company officers and should not be held liable under U.K. labor law is instructive in focusing on the substance and not merely the title of a person's role within a company, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Major EU AI Banking Ruling Will Reverberate Across Sectors

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    Following the European Court of Justice's recent OQ v. Land Hessen decision that banks' use of AI-driven credit scores to make consumer decisions did not comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, regulators indicated that the ruling would apply broadly, leaving numerous industries that employ AI-powered decisions open to scrutiny, say lawyers at Alston & Bird.

  • English Could Be The Future Language Of The UPC

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    While most Unified Patent Court proceedings are currently held in German, the recent decisions in Plant-e v. Arkyne and Amgen v. Sanofi potentially signal that English will be the preferred language, particularly in cases involving small and medium enterprises, say lawyers at Freshfields.

  • Arbitration Remains Attractive For Digital Disputes In 2024

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    Recent regulatory and digital forum developments highlight that, in 2024, arbitration will continue to adapt to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, and remain an attractive forum for resolving digital disputes due to its flexibility, confidentiality and comparative ease to enforce cross-border awards, says Peter Smith at Charles Russell.

  • Key Employer Lessons From 2023 Neurodiversity Case Uptick

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    The rise in neurodiversity cases in U.K. employment tribunals last year emphasizes the growing need for robust occupational health support, and that employers must acknowledge and adjust for individuals with disabilities in their workplaces to ensure compliance and foster a neurodiverse-friendly work environment, says Emily Cox at Womble Bond.

  • A Look At 2023's Landmark Insolvency Developments

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    The insolvency landscape in 2023 witnessed pivotal court decisions that will continue to shape the industry in 2024, with a focus on refining director and administrator duties and obligations, and addressing emerging challenges, says Kerri Wilson at Ontier.

  • Hague Judgments Treaty May Boost UK-EU Cooperation

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    The U.K.'s recent decision to sign the Hague Judgments Convention could help rebuild post-Brexit judicial cooperation with the EU by creating a holistic arrangement on mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, say Patrick Robinson and Stephen Lacey at Linklaters.

  • 5 Key UK Employment Law Developments From 2023

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    Key employment law issues in 2023 suggest that topics such as trade union recognition for collective bargaining in the gig economy, industrial action and menopause discrimination will be at the top of the agenda for employers and employees in 2024, say Merrill April and Anaya Price at CM Murray.

  • Emerging Trends From A Busy Climate Litigation Year

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    Although many environmental cases brought in the U.K. were unsuccessful in 2023, they arguably clarified several relevant issues, such as climate rights, director and trustee obligations, and the extent to which claimants can hold the government accountable, illustrating what 2024 may have in store for climate litigation, say Simon Bishop and Patrick Kenny at Hausfeld.

  • Key 2024 Arbitration Trends In A Changing World

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    As key sectors such as ESG and the global mining and commodities market will continue to generate more arbitration in 2024, procedural developments in arbitral law will both guide future arbitration proceedings and provide helpful lessons on confidentiality, disclosure and professional duty, say Louise Woods and Elena Guillet at V&E.

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