Commercial Litigation UK

  • May 20, 2026

    Merricks Says Innsworth Made Enough From £200M CPO Deal

    The class representative of a U.K. mass claim against Mastercard said Wednesday that a London court should rebuff litigation funder Innsworth's challenge to the distribution of the claim's £200 million ($269 million) settlement, arguing that it received enough profit in light of how the claim had gone.

  • May 20, 2026

    Hancock Says MP's Libel Claim Is Attack On UK Vaccine Drive

    Former health secretary Matthew Hancock told the Court of Appeal on Wednesday that a libel case brought against him by a Conservative MP is being used as a vehicle to attack the U.K.'s COVID-19 vaccination program and should never have been brought. 

  • May 20, 2026

    Liberty Can't Up Burden On Policyholders For COVID Payout

    A London judge has rejected Liberty Mutual's bid to require a formally diagnosed case of COVID-19 to trigger cover for dozens of small and midsized businesses, saying on Wednesday that doing so would "render cover illusory." 

  • May 20, 2026

    Nottingham Forest Owner Clears Hurdle In £5M Libel Claim

    Nottingham Forest Football Club owner Evangelos Marinakis persuaded a London court on Wednesday that articles, videos and social media posts at the center of his £5 million ($6.7 million) libel claim against the chair of Greek club Aris are capable of being defamatory.

  • May 19, 2026

    EU Says $40M Award Against Poland Can't Be Enforced

    The European Commission has told the D.C. Circuit that a Swedish court decision, which dismissed a $40 million arbitral award favoring a commodities trading firm, correctly set aside the award against Poland as incompatible with Swedish and European Union law.

  • May 19, 2026

    Vape Co. Disputes Rival's 'Original' Ownership Of TM

    An electronic cigarette brand has pushed back against claims it copied a rival's "Crystal Vapours" trademark, arguing that the rival wasn't the "original user" of the sign as it didn't even own the shops it was citing as evidence.

  • May 19, 2026

    Innsworth Challenges Share Of Mastercard Settlement Sum

    Litigation funder Innsworth told the High Court on Tuesday that the distribution of a £200 million ($268 million) settlement from a U.K. mass claim against Mastercard is "illogical" and "flawed" in the first case to test a Competition Appeal Tribunal settlement decision.

  • May 19, 2026

    Engineer Loses Disability Case Over COVID-19 Site Work

    A tribunal has rejected an engineer's case that a refrigeration company ignored his lung condition and fired him for refusing National Health Service assignments during the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling that management took all necessary steps required by government guidance at the time.

  • May 19, 2026

    Ride-Hail App Bolt Can't Get £190M VAT Break, HMRC Argues

    Ride-hailing company Bolt shouldn't be able to claim a £190 million ($254.3 million) value-added tax exemption for travel agents and tour operators because its drivers provide transportation and don't lead tours or book vacations, the U.K.'s tax authority argued before a London court on Tuesday.

  • May 19, 2026

    Nxera Sues Rival Biotech Over Drug Research Patent

    Biopharma business Nxera has accused a rival of infringing its patents covering an engineered version of a protein used extensively in drug discovery research, arguing that the specific variants the biotech used were far too similar to the patented technology.  

  • May 19, 2026

    Investors Seek To Halt $16B Argentina Award Amid US Appeal

    A group of minority shareholders of a nationalized oil company urged a court on Tuesday to stay English proceedings that seek to enforce a now-overturned $16 billion judgment in New York against Argentina while a U.S. appeal is underway.

  • May 19, 2026

    Uniserve Denies Liability In £90M Faulty PPE Claim

    Logistics company Uniserve has denied owing the Department of Health and Social Care £90 million ($121 million) over allegedly defective COVID-19 medical gowns, pulling two Chinese suppliers and the intermediary that introduced them into the claim.

  • May 19, 2026

    Nord Stream Says Pinning Blast On Ukraine 'No Small Thing'

    The Swiss consortium behind a pipeline destroyed by sabotage in 2022 argued in the closing stages of a €580 million ($672 million) trial on Tuesday that it was "no small thing" to conclude the attack was carried out on Ukraine's behalf.

  • May 19, 2026

    McLaren Beats Negligence Case Over £1M Supercar Fire

    McLaren has defeated a claim that it bungled the rebuild of a £1 million ($1.34 million) supercar and allegedly caused the vehicle to burst into flames, as a London court ruled Tuesday that the case against it was "hopelessly vague."

  • May 19, 2026

    Trade Union Liable For Sham Probe Of London Firefighter

    A tribunal said in a ruling released on Tuesday that the Fire Brigades Union is liable for a sham investigation by its officials into a firefighter who had lost his post at the organization after raising concerns about potential maternity discrimination toward a female member.

  • May 19, 2026

    Cyber Breaches Cost UK Firms £3.7B In Litigation Fallout

    Cyberattacks on businesses in Britain are estimated to have cost £3.7 billion ($5 billion) in litigation in 2025, an insurance broker has said, warning that many do not have sufficient cover to protect against legal and reputational damage caused by a major breach.

  • May 19, 2026

    Property Investor Sues Ares For Using 'Marq' IP

    A London-based property investor has accused U.S. investment giant Ares of infringing its trademark by reproducing identical logos in an effort to capitalize on the investor's success and mislead consumers.

  • May 19, 2026

    Insurers Blame Unreasonable Costs In $8.6M Ship Repair Row

    A group of insurers has said it is not liable to pay $8.6 million outstanding to the owner of an oil tanker damaged by a fire in its engine room because the owner allegedly took unreasonably expensive steps to repair the vessel.

  • May 18, 2026

    HMRC Wins Appeal In £56M Supplements Dispute

    A supplements provider can rely only on expert evidence limited to the nutritional quality of the products in a £56 million ($75 million) value-added tax dispute with HM Revenue & Customs, a London tribunal said in a ruling siding with the tax agency released Monday.

  • May 18, 2026

    Ex-Everton FC Director Loses Bid To End UK Sanctions

    A former director of Everton Football Club failed to lift U.K. government sanctions imposed on him following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as a London court on Monday rejected his claims that the measures were irrational and disproportionately interfered with his human rights.

  • May 18, 2026

    HMRC Says Scottish Power Owes Tax On £28M Redress

    HM Revenue and Customs told the U.K. Supreme Court Monday that ScottishPower can't dodge paying tax on just over £28 million ($38 million) in redress payments that the energy company made after being investigated for regulatory failures.

  • May 18, 2026

    Malaysian National Told To Trade Passport For Pay Wins Claim

    A hotel's assistant manager has won several of her discrimination claims against a hospitality company after convincing an employment tribunal that management asked her to hand over her Malaysian passport to get paid without requiring anyone else to do so.

  • May 18, 2026

    ENRC Seeks 'Tender' Approach To Costs In $290M SFO Trial

    Kazakh miner ENRC urged a London judge on Monday to "adopt a tender approach" to decide how much compensation it should receive from the Serious Fraud Office and Dechert LLP after the agency's botched bribery and corruption probe.

  • May 18, 2026

    Israeli Logistics Co. Rejects €1.6M Hamas Disruption Claim

    An Israeli logistics business has hit back at a €1.6 million ($1.9 million) claim that it failed to mitigate disruption to the installation of warehouse machinery caused by the October 2023 Hamas attack, claiming the technology's supplier was to blame for delays.

  • May 18, 2026

    Nokia Can't Force Acer, Asus To Arbitrate Over Their SEPs

    An appeals court told Nokia on Monday that it cannot compel Acer and Asus to arbitrate over cross-licenses for their own patents in upcoming arbitration over suitable licenses for the Finnish company's essential video-coding technology.

Expert Analysis

  • 1st Appellate Ruling On Digital Terms Sets Tone For Disputes

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    The Court of Appeal's recent ruling in Parker-Grennan v. Camelot, the first appellate decision to consider how online terms and conditions are publicized, provides, in its tone and verdict on incorporation, an invaluable guide for how to approach similar disputes in the digital space, says Eddy Eccles at Covington.

  • Insurance Policy Takeaways From UK Lockdown Loss Ruling

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    An English court's recent decision in Unipolsai v. Covea, determining that insurers' losses from COVID-19 lockdowns were covered by reinsurance, highlights key issues on insurance policy wordings, including how to define a "catastrophe" in the context of the pandemic, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.

  • How Employers Should Respond To Flexible Work Requests

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    U.K. employees will soon have the right to request flexible working arrangements from the first day of employment, including for religious observances, and refusing them without objective justification could expose employers to indirect discrimination claims and hurt companies’ diversity and inclusion efforts, says Jim Moore at Hamilton Nash.

  • What COVID Payout Ruling Means For Lockdown Loss Claims

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    While the High Court's recent COVID-19 payout decision in Gatwick v. Liberty Mutual, holding that pandemic-related regulations trigger prevention of access clauses, will likely lead to insurers accepting more business interruption claims, there are still evidentiary challenges and issues regarding policy limits and furlough, say Josianne El Antoury and Greg Lascelles at Covington.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • Opinion

    PACCAR Should Be 1st Step To Regulating Litigation Funders

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    Rather than reversing the U.K. Supreme Court's well-reasoned judgment in PACCAR v. Competition Appeal Tribunal, imposing a regulatory regime on litigation funders in parity with that of lawyers, legislators should build upon it to create a more transparent, competitive and fairer funding industry, says Rosa Curling at Foxglove.

  • Patent Plausibility Uncertainty Persists, EPO Petition Shows

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    While a recent petition for review at the European Patent Office — maintaining that the Board of Appeal misapplied the Enlarged Board of Appeal's order on whether a patent is "plausible" — highlights the continued uncertainty surrounding the plausibility concept, the outcome could provide useful guidance on the interpretation of orders, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • In Int'l Arbitration Agreements, Be Clear About Governing Law

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    A trilogy of recent cases in the English High Court and Court of Appeal highlight the importance of parties agreeing to explicit choice of law language at the outset of an arbitration agreement in order to avoid costly legal skirmishes down the road, say lawyers at Faegre Drinker.

  • Risks The Judiciary Needs To Be Aware Of When Using AI

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    Recently published judiciary service guidance aims to temper reliance on AI by court staff in their work, and with ever-increasing and evolving technology, such tools should be used for supplementary assistance rather than as a replacement for already existing judicial research tools, says Philip Sewell at Shepherd & Wedderburn.

  • Post Office Scandal Stresses Key Directors Duties Lessons

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    The Post Office scandal, involving hundreds of wrongful convictions of subpostmasters based on an IT failure, offers lessons for company directors on the magnitude of the impact that a failure to fulfill their duties can have on employees and the company, says Simon Goldberg at Simons Muirhead.

  • Employer Tips For Handling Data Subject Access Requests

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    As employers face numerous employee data-subject access requests — and the attendant risks of complaints to the Information Commissioner's Office — issues such as managing deadlines and sifting through data make compliance more difficult, highlighting the importance of efficient internal processes and clear communication when responding to a request, say Gwynneth Tan and Amy Leech at Shoosmiths.

  • Top Court Hire Car Ruling Affects 3rd-Party Negligence Cases

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent decision in Armstead v. Royal & Sun Alliance, finding that an insurer was responsible for lost car rental income after an accident, has significant implications for arguing economic loss and determining burden of proof in third-party negligence cases that trigger contractual liabilities, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • Bribery Class Action Ruling May Revive Bifurcated Processes

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    The Court of Appeal's recent decision allowing the representative bribery action in Commission Recovery v. Marks & Clerk offers renewed hope for claimants to advance class claims using a bifurcated process amid its general absence as of late, say Jon Gale and Justin Browne at Ashurst.

  • Ocado Appeal Outcome Will Gauge UPC Transparency

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    As the sole Unified Patent Court case concerning third-party requests for court records, the forthcoming appeal decision in Ocado v. Autostore will hopefully set out a clear and consistent way to handle reasoned requests, as access to nonconfidential documents will surely lead to more efficient conduct of proceedings, says Tom Brazier at EIP.

  • The Good, The Bad And The New Of The UK Sanctions Regime

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    Almost six years after the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act was introduced, the U.K. government has published a strategy paper that outlines its focus points and unveils potential changes to the regime, such as a new humanitarian exception for financial sanctions, highlighting the rapid transformation of the U.K. sanctions landscape, says Josef Rybacki at WilmerHale.

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