Commercial Litigation UK

  • September 18, 2024

    Qualcomm Gets Predatory Pricing Fine Trimmed To €239M

    A European Union court has pared back the penalty handed to Qualcomm for abusing its dominance by selling 3G baseband chipsets below cost, trimming it on Wednesday from €242 million ($266 million) to €238.7 million after finding that enforcers had not properly applied their own fining guidelines.

  • September 18, 2024

    Google Gets €1.49B Antitrust Fine Tossed In AdSense Case

    A European Union court on Wednesday annulled a €1.49 billion ($1.65 billion) fine against Google for abusing its dominance in markets for brokering online search advertising, saying the bloc's competition enforcer had not adequately weighed how long the contracts had been in place.

  • September 17, 2024

    Cos. Risk Offside Call On Contractor Tax After HMRC Win

    The U.K. Supreme Court's decision Monday that Premier League referees count as employees for tax purposes means many companies may have to reassess their arrangements with contractors or risk higher tax costs in the future, tax experts say.

  • September 17, 2024

    Ex-Plexus Lawyer Suspended For Misleading Client, Insurer

    A former solicitor at Plexus Legal LLP, the now-defunct law firm, has been suspended after she filed a misleading witness statement at court and failed to disclose that a defense and counterclaim had been struck out, a London tribunal has ruled.

  • September 17, 2024

    BBC Backs Public Interest Value Of Tory Donor Bribery Claims

    The BBC has defended itself against a defamation claim from Mohamed Amersi, arguing that statements it made about the telecoms magnate and Conservative Party donor's connection to potentially corrupt deals were substantially true and in the public interest.

  • September 17, 2024

    Investors' Losses Were Caused By Own Failures, Firm Says

    A Liverpool-based law firm has denied claims it was negligent when advising investors on a real estate investment deal alleged to be a Ponzi scheme, arguing that investors' losses were caused by their failure to follow legal advice.

  • September 17, 2024

    School To Pay Math Teacher £850K Over Baseless Firing

    A Catholic secondary school has agreed to pay £850,000 ($1.2 million) in a settlement to its former head of math, after a tribunal ruled the school fired him for refusing to take up a less senior position.

  • September 17, 2024

    Crypto-Scam Victim's Loss Hands Tracing Lessons To Experts

    A recent decision that dismissed a claim brought by a victim of crypto-fraud against an exchange because of flaws in his expert evidence provides a warning for litigators that efforts to trace money will fail unless there is a clear digital trail.

  • September 17, 2024

    Social Worker Wins £56K Over 'Gender-Fluid' Dog Debate

    A social worker sanctioned for expressing "gender critical" views in a discussion about a colleague's dress-wearing "gender-fluid" dog has won £56,000 ($74,000) after her employer conceded it had harassed her.  

  • September 17, 2024

    Drivers Claim Bolt App's 'Full Control' Makes Them Workers

    Drivers for Bolt testified Tuesday that the "full control" exercised by the ride-hailing app over aspects of their job means that they should be classed as workers as they pursue a mass claim against the company at a London employment tribunal. 

  • September 17, 2024

    Crypto-Fraud Victim Sues Lawyers Over 'Valueless Advice'

    An alleged victim of a cryptocurrency fraud has claimed that a specialist investment law firm owes her £635,000 ($839,000) for providing "valueless advice" on how to recover her lost money.

  • September 17, 2024

    BBC Must Face Bias Claims From Disabled Accountant

    The BBC has failed to get a 55-year-old accountant's age and disability discrimination claims axed, as an employment tribunal ruled that she could still prove her case even though she filed it four months late.

  • September 17, 2024

    Lawyer Cleared Of Dishonesty Over Insurance Failure

    A solicitor was cleared of dishonesty on Tuesday after he was accused of lying to his insurer to hide the acquisition by his company of another firm's work and staff after his insurer refused to offer cover for the change.

  • September 17, 2024

    Farrer & Co. Lands Disputes Pro From Volterra Fietta

    Farrer & Co. LLP has recruited a specialist in sovereign and diplomatic disputes from Volterra Fietta, a public international law firm, as it looks to boost its disputes resolution service.

  • September 17, 2024

    EasyGroup Hits Bathroom Retailer For "Easy Bathrooms" TM

    Airline and hotel giant EasyGroup is suing a supplier of bathroom equipment for infringing its trademark by using an "Easy Bathrooms" logo reading, saying the company is unlawfully benefiting from its reputation.

  • September 16, 2024

    Apple Ruling May Embolden EU's Tax Policing, Experts Say

    The European Court of Justice's ruling against Apple and Ireland last week runs contrary to its logic in a 2022 state aid ruling, potentially giving the European Commission a reason to think it can decide tax norms across Europe, tax experts said.

  • September 16, 2024

    Lawyer Barred For Misleading Another Firm About Costs

    A sole practitioner has been banned from the profession after he deliberately gave false information to another law firm about a bill of costs, a London tribunal has ruled.

  • September 16, 2024

    John Lewis Fired COVID-Vulnerable Chef Fairly, Panel Rules

    A disability discrimination claim brought by a chef against a major U.K. department store chain has failed after an English employment tribunal panel ruled that he had been fairly fired after going on sick leave for nine months.

  • September 16, 2024

    NHS To Pay £87K To Clinician Who Quit Due To Low Funding

    A National Health Service trust has agreed to pay more than £87,000 ($114,800) to a psychologist who won her claim that she was forced to quit her job because of a lack of funding and resources for her mental health unit.

  • September 16, 2024

    Solicitor Barred Over Scheme That 'Bore Hallmarks' Of Fraud

    A solicitor has been suspended for 12 months after he admitted to being involved in transactions that "bore hallmarks" of a suspected fraudulent scheme to scam companies by charging advance fees for loan deals that did not materialize.

  • September 16, 2024

    Lawyer Fined For Claiming Mishcon Represented Pinochet

    A high-profile criminal defense lawyer has been fined £6,500 ($8,600) by a disciplinary tribunal for making misleading statements about Mishcon de Reya in an antisemitic broadcast on an Iranian state-owned documentary channel.

  • September 16, 2024

    Burford Capital Adds Chief Development Role In London

    Burford Capital LLC said Monday that it has appointed a legal finance specialist to the newly created role of chief development officer as part of ongoing efforts to expand the legal funder's business in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.

  • September 16, 2024

    Apple App Developers Bid To Go Ahead In £785M Class Action

    A lawyer for a consumer advocate told Britain's antitrust tribunal on Monday that a proposed £785 million ($1 billion) claim by app developers against Apple over payments for commission should be allowed to go ahead as a class action.

  • September 16, 2024

    Market Researcher Denies Infringement In 'HarrisX' TM Fight

    Market researcher Stagwell has hit back against a claim from Toluna Holdings Ltd., denying allegations that it had infringed its competitor's copyright by using the word "Harris" in its logo and hitting back in a counterclaiming accusing Toluna of bringing the case in bad faith.

  • September 16, 2024

    Titanic Shipbuilder Sinks Under Weight Of Debt

    Struggling shipbuilder Harland & Wolff said Monday that it plans to enter into administration and remove its shares from the London Stock Exchange after failing to win a £200 million ($264 million) government loan to help offset money owed to creditors.

Expert Analysis

  • Accountability Is Key To Preventing Miscarriages Of Justice

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    The wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson and other recent cases show that in order to avoid future miscarriages of justice, there needs to be a fundamental reevaluation of how investigators, prosecutors and the Criminal Cases Review Commission operate, prioritizing stronger penalties and increased funding, say Thomas Walford at Expert Evidence International and policy analyst Gerald Frost.

  • UN Code Likely To Promote Good Arbitration Practices

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    The arbitrator code of conduct recently adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law should help reinforce standards of good practice and improve public perception of investor-state dispute settlement, though its effectiveness may be limited by the code's voluntary nature, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • 6 Key Factors For Successful Cross-Border Dispute Mediation

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    The European landscape of cross-border disputes diverges markedly from the U.S. experience and presents unique challenges, including the amalgamation of diverse cultures and legal systems, but there are several practical steps that practitioners can take to effectively navigate the process, says Peter Kamminga at JAMS.

  • EU Ruling Highlights Strategic Benefits Of Patent Appeals

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    The European Patent Office board of appeal recently reversed the examining board's ruling in an application by LG Electronics, highlighting how applicants struggling to escape conflicting objection traps at the examination level can improve their chances of a positive outcome with an appeal, says Andrew Rudhall at Haseltine Lake.

  • UK Tech Cases Warn Of Liability Clause Drafting Pitfalls

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    The recent U.K. High Court cases Drax Energy Solutions v. Wipro and EE v. Virgin Mobile Telecoms indicate a more literal judicial approach to construing limitations of liability, even when this significantly limits a claimant's recoverable damages, highlighting the importance of carefully drafted liability provisions, say Helen Armstrong and Tania Williams at RPC.

  • Series

    In A 'Barbie' World: Boosting IP Value With Publicity Machines

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    Mattel's history of intellectual property monitoring, including its recent challenge against Burberry over the "BRBY" trademark ahead of the "Barbie" film, shows how IP enforcement strategies can be used as publicity to increase brand value and inform potential collaborations, says Carly Duckett at Shepherd and Wedderburn.

  • EU Directive Implementation Facilitates Class Action Shift

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    Lawyers at Faegre Drinker discuss the increase in class and consumer action filings leading up to the implementation of the EU's Collective Redress Directive, and predict that certain aspects of the directive will result in a pro-claimant landscape that may mirror that of the U.S. and other common law countries.

  • Swiss Privacy Law Reforms Present Divergences From GDPR

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    The differences between Switzerland’s recently reformed Federal Act on Data Protection and the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, particularly around data breach reporting and the liability of company officers, will need to be carefully managed by multinationals that may have competing obligations under different laws, say Kim Roberts and Vanessa Alarcon Duvanel at King & Spalding.

  • EU Antitrust Rules Set To Pose Challenges To US Businesses

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    With stark differences between U.S. and European Union antitrust regimes, and potential for the forthcoming EU guidelines to turbocharge the commission's appetite for intervention, it is important that U.S. businesses with activities in the region take note of the reforms, say Andrea Pomana and Sarah Wilks at Mayer Brown.

  • Navigating The Rising Threat Of Greenwashing Enforcement

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    Recent high-profile cases before the Danish Consumer Ombudsman are a signal that authorities are ready to take robust action against greenwashing, and with a likely increase in the stringency of laws and severity of penalties, it is vital that businesses promoting their sustainable credentials do so in a compliant manner, says Lars Karnøe at Potter Clarkson.

  • New Legislation May Not Be Needed For Recovery Of Crypto

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    The recent seizure of cryptocurrency under a civil recovery order raises the issue of whether extended powers under the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill are necessary, with the ability to seize crypto-related items that may be the subject of a search order more likely to be of assistance, says Nicola McKinney at Quillon Law.

  • Opinion

    Russia Ruling Should Lead UK To Review Sanctions Policy

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    The High Court's recent dismissal of the first-ever court challenge to Russian sanctions in Shvidler v. Secretary of State sets a demanding standard for overturning designation decisions, highlighting the need for an independent review of the Russia sanctions regime, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.

  • UPC Revocation Actions Offer An Attractive Patent Strategy

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    As the Unified Patent Court gains momentum after an initial period of nervousness around the recently launched forum, more businesses may be starting to realize the value of running revocation actions as an alternative route to knocking out patents across Europe, say Oliver Laing and Georgia Carr at Potter Clarkson.

  • Pension Plan Amendment Power Lessons From BBC Ruling

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    The High Court's recent ruling in BBC v. BBC Pension Trust upheld an unusually restrictive fetter on the pension scheme's amendment power, which highlights how fetters can vary in degrees of protection and the importance of carefully considering any restriction, says Maxwell Ballad at Freeths.

  • 5 Takeaways For Litigants From Early EU Patent Court Ruling

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    One of the first Unified Patent Court ex parte preliminary injunctions was recently granted in myStromer v. Revolt Zycling, demonstrating the court's ability to decide cases extremely quickly, but parties should be careful in phrasing their motions and sufficiently substantiating them to achieve the desired result, says Antje Brambrink at Finnegan.

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