Commercial Litigation UK

  • July 03, 2025

    Ex-CFO Claims Toy Maker Gave Court Forged Evidence

    The former finance director of a toy manufacturer has alleged that the company handed a court forged evidence in an "ambush" tactic that fraudulently secured a judgment striking out his breach of employment contract and data protection claims against the employer.

  • July 03, 2025

    Ex-Perfume Boss Can't Ax Claim Over Russia Sales

    A London judge refused Thursday to throw out a claim that accused the former boss of a luxury perfume group of damaging the reputation of his business after he admitted to exporting high-value products to Russia.

  • July 03, 2025

    CPS Nixes Claim From Law Grad Turned Serial Litigant

    A tribunal has thrown out a discrimination claim against the Crown Prosecution Service brought by a law graduate whose persistent legal action recently led a London judge to ban him from making further claims.

  • July 03, 2025

    Top Court To Hear Appeal In COVID Insurance Furlough Case

    The U.K. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal in a controversial case in which insurers effectively pocketed state subsidies intended for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • July 03, 2025

    London Law Firm To Pay Ex-Staffer £64K In Lost Earnings

    A London employment tribunal has ordered Linkilaw to pay its former senior solicitor almost £64,000 ($87,500) after the firm failed to pay her wages and other compensation.

  • July 02, 2025

    FisherBroyles Grows London Footprint With New Lawyer Hire

    FisherBroyles LLP said it has grown its presence in London with the addition of a transactional and disputes lawyer who has a cross-border background in advising clients on energy, infrastructure and commercial matters around Europe, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

  • July 02, 2025

    Accord Asks Appellate Judges To Nix Rival's Cancer Patent

    Lawyers for Accord Healthcare urged the Court of Appeal at a hearing on Wednesday to nix remaining protections for blockbuster prostate cancer therapeutic Xtandi, saying the prior judge should not have considered the context outside a poster displaying the compound when determining whether the patent was obvious.

  • July 02, 2025

    UK Investor Sues Accounting Firm Over £633K Tax Bill

    A U.K. investor accused an accounting firm of giving negligent tax planning advice and keeping him in the dark about correspondence with HM Revenue & Customs, which ultimately assessed nearly £633,000 ($863,000) in liabilities, according to a claim filed with the High Court.

  • July 02, 2025

    Spanish Luxury Wine Co. Can't Nix German Rival's 'Vitae' TM

    A European Union court rejected a bid by a Spanish winery to get hold of the trademark "Vitae" over wines, ruling Wednesday that a German rival was still using the decades-old mark to sell the alcoholic drinks.

  • July 02, 2025

    Oil Biz Seeks To Toss Ex-Directors' Sanctions Breach Defense

    A Singaporean oil company urged a judge Wednesday to throw out allegations that it breached U.S. sanctions on Iran made by its alleged former chief executive, whom it has accused of embezzling €143.8 million ($169.2 million).

  • July 02, 2025

    Uber Fights To Overturn Taxi Contract Ruling At Top Court

    Uber told the U.K. Supreme Court Wednesday that private hire vehicle operators outside London needed to contract with passengers to provide a taxi service, in a case with wide implications for the agency model.

  • July 02, 2025

    Hotel Operator Says Ex-Director Stole £800K After Fire Payout

    A hotel operator has alleged that its former director gained unauthorized access to its bank account three years after his resignation and stole almost £800,000 ($1.1 million) after an insurance payout for a fire that destroyed the building.

  • July 02, 2025

    Ex-UBS CFO Wins £112M Divorce Fight At UK Supreme Court

    Britain's highest court rejected an attempt on Wednesday by the former wife of a UBS banker to get an equal split of their £112 million ($152 million) family wealth, in a ruling that clarified how assets should be considered matrimonial.

  • July 02, 2025

    DPD Franchisee Can't Revive Worker Status Claims

    An appellate tribunal has rejected a claim from a franchisee that the landmark Uber decision made him a worker or employee at the parcel delivery company DPD, because he was never expected to personally deliver mail when he hired a van from them.

  • July 02, 2025

    Paralegal Wins £46K After Quitting To Avoid SRA Rules Breach

    A paralegal has won more than £45,000 ($61,000) after a tribunal ruled he was unfairly dismissed by a London law firm, following months in which he felt pressured to work under the supervision of a solicitor banned by the profession's regulator.

  • July 02, 2025

    Elizabeth Arden Broke Britney Perfume Deal, Distributor Says

    A perfume distributor has denied Elizabeth Arden's £7.1 million ($9.7 million) claim for unpaid bulk purchases of Britney Spears' fragrances, arguing that anything claimed should be set off by the distributor's lost profits after the U.S. giant started selling to other companies in breach of a supply deal.

  • July 01, 2025

    Energy Cos. Say Italy Can't Escape $23M In Awards

    Three companies looking to enforce $23 million in arbitral awards against Italy in D.C. federal court over revoked renewable energy incentives have opposed the country's new argument saying it has not waived its sovereign immunity since the underlying awards have been set aside.

  • July 01, 2025

    Creditors Accuse Shipping Biz Of Trying To Evade $309M Debt

    The Norwegian government and three finance companies have sued two Guernsey-based companies and a shipping businessman in a London court, accusing them of fraudulently transferring real estate assets to evade liability for loan defaults.

  • July 01, 2025

    Trusts' Mauritius Share Sales Taxable In UK, Court Holds

    HM Revenue & Customs was right to assess share sales by a group of Mauritius-based U.K. trusts for capital gains tax because the sale decisions were made in Britain, a London court held Tuesday.

  • July 01, 2025

    Bank Of Ireland Denies £60M Property Loan Fraud Claim

    Bank of Ireland has denied a £60 million ($83 million) claim that it deceived a real estate investment business into borrowing millions of pounds by giving inflated property evaluations and said the borrower would have taken out the loan anyway because it was such a generous financial package.

  • July 01, 2025

    HMRC Can Collect Tax In Disputed Avoidance Schemes

    A London court ruled that HM Revenue & Customs can collect disputed income tax owed by a group of companies that took part in tax avoidance schemes, even though the authority previously promised to postpone the requests until the disputes were settled.

  • July 01, 2025

    Vape Co. Loses Appeal To Block Rival's 'Crystal Bar' UK TM

    A London court has refused a Chinese vape company's latest attempt to block a rival's "Crystal Bar" trademark bid, ruling Tuesday that the Shenzhen-based outfit held no goodwill in the brand dating from before its opponent's application.

  • July 01, 2025

    Kevin Spacey Sued Over Alleged Sexual Assault At Old Vic

    Kevin Spacey is facing fresh legal scrutiny after British actor Ruari Cannon accused the Oscar-winning performer of sexually assaulting him in 2013 during a production at London's Old Vic Theatre.

  • July 01, 2025

    Barclays Car Finance Appeal Must Wait For Top Court Ruling

    Barclays' bid to overturn a ruling by the Financial Ombudsman on motor finance commissions was delayed on Tuesday, as the Court of Appeal adjourned the case to await a high-stakes judgment from the U.K. Supreme Court.

  • July 01, 2025

    Petrofac Suffers Blow As Creditors Block $355M Rescue Plan

    Samsung and an Italian oilfield services company have won their challenge to a $355 million restructuring plan for Petrofac, as a London appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the benefits of the plan had not been shown to be fair to all creditors.

Expert Analysis

  • High Court Ruling Sheds Light On Targets For Judicial Review

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    The High Court's recent dismissal of iDealing.com's judicial review application for service complaint decisions by the Financial Ombudsman Service highlights the difficulty of distinguishing what decisions are amenable to judicial review, demonstrating that those made by statutory bodies may not always be genuine targets, say Alexander Fawke, Tara Janus and Bam Thomas at Linklaters.

  • Appeal Ruling Clarifies 3rd-Party Contract Breach Liability

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    The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Northamber v. Genee World serves as a warning to parties that they may be held liable for inducing another party to breach a contract, even if that party was a willing participant, say Neil Blake, Maura McIntosh and Jennifer O'Brien at HSL.

  • CPR Proposal Affirms The Emphasis On Early Mediation

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    While the recent proposal to incorporate mandatory alternative dispute resolution into the Civil Procedure Rules following a 2023 appeal decision would not lead to seismic change, given current practice, it signals a shift in how litigation should be pursued toward out-of-court solutions, say Heather Welham and Cyra Roshan at Foot Anstey.

  • How Law Firms Can Handle Challenges Of Mass Claims

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    With a wave of volume litigation possibly about to hit the U.K. courts, firms developing mass claim practices should ensure they heed the Solicitors Regulation Authority's May warning and adopt strategies to ensure regulatory compliance and fair client representation, says Claire Van der Zant at Shieldpay.

  • Potential EPO Reproducibility Ruling May Affect IP Strategies

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    A potential European Patent Office decision in referral G1/23, concerning the reproducibility criteria for patenting commercial products, may affect how disclosures are assessed as prior art and could influence how companies weigh protecting innovations as trade secrets versus patents, says Michael Stott at Mathys & Squire.

  • Insurance Ruling Stresses High Hurdle To Fix Policy Wording

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    In Project Angel v. Axis, the Court of Appeal recently refused to rewrite the exclusion clause of an insurance policy, reminding parties in the warranty and indemnity market to carefully word clauses, as there is a high threshold before courts will intervene to amend policies, say Joseph Moore and Laura McCann at Travers Smith.

  • Taking Stock Of Changes UK Economic Crime Act Will Bring

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    With more than six months since the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act's enactment, it is time to look at the steps organizations can take to prepare for imminent changes, including the new failure to prevent fraud offense and extensions to Companies House authority, say lawyers at Mayer Brown.

  • Sanctions Ruling Opens Door For Enforcer To Clear Up Rules

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    In Vneshprombank v. Bedzhamov, the High Court recently argued against a broader interpretation of the test on reasonable suspicion for asset freezes, offering the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation an opportunity to clarify when freezes should be applied and respond to judicial criticism of its guidance on financial sanctions, says Tasha Benkhadra at Corker Binning.

  • How Gov't Response Addresses Investment Act Concerns

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    The government’s recently published response to a call for evidence on the National Security and Investment Act is largely appropriate to stakeholder concerns raised and demonstrates in its five areas of focus that it is willing to respond to live issues, say lawyers at Watson Farley.

  • UPC Appeal Ruling Clarifies Language Change Framework

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    In 10x Genomics v. Curio Bioscience, the Unified Patent Court recently allowed proceedings to be conducted in English, rather than German, shedding light on the framework on UPC language change applications and hopefully helping prevent future disputes, say Conor McLaughlin and Nina O'Sullivan at Mishcon de Reya.

  • How Generative AI Can Enhance Disclosure Review Processes

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    As recent developments show that implementing artificial intelligence in legal processes remains a critical challenge, the disclosure process — one of the most document-intensive legal exercises — presents itself as a prime use-case, illustrating how generative AI can supplement traditional technology-assisted review, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • Decoding Arbitral Disputes: The Benefits Of Non-EU Venues

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    In Spain v. Triodos, a Swedish appeal court recently annulled an intra-EU investment treaty award, reinforcing a growing trend in the bloc against enforcing such awards, and highlighting the advantages of initiating enforcement proceedings in common law jurisdictions, such as the U.K., says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn Square.

  • Experian Ruling Helps Cos. Navigate GDPR Transparency

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    In Information Commissioner v. Experian, the Upper Tribunal recently reaffirmed the lawfulness of the company's marketing practices, providing guidance that will assist organizations in complying with the GDPR’s transparency obligations, say lawyers at Jenner & Block.

  • Salvaging The Investor-State Arbitration System's Legitimacy

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    Recent developments in Europe and Ecuador highlight the vulnerability of the investor-state arbitration framework, but arbitrators can avert a crisis by relying on a poorly understood doctrine of fairness and equity, rather than law, to resolve the disputes before them, says Phillip Euell at Diaz Reus.

  • UK Trademark Law May Further Diverge From EU Standards

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    The recently enacted Retained EU Law Act, which removes the principle of EU law supremacy, offers a path for U.K. trademark law to distance itself even further from EU precedent — beyond the existing differences between the two trademark examination processes, say David Kemp and Michael Shaw at Marks & Clerk.

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