Commercial Litigation UK

  • June 30, 2025

    UK Supreme Court Denies Russia Immunity In $63B Yukos Case

    Russia has been denied permission to challenge an appellate court ruling in Britain dismissing its attempt to use state immunity to block former investors in Yukos Oil Co. from enforcing more than $63 billion in arbitral awards they won nearly 11 years ago, the investors said Monday.

  • June 30, 2025

    HMRC Investigated Avoidance Scheme Enough, Court Rules

    HM Revenue & Customs didn't need to investigate further before determining that nearly 50 consultants owed taxes on income routed through offshore entities on the Isle of Man, the High Court of Justice said in declining to review the British tax authority's decision.

  • June 30, 2025

    Co-Op Workers' Risk Of Abuse Relevant To Equal Pay Claim

    A group of U.K. retail workers notched a victory in their equal pay claim against Co-Op after an employment tribunal ruled that the physical demands of their jobs and the risk of violence should be considered when comparing their duties to those of warehouse operatives.

  • June 30, 2025

    Software Startup Says Ideagen Trademark Use Not Deceptive

    A software startup founded by the former directors of a company acquired by Ideagen has hit back at claims it lured customers away through deception, telling a court that it has every right to compete with Ideagen.

  • June 30, 2025

    Class Rep Can Bid To Revive £800M Water Pollution Case

    An environmental consultant has won permission to challenge a U.K. antitrust court's decision to toss her proposed £800 million ($1.1 billion) class action against several water companies over their alleged failure to report pollution, her lawyers said Monday.

  • June 30, 2025

    Indian Co. Accuses UK Wholesaler Of Damaging Flour Brand

    Indian conglomerate ITC has accused a British wholesaler of infringing its trademarks over "Aashirvaad" wheat flour, telling a London court that the company has imported goods intended only for India into the U.K.

  • June 30, 2025

    Rights Group Loses Bid To Halt UK F-35 Parts Sales To Israel

    A Palestinian human rights organization lost its bid on Monday to force the U.K. government to suspend all arms export licenses to Israel, with a court ruling that an exclusion for parts for F-35 fighter jets was not unlawful.

  • June 30, 2025

    Judge Scolds Rep For Using Slang 'Karen' In Bias Case

    A tribunal has criticized a support worker's friend and representative for using the derogatory term "Karen" to describe the way management treated her at a mental health charity while helping the former employee in her unsuccessful discrimination claim.

  • June 30, 2025

    Fired Legal Chief Stops Cosmetic Pharma From Seizing Docs

    A London court has overturned an order that required a sacked chief legal officer to hand over documents which allegedly expose her "sham" redundancy from a cosmetic pharmaceutical company.

  • June 30, 2025

    Argentina Claims Sovereign Immunity In $16B Oil Biz Dispute

    Argentina argued on Monday that a group of minority shareholders of nationalized oil company YPF SA cannot enforce a $16 billion New York judgment in England because the ruling is on the country's sovereign actions.

  • June 30, 2025

    UK Fights To Cut Unions' Claims Over EU Copyright Law Breach

    The government urged a judge on Monday to toss most of a legal claim brought by two U.S. trade unions and fund trustees for not properly instituting European Union copyright laws, arguing that the unions did not have standing to bring their claims.

  • June 30, 2025

    Ex-Stobart Boss Loses Latest Conspiracy Case Over Sacking

    Stobart Group's former chief executive has lost his latest battle to prove an alleged conspiracy to remove him as chair of the logistics company, as a judge ruled that his case against some of its shareholders was an unlawful attempt to re-open earlier claims.

  • June 30, 2025

    Japanese Chemicals Biz Takes Aim At Rival's Patents In UK

    A subsidiary of Japanese chemicals firm Kuraray has asked a London court to strip a rival of three patents linked to laminated glass for a head-up display, arguing that the patents are all invalid.

  • June 27, 2025

    UK Tribunal Says Visa, Mastercard Fees Infringe Antitrust Law

    A U.K. tribunal issued a judgment Friday siding with merchants seeking damages from Visa and Mastercard for claims they were charged excessively high transaction fees, finding the interchange fees merchants pay to banks violate competition law.

  • June 27, 2025

    How Staley's Legal Bid To Save His Reputation Backfired

    Former Barclays boss James "Jes" Staley's bid to salvage his reputation has backfired in the face of a London tribunal's findings he "lacked credibility" due to the "overwhelming" evidence of his close relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

  • June 27, 2025

    Biotech Co. Beats 'Bad Leaver' Ex-CEO's Claim Over Ouster

    An employment tribunal has refused to reconsider a former chief executive's claims that a biotech startup fired him for blowing the whistle on poor company strategies, ruling that his new evidence still didn't prove he was punished. 

  • June 27, 2025

    Law Firm Fails To Ax Vanquis Bank's £4.5M Complaints Case

    A London judge has refused to throw out Vanquis Bank's £4.5 million ($6.1 million) claim against a law firm it alleges inundated it with thousands of meritless complaints over loans, ruling that although the facts underpinning the claim were "novel," it was based on "well-established" principles.

  • June 27, 2025

    UK Joins Arbitration Appeals Alternative Amid WTO Paralysis

    The U.K. has officially joined a World Trade Organization-led contingency plan designed to keep the door open for appeals in international trade disputes, despite the continued dormancy of the WTO Appellate Body.

  • June 27, 2025

    Loft Supplier Denies Copying Rival's 'Loft Leg' Design

    A supplier of loft equipment has denied infringing a rival's designs for a structural support pillar, telling a London court that its own variation gives a different overall impression to consumers.

  • June 27, 2025

    SRA Requests Post Office Files In Horizon IT Scandal Probe

    The English solicitors' watchdog has asked a London court to compel the Post Office to hand over documents to the regulator's investigation into lawyers who worked for the company, following the Horizon IT scandal. 

  • June 27, 2025

    Train Operator To Pay £75K After Failing To Rehire Conductor

    A former West Midlands Trains conductor has won more than £75,000 ($103,000) after the rail operator defied a tribunal order to give him his job back, despite a ruling that reinstatement was not only possible but fair and reasonable.

  • June 27, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen the British Basketball Federation sued by members of the men's professional basketball league for alleged competition breaches, songwriter Coco Star file an intellectual property claim against Universal Music Publishing, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority file a claim against the Post Office amid ongoing investigations into law firms linked to the Horizon IT Scandal. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • June 27, 2025

    Aon Denies Ex-Exec's $1.3M Bonus Bid Over Early Exit

    Aon has rejected its former insurance consulting chief's $1.3 million claim for bonus and stock options, arguing that his employment contract ended before the payout date.

  • June 27, 2025

    Tottenham Sues Ineos For £11.2M Over Sponsorship Exit

    Tottenham Hotspur Football Club asked a London court to order Ineos Automotive to pay it almost £11.2 million ($15 million) for dropping out of a five-year sponsorship deal part way through.

  • June 27, 2025

    Joey Barton Defends Aluko's Libel Claims Over Online Posts

    Former professional footballer Joey Barton has hit back at claims that he defamed a Black England women's player turned pundit by alleging that she "cynically sought to exploit her race," telling a London court that the remark was true.

Expert Analysis

  • Clarity Is Central Theme In FCA's Greenwashing Guidance

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    Recent Financial Conduct Authority guidance for complying with the U.K. regulator's anti-greenwashing rule sends an overarching message that sustainability claims must be clear, accurate and capable of being substantiated, say lawyers at Cadwalader.

  • How Clinical Trials Affect Patentability In US And Europe

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    A comparison of recent U.S. and European patent decisions — concerning the effect of disclosures in clinical trials on the patentability of products — offers guidance on good practice for companies dealing with public use issues and prior art documents in these commercially important jurisdictions, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • ECHR Ruling May Pave Path For A UK Climate Damage Tort

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    In light of case law on the interaction between human rights law and common law, the European Court of Human Rights' recent ruling in KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland, finding the country at fault for failures to tackle global warming, could tip the scales toward extending English tort law to cover climate change-related losses, say lawyers at Cleary.

  • Disciplinary Ruling Has Lessons For Lawyers On Social Media

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    A recent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal judgment against a solicitor for online posts deemed antisemitic and offensive highlights the serious sanctions that can stem from conduct on social media and the importance of law firms' efforts to ensure that their employees behave properly, say Liz Pearson and Andrew Pavlovic at CM Murray.

  • The Art Of Corporate Apologies: Crafting An Effective Strategy

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    Public relations challenges often stop companies from apologizing amid alleged wrongdoing, but a recent U.K. government consultation seeks to make this easier, highlighting the importance of corporate apologies and measures to help companies balance the benefits against the potential legal ramifications, says Dina Hudson at Byfield Consultancy.

  • What UK Supreme Court Strike Ruling Means For Employers

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    Although the U.K. Supreme Court recently declared in Mercer v. Secretary of State that part of a trade union rule and employees' human rights were incompatible, the decision will presumably not affect employer engagement with collective bargaining, as most companies are already unlikely to rely on the rule as part of their broader industrial relations strategy, say lawyers at Baker McKenzie.

  • Taking Stock Of The Latest Criminal Court Case Statistics

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    The latest quarterly statistics on the type and volume of cases processed through the criminal court illustrate the severity of the case backlog, highlighting the need for urgent and effective investment in the system, say Ernest Aduwa and Jessica Sarwat at Stokoe Partnership.

  • Hugh Grant Case Raises Questions About Part 36 Offers

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    Actor Hugh Grant's recent decision to settle his privacy suit by accepting a so-called Part 36 offer from News Group — to avoid paying a larger sum in legal costs by proceeding to trial — illustrates how this legal mechanism can be used by parties to force settlements, raising questions about its tactical use and fairness, says Colin Campbell at Kain Knight.

  • Accounting For Climate Change In Flexible Working Requests

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    Although the U.K. government's recent updates to the country's flexible working laws failed to include climate change as a factor for evaluating remote work requests, employers are not prohibited from considering the environmental benefits — or drawbacks — of an employee's request to work remotely, say Jonathan Carr and Gemma Taylor at Lewis Silkin.

  • Opinion

    New Property Category Not Needed To Regulate Digital Assets

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    The U.K. Law Commission's exploration of whether to create a third category of property for digital assets is derived from a misreading of historical case law, and would not be helpful in resolving any questions surrounding digital assets, says Duncan Sheehan at the University of Leeds.

  • Employer Lessons From Red Bull's Misconduct Investigation

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    Red Bull’s recent handling of a high-profile investigation into team principal Christian Horner’s alleged misconduct toward a colleague serves as a reminder of the importance of thorough internal grievance and disciplinary processes, and offers lessons for employers hoping to minimize media attention, say Charlotte Smith and Adam Melling at Walker Morris.

  • Breaking Down The EPO's Revised Practice Guidelines

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    The European Patent Office's updated guidelines for examination recently took effect and include significant changes related to the priority right presumption, the concept of plausibility and artificial intelligence, providing invaluable insight on obtaining patents from the office, say lawyers at Finnegan.

  • Pharma Remains A Key Focus Of EU Antitrust Enforcement

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    The recently published European Commission report on pharmaceutical sector competition law illustrates that effective enforcement of EU rules remains a matter of high priority for EU and national authorities, say lawyers at Dechert.

  • Employment Tribunal Fee Proposal Raises Potential Issues

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    The proposal to reintroduce employment tribunal fees in a recent U.K. government consultation poses serious concerns over the right of access to justice, and will only act as a deterrent for claimants and appellants, says Yulia Fedorenko at CM Murray.

  • ECHR Climate Rulings Hint At Direction Of Future Cases

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    Three recent climate rulings from the European Court of Human Rights show the court's tendency toward a more formalistic, hands-off approach to procedural issues but a more hands-on approach to the application of the European Convention on Human Rights, setting the first guiding principles for key issues in EU climate cases, say Stefanie Spancken-Monz and Leane Meyer at Freshfields.

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