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Commercial Litigation UK
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June 11, 2024
Serco Denies Directors Knew Of Fraud In Securities Trial
Serco Group PLC denied investors are entitled to compensation over a fraud that caused the outsourcing giant's share price to nosedive, arguing on the second day of a London trial Tuesday that none of its directors had known about the alleged wrongdoing.
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June 11, 2024
Tesco Loses Race Bias Claim Over Vibrator Joke Gift
Tesco discriminated against a British Pakistani manager by rushing through a misconduct investigation after the manager gave a vibrator as a secret Santa gift and other allegedly harassing incidents, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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June 11, 2024
Widow Who Signed Docs 'Without Reading' Still Owes $64M
A London appellate court has ruled that a former Hong Kong resident can't escape a personal guarantee to pay 500 million Hong Kong dollars ($64 million) to cover bonds issued by her husband's company, in part because she entered the contract for business purposes.
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June 18, 2024
Fieldfisher Hires Linklaters RE Pro To Open Brussels Practice
Fieldfisher LLP has hired a real estate specialist from Linklaters LLP to launch a new practice in Belgium as it ramps up its services to clients in transactional matters and litigation.
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June 11, 2024
Royal Mail Accused Of Monopoly In Address Database Dispute
A software developer has hit back at Royal Mail's copyright infringement claim, accusing the postal service of holding a monopoly over the market for address searching software in the U.K.
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June 11, 2024
NHS Board Discriminated Against 'Antivaxxer' Sonographer
A National Health Service board harassed a sonographer and discriminated against her after her inability to wear a face mask during the COVID pandemic led bosses to label her an "antivaxxer," a tribunal has ruled.
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June 11, 2024
LC&F Administrators Attack Ex-Boss' Credibility In Ponzi Case
The administrators of London Capital & Finance PLC have criticized the company's former head as a "thoroughly unreliable witness" as they closed their case that he and others operated the business as a £237 million ($302 million) Ponzi scheme.
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June 11, 2024
BHS Directors To Pay Liquidators £18M For Wrongful Trading
A London judge ordered two former directors of failed retail chain BHS on Tuesday to pay liquidators at least £18 million ($23 million) after finding that they knew that the company was beyond rescue when it was purchased in 2015.
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June 11, 2024
IBM Worker Off Sick For 10 Years Loses Pay-Rise Appeal
A disabled IBM worker has lost his appeal in a claim that he was entitled to a pay rise because he remained employed by the global technology company during his decade-long medical retirement, an appellate tribunal has ruled.
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June 10, 2024
University, Astellas Fight To Keep Prostate Cancer Patent
The University of California's governing board clashed with three generic-drug makers trying to revoke the institution's patent for a prostate cancer drug in a London court Monday, arguing that the institution's patent should be ruled to be innovative and not obvious.
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June 10, 2024
InterDigital Says Court Lowballed Lenovo FRAND Rate
Counsel for InterDigital told a London appeals court Monday that a trial judge failed to adjust for "heavy discounts" on past sales when determining a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing rate for Lenovo to pay for a suite of its essential wireless technology patents.
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June 10, 2024
Outsourcer Gets Partial Win In Worker COVID Leave Appeal
A civil enforcement outsourcer got a second shot at defeating claims that it discriminated against a Polish worker by sanctioning him for overstaying his leave during the pandemic, an Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled.
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June 10, 2024
BDO Denies Failing To Help In £18.5M Insurance Broker Sale
Accounting firm BDO LLP has rejected an insurance broker's claims that it is not entitled to payment for merger and acquisition advice because it failed to propose or introduce the buyer that eventually purchased the broker for £18.5 million ($23.6 million).
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June 10, 2024
Union Federation Botched Worker Investigation, Tribunal Says
A tribunal has upheld the unfair dismissal claims of two trade unionists who were accused of misconduct, ruling there was not enough evidence against the pair in light of their employer's poor investigation against them.
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June 10, 2024
Serco Accused Of Playing Around With Books As Trial Opens
Institutional investors told a London court Monday that Serco had "played around" with its financial reporting to keeping the government from clocking fraud in its contract for electronic tagging services as a landmark securities trial kicked off.
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June 10, 2024
Disney Dodges Child Actor's Late Discrimination Claim
Disney avoided facing a child actor's discrimination case after a tribunal ruled that there was no good explanation for her mother waiting 10 months after the deadline to submit the claim on her behalf.
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June 10, 2024
PwC Accused Of Negligent Advice As $800M BAT Trial Opens
Bad advice given by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to a company embroiled in an expensive environmental cleanup caused it to lose "hundreds of millions of euros," a subsidiary of British American Tobacco said at the opening of an $800million negligence trial on Monday.
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June 10, 2024
Amazon Sold Facial Tech To Russia, Ex-Employee Alleges
A former Amazon worker has alleged that the technology giant sold facial recognition software to a Russian company in violation of U.K. sanctions.
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June 10, 2024
Abraaj Group Hits Back In Fight Over $37M Debt
Abraaj Group has hit back at a claim by a UAE bank that it owns $37 million of debt that the now-defunct private equity giant is trying to recover from a troubled investment project in a Pakistani electricity supplier.
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June 07, 2024
Derains & Gharavi Hires Int'l Arbitration Counsel In Paris
Derains & Gharavi, a law firm in Paris that focuses on resolving international disputes via arbitral proceedings, has hired a lawyer who previously worked within the litigation and arbitration team at Bredin Prat SAS.
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June 07, 2024
Merchants Get OK For Visa, Mastercard Fees Suit On 2nd Try
A group of merchants got a tentative go-ahead Friday to bring a collective action accusing Visa and Mastercard of unfairly imposing interchange fees on retailers after revising weaknesses in the initial proposal at the U.K.'s specialist antitrust court.
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June 07, 2024
Crypto Developers Fight To Gag Wright After 'Satoshi' Trial
A group of cryptocurrency asset developers urged a London judge on Friday to order Australian computer scientist Craig Wright to never again assert that he is the pseudonymous inventor of bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto, arguing it was the best way to end his "campaign of dishonesty."
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June 07, 2024
Green Energy Developer Demands Investors Cough Up £2M
A renewable energy developer has alleged two investors owe it an estimated £2 million ($2.5 million) for agreeing to fund solar farm projects when they lacked the money to back them.
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June 07, 2024
Police Officers Win Case For Rest Breaks While On Standby
Humberside police officers won their claim that time on standby counts as working time, entitling them to take daily rest breaks that were previously refused, an employment tribunal has ruled.
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June 07, 2024
Axed Telecom CEO Loses Early Battle In Whistleblower Suit
A former interim chief executive officer at a telecom company has failed for now to get her job back, with a tribunal saying it was unconvinced by her early-stage claim that she was unfairly dismissed for calling out allegedly unlawful business proposals that would breach agreements with HSBC.
Expert Analysis
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UK Tribunal Ruling Sheds Light On Workplace Speech Issues
The U.K. Employment Appeal Tribunal's recent judgment in Higgs v. Farmor's School — concerning a Christian employee dismissed for allegedly anti-LGBT social media posts — highlights factors that employers should consider in tricky situations involving employees' speech, says Anna Bond at Lewis Silkin.
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Leading THC Case Lends Support To UK Legalization Debates
Even though the Court of Appeal's ruling in R v. Margiotta on legally importing and supplying low THC cannabis cannot be relied on post-Brexit, it provides powerful arguments for the legalization of supply in low THC cannabis, including the fact the product is not considered a narcotic drug, say Robert Jappie at Fieldfisher and Josh Normanton at Trinity Chambers.
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Employment Tribunal Data Offers Workplace Practice Insights
A breakdown of the Ministry of Justice's recent Employment Tribunal figures shows shifting trends among employees, and potential challenges and possible improvement areas for employers, and if the data continues to be published, it could play an essential part in clearing the fast-growing backlog of tribunal matters, says Gemma Clark at Wright Hassall.
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Unpacking The Rwanda Policy Appeal Decision
The Court of Appeal recently declared the U.K. government's Rwanda policy unlawful in AAA v. Secretary of State, but given that this was only on the basis that Rwanda is not currently a safe third country, it is possible that the real risk of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights breaches will be obviated, says Alex Papasotiriou at Richmond Chambers.
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Getty Case Will Be Pivotal For Generative AI Copyright Issues
The Getty v. Stability AI litigation in the U.K. and U.S. raises legal ambiguities on who owns generative artificial intelligence output, and the outcomes will set a major precedent on copyright practices for businesses in both countries and beyond, say Victoria Albrecht at Springbok AI and Mark O'Conor at DLA Piper.
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ESG Litigation May Move Toward Untrue Statement Claims
As the environmental, social and governance agenda has gained significant momentum, and more activists and investors hold businesses accountable to their commitments, the Financial Services and Markets Act provides a legal vehicle for shareholders to exert pressure on listed companies, say Rupert Lewis and Ceri Morgan at Herbert Smith.
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What The Collective Interests Bill May Mean For Irish Litigation
As multinational corporations continue to increase their presence in Ireland, the forthcoming Collective Interests of Consumers Bill is expected to significantly alter the Irish litigation landscape and provide fertile ground for consumer-led group actions, backed by a gradual edging toward wider third-party litigation funding reform, say lawyers at Kennedys.
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Successfully Implementing AI Rules Requires A Cultural Shift
Recent positive use cases of artificial intelligence demonstrate the potential benefits it can bring to the legal profession, and while the development of AI rules is essential, their effectiveness depends on user adoption, behavioral change and human acceptance, say Charlie Morgan and Salman Dhalla at Herbert Smith.
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Recent Cases Mark Maturation Of CAT Class Cert. Approach
The Competition Appeal Tribunal's recent refusal to grant collective proceedings applications against Visa and MasterCard in the Commercial and Interregional Card Claims case shows that the tribunal takes its role as a gatekeeper seriously, and that it will likely continue to be difficult for defendants to defeat certification first time around, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Why The UK Needs Tougher Fraud Enforcement
The Crown Court's recent conviction of Anthony Constantinou for running a Ponzi scheme is a rare success for prosecutors, highlighting the legal system's painfully slow course when it comes to complex fraud, and the need for significant funds and resources in the fight against financial crime, says James Clark at Quillon Law.
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Global M&A Outlook: Slow But Moving Along
Global merger and acquisition markets had a tough start to the year, with inflation, rising interest rates and the Ukraine conflict knocking sentiment, but in the macroeconomic, deal makers have continued to unearth pockets of activity to keep deal volumes ticking over, say lawyers at White & Case.
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Emmentaler Case Elucidates Recipe For EU Food Trademarks
In light of the EU General Court recently rejecting the Emmentaler cheese trademark application for lacking distinctive character and not meeting the geographical indication requirements, producers must ensure to protect their trade names before they become commercially generic, says Lars Karnoe at Potter Clarkson.
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Why Int'l Investors Should Keep An Eye On German M&A Regs
While German reform proposals will digitize corporate law formalities that have long been immune to change, international limitations remain, particularly for countries outside the European Union, as Germany moves to tighten regulatory hurdles to control inbound investment, say Marcus Geiss and Sonja Ruttmann at Gibson Dunn.
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Mass EU Privacy Litigation May Be Imminent After GDPR Case
While the EU Court of Justice decision in Österreichische Post, clarifying that personal data infringements under the General Data Protection Regulation must be effectively compensated, has not yet opened the floodgates for data breach litigation, it has definitely encouraged individuals to pursue damage claims, says Jan Spittka at Clyde & Co.
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What Google Case Means For Privacy Class Action Litigation
While the recent High Court decision in Prismall v. Google UK and DeepMind highlights the high bar for bringing collective actions on an opt-out basis and the difficulties of relying on the tort in misuse of private information, it is not impossible as long as the case is right, says Kingsley Hayes at Keller Postman.