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Commercial Litigation UK
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June 07, 2024
Ryanair Can't Ground €10B Spanish COVID-19 Fund
Ryanair failed Thursday to convince Europe's top court that a Spanish COVID-19 aid package for struggling companies would distort competition in the European Union's internal market.
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June 07, 2024
Patent Firm Seeks To Ax Claim Over £1.5M Settlement Advice
Patent solicitors Atkinson Wheller Ltd. asked a court Friday to throw out a negligence claim brought on behalf of a former client, because the deed transferring the claim to a law firm was "void and unenforceable."
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June 07, 2024
UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London
The past week in London has seen British broadcaster GB News hit with a libel claim by climate activist Dale Vince, MGM take aim at an immersive events company over intellectual property rights to the James Bond franchise, and law firms Stephenson Harwood and Bowen-Morris & Partners tackle a contracts claim by investment adviser Yieldstreet. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.
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June 07, 2024
Fired NCA Trainee Loses Sex Bias Claim Over Childcare Duty
The National Crime Agency did not discriminate against a former trainee based on his sex by limiting how flexibly he could work in order to look after his two young children, a tribunal has ruled.
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June 07, 2024
Tax Discriminates Against Risky Assets, Dutch Court Says
The Netherlands must compensate investors for a tax on investment income that discriminates against riskier assets by using calculations of fictitious returns, the Dutch Supreme Court said.
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June 07, 2024
Prince Harry Wins Chance To Challenge Security Ruling
Prince Harry has won an opportunity to challenge a ruling by a London judge that the government's decision to downgrade his taxpayer-funded security when he quit his royal duties was not irrational or procedurally unfair, according to a court order published Friday.
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June 14, 2024
Bird & Bird London Arbitration Chief Floats New Solo Practice
The head of international arbitration at Bird & Bird LLP in London has left his job and set up a solo practice in a move to focus on the types of arbitration he enjoys without the shackles of a big firm.
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June 06, 2024
Ex-Autonomy CEO, VP Both Cleared In HP Criminal Fraud Trial
A California federal jury on Thursday acquitted former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch and former finance Vice President Stephen Chamberlain of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges following an 11-week trial over allegations that the two conned HP into overpaying billions for the British tech company.
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June 06, 2024
Post Office Board Missed Clues, Former Chair Tells Inquiry
A former chair of the Post Office Ltd. board told the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal on Thursday that the board did not act on a number of "clues" suggesting that the company was wrongly prosecuting innocent subpostmasters.
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June 06, 2024
Autoliv, ZF Must Share Expert Evidence In €734M Cartel Claim
The Court of Appeal has blocked an attempt from two global technology groups to provide separate expert evidence in a €734 million ($799 million) cartel damages claim, finding no material conflict of interest preventing the co-defendants from relying on one joint expert.
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June 06, 2024
Fired Ikea Worker Loses COVID-19 Harassment Claim
An ex-Ikea employee has lost his case that he was unfairly dismissed and harassed over his opposition to COVID-19 safety measures, as an employment tribunal ruled that his beliefs were not challenged, only his behavior.
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June 06, 2024
Solicitor Wins Worker Status In Unfair Dismissal Claim
An employment judge has ruled that a consultant solicitor working on "flexible terms" for a U.K. law firm counts as a worker, rather than being self-employed, in her unfair dismissal claim against the firm.
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June 06, 2024
Patent Trial Over AstraZeneca Unit Soliris Drug Set For 2025
A London judge Thursday agreed to list a quarrel among three pharmaceutical companies over Alexion's patent for a drug that treats rare blood diseases for trial in early 2025, finding there is "some degree of urgency" to resolve the dispute.
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June 06, 2024
Regeneron Sees Infringement In Rivals' Biosimilar Eye Meds
Regeneron has defended the validity of its U.K. eye medicine patents in a London court amid a feud with a biosimilars specialist and its licensing partner, alleging that their plans to market an alternate version will infringe its exclusive right to produce the drug.
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June 06, 2024
Pharma Co. Should Get Hungarian Rebate, ECJ Adviser Says
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk's mandatory payments into the Hungarian health system should reduce the company's tax base for value-added tax payments, an adviser to the European Union's highest court said Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
Stranded Plane Claims Belong In Ukraine, UK Judge Says
A London judge ruled Thursday that a legal battle between insurers and aircraft lessors over planes that have been stranded in Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion should be heard in Ukraine rather than England.
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June 06, 2024
Imam Wins £20K From Mosque Over Religious Harassment
A mosque in northern England must pay its former Sunni imam £20,000 ($25,570) after a tribunal ruled members of the place of worship accused him of following the beliefs of a rival branch of Islam, which left him with no choice but to quit.
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June 06, 2024
Artist Claims Royalties For Queen's Holographic Portrait
The artist behind a holographic portrait of the queen has fought allegations of copyright infringement, accusing the arts charity that commissioned him of exhibiting some other works for over a decade without paying him.
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June 06, 2024
Rwanda Plan Forces Civil Servants To Break Law, Union Says
Civil servants will be forced to violate international human rights law and their workplace code of conduct if the government requires them to process deportation flights to Rwanda against Strasbourg's rulings, a trade union argued at a London court on Thursday.
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June 06, 2024
HMRC Harassed Protesting Staffer With Relocation Ultimatum
HM Revenue and Customs harassed an employee based on her race by asking her to withdraw a discrimination grievance in return for making her transfer to a new office permanent, a tribunal has ruled.
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June 06, 2024
Retailers Filing £1B Data Misuse Class Action Against Amazon
Retailers said Thursday they are set to file a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) class action against Amazon in London, accusing it of illegally misusing their data to boost its sales and profits.
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June 06, 2024
Labour Drops Antisemitism Report Leak Claim On Ex-Staffers
The Labour Party dropped on Thursday its legal claims against five former employees who it said conspired to leak a damning report on how its internal disciplinary body mishandled allegations of antisemitism and undermined its leader at the time, Jeremy Corbyn.
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June 05, 2024
Saudi Investor Bids To Revive Legal Costs Claim Against RLS
A Saudi Arabian property investor urged a London judge Wednesday to revive his claim against a law firm to recover the costs of investigating and litigating an alleged £35 million ($44.6 million) fraud by a former property business partner that settled mid-trial.
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June 05, 2024
Binance Fights To Ax Crypto Investors' £9B Delisting Claim
The cryptocurrency exchange Binance asked a U.K. tribunal on Wednesday to strike out a £9 billion ($11.5 billion) claim brought by investors who say the exchange illegally colluded with other trading platforms to delist the Bitcoin Satoshi Vision cryptocurrency.
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June 05, 2024
Swiss Bank Escapes Investor's Unlawful Conspiracy Claim
Lombard Odier has partially succeeded in blocking the claims of an investor who says the private bank withheld inside information about the merits of a British nanotech company's U.S. legal dispute with Samsung to convince him to buy shares in the company just before its price tanked.
Expert Analysis
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Meta Fine Offers EU Data Privacy Compliance Warning
The recent record €1.2 billion fine against Meta highlights that all transfers of EU personal data to U.S. companies inherently risk breaching the General Data Protection Regulation, so companies should examine whether privacy compliance is sufficiently built into their business model, says Eddie Powell at Fladgate.
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Failed Libel Claim Shows Need For Political Donation Controls
While the recent High Court decision to throw out a Tory donor's libel claim demonstrates that courts will not hesitate to pull the plug on baseless and resource-draining claims, it also highlights the need for robust checks on political party donations and stronger anti-SLAPP legislation, says Helen Taylor at Spotlight on Corruption.
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Unified Patent Court Advantages Leave US Trailing Behind
Amplifying the shortcomings of litigation in the U.S., including inter partes reviews that significantly threaten the validity of patents, the recently launched Unified Patent Court regime will put further pressure on American legislators and add to Europe's attractiveness as a litigation venue, say lawyers at Sisvel and Franzosi Dal Negro.
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Examining The Effects Of Increased Construction Insolvency
With a significant rise in construction firm insolvencies, proactive monitoring of key counterparties is paramount, and if early warning signs such as failure to pay suppliers or a turnover in key management are triggered, parties should take steps to minimize exposure and potential losses, say lawyers at Reynolds Porter.
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Ensuring Construction Project Insurance Cover Is Adequate
There are a number of ways for practitioners to secure appropriate insurance for a construction project, and it is as important to consider who is covered under the policy as it is the specific terms and obligations, say lawyers at Gowling.
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GDPR Case Sheds Light On Threshold For Individual Damages
The recent EU Court of Justice judgment in Österreichische Post clarified that an individual must suffer damages from an infringement of the General Data Protection Regulation to claim compensation, but the lack of guidance regarding calculation creates further ambiguity for organizations and an opportunity for individuals to forum shop, say lawyers at Van Bael & Bellis.
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What Private Investment Can Bring To Barristers' Chambers
The recent private equity investment in The Barrister Group, believed to be the first at the Bar of England and Wales, demonstrates how an upgrade in chambers' business processes and technology can be achieved, both essential for the future of the profession, says Harry Hodgkin at The Barrister Group.
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The Path Forward For Blockchain Patents In The UK And EU
The U.K. Intellectual Property Office's recent refusal of an IGT patent application highlights that certain blockchain innovations, including those relating to improved security, are more likely to be patentable than others, which is consistent with the overall European approach and available data, says Andrew Rudhall at Haseltine Lake.
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High Court Case Nearly Settles Fixed-Or-Floating-Charge Test
While the High Court recently clarified in the Avanti Communications case that a limited freedom of a charger to deal with permanent assets will not create a floating charge, it does not resolve the differences in opinion between borrowers' and lenders' lawyers about the extent of that freedom, say Paul Denham and Bruce Johnston at Morgan Lewis.
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What The Oil Spill Case Means For Corporate Enviro Liability
Amid increasing strategic environmental litigation, the recent Supreme Court decision in Jalla v. Shell serves as a reminder of the limitations to using private law action and that the courts will not necessarily dilute procedural or substantive rules to accommodate these claims, say lawyers at Cleary.
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French And UK Patent Litigation Will Likely Influence The UPC
The newly opened Unified Patent Court represents a seismic, yet untested, change to how patent litigation is conducted within Europe, and the practices of French and U.K. courts may play a role in its development, including on issues such as saisies and document production, say lawyers at Gowling.
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Examining The Growing Strength Of FRC Enforcement Actions
As the U.K. Financial Reporting Council prepares to broaden its powers and transition into the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority in 2024, it is already demonstrating an increased appetite for enforcement, with greater expectations placed on auditors, say Kathleen Harris, Sean Curran and Melissa Dames at Arnold & Porter.
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Insights On UK Efforts To Combat Greenwashing Claims
The recent censure by U.K. advertising and consumer protection regulators of a number of companies' attempts to highlight their green credentials demonstrates that efforts to tackle greenwashing are gathering pace, and the question of how consumers understand sustainability claims made by companies is coming into sharp focus, say Robert Allen and Craig Gilchrist at Simmons & Simmons.
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GDPR Case Offers Useful Clarifications On Data Access
The recent EU Court of Justice decision in FF v. Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde is a critical junction for data protection law, clarifying that the right of access requires copies of documents containing personal data, but this will likely to incur higher compliance costs and administrative burdens for businesses, say Thibaut D'hulst and Defne Örnek at Van Bael & Bellis.
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UK Case Shows Risks Of Taking Shortcuts In Fund Payments
While the High Court recently reversed a decision in Floreat Investment Management v. Churchill, finding that investors routing funds into their own accounts was not dishonest, the case serves as a cautionary tale on the dangers of directing investment funds other than as contractually provided, say lawyers at Dechert.