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Commercial Litigation UK
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June 20, 2025
Energy Data Co. Can't Shut Off Info Supply To Rival
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has blocked an energy data supplier from suspending its services to a competitor following an allegation that the move is an abuse of its de facto monopoly over U.K. meter usage data.
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June 20, 2025
Managers Blamed For £14M Overrun Win Unfair Firing Case
Two project managers were unfairly sacked when their chief executive fired them on the spot in a meeting over a project that had gone £14 million ($18.9 million) over budget, but are not entitled to damages, an employment tribunal has ruled.Â
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June 20, 2025
BHP Sues Claimant Lawyers Amid £36B Dam Disaster Trial
BHP is suing law firm Pogust Goodhead, which is representing hundreds of thousands of individuals, municipalities and businesses in a £36 billion ($48.5 billion) claim against the Australian mining giant over a dam disaster in Brazil that killed 19 people, according to court records.
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June 20, 2025
BBC Confronts AI Biz Perplexity Over Content Scraping
The BBC said Friday that it has threatened to take legal action against Perplexity, an AI-powered search engine, claiming that the company trained its model on the broadcaster's content.
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June 20, 2025
Ex-MP Can't Stop £230K Payment To Times For Dropped Libel
A former Conservative MP can't appeal an order to pay almost £230,000 ($310,000) towards The Times' costs defending his now-dropped defamation claim, as a London court ruled Friday that the discounted figure already factored in the newspaper's misconduct in the case.
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June 20, 2025
Shell Can Be Liable Over Oil Spill But 'Legal Barriers' Remain
Shell can be held liable for damages caused by pollution from illegal refining of stolen oil from its pipelines — but the Nigerian communities suing the energy giant face "significant legal barriers" to succeed at trial, a London judge ruled Friday.
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June 20, 2025
India Can't Block UAE Fund's $273M Metals Deal Arbitration
India lost its bid Friday to fend off a claim that it caused a UAE investment fund to lose $273 million by ending an aluminum production deal, with a London court ruling that an arbitration tribunal has jurisdiction to hear the case.
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June 19, 2025
E-Commerce Co. Denied 'Extraordinary' $40M Injunction
An Indian e-commerce company has failed to secure an order to get $40 million it claims to need to complete the purchase of a software business, after a court said it was not prepared to grant the "extraordinary" relief before a trial.
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June 19, 2025
Pro Bono Plan Aims To Make CAT Claims Accessible To All
It might come as a surprise that the U.K.'s venue for high-stakes class actions against some of the world's largest companies is planning a new pro bono scheme. But the Brick Court Chambers antitrust silk running the program told Law360 that she sees a real chance to help smaller players get a fair shot at enforcing their rights under a complex area of law.
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June 19, 2025
HMRC Cleared Of Forging Warrant To Seize £80M Mansion
A businessman has lost his case that claimed the U.K. tax authority forged a warrant used to seize his £80 million ($107 million) mansion over fraud and money laundering charges, with a London court concluding that the warrant was genuine.
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June 19, 2025
Chinese National's Job Rejection Tied To Security Clearance
A Chinese national has lost her claim of race discrimination against a cyber-security firm, with the Employment Tribunal saying the company was within its rights to discontinue her job application because she would be unlikely to receive security clearance.
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June 19, 2025
Trafigura Partly Blocks Changes To Gupta's $600M Defense
Metals trader Prateek Gupta was partly blocked Thursday from making wholesale changes to his defense to a fraud claim worth more than $600 million from Trafigura by a judge who nevertheless permitted alterations that had been agreed and those that would not require disclosure.Â
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June 19, 2025
AmTrust Wins Disclosure Appeal In £56M Claim-Funding Clash
A London appeals court said Thursday that AmTrust should be able to see another insurer's communications with two law firms amid a £56 million ($75 million) battle over who should cover the costs of a failed litigation-funding scheme.
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June 19, 2025
Royal Mail Must Rehire Postman Fired Over Parking Row
A tribunal has ordered Royal Mail to rehire a postman and pay him £66,000 ($88,600) after it unfairly sacked him over what bosses felt was "violent" behavior during a parking dispute with a colleague.
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June 19, 2025
Pension Trust Denies BCLP's £256K Office Damage Claim
A pension fund trustee company that owns a Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP office has hit back at claims it caused the firm to lose £256,000 ($344,000) by negligently handling repairs after the building was damaged by strong wind.
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June 19, 2025
Google Suffers Setback In Bid To Overturn €4B Antitrust Fine
Google suffered a blow in its bid to overturn to a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine on Thursday when an adviser to Europe's top court said it had failed to present proper legal grounds to challenge the penalty for unlawful market abuse using its mobile phone operating system.
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June 18, 2025
Jurisdiction Up First In $1B Ukraine Bank Nationalization Case
A more than $1 billion claim asserted against Ukraine by a Luxembourg-based banking group with ties to a Russian oligarch over the nationalization of Sense Bank will have to overcome jurisdictional hurdles before damages will be considered, an international tribunal has ruled.
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June 18, 2025
£20M Buybacks Weren't Mainly For Tax Benefit, UK Court Says
Obtaining a tax advantage wasn't the main purpose of two businessmen arranging £20 million ($26.8 million) in share buybacks, despite that being the effect, so they aren't liable for an anti-avoidance action by HM Revenue & Customs, the U.K. Upper Tribunal said in overturning a lower court's ruling.
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June 18, 2025
William Hill Must Pay £68K To Exec Fired For Alleged Assault
An employment tribunal has ordered William Hill to pay £68,065 ($91,547) to an advertising executive it unfairly fired over a sexual harassment complaint, ruling that the betting giant ignored evidence showing he never put his fingers in a colleague's mouth.Â
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June 18, 2025
Intesa Sanpaolo Staffer Loses Bid For Reinstatement
An employee on secondment in London from Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has lost his bid to be reinstated until his hearing for unfair dismissal, with an employment tribunal finding he is unlikely to win his substantive case and therefore not entitled to reinstatement in the interim.
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June 18, 2025
PE Firm Says Forfeiting Tycoon's €1.5M Investment Was Valid
A private equity firm has denied wrongfully forfeiting car tycoon Peter Waddell's €1.5 million ($1.7 million) investment in the company and alleged the move was "entirely reasonable," given he had failed to meet a request for money as part of the funding deal.
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June 18, 2025
Tesco Fights Ruling On Workers' Equal Pay Claim
Retail giant Tesco urged the Employment Appeal Tribunal to overturn findings in an ongoing equal pay-claim brought against it by female employees, saying a lower tribunal was wrong to use generic training materials and job descriptions in assessing whether certain roles are of equal value.
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June 18, 2025
Artist Defends 'Fishrot' Apology Spoof As Free Expression
An Icelandic artist urged a London appellate judge Wednesday to give him a chance to override a decision that he could not successfully defend against a claim from the country's largest seafood company alleging he created a spoof website to publish a false apology over a bribery scandal.
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June 18, 2025
EU Court Affirms Decision To Publicize Pesticide Ingredients
An agrochemical company lost its appeal at a European court on Wednesday to block the European Food Safety Authority from releasing a confidential list of ingredients in one of its pesticides in the interest of public knowledge.
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June 18, 2025
Sellafield Denies Breach In £18M Nuclear Diving Contract Case
A British nuclear site management company has hit back at claims that it breached procurement rules when it rejected a bid from a U.S. business for an £18 million ($24 million) contract for diving services, denying that it breached transparency requirements.
Expert Analysis
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Decision Shows Cost Consequences Of Rejecting Mediation
An English county court's recent first-instance decision in Conway v. Conway & Meek, which imposed a reduction in costs due to what the judge saw as the defendants' unreasonable refusal to consider mediation, underscores a growing judicial willingness to promote mediation through cost sanctions, say Gerard Kelly and Gearoid Carey at Mason Hayes.
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Duties And Questions To Consider In Expert Witness Selection
A spotlight has recently been shone on the role of expert witnesses due to the ongoing Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, which should remind all parties to take steps to understand what an expert witness is responsible for and what the selection process should look like, says Toby Hunt at HKA.
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ECJ Cartel Damages Rulings Are Wins For Multinational Cos.
Two decisions from the European Court of Justice last month clarifying the limits of the single economic unit doctrine in cartel damages proceedings will help multinational companies anticipate and prepare for litigation within a narrower band of possible jurisdictions, say lawyers at Linklaters.
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Takeaways From EU's 'Pay Or Consent' Advertising Probe
Anne-Gabrielle Haie and Charles Whiddington at Steptoe examine key points from the European Commission's recent investigation into Big Tech's use of "pay or consent" advertising models, as well as the European Data Protection Board’s opinion on how such models can comply with EU competition and data protection laws.
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UK Judgment Could Change Anti-Money Laundering Regimes
After the Court of Appeal of England and Wales' determination that criminal property remains criminal property in the hands of its purchaser even if purchased at market value, many businesses could face a new or heightened risk of prosecution for criminality in their supply chains and related money laundering offenses, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.
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Decoding Arbitral Disputes: Blasket Win Is A Beacon Of Hope
A Belgian court's recent decision in favor of Blasket Renewable Investments, enforcing an arbitral award against the Kingdom of Spain, signals that despite the European Court of Justice's restrictive interpretations, there is judicial support within the European Union for enforcing investors' rights under international arbitration agreements, says Josep Galvez at 4-5 Gray's Inn.
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UK Approach To AI Patentability Appears Settled For Now
After a High Court ruling upended the status quo last year, the Court of Appeal’s recent decision that Emotional Perception’s artificial neural network is not patentable represents a return to the U.K.’s familiar, albeit often complex, approach to patentability of artificial intelligence technology and computer programs generally, say lawyers at Potter Clarkson.
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How Digital Markets Act Will Enhance Consumer Protections
The Digital Markets Act represents a major shift in U.K. competition and consumer protection law by introducing a new regulatory regime for large digital firms, and by giving the Competition and Markets Authority broader merger investigation powers and a wider enforcement remit for online activities, say lawyers at Cooley.
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What Steps Businesses Can Take After CrowdStrike Failure
Following last month’s global Microsoft platform outage caused by CrowdStrike’s failed security software update, businesses can expect complex disputes over liability resulting from multilayered agreements and should look to their various insurance policies for cover despite losses not stemming from a cyberattack, says Daniel Healy at Brown Rudnick.
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Drafting Settlement Agreements That Avoid Future Disputes
Several recent U.K. rulings highlight the importance of drafting precise settlement agreements to prevent time-consuming and costly disputes over what claims the agreements were meant to cover, says Michelle Radom at Osborne Clarke.
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Int'l Treaties May Aid Investors Amid UK Rail Renationalization
The recently introduced Passenger Railway Services Bill seeks to return British railways to public ownership without compensating affected investors, a move that could trigger international investment treaty protections for obligation breaches, says Philipp Kurek at Signature Litigation.
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Insurance Rulings Show Court Hesitancy To Fix Policy Errors
Two recent Court of Appeal insurance decisions highlight that policyholders can only overcome policy drafting errors and claim coverage if there is a very obvious mistake, emphasizing courts' reluctance to rewrite contract terms that are capable of enforcement, says Aaron Le Marquer at Stewarts.
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AI Reforms Prompt Fintech Compliance Considerations
With the EU Artificial Intelligence Act's Aug. 1 enforcement, and the U.K.'s new plans to introduce AI reforms, fintech companies should consider how to best focus limited resources as they balance innovation and compliance, says Nicola Kerr-Shaw at Skadden.
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Should Arbitrators Do More To Encourage Settlements?
In light of discussions on settlement in arbitration, there is a consensus that arbitrators in English-seated proceedings should play a greater role, but determining the extent of that involvement is difficult, as arbitrators can inadvertently place themselves in a position of potential conflict, say lawyers at Dentons.
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Irish Businesses Should Act Now To Prepare For EU AI Act
Artificial intelligence is increasingly transforming the Irish job market, and proactive engagement with the forthcoming European Union AI Act, a significant shift in the regulatory landscape for Irish businesses, will be essential for Irish businesses to responsibly harness AI’s advantages and to maintain legal compliance, say lawyers at Pinsent Masons.