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Commercial Litigation UK

  • 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.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.

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