Insights & News
Search for Insights & News
- 90 results found
- All (109)
- Others (90)
- Press (10)
- Inbriefs (8)
- Case Studies (1)
-
Two wrongs don’t make a right: Court of Appeal decides illegality is no defence to professional negligence claim
16 October 2018For public policy reasons, the Court of Appeal has held that the defence of illegality was not available to a firm of solicitors that failed to register a property transfer to a client involved in mortgage fraud. The court decided that there was no risk that enforcing the client’s negligence claim would undermine the integrity of the justice system and she was entitled to damages, in spite of the fraud.
-
SFO v ENRC landmark privilege case: no appeal but the story continues…
10 October 2018The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it will not appeal the Court of Appeal’s landmark ruling that documents created during an internal investigation by Eurasion Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) were protected by litigation privilege and do not have to be disclosed to the SFO. However, the story does not end there because in a new twist, ENRC has applied for a judicial review of the SFO’s investigation into criminal allegations of corruption and financial wrongdoing by ENRC.
-
SFO V ENRC: Landmark privilege decision by Court of Appeal
10 September 2018The Court of Appeal has handed down its much anticipated decision in the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (“ENRC”) appeal. In a judgment that will leave many lawyers breathing a heavy sigh of relief, the Court of Appeal overturned large parts of Mrs Justice Andrews’ first instance decision.
-
Commercial Court confirms that Recast Brussels Regulation does not permit intra-EU anti-suit injunctions
21 August 2018The decision in Nori Holdings has reaffirmed that West Tankers remains an authoritative statement of EU law, providing welcome clarity following the introduction of the Recast Brussels Regulation and Advocate General Wathelet’s comments in Gazprom. However, whether or not the UK courts will regain the ability to grant anti-suit injunctions restraining proceedings in EU courts after the UK leaves the EU remains to be seen.
-
Dispute Resolution Update - July 2018
27 July 2018Welcome to our July 2018 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
-
Court of Appeal upholds enforcement of Chinese arbitration award in England & Wales despite allegation of attempted fraud
05 July 2018One of the attractive features of arbitration is the ease of enforcement of arbitral awards in other jurisdictions. The New York Convention (the “Convention”) provides a regime by which an award made in one Convention state should be enforceable against any assets in any of the other Convention states around the world. A recent Court of Appeal decision shows that the English court will only exercise its power to refuse to recognise or enforce an arbitral award on public policy grounds in limited circumstances.
-
Supreme Court delivers key judgment on the availability of Wrotham Park “negotiating” damages
02 July 2018The Supreme Court has considered an important question in relation to damages. In what circumstances can damages for breach of contract be assessed by reference to the sum the claimant could hypothetically have received, known as Wrotham Park damages, in return for releasing the defendant from the obligation he had failed to perform?
-
You’ve started – so you’ll finish
11 June 2018Claimants commencing proceedings in the Courts of England and Wales may not be able to end those proceedings simply by serving a notice of discontinuance and can be required to take the matter to trial. In this case the claimants were not permitted to discontinue their claim for the recognition and enforcement of an arbitration award under the New York Convention.
-
Dispute Resolution Update - May 2018
24 May 2018Welcome to the May 2018 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
-
Supreme Court upholds requirement to record variations in writing
24 May 2018Rock Advertising Limited v MWB Business Exchange Centres Limited is an important case. In fact, the opening paragraph of Lord Sumption’s judgment describes it as an “exceptional” appeal, raising “truly fundamental issues” of contract law.
-
Liquidator loses protection of a freezing order following serious failings at earlier ex parte hearing
14 May 2018In Banca Turco Romana S.A. (in liquidation) v Cortuk and Others, the Commercial Court in London has underlined the need for applicants to give full and frank disclosure when seeking relief at ex parte (without notice) hearings.
-
Service of a Claim Form by email – get it wrong at your peril
27 March 2018Communicating by e-mail is common practice. However unless you adhere to the procedural steps required by the Civil Procedure Rules service of a claim form by email will be defective. The Supreme Court’s decision considered whether to grant relief from sanctions to an unrepresented party for failing to adhere to the procedural steps.
-
Directors held to be trustees of company property
08 March 2018The Supreme Court has held that directors should be treated as being in possession of company property from the time of their appointment because, as fiduciary stewards they are trustees of trust property within the meaning of section 21(1)(b) of the Limitation Act 1890 (“the Act”).
-
This is my advice. By the way, it might be wrong!
05 March 2018When do solicitors have to warn their client that the advice they are giving may turn out to be incorrect? The Court of Appeal has recently considered this issue.
-
Early Specific Disclosure Applications – factors the court will consider
22 January 2018A decision in the Technology and Construction Court (“TCC") sheds light on the applicable test for early specific disclosure and the relevant considerations in making a successful application. Applications for early specific disclosure are relatively rare so the judgment provides helpful guidance.
-
English courts and overseas defendants: jurisdiction challenges and the “two-fold test”
15 January 2018When a dispute involves a foreign party or events that took place in another jurisdiction, questions often arise as to where the dispute should be determined.
-
Compulsory mediation?
11 January 2018In October 2017 the Civil Justice Council (CJC) published its interim report on the future role of alternative approaches to dispute resolution (ADR). The report makes various recommendations as well as inviting responses. It follows input from a working group tasked in January 2017 to examine uptake of ADR in civil justice. The primary purpose of the report is to find ways to encourage its use.
-
Disclosure in English litigation: a sea change is coming
09 January 2018English rules on disclosure (‘discovery’ in many jurisdictions) are set for a major overhaul. Draft rules were published in November 2017. Once approved by the Civil Procedure Rules Committee, the resulting draft is intended to be introduced as part of a pilot scheme lasting 2 years, potentially beginning in April 2018 and running in the Business and Property Courts. This will cover virtually all High Court litigation. It will not be optional.
-
Erosion of privilege – Law Society seeks to intervene
08 January 2018The Law Society is applying to intervene in the upcoming appeal of the landmark privilege decision in Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (“ENRC”).
-
Use of disclosed documents to threaten new proceedings was a breach of court rules and may amount to a contempt of court by the solicitor and client
12 December 2017The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide that using documents disclosed in existing proceedings (except for the specific purposes allowed) breach the rules. CPR 31.22 provides various exceptions to when a document disclosed in a set of proceedings may be used. Any use outside of the rules could also amount to a contempt of court. Both the client who relied on the solicitor’s advice and the solicitor may be equally vulnerable to the contempt proceedings where there is no evidence of deliberate or reckless misconduct by the solicitor.