Dr Martens gives Temu the boot in new IP claim AirWair, the company behind Dr Martens, is taking on budget online marketplace Temu, registered as “Whaleco”, in a new part 7 “passing off and trade marks” claim filed in the High Court’s Intellectual Property List on 9 April. AirWair is represented by Lewis Silkin in […]
Mammoth SKAT case finally hits Commercial Court for longest-ever hearing The Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT) begins its trial in the Commercial Court today (15 April), marking what is due to be the longest scheduled hearing in the Court’s history. One of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024, the 12-month trial will tackle […]
The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has refused to grant Sports Direct an injunction that would force Newcastle United Football Club to supply it with replica kit, following a hearing on Tuesday. Newcastle United, defended by Northridge partner James Eighteen, granted exclusive retail rights for its kit to competitor JD Sports from next season. However, Sports […]
Apple has failed to have a nearly £800m class action brought against it thrown out, following a hearing before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in January. The opt-out claim is brought by class representative Dr Sean Ennis on behalf of around 1,500 app developers in the UK. He has instructed Geradin Partners’ partners David Gallagher […]
The Commercial Court has dismissed the lion’s share of a negligence claim brought against Clyde & Co, two XXIV Old Building barristers and offshore firm Harney Westwood & Riegels in a judgment handed down today. The claim, brought by Emirati businessman Riad Al Sadik in 2021, alleged that the three legal outfits failed to properly […]
This week on Spotlight, we take a look at the global investigations, white collar and fraud (IWCF) practice group at Hogan Lovells. Hogan Lovells’ investigations, white collar and fraud practice: Globally, the practice group holds over 120 lawyers and operates in the UK, the US, Germany, Spain, France, China, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Mexico and Brazil. Many lawyers […]
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has had its appeal for tax relief dismissed following a hearing against HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in March. The appeal concerned the complex structure that BlackRock, represented by Simmons & Simmons’ partner Heather Rowlands, had used to buy Barclays Global Investors (GBI) for $13.5bn in 2009. In the […]
Kirkland & Ellis and Reed Smith have taken leading roles in the settlement of the UK’s first “implementer-led” Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) action. The settlement was reached on 4 April and decided via a Tomlin Order, rendering the details of the parties’ settlement confidential. A first instance trial was set to heard tomorrow (12 […]
Welcome to The Hearing, your weekly insider’s guide to the UK litigation market, now brought to you on Wednesdays. Two days in to the Easter Term and there’s a definite green feel around London. Much of that has blown over from Strasbourg, which got the legal world all in a flutter yesterday. A big moment?: The […]
EasyGroup takes on “brand thieves” again in new suit EasyGroup, the owning group of budget airline EasyJet, has filed a part 7 “passing off and trade marks claim” in the Intellectual Property List, continuing its long-running campaign against what it calls “brand thieves”. Stephenson Harwood has been called in to represent EasyGroup in this latest […]
Hill Dickinson is swiftly growing its new Birmingham office, with the addition of two more teams from Irwin Mitchell. The firm has significantly strengthened its real estate capabilities in the Midlands, adding expertise in both transactions and litigation to the five-strong corporate team it onboarded in February to launch the office. The real estate team […]
One Essex Court is consolidating its real estate in a bid to modernise and encourage more of its members to work from chambers. The magic circle set has taken over the entirety of 5 Essex Court, which comprises four floors, meaning 27 more barristers’ rooms will be available. The chambers has just completed the tendering […]
Sports Direct takes on Newcastle United in kit rights clash The Magpies are heading to the Competition Appeal Tribunal tomorrow (9 April) for one day in a claim brought by Sports Direct, as the high street sports equipment retailer challenges Newcastle United over its third-party kit sales policy. Sports Direct, represented by Travers Smith, alleges […]
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan client Phones 4u (P4u) has been granted permission to appeal its £1bn competition suit against some of the biggest mobile network providers, following a defeat in the High Court last year. The firm has succeeded in having eight grounds approved to take to appeal, including the allegation that an exchange […]
Dentons’ client Stagecoach South Western Trains has agreed to settle part of consumer champion Justin Gutmann’s boundary fares class action, which concerns train passengers paying higher fees when travelling between zones. Gutmann, represented by Charles Lyndon and Hausfeld, filed a joint application for a collective settlement approval in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) with Stagecoach […]
The solicitor for ex-Citibank and UBS trader Tom Hayes has alleged a potential conflict of interest in March’s Court of Appeal hearing, which dismissed Hayes’ rate-rigging appeal in a judgment handed down on 27 March. Speaking to The Lawyer, the solicitor Karen Todner, who runs her own firm, said: “Mr Hayes and his co-appellants are entitled […]
Clifford Chance has lost the mandate to represent Epic Games in the US video game developer’s ongoing competition claim against RPC-repped Google. The Lawyer understands that Epic Games, best known for the online video game Fortnite, switched legal representation to Norton Rose Fulbright around six months ago. According to a 2021 confidentiality ring order on the Competition […]
Analysis of recent fines suggests that environmental prosecutions are resulting in more substantial fines, especially for ‘very large organisations’.
Merck Sharp & Dohme brought an appeal to the Supreme Court (Court) following its unsuccessful appeal to the Court of Appeal against the High Court’s finding that its supplementary protection certificate (SPC) for its cholesterol-reducing combination product, Inegy, was invalid under Articles 3(a) and 3(c) of Regulation No 469/2009 (SPC Regulation).
David Lowe and Emma Carr discuss the impact of sanctions on contracts. They explain when sanctions could be a force majeure and what happens if there are no relevant sanctions but you still want to get out of the contract.
ClientEarth recently took the first step in a legal action against the board of directors of Shell, notifying them of a potential claim for failing to adequately prepare the company for a transition to net zero and manage climate risk. According to ClientEarth, this poses serious questions for the long-term value of the company.
Recent Massachusetts high court decision holds late wage payments are always subject to treble damages, upending common practice for Massachusetts employers
I often hear commercial dispute resolution practitioners, unlike their personal injury and clinical negligence colleagues, say “Our clients are not interested in ATE Insurance or disbursement funding because they can afford to pay disbursements and bear the opponents costs if the case is unsuccessful”. I have a few things to say about this view.
Currently taking place in the Fairfax County Courthouse, Virginia, US, and with a celebrity witness line-up and livestream, Johnny Depp v Amber Heard is sure to attract the most column inches of any libel case this year.
A company operated by a man claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous author of the white paper ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’, has had service of its claim form set aside in proceedings concerning bitcoin said to be worth approximately £3 billion.
In Expropriation Law: 2021 A Year in Review, Gowling WLG’s national Expropriation Law Group has summarized several complex and compelling expropriation cases from across Canada in 2021. In the article, the team highlights a number of important issues and key takeaways for those parties involved in the expropriation process.
In February 2022, in 1196278 Ontario Inc. dba SASSAFRAZ v 815470 Ontario Ltd. dba SASSAFRAS COASTAL KITCHEN, 2022 FC 116 the Federal Court granted the well-known Toronto restaurant Sassafraz judgment against the operator of a restaurant operating as “Sassafras” in the Niagara region of Ontario.
The recent judgment of Mr Justice Barrett in Goode Concrete v CRH Plc, Roadstone Wood Limited and Kilsaran Concrete [2022] IEHC 189 provides useful guidance on applications to strike- out interrogatories where they are prolix, oppressive, unnecessary or scandalous.
ClientEarth are taking ground breaking steps by pursing shareholder litigation against Shell.
Macfarlanes is set to defend the Performing Right Society (PRS) in a class action brought by Blur’s drummer in the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT). The opt-out claim is brought by Dave Rowntree, who is also a prospective Labour MP, on behalf of 160,000 UK songwriter members of the PRS. Rowntree alleges that PRS, which collects […]
Lewis Silkin has been replaced by Goodwin Procter in the saga involving Red Bull, its boss Christian Horner and a female Red Bull employee. The Goodwin partners now representing the female individual are employment partner Alex Fisher and commercial litigator Sarah McAtominey. The pair joined the firm in February 2023 from Travers Smith and BCLP, […]
Greece’s largest bank in fresh dispute with Lloyd’s insurers Greece’s largest bank, Piraeus Bank, has filed a new claim in the Commercial Court alongside credit management body Intrum Hellas, against a number of insurers from Lloyd’s of London. The part 7 “insurance and/or reinsurance” claim is brought by shipping and trade law specialists BDM Law, […]
ENRC, Dechert, Neil Gerrard and the SFO head back to Commercial Court Dechert and its ex-partner Neil Gerrard, mining giant ENRC and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) are set to head back to the Commerical Court on Monday (25 March) for a one-day consequentials hearing. The consequentials hearing will deal with questions of costs and […]
A group of 177 claimants represented by Stewarts have settled with HSBC in the Eclipse litigation, which was listed as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024. The £240m claim against HSBC alleged deceit, conspiracy and joint tort-feasance against the banking giant. HSBC instructed Norton Rose Fulbright to defend two jointly managed actions being pursued […]
As the saga continues to engulf Red Bull, its boss Christian Horner and a female Red Bull employee, The Lawyer takes a look at the law firms on call. It is understood that Harbottle & Lewis is providing advice on media law to Horner, the CEO of Red Bull who was accused of inappropriate behaviour […]
