Litigation

Latest news, analysis and white papers on litigation and dispute resolution matters in the UK. Subscribers to the Litigation Tracker can also access a searchable database of cases and judgments. For details on how to subscribe, email the Litigation Tracker team or call on 020 7970 4275.

 

airplanes

Russian aircraft claims head to trial after jurisdiction case fails

The mammoth Russian aircraft claims are set to continue in England and Wales after today’s High Court judgment dismissed defendants’ applications to have the dispute heard in Russia. The Russian aviation claims are one of The Lawyer’s top 20 cases of 2024, seeing aircraft lessors take on their insurers for vessels trapped in Russia since […]

Red Bull Formula 1 car

The Hearing: Red Bull’s mystery barrister

Welcome to your weekly edition of The Hearing,  your insider’s guide to the UK litigation market. Yesterday marked the last day of the Hilary Court term, so in this final edition of The Hearing before we take next week off, we take a look at the Supreme Court decision that has come as a relief […]

red bull racing

F1 Red Bull saga: Lewis Silkin replaced by Goodwin

Lewis Silkin has been replaced by Goodwin Procter in the saga involving Red Bull, its boss Christian Horner and a female Red Bull employee.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, […]

HIgh Court London

“An egregious case”: High Court order ends Dechert hacking claim saga

A High Court default judgment has brought an end to the long-running dispute involving the Emirati sovereign wealth fund RAKIA, US businessman Farhad Azima, Dechert and its former partner Neil Gerrard. The default judgment, which was granted by the High Court yesterday, has resulted in the dismissal of two High Court judgments and one Court […]

water

Claim spotter: Severn Trent in fresh dispute with Balfour Beatty

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, […]

money, shares

3 Paper Buildings’ turnover soars by 18 per cent

3 Paper Buildings’ revenue has grown by 17.8 per cent to £35.8m over the past financial year. The national set’s nearly 18 per cent rise over the 2023/24 period from £30.4m swamps its rise of 5 per cent the previous financial year.  The set’s ‘receipts’, or its money received, saw a 14.3 per cent rise from […]

Cars

Dieselgate: 200 attendees pile in for latest hearing

Around 200 attendees piled in for a live hearing for the “dieselgate” group action earlier this month, according to a judgment handed down today. The group actions, brought by several claimant boutique law firms, revolve around the claim that car buyers were allegedly misled about the levels of dangerous emissions produced by diesel vehicles. Mrs […]

fertility baby

Spotlight: Resolving fertility disputes with Mills & Reeve

Operating in a small pool of fertility law experts, Mills & Reeve’s team work on international surrogacy matters, disputes over parentage and conflicts with fertility clinics. The market: The legal market in this area of law is small, so trends sweeping the practice hit hard. International surrogacy is an enormous market for Mills & Reeve […]

ladder

The Hearing: Slaughters promotions and Quinn’s tough stance

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Hearing, your insider’s guide to the UK litigation market. This week, disputes partner promos in the City are wobbly despite a flourishing market, the biggest ever employment tribunal award has been handed down, and the newest legal dynasty has arrived. Trend? What trend?: The last few months have […]

3

Lawyer sued for running gender-critical support network

A lawyer who works at an arms-length body to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is being sued alongside the department for making gender-critical statements such as “only women menstruate”. Elspeth Duemmer Wrigley works at the Marine Management Organisation, an executive non-departmental body affiliated with Defra, and is the chair of the […]

electric power vehicles

Claim spotter: Morrisons faces claim from EV charging group

Bank files tort claim after challenging “misleading” ads According to the public filing system, Dorset firm TMS Legal is the subject of a new part 7 ‘miscellaneous’ tort claim filed last Monday (11 March) by Vanquis Banking Group. The filing comes after the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that ads published by TMS, which encouraged users […]

2024’s newest silks: Why we chose a career in law

A solicitor-turned-barrister and the Bar’s newest doctor KC; The Lawyer speaks to six of the Bar’s newest silks. The group was announced as KCs-in-waiting earlier this year, with 95 barristers in total getting the nod. Among the 95 were Crucible Law’s Clea Topolski – who having been called in 2014 – is the most junior of the set. […]

Linklaters litigator departs for Pallas

A Linklaters litigator is leaving the firm for Pallas Partners, in a major lateral hire for the disputes boutique that launched two years ago. Susana Cao Miranda is joining Pallas as a partner. Prior to joining the magic circle firm in 2017, Cao Miranda was a managing director at Goldman Sachs in London, where she […]

Litigation briefings

Navigating sanctions and contracts – ThinkHouse

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.

The reality of the value of ATE insurance for high-net-worth clients

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.

Depp v Heard, and what is SLAPP litigation/Anti SLAPP?

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.

Bitcoin dispute gives insight into English court’s approach

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.

Canada: Revisiting five noteworthy expropriation cases from 2021

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.

Latest Litigation Tracker news – available to Litigation Tracker subscribers

Red Bull Christian Horner

F1 Red Bull saga: the law firms on call

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 […]

Argentina

Claim spotter: Argentinian oil case hits UK court, while Barclays targets Russia’s largest private bank

Multibillion-dollar Argentinian oil case lands in UK court Petersen Energia, the energy arm of a major Argentine banking group, secured a victory in a US court last September, with a $16bn judgment against the Argentinian government. Now, the legal battle has moved to the Commercial Court in the UK, as Petersen pursues further claims against […]

Mercedes Benz

In court this week: Dieselgate, Clydes and counter-terrorism powers

Wealthy businessman sues former legal advisers Heading to the Commerical Court today (11 March) for five days is the professional negligence case brought by businessman Riad Al Sadik against Clyde & Co, two barristers from XXIV Old Buildings and Harney Westwood & Riegels. Al Sadik, a wealthy businessman who lives in Dubai, invested $136m in […]

drugs

Claim spotter: Taylor Wessing leads as diabetes IP battle looms

Taylor Wessing files debt claim  Southend United was hit with a new winding-up petition on 23 February, signalling continued financial trouble for the club. Then last week, Martin Dawn PLC, the company that owns a majority stake under chairman Ron Martin, was served with a part 7 debt claim from Taylor Wessing. This was filed […]