May/June 2015 #61 – Law Journals

Insights By Penningtons Manches: Window dressing? The new pre-action practice direction

In the first of a regular comment column, Clare Arthurs and Richard Marshall consider recent developments ‘It is evident from the new practice direction that the courts will survey our pre-action efforts with a critical eye.’ We have a new pre-action practice direction! The catchily titled ‘Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols’ (the PD) came …

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Part 36: Humble offerings

David Sawtell analyses recent caselaw on Part 36 ‘There is a tension between the natural inclination to make a proportionate costs order where a party has lost on discrete issues and the prescriptive nature of Part 36.’Practitioners frequently debate tactics and strategy when negotiating the litigation and settlement of claims. One of the most important …

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Data Protection: Google v Vidal-Hall: how the cookie crumbled in the Court of Appeal…

Harriet Campbell and Aisling Duffy report on a key judgment under the Data Protection Act ‘The question for any eventual trial is whether or not browser-generated information (BGI) can constitute personal data either on its own or when it is (or could be) linked to other information in an organisation’s possession.’The Court of Appeal recently …

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Insolvency: At the end of the rainbow

Rebecca Andrews-Walker and Alex Fox investigate the strained relationship between insolvency and pension assets ‘The Raithatha decision may be argued to discriminate against a different class of bankrupts – those members of society who have reached pensionable age.’ In a challenging economy, bankruptcy increasingly stands accused of constituting a mechanism for debtors to escape their …

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Practice: Careless talk

Paul Chaplin examines an unintended agreement ‘Whether a concluded agreement has been reached is to be determined objectively by considering the whole course of the parties’ negotiations, including an objective appraisal of the parties’ words and conduct.’In the recent case of Bieber v Teathers Ltd (in liquidation) [2014], the court considered whether an exchange of …

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Jurisdiction: Multi-tasking

David Capps outlines an ECJ decision looking at the priority of jurisdictional grounds as between contract and tort under the Brussels Regulation ‘Civil liability claims made in tort under national law must be considered as falling within the contractual basis for jurisdiction under Art 5(1)(a).’In the case of Marc Brogsitter v Fabrication de Montres Normandes …

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Settlement: The beginning of the end

Georgina Squire looks at recent cases on settlement ‘Where an offer is intended to be conditional upon the conclusion of written terms, the parties should label all their correspondence “subject to contract” until the settlement agreement is signed.’It is widely recognised that the vast majority of cases are resolved before they reach the court doors. …

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Costs: Sharing the blame

Andrew Kelmanson provides a timely reminder of the law behind co-defendant costs orders ‘Claimants involved in multi-party litigation may apply to the courts to make discretionary costs orders in circumstances where a claimant succeeds against one or more defendants, but does not succeed against others.’ Alongside determining the liability of the parties to proceedings, courts …

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Forum: Coming out of the cold

Simon Nurney and Gavin Gray explore a recent decision on the question of jurisdiction ‘The Court of Appeal found that the alleged conspiracy was manifestly more closely connected with Russia than with any other place.’ In the recent case of Erste Group Bank AG London Branch v JSC ‘VMZ Red October’ [2015], the Court of …

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