Arbitration: Loose moorings

Ben Holland outlines the final chapter of the West Tankers case The Commercial Court’s decision provides guidance that in future arbitrations or court proceedings, a claim for the costs of proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement may properly be made in English law.Where parties have agreed that disputes should be arbitrated in London, …
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Insurance: Fully covered

David Niven and David O’Brien examine the perils of pursuing indemnity insurers For the deductible to apply to each and every claim without aggregation would have resulted in no pay-out at all under the policy. In high-value professional negligence claims against small firms of solicitors, claimants will often be entirely reliant upon those firms’ professional …
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Conduct: Call of Duty II

David Robinson reviews a recent case on an accountant’s duties of care to third-party investors in an existing client In Arrowhead Capital Finance Ltd (in Liquidation) v KPMG LLP [2012], the High Court has provided clarification on an accountant’s duty of care to investors in one of its clients that will be welcomed by both …
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Part 36: Money: that’s what I want

Lee Coulthard outlines some common pitfalls in the use of Part 36 A Part 36 offer does not protect a party against its own serious misconduct, and practitioners should be ready to alert the court to such misconduct at the close of any trial where a Part 36 offer is not beaten. When seeking to …
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Privilege: Nearly free speech

Alice Anderson and Sarah Harris look at lessons to be learned from Mayer v Hoar Malice can be established where the defendant had an improper motive and knew that the statement was false or was recklessly indifferent as to whether the statement was true or not. As any seasoned defamation lawyer will know, two of …
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Practice: Examining a gift horse

Tracy Head examines the tension between Jackson and the Court of Appeal’s declaration to increase general damages The 10% increase in general damages did not appear on the face of the Bill. This absence did not go unnoticed during the Bill’s passage through Parliament and fuelled the debate that a 10% increase was not enough.Lord …
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Sports Law: On your marketing, get set, go!

Zane Shihab assesses the tensions between sport and sponsorship in the aftermath of the Olympics The unprecedented protection given to the official sponsors was perceived by many as being detrimental to other businesses. Despite Paddy Power’s tongue-in-cheek billboards that stated: ‘Official sponsor of the largest athletics event in London this year! There you go, we …
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Confidential Information: My lips are sealed

Anna Pertoldi and Maura McIntosh consider a recent decision on protection of confidential information If companies wish to be able to restrain those lawyers from acting adverse to the company in particular matters, once the employment has ended, the best course is to incorporate an express covenant to that effect.In Generics (UK) Ltd v Yeda …
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