This category can only be viewed by members.

Costs: Giving up gracefully

Dick Warner looks at recent case law on awards of costs following discontinuance of proceedings ‘The terms of r38.5 CPR were such that the discontinuance of the main action would not affect any proceedings relating to costs, but when considering an application under r38.6 CPR, the court would place weight on whether or not the …
This post is only available to members.

Procedure: Making your mind up

Johnathan Payne and Richard McKeown assess the impact of Edwards-Tubb v Wetherspoon ‘It has long been recognised that the courts could make conditional orders where the party sought to substitute an expert who had been named within proceedings.’ Litigators should be aware of the Court of Appeal’s recent judgment in the case of Edwards-Tubb v …
This post is only available to members.

Expert Evidence: Nowhere to hide

Gary Lawrenson considers the impact of Jones v Kaney ‘In the Supreme Court, the majority decision, led by Lord Phillips, removed experts’ immunity against claims by their clients. Experts can now be sued for breach of contract or professional negligence in relation to their participation in legal proceedings.’In Jones v Kaney [2011] the Supreme Court …
This post is only available to members.

Competition Law: (Not) breaking the bank

Kai Struckmann and Genevra Forwood map out the options available to companies unable to pay fines imposed by the European Commission ‘The factors determining the competition fines are the annual value of relevant sales, the gravity and duration of the infringement.’ European Commission fines for infringements of competition law are high. It is no longer …
This post is only available to members.

Arbitration: Turning the tanker around

Richard Power and Louise Trotter examine the response of the European Commission and the English Courts to West Tankers ‘The effect of West Tankers is that the courts of the arbitral seat are precluded from issuing an anti-suit injunction restraining proceedings being pursued in another member state.’ The European Commission (the Commission) has published a …
This post is only available to members.

Enforcement: Increasing use of judicial discretion?

James Thackray considers recent cases about freezing orders ‘Practitioners would be well advised to carefully consider the exact formulation of the freezing order sought on the initial application; consider if your client might need to seek disclosure of trust assets held by the defendant and how to ensure the additional wording is included in the …
This post is only available to members.

Competition: New guidelines on horizontal co-operation agreements

Antony Woolich and Joseph Botham analyse the impact and effect of the new rules on horizontal co-operation agreements ‘The Commission considers certain restrictions imposed by the IE to be restrictive by object. For such restrictions it may be especially difficult to argue that the criteria for exemption apply.’ The European Commission (the Commission) adopted new …
This post is only available to members.

Fraud: A breaking wave?

Peter Dodge discusses the potential for increased litigation and the themes that may emerge ‘Uncertainty tends to produce litigation. When the courts clarify principles of law, experienced litigants such as lenders and insurers can then compromise claims on the basis of that clarification.’ It is a truism that cyclical falls in property prices following periods …
This post is only available to members.

Product Liability: UK and South Africa compared

Karishma Jasani Paroha, Gareth Cremen and Michael Judin investigate product liability legislation in South Africa ‘Consumers will be entitled to rely on the fact that consumer products will be reasonably suitable for the purposes that they were originally intended for, and will be of good quality, in good working order and free of defects.’ The …
This post is only available to members.

Financial Services: Let’s get together

Michael Isaacs looks at how collective consumer claims may work under the enhanced powers given to the FSA in October 2010 by the Financial Services Act 2010 ‘The government view is that the best approach is a regulator-led one, on a sector by sector basis, and financial services is the guinea pig. The approach was …
This post is only available to members.