Commercial Litigation

Following a fire at its premises, Goodlife Foods Limited (Goodlife) commenced proceedings against Hall Fire Protection Limited (Hall Fire) for breach of contract and/or negligence in the supply and installation of a fire suppression system. In its defence Hall Fire sought to rely on an exclusion of liability clause contained within its standard terms and […]

A recent interim judgment in the case of Accident Exchange Ltd & Anor v McLean & Ors [2018] EWHC 1533 (Comm) serves as an important reminder that parties seeking security should be proactive in their approach to enquiries of their counterparty and their financial circumstances, and that a delay in making an application for security […]

This quarterly round-up looks into some of the main regulatory developments and trends in fintech regulation during the second quarter of 2018. The previous edition of this briefing for January to March 2018 can be found here. Evolution of ICOs  The market for initial coin offerings (ICOs) continues to develop despite increased regulatory scrutiny. As […]

The English Court has issued a number of recent judgments in respect of arbitration matters and its supervisory powers under the Arbitration Act 1996  We summarise some of the more important decisions emerging, including those relating to “apparent bias” challenges against an arbitrator. Progas Energy Limited v Pakistan [2018] EWHC 209 (Comm) (9 February 2018) […]

In the recent case of Cultural Foundation (t/a American School of Dubai) & another v Beazley Furlonge Ltd & others, the court considered issues surrounding the notification of insurance claims, where a prospective claim had the potential to fall within two separate notification periods. The case concerned professional indemnity insurance policies that provided insurance to […]

We now live in a world where identify theft is commonplace and fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their pursuit of unsuspecting victims as modern technology helps to facilitate their dastardly deeds. The recent cases of Dreamvar (UK) Ltd v Mishcon de Reya (Dreamvar) and P&P Property Ltd v Owen White and Catlin LLP (P&P) […]

The recent decision in the Kamoto Copper Company SA v (1) Africa Horizons Investments Ltd and (2) Ventora Development SASU case highlights the challenges that a party subjected to US sanctions may face attempting to circumvent an exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of the English courts. The Claimant, a subsidiary of the mining giant Glencore, […]

Proposing a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) is currently a popular option for companies facing financial difficulties. Creditors of companies such as BHS, Prezzo, Toys R Us, Maplin, Byron Burgers and New Look have all recently agreed to the companies operating under CVAs. Several other retailers are rumoured to be likely soon to follow suit. The […]

Three company directors were found to have acted in breach of duty, and thus have assumed personal liability in connection with a reorganisation which left the company unable to meet its own liabilities without the assistance of its subsidiaries in LHR Services Ltd (in Liquidation) v Raymond Arthur Trew, Jason Marcus Brewer, Derek O’Neill. As […]

A ‘pre-pack’ is where a company in financial difficulty arranges the sale of its business before entering administration (a form of insolvency process). Immediately upon the company entering administration, and without first notifying creditors, the administrators sell the company’s assets to a third party. Creditors of the company that has entered administration are only likely to […]

Following the recent upturn in the number of companies entering insolvency processes, it is important to consider what steps you should take if you have a contract with a company in financial trouble. Your first instinct might be to end the contract immediately; however, the recent decision in Phones 4U Ltd (in administration) v EE […]

Upholding a decision of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court has determined that, in cases involving conspiracy to injure, acting in contempt of court amounts to “wrongful means”, whilst the place of the “event giving rise” to the damage suffered, for the purposes of determining jurisdiction, is the place where the conspiratorial agreement was […]