Parties may struggle to establish issue estoppel based on a foreign judgment, even when they agreed exclusive jurisdiction of English courts.
MAD Atelier International BV v. Manès [2020] EWHC 1014 (Comm) considers key...more
The UK has taken steps to accede to the Lugano Convention 2007, as maintaining the status quo under the Brussels Recast Regulation 1215/2012 will no longer be an option once the transition period expires.
The UK has...more
The Court ruled on the “dominant purpose” test and offered guidance on the status of multiparty emails, and attachments.
Two recent Court of Appeal judgments have sought to clarify, and offer practical guidance relating...more
Recent judgments help to clarify purpose and threshold of unexplained wealth orders.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has had a mixed start to 2020, with appeals heard on unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) testing the new...more
A new decision signals the Court’s readiness to interpret section 44(2)(a) of the Arbitration Act 1996 broadly.
In A and B v C, D and E (Taking evidence for a foreign seated arbitration), the Court of Appeal unanimously...more
The Court examined “without prejudice” privilege and litigation privilege as they apply to settlement agreements and their inspection by co-defendants.
In BGC Brokers LP & Ors v. Tradition UK & Ors, the English Court of...more
12/13/2019
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Communications ,
Confidential Documents ,
Contract Drafting ,
Litigation Privilege ,
Negotiations ,
Qualified Privilege ,
Redacted Documents ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
UK
Decision confirms parties’ statutory right to challenge awards under s.67 and s.68.
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which granted a stay of an application challenging an award pending the...more
The Court’s ruling supports the general principle that costs follow the event.
In Andrew Martin, Nicholas Greene, Coban 2017 LLP (formerly named Strutt & Parker LLP) v. Michael Harris [2019] EWHC 2735 (Ch), the English...more
Given recent developments, parties with cross-border agreements and arbitration with Chinese counter-parties should look to Hong Kong as a seat of arbitration.
On 2 April 2019, the Hong Kong SAR Government and the PRC...more
Buyers’ best defence against M&A fraud requires rigorous, pre-closing due diligence — when fraud is suspected, deal teams should seek legal advice and proceed with caution.
Recent high-profile fraud cases gravely...more
10/29/2019
/ Accounting Fraud ,
Acquisitions ,
Auditors ,
Contract Terms ,
Due Diligence ,
Forensic Accounting ,
Fraud ,
Limitation of Liability Clause ,
Mergers ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Risk Management ,
UK
English Supreme Court rules that there is no reasonable diligence requirement barring a fresh action to set aside a judgment obtained by fraud.
Introduction -
In Takhar v Gracefield Developments Limited and others...more
4/17/2019
/ Abuse of Process ,
Appeals ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Estoppel ,
Evidence ,
Final Judgment ,
Fraud ,
Res Judicata ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Set-Asides ,
UK ,
UK Supreme Court
A rare example of the English High Court varying an arbitral award.
In Dakshu Patel v. Kesha Patel [2019] EWHC 298 (Ch), the English High Court upheld an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act)...more
Parties must draft arbitration agreements with Chinese parties clearly and precisely to ensure validity and avoid unwanted litigation.
A Beijing court recently adopted a pro-arbitration approach in upholding the validity...more
Applicants challenging jurisdiction must satisfy a single three-limbed test, rather than establish a ‘good arguable case’ and ‘better of the argument’.
The English Court of Appeal has clarified the correct test to be...more
Courts of England are some of the most established fora for dealing with complex commercial litigation. The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) that govern litigation are robust and provide a clear framework for the cost-effective...more
1/10/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Litigation ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Commercial Court ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Good Faith ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Statutory Remedies ,
UK
Third-party assets controlled (de facto or de jure) by the respondent are ordinarily outside the scope of a freezing injunction unless exceptional circumstances can be established.
In the recent case of FM Capital Partners...more
English High Court confirms that without notice applicants are under an onerous duty to satisfy the requirement of full and frank disclosure.
In the recent cases of Fundo Soberano de Angola & ors v. Jose Filomeno dos...more
Claimants and practitioners must be mindful of the period in which a claim form must be served after filing.
In Viner v. Volkswagen Group Limited [2018] EWHC 2006 (QB) Senior Master Fontaine refused the claimants’...more
Judgment clarifies the exceptional circumstances in which anti-arbitration injunctions against foreign-seated arbitrations might be granted.
In Sabbagh v Khoury, Justice Knowles in the High Court issued an anti-arbitration...more
Judgement clarifies that the Brussels Recast Regulation does not reverse the West Tankers decision.
In Nori Holdings v Bank Otkritie, Justice Males in the High Court issued an anti-suit injunction to restrain court...more
England may become an increasingly attractive forum for follow on damages claims, particularly those involving indirect cartelised product purchases initially acquired outside EEA the in wake of iiyama decisions.
Summary -...more
Judgment confirms the effectiveness of contractual provisions that prevent the parties from varying their contract orally.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom recently held that an oral variation of a contract was...more
The decision confirms that UNCITRAL Rules do not impose a higher procedural fairness burden than the Arbitration Act and that the foreign act of state doctrine applies in arbitrations.
The Commercial Court considered...more
Decision encourages a deferential approach to enforcing foreign awards in England and confirms narrow interpretation of the public policy exception under the New York Convention.
The English Court of Appeal has confirmed...more
Arbitrators should disclose subsequent appointments to related arbitration proceedings, particularly if cases materially overlap.
In the Halliburton v Chubb ruling, the Court of Appeal held that an arbitrator who did not...more