Litigation Notes

Claimants “substantially succeed” in the largest ever English civil fraud trial

The High Court has published a summary of its findings on liability in the long-running USD$5 billion civil fraud action brought by the Hewlett Packard …

Court of Appeal gives guidance on jurisdiction rules in libel claims

The Court of Appeal has clarified how section 9 of the Defamation Act 2013 should be interpreted, finding that the requirement it introduced for the …

Privy Council confirms that the so-called “reflective loss” principle applies to ex-shareholders

The Board of the Privy Council has allowed an appeal in relation to the application of the so-called “reflective loss” principle, confirming that the …

High Court provides guidance on the reasonable belief element of the public interest defence under Defamation Act 2013

The High Court has rejected efforts to rely on a public interest defence under section 4 of the Defamation Act 2013 in circumstances where the defendants …

Commercial litigation podcast series – Episode 9: General update

Court of Appeal confirms application of Duomatic principle to beneficial shareholders

In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal has followed last year’s Privy Council decision in Ciban Management Corpn v Citco (BVI) Ltd [2020] UKPC 21 …

High Court clarifies extent of directors’ and shareholder’s liability in relation to unlawful distribution

The High Court has held that the liability of directors and shareholders of a company in respect of a distribution exceeding the company’s distributable …

Supreme Court judgment in the KBR v SFO appeal – limits to extraterritorial impact of the SFO’s document compulsion powers

In a recent decision concerning the scope of extraterritorial application of the SFO’s section 2 powers, the Supreme Court held that the SFO does …

Supreme Court applies Patel v Mirza to reject illegality defence to solicitors' negligence claim where claimant had engaged in mortgage fraud

The Supreme Court has held that a claimant who had engaged in mortgage fraud was not barred from bringing a claim against her solicitors for negligently …

Upcoming webinar – Litigation update

On Wednesday 4 November (2-3pm UK time), Anna Pertoldi and Maura McIntosh will deliver a webinar for Herbert Smith Freehills clients and contacts looking …

Privy Council clarifies application of Duomatic principle to beneficial owners and the conferring of ostensible authority

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has ruled that the corporate director and the agent of a BVI-based holding company did not owe the company a …

High Court says bank need not comply with numerous and repetitive DSARs which were being used for a collateral purpose

The High Court has dismissed a Part 8 claim against a bank for allegedly failing to provide an adequate response to the claimant’s Data Subject Access …