Litigation Notes

Court of Appeal finds regulator cannot demand production of client's privileged documents unless statute overrides privilege

In a judgment handed down this morning, the Court of Appeal has held that an audit client was not required to hand over its privileged documents in …

Court of Appeal confirms “warehousing” a claim will not necessarily constitute an abuse of process

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision that a claimant’s unilateral decision not to pursue a claim it had commenced for a substantial …

Rule change to clarify default judgment can't be entered if acknowledgement of service or defence filed before judgment

There have been a number of conflicting first instance decisions on the proper interpretation of CPR 12.3, which sets out the conditions for obtaining …

Jurisdiction and enforcement after Brexit transition – latest developments re UK's accession to Hague and Lugano Conventions

As noted in our previous blog post, where English legal proceedings are started before the Brexit transition period comes to an end, most likely on 31 …

High Court declines to order specific disclosure even though failure to disclose may have breached initial order

A recent High Court decision underlines the strict approach the courts have tended to adopt in considering applications for specific disclosure under the …

Joint Operating Agreement arguably a “relational contract” but Commercial Court declines to imply duty of good faith or Braganza duty

High Court grants proprietary injunction against Bitcoin exchange holding proceeds of ransomware attack

The High Court has held that cryptoassets (in this case Bitcoin) can be treated as property under English law. As such, the owner of a cryptoasset can, …

Court of Appeal confirms instructions to law firm relating to escrow monies were privileged

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision which rejected an application for disclosure of documents containing a client's instructions to its …

Court of Appeal finds legal advice privilege is subject to a "dominant purpose" test

In a decision handed down earlier this week, the Court of Appeal has found that legal advice privilege (LAP) is subject to a "dominant purpose" test, ie …

Brexit under the Withdrawal Agreement: The implications for disputes

It now seems inevitable that the UK will leave the EU on 31 January 2020 at 11pm GMT under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the UK …

No collateral waiver where party relied on the effect of legal advice rather than its content

Court of Appeal overturns order permitting use of covert recordings to support claims in civil litigation before breach of confidence claim determined

A recent Court of Appeal decision illustrates the court's approach to the protection of confidential information, emphasising that the question of a …