Litigation Notes

High Court finds England proper forum to hear claim against further party where claimant had no real choice over where to sue anchor defendants

The High Court has held that England was the proper forum to determine a dispute against an additional defendant, so as to avoid multiple proceedings and …

New president and justices of the Supreme Court announced

It was announced yesterday that Lord Reed will succeed Lady Hale as President of the Supreme Court when she retires on 10 January 2020, having served as …

Launch of Asia Pacific Guide to Privilege 2019, including England and Wales chapter

Our Asia Pacific Guide to Privilege has recently been launched, including a new chapter on England and Wales and a question added to each of the other …

Court of Appeal confirms jurisdiction to restrain foreign arbitration even where England is not the natural forum for the dispute

The Court of Appeal has partly upheld the injunction granted by the Commercial Court restraining the pursuit of arbitration proceedings seated in …

Disclosure pilot: High Court clarifies test for varying disclosure orders and encourages use of disclosure guidance hearings

Margin by which party beat own Part 36 offer not relevant in determining costs consequences

The High Court has found that, where a claimant beat its own Part 36 offer by only a very small margin relative to the size of the claim, that was not a …

What does your contract mean? How the courts interpret contracts

All too often, a term might seem perfectly clear to the parties when the contract is agreed, but a dispute later arises as to how it is meant to apply in …

High Court finds there is no power to stay English proceedings to give effect to exclusive jurisdiction clause in favour of non-EU court unless proceedings were commenced first in the foreign court

The High Court has held that there is no power under the recast Brussels Regulation to stay English proceedings against an English domiciled defendant in …

Upcoming webinar - The Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005 and the Hague Judgments Convention 2019: When and how will they apply?

On Tuesday 23 July 2019 (1-2pm BST), Anna Pertoldi and Jan O'Neill will deliver the latest in our series of webinars for Herbert Smith Freehills clients …

Court of Appeal decision illustrates proper application of compensatory principle of damages, as well as modern approach to contractual interpretation

Article published - Anomalies in the English law of privilege: a triumph of form over substance

Legal professional privilege is recognised as a fundamental human right, which serves an important public interest in allowing parties to take legal …

New Hague Judgments Convention: finally adopted but may be some years before impact is felt

On Tuesday, 2 July 2019, the Hague Conference on Private International Law finalised a new treaty on enforcement of judgments: the Convention on the …