Litigation/Dispute Resolution

The High Court has told solicitors to set out the terms of judgment embargos clearly to their clients after a case where the client misunderstood the meaning of ‘parties’.

Opt-out collective actions have seen hundreds of millions of pounds spent on legal fees, far more than was expected when they were introduced a decade ago, the government said yesterday.

The new case fee for complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service brought by law firms and claims management companies is already having an effect, it said today.

The High Court has highlighted the “fishy” role of two solicitors in a housing possession case in what “looks like a stitch-up” of the occupant by her ex-husband.

There is “a political agenda at play” against volume consumer claims firms, the new owner and chairman of leading practice Barings Law has alleged.

There are “millions” of motor finance customers in the same position as Marcus Johnson – whose claim succeeded before the Supreme Court – his solicitor has declared.

The FCA yesterday confirmed that it would issue a consultation in early October on a motor finance compensation scheme, stressing that consumers need not use a law firm or CMC.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has rejected an argument from a solicitor made subject to a general civil restraint order that his “underlying motivation” was “noble”.

The Supreme Court this afternoon overturned the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the motor finance litigation – with one exception, the unfair relationship under the Consumer Credit Act.

Class action practice Pogust Goodhead has accused the defendants in the Fundão Dam case of trying to “put an end” to the firm by settling claims directly with its clients.