Litigation/Dispute Resolution

A circuit judge has refused to make a group litigation order in relation to thousands of Plevin claims brought by one class action law firm, a move competitors had opposed.

Costs disputes worth more than £100,000 should be subject to compulsory adjudication, the judge who leads on costs issues in the Court of Appeal has said.

There should be mandatory regulation of the litigation funding industry by the Financial Conduct Authority, the director of regulation and policy at the Legal Services Board said yesterday.

More than half of professional indemnity cases issued in the High Court over the past five years were against solicitors, according to new figures.

Two former partners of a law firm did not vary their 50/50 partnership after it was set up so that one would be in sole control, the High Court has ruled.

The Arbitration Act received Royal Assent yesterday, with the government declaring it would keep the UK “ahead of the rest” and practitioners welcoming the new law.

The High Court is to reconsider its intention to allow a Manchester law firm to restrain a claims provider from presenting a winding-up petition.

The Competition Appeal Tribunal last week approved the £200m settlement of former solicitor Walter Merricks with Mastercard, in a case once valued at £14bn.

Barristers doing government work will see a 25% increase in rates from 1 April, in some cases the first rise since the panels were first introduced in 1997.

The unsuccessful claimant in the first opt-out collective action decided by the Competition Appeal Tribunal has been ordered to make an interim costs payment of £14m.