Litigation/Dispute Resolution

The High Court has ruled that a circuit judge should not hear any more of a claim against HSBC because his own relationship with the bank raised the risk of apparent bias.

A law firm which released nearly £1.3m in deposits for off-plan flats in a failed development in Liverpool did not breach its contract with the buyers, appeal judges have ruled.

The Ministry of Justice is to launch a “wide-ranging” call for evidence on open justice, access to information and transparency across the courts and tribunals.

A bank’s solicitor may owe a duty of care to the seller of the property when filling in Land Registry paperwork to change the register, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

A law firm being sued for wrongly releasing £2m it held in escrow among other alleged errors has failed in its bid for summary judgment on major elements of the claim.

The UK’s biggest banks are facing 109 class actions across different jurisdictions, while the value of UK class actions for competition law breaches multiplied more than six fold to over £26bn last year.

The High Court has rejected a law firm owner’s attempt to “stifle” a misuse of private information claim by a junior solicitor he dismissed by applying to have her case struck out.

The Association of Costs Lawyers has proposed working with the Law Society and Legal Ombudsman to revive a 1990s procedure as an alternative way for clients to challenge smaller solicitors’ bills.

A Scottish law firm with no presence in England can be sued for negligence south of the border over advice given by a dual-qualified solicitor on plans for a Cornish wind farm, the High Court has ruled.

A Bradford law firm has been ordered to pay indemnity costs after failing to obtain a court order forcing a rival firm to reveal who provided it with identical website copy.