Litigation/Dispute Resolution
Opt-out class action first for businesses as car delivery case settles
Businesses are to benefit from an opt-out class action for the first time after the last two defendants in the car delivery charges case settled for £54m.
Second time lucky as government agrees to reverse PACCAR
The government is to legislate to reverse the Supreme Court’s 2023 PACCAR ruling, which has brought huge uncertainty to the litigation funding market.
Law Society applies to intervene in Mazur appeal
The Law Society is to seek to intervene in the Mazur appeal amid specialist lawyers’ prediction that more costs disputes are on the way following the High Court decision.
Top litigation funder puts consumer claims fund into liquidation
Katch Fund Solutions – which is funding consumer claims worth hundreds of millions of pounds – has put its litigation fund into liquidation, it has emerged.
“Tide is turning” as county court delays continue to fall
Delays in the county courts are finally on the decline but they still comfortably exceed a year for anything but the small claims track, according to new figures.
MoJ floats referral fee ban to curb housing disrepair misconduct
A ban on referral fees and an increase in the small claims limit are among ideas floated yesterday by the government to curb “unscrupulous” behaviour in housing disrepair cases.
Ex-law firm owner sentenced to 12 months in jail for contempt
The non-lawyer owner of a defunct law firm has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for contempt after she failed to comply with a freezing order obtained by its previous owners.
Judicial mediation becoming a “safety net” for parties
A High Court master has explained how judicial mediation was able to resolve a dispute, where one of the sides was unable to afford a private mediation.
Increased tribunal delays have “profound impact” on claimants
An increase in delays in the administrative justice system, caused partly by a huge rise in caseloads for certain tribunals, has had a “profound and often compounding” impact on users.
CA to decide if duping opposing solicitor is abuse of process
The Court of Appeal is to decide whether a party’s attempt to deceive a solicitor for the other side into disclosing client information is, on its own, an abuse of process.
Public awareness of class actions continues to grow
The UK public’s awareness of class actions and litigation funding is continuing to rise, new research has found.
Mazur appeal lawyer sets out Court of Appeal battleground
The Court of Appeal hearing the Mazur case will have to decide between statutory interpretation and “the contextual argument”, the solicitor bringing the appeal said last week.
Law Society calls for urgent SRA advice on impact of Mazur on AI
The SRA needs to provide urgent advice on how artificial intelligence can be used in litigation in compliance with the Mazur ruling, the Law Society has said.
Insurance services provider launches own law firm
A leading provider of outsourced services and consultancy to the insurance industry has launched its own law firm to handle litigated disease, illness and abuse claims.
Court of Appeal agrees to hear “important” Mazur appeal
The Court of Appeal has granted CILEX permission to appeal against the Mazur judgment, saying it “raises an important point of practice”.
Blog
A letter from the SRA? Your first reaction matters
An email from the SRA has a way of rearranging a working day. It arrives in the same inbox as everything else, often in the same measured tone, yet it carries a different weight.
Regulate sole practices on evidence, not turnover
For a sole practice, the SRA’s plan that I cannot hold a compliance role if my firm has more than £600,000 of turnover is not a measure of risk. It is a ceiling on growth.
Is Google becoming pay-to-play for law firms?
For years, law firms have been told that SEO is the long-term alternative to paying for every click. That principle hasn’t disappeared but search results have changed significantly.
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