Litigation/Dispute Resolution

The strengthened rules on witness statements should not be used as a “weapon with which to fillet” essentially insignificant failures to comply, a High Court judge has said.

The Volkswagen NOx emissions group litigation settled yesterday for £193m – some £2,120 for each of the 91,000 claimants, but more like £3,000 when costs and other fees are added.

A pilot scheme that will see small claims cases determined on the paper in six county courts from next month is “likely to do injustice” to litigants, an academic has argued. Dr Kate Leader, senior lecturer at York University, said… Read More

UK law firms are risking their public reputation by working with Russian litigants, the largest group of international users of the Commercial Court in the last year, new research has warned.

Two Commercial Court judges have expressed annoyance with parties for taking unnecessary points, with one imposing a costs penalty in line with recent guidance.

The High Court has rejected an Italian law firm’s bid to stay a barrister’s claim for outstanding fees because of an action it took against him in its home country.

The High Court has rejected a company’s claim to litigation privilege over the identity of who instructed its lawyers, with the judge setting out a two-part test on what was a novel point.

Millions of former clients of personal injury firms may have claims to recover deductions following a High Court ruling today, according to specialist claims business Checkmylegalfees.

Leading libel lawyers have given very different opinions to the justice committee on what the government should do to control SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation).

The judge in charge of the Commercial Court has said she is “actively looking” for cases that can be heard outside of London – cases should be tried where they can best be heard for that dispute.

The Ministry of Justice has put back by six months to April 2023 the extension of fixed recoverable costs across the fast-track and in most money cases worth up to £100,000.

Civil litigation should be conducted “with cards on the table – face up” and the courts should not “sanction an act of deliberate concealment” by one of the parties, appeal judges have ruled.

The difficulty of people signing up to a collective action and the availability of third-party funding were legitimate factors to take into account in making it opt-out, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

There was no express or implied retainer between a law firm and a businessman with a “colourful commercial career” suing it for £2.5m in damages, the High Court has ruled.

The freedom of parties to choose their lawyers should not “transform into an ability to choose a venue”, a High Court judge has said in moving a judicial review hearing from London to Leeds.