Legal News

United States antitrust In accordance with the Hart- Scott- Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and rules and regulations made under it (the ‘ HSR Act’), certain deals, including this transaction, cannot close or be lawfully consummated until notifications are submitted and information provided to the Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC), and the statutory waiting obligations have been met. Completion depends on expiry or early termination of the relevant HSR Act waiting period. Mallinckrodt and Endo each lodged their respective HSR Act notification forms on 11 April 2025. Irish Court Approvals The scheme of arrangement must be approved by the Irish High Court, which entails an application by Mallinckrodt to the Irish High Court seeking the Court’s sanction of the scheme.......

Telecommunications Code—redevelopment ( Vodafone v Icon & AP Wireless) Vodafone Ltd v (1) Icon Tower Infrastructure Ltd (2) AP Wireless II ( UK) Ltd [2025] UKUT 00058 ( LC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling acts as a useful reminder that, under the Code—unlike the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954)—works undertaken beyond the demise on neighbouring land can be considered when opposing renewal on redevelopment grounds. Although the outcome on whether the site provider could rely on historic works is hardly surprising, the UT provided guidance on several elements of the operation of ground 31(4)(c): the UT confirmed that redevelopment works must be undertaken within a reasonable period after the tenancy comes to an end......

Tyson International Company Ltd v GIC RE, India Corporate Member Ltd (sued as the sole corporate member for Syndicate 1947 at Lloyd’s of London for the 2021 and 2022 years of account) [2025] EWHC 367 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? There are no certainties in litigation. Even when two Commercial Court judges have issued rulings tending towards the grant of permission to appeal, advisers should still proceed carefully in seeking it. Although the threshold may look modest—‘a realistic, as opposed to a fanciful, prospect of success’—and the points of contractual construction were sufficiently arguable that an earlier High Court judge ( Mr Hancock KC) indicated he would allow permission, the landscape of the proceedings had shifted. Intervening developments, including a judgment of the Court of Appeal, led Mr Cooper KC to determine that GIC did not enjoy a...

Companies across fashion, entertainment, healthcare and gaming stand to gain from the EU’s refreshed design regime arriving on 1 May 2025. The package ushers in sweeping updates to design rights, bolsters legal safeguards and even rebrands community designs as ‘ European Union Designs’. Experts caution IP practitioners to track the headline changes as the measures start to take effect in May. Giulia Maienza, senior associate at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, warned that although roll-out will be staged, businesses should promptly audit design portfolios and refine future design plans now to stay ahead and be prepared when the full framework applies. The Council of the EU signed off the reforms in October 2024, overhauling the Directive on legal protection of designs and amending the regulation governing community designs. See: LNB News 10/10/2024 58. According to the Council, a key objective is to ‘improve the...

Vardy v Rooney [2025] EWHC 851 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling broadly permits a party to present reduced incurred figures within their budget, giving the appearance of more modest pre- CCMC spend. The court confirmed that adopting this method is entirely acceptable and consistent with the statement of truth in Precedent H. That said, if there is any material indicating an intention to mislead the court about the basis on which the budget was compiled, this may point to misconduct. It remains a hazardous tactic because, if costs are later awarded on the standard basis, recovery could be confined to the incurred amounts stated in the budget. In principle, a party should only recover above what it regarded as a “reasonable and proportionate sum” where costs are assessed on the indemnity basis. Parties should also note that budgets might not...

Sullivan v Isle of Wight Council [2025] EWCA Civ 379 Background The claimant sought employment with the respondent local authority. In that applicant capacity, she was not permitted to pursue a whistleblowing claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996 ( ERA 1996). She had applied, without success, for two posts with the respondent local authority. Following those rejections, she wrote to her Member of Parliament to set out her complaints, sending the respondent a copy of the letter. She relied on that correspondence as constituting her protected disclosure. Following its investigation, the respondent concluded there was no evidence of wrongdoing by staff, and the complaint was not upheld. The respondent further decided that, in the particular circumstances of the case, the standard option of a further review of her complaint would not be made available to...

Key business tax announcements include: draft laws to overhaul UK provisions on transfer pricing, permanent establishments and the diverted profits tax a consultation proposing to extend transfer pricing rules to medium-sized businesses and to impose fresh reporting obligations on multinational groups for cross-border related-party dealings plans to create a working group to streamline and enhance administration of the Corporate Interest Restriction the government’s reply to the consultation on modernising the stamp duty on shares regime, plus a further consultation on elements of the 1.5% higher rate charge on certain overseas transfers of UK securities a consultation exploring reforms to HMRC’s dispute resolution approach, and the government’s response on tackling non-compliance, both within the Tax Administration Framework Review changes aimed at narrowing the range of capital assets captured by the VAT Capital Goods Scheme a 12-month deferral of the move to mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind and...

Antitrust CMA launches consultation on proposed changes to the CMA’s published guidance on applications for leniency and no-action in cartel cases The CMA has opened a consultation on proposals to amend its guidance on leniency and no-action applications in cartel matters. That guidance, issued by the Office of Fair Trading in 2013 and adopted by the CMA in 2014 (the Current Guidance), sits alongside accompanying quick guides. The exercise covers revisions to both the Current Guidance and those quick guides, which have now been retitled the Short Guides. The Current Guidance explains in detail how the CMA’s leniency policy is applied. Central to the CMA’s approach to deterring anti-competitive behaviour, the leniency policy underpins the effective detection and enforcement of cartel activity. It not only brings to light cartels that might otherwise remain undiscovered, but also motivates businesses involved in wrongdoing to provide...

R (on the application of YVR, (a protected party, by his litigation friend YUL)) v Birmingham City Council [2025] EWCA Civ 393 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling offers significant direction on how the public sector equality duty ( PSED) should operate inside local authority governance and decision frameworks. It confirms that the person or body genuinely empowered by the authority’s constitution must give due regard to the section 149 Equality Act 2010 ( EA 2010) needs, rather than those who would have taken the decision had a different route been pursued. Accordingly, officers acting under delegated powers may lawfully opt to keep existing policies in place without escalating the matter (for instance) to Cabinet, even where any alteration to those policies would have needed Cabinet approval. The judgment also gives a measure of assurance to local...

Barclays Bank plc v VEB. RF [2024] EWHC 3088 ( Comm) Contrary to this, the Russian bank commenced proceedings in the Russian courts. The English bank applied to the English courts for anti‑suit and anti‑enforcement injunctions, which were granted. The Russian bank then initiated arbitration proceedings, as it was originally required to do. During the contractual notice period, however, the English bank notified the Russian bank that the dispute should be transferred to the English courts. The Russian bank maintained that the English bank had waived that right......

State aid Court of Justice issues judgment concerning national reference from Poland on exemption from property tax The Court of Justice has delivered its ruling in Case C- 453/23, Precedent Master Mielca, following a reference from Poland seeking clarification on whether Article 7(1)(1)(a) of the 1991 Polish Law on local taxes and charges grants an exemption from property tax to land, buildings and structures that form part of railway infrastructure when made available to rail transport undertakings. Background Article 7(1)(1)(a) of the 1991 Law, as it stood between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021, exempted from property tax land, buildings and structures that constitute railway infrastructure and are made available to rail transport undertakings. From 1 January 2017, the relief was contingent on the infrastructure being used by a rail transport operator. E. sp. z o.o. (the appellant) owns plots containing railway...

Costs Judge Mark Whalan ruling Costs Judge Mark Whalan held that Vishal Mehta cannot have the court scrutinise a £3.1m ( US$4.1m) invoice issued by solicitors Howard Kennedy LLP. Vishal, son of Jatin Mehta—alleged to have misappropriated proceeds of gold bullion loans advanced to his diamond enterprise via a network of companies said to be under family control—had sought a review of the firm’s fees pursuant to the Solicitors Act 1974. That statute permits clients to contest fees and obtain a detailed assessment by a costs judge. However, such an assessment is available only where the application is brought within 12 months of payment of the bill, and Howard Kennedy contended that this window had already closed. On that basis, the judge found Mehta was not entitled to a detailed assessment......

On 14 March 2025, delegates from EU Member States examined the interaction between the two regimes, aiming to pinpoint compliance hurdles for both supervised organisations and supervisory authorities. Following this exchange of views, Poland, the current chair of the EU diplomatic discussions, collated the contributions and prepared a synopsis — obtained by MLex — setting out principal takeaways on the core issues identified. The resulting summary will be tabled for debate at a meeting of national representatives. Differing regulatory approaches Most European governments underlined how the two laws diverge in regulatory design. The EU GDPR safeguards personal data through a fundamental‑rights lens, while the AI Act functions as product‑safety legislation, imposing targeted obligations calibrated to the level of risk. For a number of Member States, this divergence in underlying logic could produce contradictory regulatory outcomes, whereby an AI system is judged compliant with the AI Act but not...

The white-collar watchdog’s revised stance, allowing firms to sidestep charges save in ‘exceptional’ cases when they flag suspected economic wrongdoing, could nudge boardrooms towards deferred prosecution agreements ( DPAs) rather than gambling at trial. ‘ This guidance could usher in a fresh phase of corporate self-reporting and DPAs,’ said Louise Hodges, head of criminal litigation at Kingsley Napley LLP. Previously, the SFO’s approach offered no assurance that businesses would escape prosecution if they owned up. But SFO director Nick Ephgrave told white-collar defence practitioners in a 24 April 2025 speech that, for the first time, companies would know exactly what they are entering into: no ifs, no buts, no maybes; as close to a cast-iron promise as possible—work with us and we will work with you. Eye-catching as the pledge is, the real shift is the office’s vow to reply to...

Data released by HMRC on 24 April 2025 shows that, across the first quarter of the year, the exchequer dealt with 15,000 tax reclaim applications, awarding an average of £2,881 to each individual claimant. Analysts suggest the running total for overtaxation since 2015—when the government brought in pension freedoms—has now exceeded £1.4bn. The regulations enable members of pension plans aged 55 or above to access a lump sum, or take flexible withdrawals, if desired, from their long-term savings......

Refinitiv Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 415 ( TC) The seven applicant companies were part of the Thomson Reuters Group and were parties to a series of intra‑group transactions with Thomson Reuters Global Resources ( TRGR), an entity that was tax resident in Switzerland. They sought directions from the FTT requiring all enquiries to be closed; in one case, they instead requested a partial closure. HMRC agreed that closure notices ought to be issued in respect of the four companies that were not engaged in judicial review proceedings. The other three companies had applied for judicial review, arguing that HMRC had misinterpreted the effect of an Advance Pricing Agreement and had acted in breach of its public law duties. In November 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed that application, in R (oao Refinitiv and others) v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 1412. The...

Commission Guidance—clarifying early obligations Since the very start of the year, the Commission has issued six notable guidance documents to help support compliance with the EU AI Act. On 4 February 2025, it unveiled the AI Literacy Repository to support Article 4, in force from 2 February 2025, which obliges organisations to actively promote AI literacy internally (see: LNB News 05/02/2025 43). The repository showcases practical training initiatives from early adopters and provides a benchmark for companies developing internal competence frameworks. On the same day, it released draft Guidelines on Prohibited AI Practices under Article 5, also applicable from February, offering legal interpretation with illustrative examples (see: LNB News 05/02/2025 39). Prohibitions include subliminal manipulation, exploitative systems, real-time biometric surveillance, and social scoring. Although non-binding, the guidelines act as authoritative reference points for organisations and should be built directly into risk...

South Square South Square Digest In this edition, Georgina Peters, alongside a Freshfields team, explores how an English court might be expected to assess a US-style liability management exercise that (1) depends on a majority within a class consenting so as to bind the remaining minority of that class and (2) affords dissenting creditors treatment less favourable than that afforded to those who agree. Richard Fisher KC, topically drawing on Thames Water, examines Sufficient interest, mischief making and setting aside sanction: when should a third party be allowed to seek to involve itself in a sanctioned restructuring plan and reverse the final sanction order? while Dr Riz Mokal delivers a thorough, well-argued review of the UK’s position in Cram dos, don’ts and darn its: The ‘too much unfair value’ approach to the UK cramdown. Click here to access the April 2025 edition of the South...

What are the practical implications of this case? This decision offers a welcome confirmation that the legal tests for granting security for costs to a defendant under Order 23 rule 1 RHC apply equally to a bid to set aside an arbitral award under section 81(1) AO, as recognised in P1 v D ( Arbitration: Security for Costs) [2024] 5 HKLRD 699 (not reported by Lexis Nexis®UK). That equivalence underscores the Hong Kong Courts’ endorsement of arbitration, ensuring challenges to awards are not advanced lightly. The reasoning serves as a recap of the principles distilled in Hong Kong Court authorities. Those authorities emphasise that the court enjoys an unfettered discretion to direct security for costs which, as Mimmie Chan J did, must be evaluated by reference to all the circumstances of the case and by employing a broad brush approach to costs. As...

Tik Tok owner Byte Dance Tik Tok’s parent Byte Dance could be hit with a fine as early as next week by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, after an investigation into whether users’ information was sent to China, a commissioner at the authority told MLex. Des Hogan, a commissioner at the Irish DPC, said in a Washington interview on the sidelines of a conference that action on Tik Tok would come within the next few weeks. He also added the DPC has circulated its draft ruling to fellow data protection authorities across the 27-nation EU and has received no objections. Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation’s Article......