Legal News

Lenders including Barclays, Citigroup and JPMorgan told the UK Supreme Court that the Court of Appeal had circumvented the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s ( CAT) position as the primary assessor of whether to certify collective proceedings when it overturned the CAT’s decision to stop an opt-out claim. Daniel Beard KC of Monckton Chambers, for the banks, said the tribunal was entitled to evaluate the merits and strength of the case—alleging the banks rigged foreign-exchange markets between 2007 and 2013—when it declined to certify the claim on an opt-out basis. He said the tribunal applied the correct legal approach and reached a conclusion that was plainly available to it. The banks are contesting a July 2023 Court of Appeal judgment that altered the specialist tribunal’s collective proceedings order and permitted the claim to continue on an opt-out footing. The appeals court allowed thousands of...

HMRC v Bolt Services UK Ltd [2025] UKUT 100 ( TCC) Bolt Services UK Ltd ( Bolt) procured passenger transport from private hire vehicle operators and resold those journeys to its own customers, comprising overseas tourists visiting the UK and UK residents travelling for both personal and business purposes, without prior reservation. The dispute focused on domestic passenger transport within the UK provided on an on-demand basis, rather than through advance booking arrangements made ahead of travel. Travel by private hire vehicle is generally liable to VAT at the standard rate where the provider is registered for VAT purposes, yet many private hire vehicle operators in the UK are not registered and have turnover at a level that does not oblige registration under VAT rules. Bolt contended in this case......

Justice Richard Arnold granted Astra Zeneca leave to appeal and permitted lorries carrying about 175,000 packs of Glenmark’s generics to move on to wholesalers, provided they did not reach pharmacy shelves while the case continued at any point during those interim proceedings. In this way, Glenmark could keep its first-to-market advantage, while causing only minimal detriment to Astra Zeneca should the Court of Appeal later be persuaded to issue an injunction against supply. The judge said this approach maintained the status quo with the least possible prejudice to Glenmark’s position overall. The hearing was arranged at short notice, just days after the High Court refused Astra Zeneca an injunction to block the diabetes generic from sale while the court considered whether the patents supporting the branded medicine were valid in law. Glenmark, Generics ( UK) Ltd and Teva...

Cole v Marlborough College (incorporated by Royal Charter) [2024] EWHC 3575 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? Although this was merely a case management hearing, the court reviewed earlier law (the Data Protection Act 1998), the current regime (the DPA 2018) and a prospective measure (the Data ( Use and Access) Bill) to identify the proper principles for assessing exemptions when dealing with DSARs. In this matter, the College’s position drew on X v The Transcription Agency LLP [2023] EWHC 1092 ( KB), asserting that, as a matter of principle, it was entitled to withhold documents from inspection. In X, the issue concerned whether the claimant should be given documents placed within closed bundles that were themselves being challenged. That issue arose because DPA 1998, s 15(2) contained an express rule permitting the court to examine documents holding the disputed...

The IFS observed that staff in the private sector who have built up defined contribution pension pots are taking weighty, intricate choices about this pension wealth without obtaining advice. According to the IFS, set out in two reports produced with the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, this raises the likelihood that many will deplete their own funds and revert to state pensions and benefits. Mubin Haq, the Trust’s Chief Executive, from the charitable foundation, warned that the retreat of pensions guaranteeing an income for life means people increasingly 'shoulder the risks and complexities' of running their retirement pots. ' As we grow older, money decisions in retirement will become even harder,' Haq said. ' The challenge is compounded by the sheer number of different pension pots that many will be required to oversee and personally manage'......

Two units of restaurant group CG Restaurants ( Holdings) Ltd have reached confidential settlement terms with QIC Europe Ltd, the insurer, per a Tomlin order dated 26 March 2025. The order, endorsed by High Court Judge Richard Jacobs, pauses the action pursued by DC Bars Ltd and Tuttons Brasserie Ltd against QIC, arising, as claimed, from the insurer’s purported refusal to indemnify losses incurred after the government directed businesses to close across three identified lockdowns......

The Commission issued a study exploring trends, hurdles and prospects in algorithmic management, released a year and a half after it was finalised in December 2023. Observers link this notable lag to internal manoeuvring after a change at the top and view it as part of a broader attempt to buy time. Political considerations The former European commissioner for employment, Nicolas Schmit, openly backed workplace AI legislation, winning wide backing from centre-left EU lawmakers. By contrast, the incoming social affairs commissioner, Roxana Mînzatu, has adopted a cautious stance and has not pledged a binding measure. The present legislative term tilts further to the right than the last, with deregulation prominent on the policymaking agenda. Even so, despite the Commission’s current drive to pare back rules, tabling a bill on an issue prized by progressive lawmakers could prove useful later in the mandate. As a result, the...

Employment lawyers warn that a raft of rights introduced by the new legislation will pile pressure on an already congested tribunal system, risking barriers to justice for workers seeking to uphold those rights, especially people unable to pay for representation. Caspar Glyn KC, of Cloisters and chair of the Employment Lawyers Association, noted that tribunals are struggling with their current workload and that volumes are poised to rise. In his view, the tribunals are not dealing with what they currently have, and further claims are imminent. The ERB, which brings in measures including a so‑called day one right to claim unfair dismissal, is forecast to lift the number of cases reaching employment tribunals by as much as 15%, according to impact assessments released in October 2024. Commentators fear this uplift will compound the existing backlog of 66,800 outstanding cases and make it harder for...

On 21 March 2025, the Paris Local Division rejected Mul- T- Lock France’s argument that permitting competitor IMC Créations to bring infringement actions for the UK, Spanish and Swiss designations of a European patent would create a ‘significant imbalance’ between the sides. Through this ruling, the court affirmed its long-arm jurisdiction to address infringement occurring beyond the EU where the defendant is established within the EU, enabling rights-holders to advance multi-jurisdictional infringement proceedings via a single claim. Bardehle Pagenberg LLP partner Tilman Müller- Stoy observed that this sets up a structurally asymmetric scenario, effectively compelling the alleged infringer to defend on numerous fronts with several national revocation actions. The decision concludes a run of 2025 judgments on European courts’ reach in patent matters. In January 2025, the UPC first signalled it could hear accusations that German subsidiaries of Kodak infringed patents in the UK, since the...

Odeon Arcade Ltd Company v Smartestenergy Business Ltd [2025] EWHC 571 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling will attract wide attention across a range of practice areas, as it distinctly illustrates a situation in which the court refuses efforts to distort the plain and ordinary wording of a statutory provision, affirming the priority of natural language over strained constructions. Its most tangible impact lies in the property sphere, offering a straightforward steer on who bears liability under the EA 1989 for electricity charges within multi-let or multi-unit buildings, especially where supply is distributed to numerous occupiers via shared arrangements. Because the dispute emerged from an application to prohibit the presentation of a winding-up petition, insolvency specialists will also find it instructive as a demonstration of the famous test set out by Mr Justice Norris in Angel Group Ltd v...

A campaign led by Ekō is urging Meta to cease displaying targeted adverts to users. The effort refers to the settlement in letters sent to the company. ‘ This settlement confirms our right to object to the use of personal data for direct marketing’, Ekō notes in the project, which enables citizens to e-mail Meta to register their objections. O’ Carroll’s case could also significantly shape decisions on the pay-or-consent model, which Meta said it would pursue after the settlement, as the Commission prepares a final ruling in early April 2025 on whether such models align with Regulation ( EU) 2022/1925, the EU Digital Markets Act ( EU DMA). ‘ The potential ramifications [of the settlement] are massive, because it could provide a gateway not just for UK citizens, but also for a lot of Europeans to object to online...

The LSB graded the solicitors' watchdog as insufficient on operational delivery, citing 'serious concerns' about its authorisation, supervision and enforcement processes and about its risk assessment Departing from its previous assessment, the Legal Services Board ( LSB) has moved the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s ( SRA) status from green to amber for two standards that test whether regulators are well led and maintain an effective approach to supervision. On 31 March 2025, the LSB released its annual appraisal of the eight legal services regulators it directly oversees, spanning June 2023 to September 2024, and also considered information and relevant events up to publication. It has given the Bar Standards Board ( BSB) a red rating ('insufficient') for leadership and for operational delivery. The BSB is undertaking a programme of reform intended to enhance its efficiency and overall...

The result of a three-day hearing before the UK Supreme Court may signal a significant shift in how the broking and lending sector views its duties and everyday dealings with customers, said Nicola Pangbourne, a partner at Kennedys. The motor finance sector was jolted in October 2024 when the Court of Appeal firmly decided it was unlawful for car retailers to receive any commission from motor finance providers unless this was fully and transparently revealed to customers, and that they had agreed. Two major banks, Close Brothers Plc and First Rand Ltd, are contesting the judgment. The Financial Conduct Authority ( FCA), which has been examining car credit, has formally been allowed to step in. Chris Webber, a partner at Squire Patton Boggs LLP, called the dispute a major moment for two reasons. In motor finance, it will probably settle whether the FCA...

UK Finance, which speaks for 300 firms, said in a report produced with EY that wholesale banks lacking direct retail customers should be excluded from the Consumer Duty, a consumer-protection regime that requires good outcomes for consumers. The trade association argued that the Duty piles on cost and complexity, discouraging the supply of innovative products. It is a friction that regulators ought to resolve to improve the flow of capital into investments. The report added that wholesale investment banks have limited control over consumer outcomes and are already covered by significant consumer-facing obligations such as Mi FID II and the principle of treating customers fairly. The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II ( Mi FID II) is an EU legacy regulation that provides an investor-protection framework, requiring investment firms to act in the best interest of their clients......

Morgan Lloyd Trustees Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 102 ( TCC) The company acted as trustee to small, self‑administered pension schemes ( SSASs) established by more than 500 employers, who then entered into arrangements with their SSASs aimed at releasing cash. The structures adopted were either loans, secured by charges over various intellectual property ( IP) items—such as domain names, websites and trade marks—or, alternatively, sale and leaseback, or sale and licence‑back, deals concerning comparable IP assets. HMRC took the view that many employers had received unauthorised employer payments and accordingly issued assessments to unauthorised payment charges and surcharges. In addition, HMRC assessed MLT to scheme sanction charges. MLT applied to HMRC for discharge of the charges under FA 2004, s 268; however, HMRC refused certain applications and concluded that others were submitted outside the time limit. MLT and the employers appealed to the FTT, which...

Mergers The Commission approved Strategic Value Partners LLC’s takeover of exclusive control of OQ Chemicals International Holding Gmb H and OIG OQ Infrastruktur Gmb H ( M.11826) following a phase I review—see also Midday Express The General Court delivered an order in Case T‑23/22, Grail v Commission, concerning an appeal against the Commission’s Illumina/ GRAIL decisions (gun‑jumping, interim measures and restorative measures) ( M.10493, M.10483, M.10938 and M.10939), seeking to annul the imposition of interim measures after Illumina’s premature acquisition of Grail......

Banking & Finance— March 2025 case round-up Click Above Corben Mews Ltd and another v 381 Southwark Park Road RTM Company Ltd and others [2025] EWHC 105 ( TCC) — Freezing injunction—legal charge—beneficial interest—disposing of properties. In proceedings stemming from a freezing injunction restraining any disposal or diminution of Click St Andrews Ltd’s assets, the High Court ruled that Victoria Capital Trust’s legal charge over 17 and 18 Corben Mews ranked ahead of any prospective beneficial interest claimed by Click St Andrews Ltd. The Fixed Charge Receivers were therefore entitled to manage and realise the properties without contravening the freezing injunction affecting Click St Andrews Ltd. Jones v City Electrical Factors Ltd [2025] EWHC 414 ( Ch) — Guarantees—bankruptcy petition—liquidated debt or damages under the guarantees? This appeal turned on construing two guarantees and on how section 267 of the...

On 28 March 2025, the Association for Consumer Support Organisations ( ACSO) stated that the 2021 changes brought in by the Civil Liability Act amounted to a ‘stitch up’ between the government and the insurance industry. The Act, introduced in 2021, made significant alterations to the way motorists with minor neck whiplash from road traffic accidents pursue third-party insurance claims. It required that claims be submitted via a new online portal rather than through the civil courts, and also set out a new tariff for compensation relating to whiplash injuries......

Bartolomucci (a protected party suing by his litigation friend James M Bartolomucci) v Circle Health Group Ltd [2025] EWHC 529 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? When you undergo private medical treatment in England and Wales, the usual position is that you sign a written agreement with the hospital, yet there is no easily identifiable written contract with the consultant surgeon or the anaesthetist. If a patient alleges harm caused by a substandard level of care by a consultant during a procedure at a private hospital (here, a consultant anaesthetist), the most obvious defendant is the consultant personally. The private hospital ought to have verified that such consultants carried appropriate insurance (as it did here), and regardless of whether a contract exists between patient and consultant, the consultant remains susceptible to a tort claim. But what if, as happened here, the...

Press release: Sports broadcast and production companies fined £4 million in freelancer pay investigation BT and the British Broadcasting Corp have rolled out or refreshed competition law training for staff after the Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA) penalised them and three rivals in an unusual move to police labour practices. BT British Broadcasting Corp ITV IMG Sky At the same time, on 21 March 2025, the CMA closed an inconclusive investigation into seven film and television companies’ employment practices in non-sports broadcasting, saying it will instead flag concerns to the businesses under scrutiny. Alongside this, the regulator has pledged to refresh its 2023 guidance to help employers avoid anti-competitive labour conduct. According to DWF LLP partner Dimitris Sinaniotis, these steps point to limited awareness among recruiters and HR teams of how easily competition rules can be breached. He emphasised that training and compliance are what count; while not...