Featured documents
Lucasfilm did not benefit in any way at Tyburn Film Productions Ltd's expense, counsel said to the appeals court there on 3 December 2025, in part because it already possessed rights over Cushing's likeness and an agreement and consent from the Cushing estate to 'resurrect' him as Grand Moff Tarkin. Tyburn contends it earlier made an agreement with the late actor then, at the time, granting the company a veto over any use of his image prior to his 1994 death. That contract concerns a TV series titled 'Heritage of Horror', which never aired. Tyburn further asserts the deal permits it to effectively 'resurrect' Cushing using stand-ins and CGI to ultimately finish the programme then if the actor were to die whilst filming remained in progress...
Irish telecom operator Eircom’s damages lawsuit against BT Group over a public-sector contract must be carefully managed to trial to deal with confidentiality issues and other matters, a UK judge told the parties today. At the High Court in London today, a judge said Eircom’s damages action against BT over a public-sector contract needs tight case management through to trial to address confidentiality and related concerns. Eircom brought the claim after Ofcom in 2020 penalised BT for its behaviour during a tender. Speaking to both sides, Judge Adam Johnson urged them to resolve any confidentiality flashpoints themselves and signalled he had no wish to step in unless it became unavoidable. He also expressed confidence that parties would do everything possible to keep confidential designations to a minimum, noting this was necessary to maintain control over the conduct of the trial. He framed this as the
The following document is attached: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/274 dated 5 February 2026, revising Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1981, establishing a final anti-dumping levy on imports of ceramic tableware and kitchenware produced in...
Justice Richard Arnold granted AstraZeneca 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 AstraZeneca 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 AstraZeneca 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 Pharmaceuticals have each begun proceedings in the UK to set...
Most recent News
Mergers The Commission: granted conditional approval for International Paper Company’s acquisition of DS Smith Plc ( M.11565) following a phase I review—see also, press release approved Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board obtaining joint control of Connexa Limited ( M.11836) after a phase I review—see also, Midday Express authorised the formation of a joint venture by Permira Holding Limited and Basic Net S.p. A. ( M.11808) after a phase I assessment—see also, Midday Express The Commission received filings for: Novo Holdings/ TA Associates/ Biocomposites ( M.11853) (simplified merger procedure) Nokia/ Infinera ( M.11663)...
Mergers The CMA has opened its phase 1 inquiry into the completed purchase of Capita One Limited by MRI Software LLC—see further, case page. NOTE— For all current mergers before the CMA, see further, UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Subsidy control The Subsidy Advice Unit has agreed a request to produce a report offering advice to the Welsh Government on its proposed Welsh Government Affordable Housing Scheme—see further,......
SM& CR MLex understands that the UK finance ministry is holding back the release of its review of the SM& CR, even though regulators have cleared the next steps. The regime has been on supervisors’ agendas for months, and the industry had expected movement on a planned consultation around the time of the Mansion House Speech in November 2024. That consultation is intended to ease the framework, reflecting its costs and administrative burdens. People familiar with the situation told MLex that regulators are set to publish a commitment to consult on softening the regime. The ministry’s pause may stem from a need to check whether the proposals align with the government’s growth plan. The SM& CR is a set of regulations designed to......
Britain’s finance ministry has submitted an application to the Supreme Court seeking to intervene during the three-day hearing on a significant car finance mis-selling judgment, warning that an outcome in favour of consumers could undermine the UK’s regulatory framework and damage its reputation. In April 2024, the Supreme Court is due to examine a judgment of the Court of Appeal, which in October 2024 determined that commissions paid by car‑finance lenders to brokers without the customers’ consent were unlawful......
His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs ( HMRC) announced that a forthcoming change, scheduled to take effect in April 2025, will ensure individuals drawing a private pension for the first time pay the correct amount of tax from the outset. In the January 2025 Pension Schemes Newsletter, HMRC also stated it had refunded £49.5m over the period from October 2024 through to December 2024......
Mergers The Commission authorised: the securing of joint control over Dow Infra Co LLC by Dow Inc...
At the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the SRA alleged that Muhammad Nazar Hayat sought to participate in a plan to mislead the Home Office by counselling covert journalists, posing as a prospective client and his family, to file a bogus asylum claim. Hayat was a solicitor and had formerly managed Lincoln Lawrence, a law firm in the west London borough of Hounslow. In July 2023, the SRA shut down Lincoln Lawrence, one of three practices closed after being named in a Daily Mail investigation into immigration services. Hayat rejects the SRA’s allegations, contending that translated transcripts of the exchange—conducted partly in Punjabi and partly in English—were inaccurate. He insists he did not advise the undercover reporters to provide false evidence in support of a fabricated asylum application. The Daily Mail asserted that lawyers at the......
Hoopla Animation Ltd (formerly known as Daisy Boo and Monkey Too Ltd) v HMRC [2025] UKUT 28 ( TCC) The taxpayer company was a special purpose vehicle incorporated to commercialise intellectual property in a pre-school animation concept. It formed part of a wider group through which third party investors placed capital into special purpose vehicles. The plan was that those third party injections would qualify for the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme ( SEIS) and the Enterprise Investments Scheme ( EIS), respectively. Investment was made by third party investors into such special purpose vehicles through the group, and the structure was intended to secure those outcomes. As part of the arrangements, the company entered into a production services agreement ( PSA) with another group company, under which that company would provide all aspects of production and delivery of episodes of the animation, in return for...
ATG Services ( Scotland) Ltd v Ogilvie Construction Ltd [2024] CSOH 94 What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling introduces no new principles for enforcement actions, nor does it shift the settled approach to such challenges. Parties are already well aware that the courts in Scotland and in England are reluctant to interfere with adjudicators’ decisions. Nevertheless, the case attracted substantial comment when issued, probably because of Lord Sandison’s blunt appraisal of Ogilvie’s defence. His judgment begins with the sentence: ‘ The defence to this action is entirely without merit.’ Even with such a stark view expressed, a party facing an award against it on a technicality in ‘smash and grab’ adjudication will still, as a rule, search for grounds to contest enforcement, especially where it considers the true value of the account to be markedly below the sum awarded. That...
Navigating the North Sea— NSTA releases new guidance to streamline M& A transactions The Guidance focuses on direct transfers of petroleum licence interests within the UKCS—namely asset-level transactions—termed Assignments. Such Assignments require NSTA approval pursuant to the model clauses for each licence. A distinct pathway, supported by separate guidance, governs changes of control in the licence holder—i.e., share transactions—and these sit outside the scope of the Guidance. Although not legislative, any party seeking to depart from the Guidance must write to the NSTA with evidence supporting the requested derogation. The Guidance will also inform assessments of investigatory breaches of the OGA Strategy and compliance with the Petroleum Act 1998 where completion of an Assignment is delayed or prevented, with the NSTA able to impose sanctions where breaches are...
Innsworth Capital has launched arbitration proceedings against Walter Merricks According to an application to approve the settlement of the collective group action against Mastercard in the UK competition court, formally published on 23 January 2025, Innsworth alleges the class representative has 'not acted with best endeavours to secure its return'. Innsworth’s choice to commence arbitration proceedings against Walter Merricks was confirmed after the investor criticised his decision to settle the case. The application, released shortly before a scheduled February 2025 hearing at that time, notes that Mastercard could contribute £10m towards the costs arising from Merricks’ ongoing dispute with Innsworth in arbitration. In a witness statement issued alongside the settlement application, Merricks said he believed it was 'in the best interest of the class' to accept the offer made and that the agreement was 'just and reasonable'. Merricks also added that...
Lalone cautions that DORA’s reach remains unclear for UK alternative investment fund managers with EU clients, including hedge funds, private equity, and real estate investment funds. He highlights the growing challenges in DORA-linked contract negotiations between financial entities and their service providers. With regulators able to impose unlimited fines when EU businesses err, the financial and reputational exposure is significant. What is DORA? DORA obliges financial entities to put in place a governance and risk management framework to withstand disruptions to digital and data services arising from third parties, such as cyberattacks. Accordingly, entities must ensure contracts with information and communication technology ( ICT) providers satisfy defined standards. In scope entities include investment firms Trading venues such as exchanges Fund managers Cryptoasset service companies Formally, DORA applies only to EU financial entities. However, group-wide systems and controls can ‘bleed through’ borders and...
Flat Iron Steak Ltd and QIC Europe Ltd end litigation An order recently released by the High Court confirms that Flat Iron Steak Ltd and QIC Europe Ltd have brought their legal dispute to an end, averting a trial that had been scheduled for 25 March 2025. The terms of the settlement were not made public. The restaurant chain, which runs sites in London and other cities, had sought £1m for each distinct disruption affecting its dozen locations in the capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. The insurer, however, contended that the business was entitled to claim no more than £1m in total for all losses combined......
Dunne v Financial Conduct Authority [2024] UKUT 416 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? The Tribunal’s ruling underscores that, absent cogent proof, publication will be presumed. For material to qualify as sufficiently cogent and attract real weight, it should come from suitably qualified experts; bare assertions by the Applicant or other individuals will not suffice. The Tribunal further emphasised that witness statements not tested through cross-examination carry diminished evidential value. In the absence of a proper reason why a party cannot participate in proceedings or give oral evidence, an Applicant and any supporting expert should be prepared and willing to give live testimony at the hearing to ensure the evidence is afforded the weight it deserves. What was the background? Ms Dunne provided pension transfer advice as an appointed representative of FSML, trading as HDIFA. She and FSML used a...
What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment underscores the English court’s capacity to deliver adaptable relief suited to disputes with an international dimension, reflecting a flexible, context‑sensitive approach. The court approved the approach in Schemmer v Property Resources Ltd [1975] 1 Ch 273, setting out how the English courts should evaluate whether an overseas receiver’s appointment is to be recognised in this forum. In Schemmer, the court stated that it must first be satisfied that there exists a sufficient connection between the company and the jurisdiction in which the foreign receiver was appointed. Applying that yardstick here, and as in Schemmer v Property, the required connection was not present, and accordingly recognition could not be afforded on these facts by the court here......
The ACA’s press release of 22 January 2025 In response to HMRC’s consultation, which has just closed, the release warned that pension schemes may face penalties for missing deadlines set under the new tax rules, as required. Until now, retirement savings of up to £1,073,100 have been outside inheritance tax altogether. However, measures outlined in the Autumn Budget 2024 mean that those who take lump‑sum pension assets exceeding £325,000 from a deceased person’s estate will incur 40% tax accordingly under these changes......
Venezuela did not persuade the annulment committee that the tribunal had been wrongly composed on the basis that arbitrators Kenneth Keith and L Yves Fortier could not be relied upon to exercise independent judgement. Nor did the committee accept Venezuela’s contention that Andreas Bucher was irregularly appointed following the 2015 resignation of Georges Abi‑ Saab. It then dismissed Venezuela’s claim that the tribunal overstepped its authority and failed to set out its reasoning, remarking that the award was “easily understood”. The state’s complaint that the tribunal miscalculated the compensation due to Conoco Phillips also failed to gain traction. “[ A]s we already observed, parties do not enjoy unlimited opportunities to present their cases,” the decision of 22 January 2025 records. “ Venezuela besides did not deny it had ample opportunity to present its case on the valuation factors. No violation of the right to be...
Demetriou and another v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2024] UKFTT 830 ( TC) What are the practical implications of this case? It serves as a reminder that the onus lies with the taxpayer to prove, with evidence, that the activities on the non‑investment side are sufficient to stop the enterprise being characterised primarily as one of holding investments. Where revenue stems from the ‘exploitation of land’, in whatever guise, there must be more than mere rent or letting receipts. Numerous cases indicate that such services must be substantial for relief to be available. Moreover, the services must be of a calibre and kind that goes beyond complimentary offerings or routine steps required to maintain and secure the property, irrespective of how they are delivered and how involved the owner is. In this matter the court made it clear that the bar was not...
On 21 January 2025, Nigel Cooper KC, acting as a High Court judge, concluded that reinsurance contracts between Tyson International Co Ltd and GIC Re, India, Corporate Member Ltd contained provisions that inevitably clashed and created uncertainty. One jurisdiction clause stated the reinsurance was to be governed by the laws of England and Wales, yet another term required arbitration conducted under the laws of New York, the court observed. Nonetheless, the parties had included what was described as a confusion clause, which was clear that English law was to take precedence if there was any inconsistency, Judge Cooper held. The court accordingly granted Tyson International permanent anti-suit relief restraining arbitration in the Empire State. The underlying dispute traces back to a July 2021 blaze at Tyson Foods Inc.’s poultry rendering facility in Hanceville, Alabama. Tyson Foods placed its property risk with Tyson...
In this issue: Key DR developments Costs and funding Cross-border disputes Injunctions Enforcement Applications ADR New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments Response to consultation The Civil Justice Committee ( CJC) has issued its response to the Law Commission’s consultation on contempt of court. The submission offers overarching observations on how the proposals affect the civil justice system’s accessibility, fairness and efficiency, with particular attention to technology and legal aid. It does not delve into technical questions about the substance or operation of the law. Nonetheless, the CJC endorses the adoption of simplified categories of liability and the removal of the ‘criminal/civil’ distinction. For further detail, see: LNB News 21/01/2025 47— Civil Justice Committee responds to Law Commission's consultation on contempt of court......
Popular documents
When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
Discover more from LexisNexis
