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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...
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HMRC v Yorkshire Agricultural Society [2025] UKUT 4 ( TCC) Yorkshire Agricultural Society (the charity) stages and also operates the Great Yorkshire Show, a yearly agricultural exhibition. The appeal focused on how VAT should apply to admission charges for the 2016 edition of the event (the Show). The question was whether the Show met the conditions in VATA 1994, Sch 9, Group 12, Item 1(b) and (c). Under VATA 1994, Sch 9, Group 12, Item 1, a charity’s supplies connected with an event are exempt where the event is (a) organised for charitable purposes, (b) primarily intended to raise funds, and (c) promoted as being held mainly to raise funds. HMRC challenged the First-tier Tribunal’s conclusions in Yorkshire Agricultural Society v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 389 ( TC) that the Show satisfied limbs 1(b) and (c), and took the matter to the UT. The Show served two...
Digital markets CMA launches first ‘ SMS investigation’ under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 into Google’s general search and search advertising The CMA has confirmed it has opened an ‘initial SMS investigation’ under Part 1 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers ( DMCC) Act 2024. This announcement represents the authority’s first SMS designation inquiry within the new DMCCA digital markets regime. The CMA’s ability to designate undertakings with SMS, and to impose conduct requirements where appropriate, took effect on 1 January 2025. Its Investigation Notice records that Alphabet Inc, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Google UK Limited ( Google) operate both general worldwide web search and information return (general search), as well as business advertising services presented to users of general search (search advertising). The CMA considers these activities to fall within the definition of a digital activity and to be...
Having emerged in 2011 by picking up the assets of a failed carrier at auction, and later expanding by buying a smaller carrier in a further insolvency sale, Silver Airways filed for Chapter 11 on 30 December 2024. A shift to a new aeroplane manufacturer badly disrupted Silver Airways' business and finances, driving the company to seek investments and loans from its parent and others, according to a first-day declaration by CEO Steven A. Rossum. Silver Airways' largest individual creditor is Versa Capital Management, the private equity fund that has owned it since 2017 and holds a $211m second-lien loan. In 2022 it issued $50m of convertible notes to Brigade Capital Management LP, an amount that swelled to $186m over two years. The terms of the Brigade loan provided that Silver Airways would be penalised with an increase in the loan's...
EU database The European Commission will set up, run and oversee an EU database for high-risk AI systems from 2 August 2026. Before putting certain high-risk AI systems on the market or into operation, the provider must register — either directly or via an authorised representative — both themselves and the system in this database. The repository will also hold entries for non-high-risk AI systems. Most fields will be public, user-friendly, easy to navigate and machine-readable. Its purpose is to uphold fundamental rights and the safe deployment of AI through greater transparency and accountability. It will also enable supervisory authorities to track high-risk AI systems and verify that they satisfy applicable requirements. Registering Annex III high-risk AI systems The registration duty under Article 49 of Regulation ( EU) 2024/1689 (the EU AI Act) covers specified high-risk AI systems. Under the Act, high-risk AI systems are those deemed to...
Malik and others v Messalti [2024] EWHC 2713 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The emphasis under IA 1986, s 423(3) lies on the transferor’s subjective aim, rather than the consequences of the disposition. A transfer for less than full value can be impugned under IA 1986, s 423 where the transferor’s broad, abstract intention is to keep assets out of creditors’ reach, even without contemplating any specific existing or prospective creditor or class. There is no requirement for the transferor to know of any, or all, actual or potential creditors at the time of the transfer. A gift, or a declaration of trust, is only vulnerable if the prohibited purpose is proved (though it need not be the sole reason for the deal). The transferor’s awareness (or lack of awareness) of particular creditors may inform the factual inquiry into...
Murfet v Property Lending LLP [2024] EWHC 2787 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling confirms that Applicants seeking to set aside a statutory demand by asserting a ‘genuine triable issue’ ( Insolvency ( England and Wales) Rules 2016, SI 2016/1024, r 10.5(5)(b)) cannot advance ‘ Micawberist’ arguments that the ‘factual matrix’ might evolve following disclosure. Mr Justice Thompsell’s judgment makes clear that such speculative pleas will not suffice. The court also reiterated that where commercial counterparties have agreed that borrowing is repayable ‘on demand’, those contractual terms will usually be enforced. Borrowers who were content to contract on that basis (or failed to secure different wording) will face an uphill task later in persuading the court that the bargain should be ‘mended’. A further notable element is the discussion of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 ( UCTA 1977)....
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Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has partially upheld a complaint concerning the distribution of discretionary death benefits. In the absence of a letter of wishes, the Scheme trustee took into account all pertinent matters and carried out suitable enquiries. The trustee’s outcome was not considered perverse or unreasonable. Nevertheless, the complainant was awarded £500 for the notable distress and inconvenience arising from a 12-month delay in the commencement of his spouse’s pension. The Ombudsman’s decision underlines that there is a demanding threshold for disturbing the exercise of a trustee’s discretion... What were the facts? Mr R’s late wife ( Mrs R) belonged to both the defined benefit ( DB) and defined contribution ( DC) sections of the Credit Suisse Group ( UK) Pension Fund (the Scheme). Shortly before she died, Mrs R received an enhanced transfer quotation exceeding £500,000 in respect of the defined benefits she had...
Mergers After a phase I review, the Commission cleared joint control of Houtwerf BV and Distrhout NV by Deli Home Holding BV and Houtwerf International BV ( M.11569)—see further, Midday Express. Notifications received: Mutares/ Buderus ( M.11801) and Atlas/ Rehau Automotive ( M.11797), both under the simplified procedure. Public version of the MSC/ Clasquin decision ( M.11563) published—see further, decision. NOTE— See further, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Foreign Subsidies Regulation Notification received in Atlas/ Rehau Automotive ( FS.100161) (concentration). NOTE— See further, Foreign Subsidies Regulation—ongoing cases tracker. Antitrust Application published in Case C-762/24 Conserve Italia and Consorzio Italiano fra cooperative agricole and Conserves France v Commission, appealing the General Court’s judgment in T-59/22 that upheld annulment of the Commission’s Canned vegetables decision ( AT.40127)—see further, application. NOTE— See further, Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker. State aid Applications published in T-539/24 Ryaniar Designated Activity Company v Commission ( SA.59029— Italy— Covid-19...
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 1163 ( TC) The taxpayer operated the Port of Liverpool. From 2013 to 2017 it built Liverpool2, a new deep‑water container terminal at the port. The works comprised dredging a section of the Mersey riverbed and constructing a quay wall alongside the river, together with a ‘container transition area’ ( CTA) of reclaimed land to the rear of the wall used for storing and handling shipping containers. Ship‑to‑shore ( STS) cranes for loading and unloading containers from vessels were installed to travel on rails set on the quay wall. The taxpayer and HMRC reached agreement on the tax treatment of all items of expenditure other than that relating to the quay wall, which remained the disputed expenditure......
Original news Mrs H ( CAS-65551- M8D0)—22 August 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman has dismissed a complaint regarding a discretionary pension established by statute. The scheme’s provisions were outdated and offered no benefit to deferred members. To be entitled to a pension, an individual had to leave the Salvation Army’s service and make a claim—something the complainant had not done. The preservation legislation did not apply because no employer-provided resources existed ( Salvation Army workers are viewed not as employees but as officers of religion). The Ombudsman’s decision serves as a reminder that the rules of a pension scheme determine a person’s eligibility for benefits. What were the facts? Mrs H was a commissioned officer for the Salvation Army ( SA)......
Original news Professor M ( CAS-50740- F3M5 and CAS-38376- G3P7)—19 September 2024 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance concerning the absence of a late retirement uplift and an alleged lack of warning about the repercussions of leaving a pension arrangement. The trustees had no duty, in fact, to counsel a member on the implications of opting out. Even had a duty arisen, the applicant would nonetheless have exited, since his overriding aim was to preserve his lifetime allowance protections. The decision firmly underscores that, even where a duty is owed, any breach must result in a foreseeable loss for the member in question. What were the facts? Professor M belonged to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (the Scheme). He had exceeded the Scheme’s normal pension age and continued contributing, thereby qualifying for a late retirement factor within the Scheme itself......
Teva BV; Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC , Joined Cases C-119/22 and C-149/22 The decision confirms that, for the purposes of Regulation ( EC) 469/2009 (the SPC Regulation), a medicine composed of two active substances, A+B, is to be treated as a distinct ‘product’ from the corresponding single-ingredient monotherapies. Consequently, it is permissible to obtain separate SPCs, on the same patent, for both (i) monotherapy A and (ii) the combined therapy A+B. Nevertheless, the judgment overlays an ‘invention test’ on the grant of combination SPCs. Hence, to secure an SPC for the A+B pairing, it must now be shown that the combination constitutes a feature necessary to resolve the technical problem addressed by the basic patent... Teva v Merck Sharp & Dohme and Merck Sharp & Dohme v Clonmel Healthcare , Joined Cases C-119/22 and...
Partnering with the Lloyd’s of London insurance technology firm Fortune Guard, the broker has introduced the facility and plans to deploy artificial intelligence ( AI) tools to back coverage in the country following Russia’s invasion in 2022. Per the announcement, Fortune Guard aggregates data on projectiles launched into the country to estimate potential damage and to enhance risk presentation, assessment and underwriting processes. Mc Gill added that continuous data feeds in real time will help underwriters judge risks with greater accuracy and offer more cost-effective premiums for businesses in Ukraine......
Original news Mr S ( CAS-78487- F8S2)—7 October 2024 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning a transfer into a pension liberation arrangement. Despite flaws in the scheme’s transfer procedures, the Ombudsman concluded the complainant would have proceeded even if extra warnings had been issued. The determination underscores the need to assess whether any gaps in the due diligence process would truly have influenced a member’s decision to transfer... What were the facts? Mr S was a deferred member of the Asda Group Pension Scheme (the Scheme). In 2014, he received an unsolicited call from an unregulated provider promoting a pension scheme featuring an appealing hotel investment. Mr S asked the Scheme to provide transfer details to an FCA-authorised adviser. He was to act as trustee of the receiving scheme......
Original news Mr Y ( CAS-11778- X7B6) —30 September 2024 Summary The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a grievance concerning payment of an early deferred retirement pension following redundancy. The applicant, a protected person under the Electricity Act 1989, had experienced several TUPE transfers. The Deputy Pensions Ombudsman concluded he was not eligible for the pension because his service was continuous and he had not been compulsorily retired when his active membership ended. His employers were under no duty to inform him that his position might have been improved had he transferred his accrued benefits at the point of the final employment transfer. This determination underlines the complexities that can arise when members with protected person status undergo multiple employer moves... What were the facts? Mr Y was a member of the Magnox section of the Electricity Supply Pension Scheme ( ESPS). As such, he was a...
Competition policy CMA consults on draft Annual Plan for 2025–2026 The CMA has opened a consultation on its draft Annual Plan for 2025–2026. The document outlines the authority’s proposed priorities over the coming three years and pinpoints areas of attention for the next 12 months. It underscores how the CMA’s competition and consumer remit helps create the right conditions for growth across the UK economy. It also describes how strands of the CMA’s activity will spur stronger innovation, attract investment and raise productivity. In addition, it sets out the way the CMA will back the government’s Industrial Strategy. The CMA has updated its medium-term priorities and detailed fresh near-term areas of emphasis (in the next 12 months) aligned to each of its ambitions: to enable the whole UK economy to expand in a productive and sustainable way; to ensure people feel assured they are...
Senay and another v Mulsanne Insurance Company Ltd [2024] Lexis Citation 1051 What are the practical implications of this case? Where personal injury claims appear to be touched by dishonesty, defendants should forensically review which individual heads of loss might outlive a determination of fundamental dishonesty and thus still attract an award of damages and, crucially, costs. Losses that flow straight from the injury itself—such as loss of earnings, fees for paid assistance, and comparable items—will almost invariably fail once fundamental dishonesty is found. By contrast, claims connected to property damage, repair costs, credit hire, and analogous losses may remain recoverable. Sensible defendants should therefore think about making pinpoint Part 36 offers against discrete heads, narrowing the issues for trial to those elements that would be extinguished by a fundamental dishonesty finding. Even though Senay is a County. Targeted offers help confine disputes to...
Bridgecom International Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKUT 3 ( TCC) The FTT informed BIL’s agent, Accura Accountants Ltd ( Accura), that the case had been placed in the complex category, giving BIL 28 days to opt out of the costs‑shifting regime. BIL contends that this notice was ineffective, with the result that the costs regime did not apply. Its submission is that the FTT ought to have notified BIL directly, rather than Accura, because Accura’s appointment had not been validly notified to the FTT... Rule 11(2) of the Tribunal Procedure ( First‑tier Tribunal) ( Tax Chamber) Rules 2009 (the Rules) states that where a party appoints a representative (other than a legal representative) the party must send or deliver written notice of the representative’s name and address to the FTT. In reality, Accura, which was not a legal...
IPS Law Llp v Safe Harbour Equity Distressed Debt Fund 3 Lp [2024] EWHC 2663 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The judgment is a lesson in slicing through wide‑ranging, intricate objections that practitioners too often encounter from companies resisting winding‑up petitions, aimed at surmounting what is frequently a comparatively low threshold of showing a genuine dispute on substantial grounds. Creditors and their legal representatives are likely to applaud the outcome when met with a haze of points raised to obscure the true issues. The court made clear it will devote the necessary time to examine and test voluminous, complex material to determine whether the petition debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. The ruling also underlines the consequences of failing to adduce clear and convincing evidence—an omission that proved fatal here. This authority will be of real use to...
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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 ]...
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