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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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Tumpuan Megah Development Sdn Bhd v ING Bank NV and another [2024] EWHC 2350 ( Comm) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling offers clear guidance for arbitration practitioners on how earlier awards can bar later claims in complex disputes spanning multiple fora. Even where concurrent overseas proceedings are on foot, an unchallenged arbitral award will still shut out a subsequent claim advancing contentions that conflict with it—for instance, asserting the tribunal lacked jurisdiction yet the arbitration was pursued. Accordingly, if a party loses in arbitration and aims to avoid issue estoppel arising from an adverse award, it must act promptly and bring a challenge under sections 67 or 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 ( AA 1996). Simply pointing to a potential challenge under AA 1996, section 103 at the enforcement stage is unlikely to be sufficient. The judgment also...
Consult Practice Note: US regulation of derivatives—one minute guide. For overview targeting derivatives lawyers on US regulation, refer to: US regulation for derivatives lawyers—overview......
HIDROELECTRICA SANTA RITA S. A., a Guatemalan company, Petitioner- Appellee, versus CORPORACION AIC, SA, D. C. Docket No. 1:21-cv-23807- RNS What are the practical implications of this case? In an earlier ruling in this matter, the Eleventh Circuit set aside its own prior authority to align with other Circuits, expressly determining that the domestic law articulated in Chapter 1 of the FAA operates as a gap‑filler in this context and supplies the vacatur grounds for an international arbitration award otherwise regulated by Chapter 2. One such Chapter 1 ground permits vacatur where arbitrators act beyond their authority and exceed their powers. This judgment, which endorses the District Court’s subsequent conclusion that the tribunal did not exceed its remit, reaffirms the steep threshold that must be met before a court will set aside an award on that ground, and offers concrete...
Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd v Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd ( Trinidad and Tobago) [2024] UKPC 33 What are the practical implications of this case? This decision examines when a party may invoke the defences of abatement or fraud to resist paying amounts certified as due under interim payment certificates. It also clarifies the difference between an outright assignment of all contractual rights (ie including the right to commence proceedings) and an assignment by way of charge, under which the Contractor remains able to bring proceedings to recover amounts owed. What was the background? Estate Management and Business Development Company Ltd (the Employer), a wholly owned state company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago, entered into a contract dated 4 February 2015 with Junior Sammy Contractors Ltd (the Contractor). Under that agreement, the Contractor agreed to perform residential infrastructure works (the Works) for the Employer at the...
Reynolds v Chief Constable of Kent Police [2024] EWHC 2487 ( KB) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision serves as a clear reminder that CJCA 2015, s 57 is not engaged in every matter that, on first glance, appears to be a personal injury claim. The court held that the tort of false imprisonment is not a personal injury claim because its essence is the deprivation of liberty. The practical takeaway for claimants advancing multiple causes of action is to think carefully before adding a personal injury head to their pleadings. In this instance, Mr Reynolds included an assault claim which was properly dismissed for fundamental dishonesty, giving rise to costs consequences that influenced the false imprisonment claim. Although the court concluded that the false imprisonment claim neither could nor should be dismissed for fundamental dishonesty, the presence of the...
Inherited pension pots will fall within inheritance tax from April 2027, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed in the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024. She said the move corrects a distortion that has seen pensions deployed as a tax-planning tool to pass on wealth, rather than fulfilling their core aim of supporting retirement. This reform sits among a suite of measures from the Labour government intended to address the previously announced £22 billion shortfall in public sector finances. As set out in the Autumn Budget Statement, HM Treasury confirmed that, from 6 April 2027, unused pension pots and death benefits payable from pension arrangements will be counted within an individual’s estate for inheritance tax ( IHT) calculations. In addition, pension scheme administrators will be responsible for reporting and settling any IHT owed on unspent pension monies and death benefits accordingly under these new...
In the matter of an application by JR222 for Judicial Review ( Northern Ireland) [2024] UKSC 35 Background This appeal is concerned with the correct construction of IA 2005, s 13(1), a provision that permits the suspension of a public inquiry. At the relevant times to these proceedings, Muckamore Abbey Hospital delivered inpatient assessment and treatment services and care for vulnerable people with severe learning disabilities, mental health needs, and challenging behaviour. In 2017, claims surfaced of improper conduct towards, and abuse of, patients by members of Hospital staff at the Hospital. Independent examinations uncovered systemic shortcomings in safeguarding procedures and deficiencies in governance, which had then caused harm to patients. Those allegations also prompted an investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI). The Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland ( PPS) brought charges against the Appellant ( JR222), a former staff nurse at the...
Essential Living ( Greenwich) Ltd v Conneely Facades Ltd [2024] EWHC 2629 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This decision underscores that the court will entertain natural justice attacks on adjudicators’ awards only in the starkest circumstances, and will discount trivial objections to the adjudicator’s method. Courts tend to disregard minor or immaterial criticisms of the adjudicator’s approach, looking only for substantive unfairness in most cases. In particular, the ruling indicates a court is slow to find that an adjudicator pre‑judged the dispute (and so was biased) unless they settled on a definitive view of a material point at an early juncture and deprived the parties of a fair chance to advance their arguments. The case also serves as a caution that a party can forfeit its ability to contest an adjudicator’s determination through its behaviour after the process...
Competition policy UK/ EU conclude technical negotiations for a future competition cooperation agreement The Commission stated it has concluded technical talks with the UK on a competition cooperation accord between the EU and the UK (the Competition Cooperation Agreement). The Competition Cooperation Agreement will act as a ‘supplementing agreement’ to the EU– UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement ( TCA), which allows for the possibility of a separate agreement on competition cooperation......
Lane v Lane [2024] EWHC 2616 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment serves as yet another caution to both parties and practitioners about the necessity of recording understandings struck between shareholders. It underlines for practitioners, as much as for the parties themselves, the value of documenting shareholder deals contemporaneously and at inception. On the particular facts, the court concluded that, in September 2003, four intended shareholders did in fact make a binding agreement by word of mouth. Even so, the dispute might never have arisen had the parties put their arrangements into writing at the time. Shareholders should remember that, although formalities may seem unnecessary at the beginning of a venture—perhaps because of close personal ties (as here, within a family)—circumstances can and do evolve. A carefully prepared shareholders’ agreement can capture any...
Competition policy UK/ EU conclude technical negotiations for a future competition cooperation agreement The Department for Business and Trade has confirmed the completion of technical talks with the European Commission (the Commission) on a UK- EU competition cooperation arrangement (the Competition Cooperation Agreement). The Competition Cooperation Agreement is intended to serve as a supplement to the EU- UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement ( TCA), which provides for the option of a distinct agreement dedicated to cooperation on competition matters......
The guidance arises from fresh penalty and enforcement powers afforded to Companies House by reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( ECCTA 2023), alongside the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 ( Financial Penalty) Regulations 2024 ( SI 2024/445). These regulations brought in a maximum financial penalty of up to £10,000 as an alternative to criminal proceedings, and although they have applied since 2 May 2024, the penalty has only been enforceable since September 2024... This framework is intended to raise compliance levels, enhance the accuracy of the register and curb misuse. Martin Swain, director of intelligence and law enforcement at Companies House, signalled that Companies House will not hesitate to deploy the powers now at its disposal. The guidance closely follows enhanced capabilities granted by the Economic Crime ( Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022, which created the...
Competition policy Autumn Budget 2024—key competition law announcements In the Autumn Budget 2024, on 30 October 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, set out a series of updates concerning the CMA: The CMA is allocated £139.4m for 2024–25 and £14.4m for 2025–26 to strengthen competition for the benefit of consumers. This package includes backing for the Digital Markets Unit, created to supervise a new regulatory framework for major digital companies, encouraging competition and innovation, and safeguarding consumers and business from unfair practices. In step with plans to introduce a statutory open data scheme for road fuels prices— Fuel Finder—the government intends to bring into effect the CMA’s road fuels information gathering powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 by January 2025. For further information, see Autumn Budget...
Autumn Budget 2024: initial reaction from the market. Follow this link to watch the video:...
Background The Fee- Paid Judicial Pension Scheme (‘ FPJPS’) was introduced in 2017, arising from the ruling in O’ Brien v Ministry of Justice [2013] UKSC 6. It broadly replicated the pension arrangements for salaried judges under the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 (‘ JUPRA’) but, at launch, only awarded benefits for qualifying service from 7 April 2000 onwards. Following O’ Brien v Ministry of Justice ( Case C-432/17), FPJPS was revised to extend benefits to eligible service prior to 7 April 2000. The changes also allowed qualifying members to have benefits assessed under the Judicial Pensions Act 1981 (‘ JPA81’), whose provisions covered certain salaried judges with service before 31 March 1995. The Judicial Pension Scheme 2015 (‘ JPS15’), covering both salaried and fee-paid judges, began in 2015. In 2022, in response to concerns about recruiting and retaining judges, the Judicial Pension Scheme 2022 (‘...
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered the government’s Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024 Keenly awaited and watched, this was the first Budget from a Labour administration in fourteen years, and the first ever presented by a woman Chancellor. Many headline measures for Private Clients had been trailed in one form or another, and several of the changes—such as the Capital Gains Tax reforms—were not as draconian as many had feared, proving less severe than anticipated. It was definitely a Labour Budget, unmistakably Labour in flavour, with the Chancellor honouring election pledges not to raise income tax or National Insurance for ‘working people’, and instead securing the £40bn of tax rises by lifting employers’ National Insurance, narrowing the scope of IHT agricultural and business property reliefs, increasing CGT rates, reforming the taxation of carried interest, changing the rules for non‑ UK...
The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed International Entertainment Holdings Ltd's appeal Upholding the lower court’s ruling, the judges confirmed that the policy phrase ‘any policing authority’ did not encompass directions issued by the government. The Court of Appeal disagreed, affirming the first‑instance interpretation. International Entertainment, owner of ATG Entertainment, which operates numerous venues including the Savoy Theatre in London’s West End, maintained that the High Court had misconstrued the policy and that Allianz Insurance Plc ought to have indemnified the business when theatres closed following government‑mandated lockdowns as the coronavirus pandemic intensified. The dispute turns on the construction of the wording, which stated that Allianz would cover the theatre enterprise for closures directly caused by an incident likely to endanger human life or property within a one‑mile radius of the premises, and as a consequence of which access to, or use of, the...
The watchdog’s decision According to the regulator, the major social network’s handling of information breached multiple provisions and infringed several articles of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation ( EU) 2016/679 ( EU GDPR). The ruling stems from a 2018 complaint lodged by the French non-profit organisation La Quadrature Du Net, and was initially submitted to the French Data Protection Authority ( CNIL). At that time, the group brought several complaints concerning Big Tech companies during the first week of the EU GDPR’s operation. Lawfulness of processing is central to data protection law, and processing personal data without an appropriate legal basis is a clear and serious breach of data subjects’ fundamental right to data protection, said the DPC’s deputy commissioner, Graham Doyle......
In a press release on 25 October 2024, the PLSA urged the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP) to issue legislation or guidance following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Virgin Media Ltd v NTL Pension Trustees II Ltd and others [2024] EWCA Civ 843 ( Virgin v NTL), handed down in July 2024. The PLSA noted that its members are now handling an increasing volume of enquiries from pension scheme members asking whether the ruling means they should receive an improvement to their benefits. According to Joe Dabrowski, the PLSA’s deputy director of policy, this could prove to be a vast and expensive exercise, with numerous unintended knock-on effects for employers, pension schemes, the Pension Protection Fund and insurers......
The protocol The protocol is a welcome and useful contribution; although it cannot dictate solutions for every contentious element of arranging a site visit, it does provide a consistent, pragmatic framework for a host of common questions. It looks set to spare parties from recreating the wheel on broad, generic matters, and may free them to concentrate on the case‑specific points that sit outside the protocol’s scope. Prepared by a working group of the IBA Arbitration Committee, the protocol is attentive to construction and engineering disputes yet is not confined to those fields, being proposed for deployment in wider commercial cases where a site visit could be contemplated. While site visits are far from redundant, the authors’ experience is that they are typically used less often in construction disputes than they once were. Any downward trend may stem from several influences, among them the growing...
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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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