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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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K& J Townmore Construction Ltd v Damien Keogh [2023] IEHC 509 A High Court ruling in K& J Townmore Construction Ltd v Damien Keogh [2023] IEHC 509 is welcome news to many within Ireland’s construction industry. A party sought leave to pursue judicial review of an adjudicator’s decision under the Construction Contracts Act 2013, but the application was refused. That refusal ensures the Act will continue to operate as a practical and useful mechanism for resolving disputes in the construction industry in Ireland, preserving the intended effectiveness of adjudication... Townmore, Cobec’s main contractor, asked the High Court for permission to judicially review the appointment of the adjudicator, Mr Keogh (the Adjudicator). The Adjudicator considered that he had jurisdiction to determine a dispute between Townmore and Cobec under the Construction Contracts Act 2013. Despite Townmore’s assertion that the issue was not a ‘payment dispute’ within section 6(1) of the...
In this issue: Trusts UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals tracker Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Digital assets and cryptoassets International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers New Q& As Useful information Trusts Court dismisses claim for declaration of beneficial interests in shares ( Fulstow v Francis) In Fulstow v Francis [2024] EWHC 2122 ( Ch), the Chancery Division rejected the claimants’ action concerning shares in Capital Land, a company that owns development land. The claimants asked for declarations confirming their beneficial interests in Capital Land shares held by the defendant, together with an order compelling him to sign a stock transfer form to pass to them the shares they asserted were beneficially theirs. The High Court found there was no binding agreement for the transfer of 25% and 7% of Capital Land’s shares in return for...
In this issue: Competition and state aid Data protection and cybersecurity Financial services Life sciences TMT Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers Competition and state aid State aid— Commission launches call for evidence on revision of aviation State aid guidelines The Commission opened a call for evidence to collect views on the scope and substance of its update to the guidelines on state aid for airports and airlines (the Aviation Guidelines). First adopted in 2014, the Aviation Guidelines define conditions under which state support measures for airlines and airports are considered compatible with the single market. In 2018, they were revised to continue the specific regime permitting operating aid for airports handling up to 700,000 passengers annually, through to 3 April 2024. In 2023, the 10‑year transitional period for operating aid to all...
A1 Properties ( Sunderland) Ltd v Tudor Studios RTM Company Ltd [2024] UKSC 27 What are the practical implications of this case? This is a fact-sensitive judgment, reached in part because the intermediate landlord suffered no unfairness: they had the chance to put forward representations and advanced nothing that would have caused the application to transfer the right to manage to be rejected. The court underscored the absence of prejudice: the landlord had notice and a fair chance to respond, but offered nothing substantive. Practitioners should also note that the court’s purposive reading of the statute was permissible only because the CLRA 2002 is silent on the sanction for non-compliance. Therefore, departures from stricter schemes, for example the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, cannot be excused on the same footing. What was the background? The appeal related to Tudor Studios, a former factory in...
The rise and circulation of pornographic deepfakes, the distribution of intimate images without consent, and online sexual harassment fall most heavily on women and other marginalised communities in particular, affecting both high-profile figures such as Taylor Swift and everyday social media participants. With such conduct proliferating, the EU has signalled its resolve to curb it on digital platforms—no simple or straightforward undertaking, yet one the 27-member bloc is intent on addressing through the EU DSA. Yet the EU DSA stops short of listing particular categories of unlawful content. Accordingly, dovetailing the EU DSA with sector-specific and domestic rules is vital to counter the expanding array of illegal material online—among them the newly adopted Directive ( EU) 2024/1385 on combating violence against women and domestic violence (see: LNB News 28/05/2024 21). In force since 16 November 2022, the EU DSA targets illegal content and...
See Q& A: If a donor transfers their property yet pays rent to remain in continued occupation as a means to avoid the IHT gift with reservation of benefit ( GROB) rules, and it is determined that the rent paid was not a full open-market rent (either at the start or owing to a later failure to review it), what fraction of the property's value would be regarded as being included within the donor’s estate under the GROB rules for IHT?......
Bland and another v Keegan [2024] EWCA Civ 934 What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling bears significant consequences for practitioners in corporate law, insolvency, and dispute resolution. The main points are: Finality of the Register of Members: It reinforces the assumption that a company’s register of members is definitive as to who the members are, underscoring the importance of keeping it fully accurate for governance and decision-making Rectification of the register: The court clearly emphasises the importance of seeking correction under section 125 of the Companies Act 2006 ( CA 2006) where errors are alleged, signalling the need for lawyers to master the rectification route, the evidential demands, and the prospect of the court granting retrospective rectification Dispute resolution and settlement: It explores the effects of resolving proceedings without a hearing, exemplified by a compromise via a Tomlin Order here. Advisers should ensure...
Umbrella Care Ltd (in liquidation) v Raja; Brittain and another v Raja (a bankrupt) [2024] EWHC 1973 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Insolvency practitioners, acting in varied capacities—here as liquidator of a collapsed company and as trustee in bankruptcy of the director who committed fraud on HMRC via that company—regularly encounter serious non-cooperation. Where the obstruction is acute and there is a genuine risk the respondent may abscond and not return, the court can: Order the respondent’s arrest Impose restrictions preventing departure from the jurisdiction Direct that the respondent’s passport be held by the applicant’s solicitors until issues are concluded This delivers a clear warning to those obliged to assist IPs and obey court orders—engage fully or risk losing the ability to travel overseas. However, the character and persistence of the...
Expensive and Unequal On 26 August 2024, the Fabian Society called on the new government, via a report, to overhaul pension tax relief, suggesting reforms could raise around £10bn annually. The report, titled ' Expensive and Unequal', set out measures including adopting a flat, single rate for pension tax relief. According to the document, relief on pension contributions climbed to £66bn in 2022–2023—55% higher than in 2016–2017—yet £22bn was taken back through taxes on pensions in 2023. ' The UK cannot afford to maintain such a costly and badly targeted system,' said Andrew Harrop, general secretary of the Fabian Society and the report’s author, in a statement. He added that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, should 'raise revenue while also safeguarding family living standards and sticking to Labour’s manifesto pledges'......
See Practice Notes Consult the following Part 26A restructuring plan deal debriefs: Project Verona Ltd, Revolution Bars Limited, Consort Healthcare ( Tameside) plc, and C‑ Retail Limited (part of the Superdry group). For more depth on restructuring plans in 2023 and what is anticipated in 2024 and beyond, refer to Practice Note: Market Insights Trend Report—trends in Part 26A restructuring plans in 2023. For an overview of restructuring plans, see: Restructuring plan—overview......
Go City Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 745 ( TC) Go City sold passes that let buyers access London attractions and certain transport services without paying again. Following earlier VAT disputes over these passes, the business changed the pass terms; when the matter returned to the tribunal, the pass was treated as a voucher. From 2019, the UK adopted revisions to the voucher regime prompted by the EU Voucher Directive. HMRC first indicated that the pass would not meet the revised voucher definition. Seeking to keep the initial sale outside the scope of VAT, Go City adjusted its model. In broad terms, the new approach worked as follows: Go City sold customers a bundle of credits redeemable against different attractions when a pass was used to gain entry, the attraction provided Go City with a right of admission at an agreed price Go City...
Molecular Dynamics, Ltd v Spectrum Dynamics Med , 22 Civ 5167 ( KPF) ( S. D. N. Y. 23 July 2024) (‘ Molecular v Spectrum’) What are the practical implications of this case? Molecular v Spectrum recognises that, under the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention), the courts of the place where an award is ‘made’—that is, the arbitral seat—hold primary jurisdiction and the exclusive authority to set aside, vacate, or modify an arbitral award pursuant to domestic law. Courts in all other Convention States possess only secondary jurisdiction and are confined to declining enforcement, and then only on the limited grounds listed in Article V of the New York Convention... Whether a court is competent under the New York Convention to entertain an application to set aside an arbitral award is a question that concerns that...
The Upper Tribunal ( UT) found that Kalaris, although acquitted of fraud in 2020, misled the FCA when questioned about Barclays’ contentious capital raising with Qatar during the financial crisis. He had sought the FCA’s approval to lead Saranac Partners Ltd, the wealth and investment management firm he established in 2015, by taking up the chief executive and executive director functions. However, the tribunal panel unanimously rejected Saranac’s effort to overturn the FCA’s refusal. In a judgment dated 24 August 2024, the panel — Deputy Upper Tribunal Judge Anne Redston, Susan Dale and Peter Freedman — held that the regulator was right to deny approval after determining he had ‘acted dishonestly’ in two interviews with the FCA. ‘ We are in no doubt that if the matter were remitted to the [ FCA], it would inevitably come to the same...
E Rodrigues and others v Royal Mail Group Ltd , Employment tribunal case number 1404078/2022 In a judgment published on 26 August 2024, the Employment Tribunal concluded that the postal employees’ claims had no realistic chance of success, owing to the UK Supreme Court’s ruling in Secretary of State for Business and Trade v Mercer [2024] IRLR 599, which confirmed that trade union legislation does not protect against detriments falling short of dismissal. On that basis, Employment Judge Rohan Pirani struck out every claim, including assertions that Royal Mail Group Ltd withheld sick pay and overtime payments after staff engaged in numerous strikes during 2022. The Tribunal’s decision flowed directly from the Mercer authority, leading to the dismissal of the claims in their entirety......
UK- US extradition treaty criticism On 22 August 2024, Conservative MP David Davis and fellow Tory, former MP Jacob Rees- Mogg, argued that the 2003 agreement enabling the two countries to extradite their nationals should be scrapped or rewritten following Lynch’s fatal yachting accident. The Autonomy software founder was ultimately acquitted of fraud in the US in June, having been sent from the UK to face trial in 2023 after a protracted bid to have the case heard in the English courts. Lynch lost his life when the yacht he was on went down off the Italian coast on 26 August 2024. Lawyers told Law360 that prominent, widely reported matters such as Lynch’s tend to spark claims that the extradition pact treats British citizens unfairly, though there is little proof to support that view. According to Jago Russell, a partner at Boutique Law,...
Since John Penrose quit in June 2022, the role has stayed unfilled, despite persistent appeals from parliamentarians and campaign groups to appoint someone. He resigned in objection to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s part in the Partygate affair, in which officials held unlawful gatherings during the pandemic. Penrose, a Conservative MP who lost his seat in the July 2022 parliamentary election that ushered in a new centre-left Labour administration, told MLex the post needs a champion more than ever. He noted that there has been no Prime Minister’s Anti- Corruption Champion for more than two years now......
Mergers The CMA issued the full text of its phase 1 decision finding that Barratt Developments plc’s proposed purchase of Redrow plc satisfies the threshold for a phase 2 reference. The authority also indicated that undertakings in lieu of reference could be accepted—see further, case page. The CMA released the full text of its phase 1 clearance decision concerning the anticipated acquisition by Roche Diagnostics Limited of Lumira Dx Group Limited (in administration) and Lumira Dx International Limited (in administration)—see further, decision. Note— For a list of all live mergers before the CMA, see further, UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker. Upcoming dates: For dates of forthcoming UK competition developments, see further, UK Competition calendar......
What are the practical implications of this case? In its judgment, the Court of Appeal affirmed the tenets set out by the Court of Justice in Achmea, Komstroy and PL Holdings: arbitration awards rendered between an EU Member State and an investor from another Member State, where jurisdiction stems from an arbitration clause in an international agreement, must be treated as void because they conflict with core principles of EU law. The ground of nullity in Section 33 (2) of the Swedish Arbitration Act ( SAA) applies without any limitation period, with the result that challenges to intra- EU investment awards are never time-barred. This paves the way for any intra- EU investment award to be set aside. Consequently, annulments of awards may become more frequent where they are found to breach fundamental EU principles. The ruling reinforces the supremacy of EU law in...
Money laundering with fraud has been the most common of this type of criminality by value in the past six months, according to KPMG. From January to June 2024, the courts handled nine cases with a combined value of £128.2m, set against four cases worth £32.6m in the same months of 2023, the Big Four accountancy company's mid-year fraud barometer reports. The biannual barometer, drawing on media sources, focuses on crown court cases alleging fraud of £100,000 and above. ' Money laundering remains a concern in the UK because the complexity and sophistication of financial systems can be exploited for illegal......
R (oao UBS AG) v HMRC and another [2024] UKUT 242 ( TCC) As part of JW’s reward package, UBS and JW (then an employee) entered into three options over gilts in 2002. The options were not taken up until 2012, after JW had left the business, and delivery of the gilts did not occur until 2016/17 because of valuation problems. HMRC issued a determination under regulation 80 of the PAYE Regulations requiring the company to account for PAYE. The company disputed that determination, advancing a number of lines of attack, one of which asked HMRC to exercise its discretion under section 684(7A) of the Income Tax ( Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. HMRC responded that it was not appropriate to decide whether to deploy that discretionary power at that juncture, as the ultimate liability had not yet been fixed. UBS sought judicial review of......
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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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