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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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In this issue Sustainable finance and ESG round-up Sanctions Shipping finance Project finance Trade and commodity finance Sustainable finance Debt capital markets Regulation for banking lawyers Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Useful information Sustainable finance and ESG round-up For this week’s coverage of Sustainable finance and ESG, see: Sustainable finance and ESG weekly round-up—1 August 2024. Sanctions UK insurer warns over collisions with Russian ' Shadow Fleet' A marine underwriter cautions that sanctions placed on the Kremlin following its invasion of Ukraine could prevent it from settling collision claims where vessels are insured by Russian rival IPJSC Ingosstrakh. For further detail, see News Analysis: UK insurer warns over collisions with Russian ' Shadow Fleet'. Russia ( Sanctions) ( EU Exit) ( Amendment) ( No 3) Regulations 2024 SI 2024/834: Exercising powers in the Sanctions and Anti- Money Laundering Act 2018 linked to assimilated law, these Regulations amend one item of UK secondary...
In this issue: Planning policy Biodiversity Lex Talk®Planning: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Related Documents Planning policy MHCLG launches consultation on proposed reforms to NPPF The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ( MHCLG) has opened a consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework ( NPPF). MHCLG is also inviting input on a broader suite of policy proposals concerning criteria for intervention in local plans, uplifts to planning fees, and suitable thresholds for specified nationally significant infrastructure projects. The consultation runs until 24 September 2024. See News Analysis: Government consults on changes to national planning policy. MHCLG publishes new towns policy statement and sets up taskforce MHCLG has issued a policy statement outlining the government’s ambition for a fresh generation of new towns. To deliver and underpin the new towns...
In this issue: Key developments and materials Electricity and gas market regulation and licensing Air emissions, efficiency, and climate change Networks and network connections Capacity Market, balancing services and energy system flexibility Lex Talk®Energy: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Key developments and materials Prime Minister and Secretary of State announce first GB Energy partnership The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, announced the inaugural collaboration between Great British Energy ( GB Energy) and the Crown Estate. The tie-up could unlock up to £60bn in private capital for the UK’s push towards clean power and energy independence. To enable this, the government is introducing two bills in Parliament today to give GB Energy and the Crown...
Following a ruling by the Competition Appeal Tribunal ( CAT), class representative and consumer campaigner Walter Merricks may advance two of his four proposed appeal grounds before the Court of Appeal, as he seeks to reinstate claims for losses predating June 1997 over allegations that Mastercard levied excessively high swipe charges from 1992 to 2008. In particular, the CAT has permitted him to contest its findings that a judgment of an EU high court cannot be invoked to contend that the limitation clock does not begin to run 'before the claimant knew that it has suffered harm as a result of the unlawful conduct', and that the tribunal wrongly grafted onto his case a 'reasonable discoverability requirement' as to whether he could reasonably have uncovered the wrongdoing sooner. On the EU point, the CAT said that although it maintains its position, 'we accept that a...
Provisional duties on Chinese biofuels The EU regulator has introduced provisional duties after concluding that Chinese biofuel producers were selling their goods in the EU at unfairly low prices. Two Chinese groups will face reduced provisional tariffs from mid- August 2024, while others are set to receive the highest rate. Jiaao Group ( Zhejiang East River Energy, Zhejiang Jiaao Enproenergy, Jiaao International Trading): 36.4%. Chinese biodiesel exporters that did not co-operate with the investigation: 36.4%. Eco Ceres Group ( ECO Biochemical Technology, Eco Ceres Ltd): 12.8%. Zhuoyue Group ( Longyan Zhuoyue New Energy, Xiamen Zhuoyue Biomass Energy): 25.4%. All other co-operating companies will be subject to a 23.7% duty, the document indicates......
According to the ABI, the eleven firms that have signed the Mansion House Compact — among them Aegon, Aviva and Scottish Widows — collectively held close to £800m in unlisted equity within their DC portfolios as of February 2024. Further signatories are L& G, Phoenix, Nest, Smart Pensions, M& G and Mercer. The ABI noted this represents 0.36% of the aggregate value of those funds overall, signalling solid progress consistent with the commitment made in 2023. Introduced by former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in July 2023, the Compact set an accord between the government and nine of the largest pension companies to allocate at least 5% of DC holdings to unlisted equities by 2030......
Mergers Government publishes The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ( Water Mergers) ( Consequential Amendments) Regulation 2024 The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ( Water Mergers) ( Consequential Amendments) Regulation 2024 (the Regulations) ( SI 2024/840) have been issued, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum. These Regulations deliver technical updates to the Water Mergers ( Modification of Enactments) Regulations 2004 ( SI 2004/3202) (the 2004 Regulations), prompted by Royal Assent to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 ( DMCCA). The aim is to prevent the 2004 Regulations from cross-referring to wording in the Enterprise Act 2002 that has since been removed or no longer matches the current text. Under the Water Industry Act 1991, Part 3 of the Enterprise Act 2002—containing the principal statutory framework governing mergers—applies to mergers between water and sewerage businesses in England and Wales, subject to the...
At an Employment Tribunal in Wales, Judge Samantha Moore told the Royal Mint Ltd that, while its wish to avoid unsettling its senior leadership cohort was a legitimate aim, this was not a proportionate response when weighed against the discriminatory impact of refusing to let HR director Sarah Bradley retract her resignation. The organisation reached its conclusion without appreciating the extent to which Bradley’s mental health influenced her decision to step down, according to a 16 July decision released on 25 July 2024. Judge Moore added that the Royal Mint’s reasons for acting as it did were irrelevant, finding a sufficient connection between the HR director’s disability and her resignation. The tribunal said it was unable to fathom why the employer did not pause to obtain proper, informed medical advice about the disabilities, their effect on the claimant’s behaviour and her...
Competition Appeal Tribunal approves BSV collective proceedings On 26 July 2024, the Competition Appeal Tribunal cleared the way for collective proceedings brought by investors in Bitcoin Satoshi Vision ( BSV), who allege Binance unlawfully coordinated with other trading platforms to delist it. The authorisation is conditional on the claim meeting litigation funding conditions. The tribunal stated that litigation funder Softwhale Holdings Ltd must agree to comply with the Association of Litigation Funders’ code of conduct requirements for cash flow and capital currency for as long as it supports the proceedings... Binance asked the tribunal on 5 June 2024 to strike out the action, arguing that when BSV was delisted in 2019 investors had a duty to sell and reinvest in comparable currencies and that their failure to do so contributed to their own loss. It said the delisting was widely publicised at the time through...
Singh (as trustee in bankruptcy of Mrs Angela Garcha) v Garcha and others [2024] EWHC 1844 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The obligation on a judge to provide reasons for their conclusions flows from three core considerations: ensuring that the appellate system can operate effectively ( English v Emery Reimbold & Strick Ltd ( Practice Note) [2002] EWCA Civ 605; [2002] 1 WLR 2409, para [19]) recognising that the parties are entitled to be told how their substantive rights have been decided ( Weymont v Place [2015] EWCA Civ 289, para [6]) upholding fairness by addressing any evidence that appears particularly persuasive, where such material exists ( Simetra Global Assets Ltd v Ikon Finance Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1413, para [46]) That said, a judge is not required to engage with every point raised. It is enough if the...
The agency tasked with tackling white-collar crime will not contest an appeal by Anna Machkevitch, daughter of Alexander Machkevitch, one of three billionaire partners who helped found ENRC. Machkevitch is seeking to overturn her conviction for failing to comply with an SFO notice requiring her to produce and hand over papers linked to her father. The SFO, which notified Machkevitch of this decision on 30 July 2024, said it could not delay a reply to her pending the outcome of its own appeal against a High Court judge’s findings that it had encouraged a former Dechert LLP lawyer to reveal the company’s confidential information......
Advanced Multi- Technology for Medical Industry & others v Uniserve Ltd [2024] EWHC 1725 ( Ch) This decision underscores the problems that may emerge when many actors are tied into contractual dealings, largely unfamiliar with one another, with inter partes exchanges routed indirectly via go-betweens, rather than by direct contact between parties involved. The participants spotted a potentially lucrative venture prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, yet they failed to put in place clear lines of communication. Clarity on who was saying what, and to whom, was missing from the outset. Passing information through numerous hands created confusion about the volume of masks that could be delivered, prompting a dispute over whether the supplier was in breach and whether the buyer could terminate the contract. The background facts In April 2020, Hitex, a Jordan-based producer of medical supplies, entered a supply agreement with Uniserve, an English...
Mergers The Commission approved: the set-up of a joint venture by Total Energies SE and OQ SAOC ( M.11552) following a phase I review—see more in Midday Express the takeover of sole control of Staci SAS by bpost SA/ NV ( M.11558) after a phase I review—see more in Midday Express The Commission has received notification of KKR/ Impilo/ Immedica ( M.11609) under the simplified merger procedure Note— For all ongoing merger probes before the Commission, see the EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Upcoming dates For dates of forthcoming EU competition developments, see the EU Competition calendar......
Exit charge—exit within first ten years Refer to the Q& A on how the available nil rate band is determined for an exit charge arising before the first ten-year anniversary of establishing a testamentary nil rate band discretionary trust, and whether pecuniary legacies under the Will that created the trust reduce the available nil rate band for the exit charge calculation. See also Practice Note: Relevant property trusts—the exit charge, and the section cited. For exits occurring before the first ten-year anniversary, the applicable tax rate is worked out by treating the settlor as having made a hypothetical chargeable transfer and then applying the effective rate of tax that would have been payable in that situation......
The Labour Manifesto Released ahead of the July 2024 General Election, Labour’s Manifesto pledged sweeping planning changes to unlock development and stimulate economic growth; see News Analysis: What the planning industry can expect from the new Labour government. After the new Labour administration took office, the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a speech on 8 July 2024 promising a consultation on the NPPF before the end of July, heralding a ‘new growth-focused approach to the planning system’ and the reinstatement of mandatory housing targets. The NPPF consultation duly appeared on 30 July 2024. Running for eight weeks, it outlines the government’s intended approach to updating the NPPF ‘in order to achieve sustainable growth in the planning system’. It also invites feedback on a range of broader policy measures, including raising planning fees, criteria for intervening in local plans, and suitable...
Lycamobile UK Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 638 ( TC) The dispute concerned Lycamobile UK Ltd (the Appellant) and its UK plan bundles comprising calls, texts and data for customers. The FTT determined that the dominant element was a supply of telecommunication services; any further features customers could access were merely incidental within a single composite telecommunication supply. In reaching that conclusion, the Tribunal relied on Card Protection Plan Ltd v HMRC ( C-349/96) and Purple Parking Ltd and Airport Services Ltd v HMRC ( C-117/11) to support its analysis. The Tribunal dismissed the Appellant’s contention that, on receipt of consideration, uncertainty as to how much the customer would consume, what type of services might be used, and the VAT treatment, meant VAT should only be accounted for when the customer used the services, and only to the extent used. As already...
John Gibson, who previously acted as case controller for the SFO’s probe into suspected bribery and corruption by ENRC, faced internal measures by the SFO after sharing separate confidential material. The SFO says that material did not concern ENRC or its criminal inquiry into the miner. Details and outcome of any disciplinary process remain unknown, and ENRC has not suggested he was suspended. Gibson departed the SFO in 2018 to head Cohen & Gresser LLP’s UK white-collar and investigations team. ENRC has brought proceedings against the SFO, Gibson and Anthony Puddick, a senior SFO investigator, alleging they supplied journalists with information to construct a ‘false narrative’ about the company. This admission follows statements by ENRC’s counsel, Anna Boase KC of One Essex Court, set out in court papers released at a High Court hearing on 26 July 2024, ahead of October’s trial, that Gibson was...
The Pensions Regulator The regulator confirmed that its new defined benefit funding code explains to trustees, sponsoring employers and advisers the guidance and expectations for meeting legislation on funding and investment strategies. Described as the DB funding code, the framework promotes robust long-term planning and sound risk management behaviours, the regulator noted. Guidance to help trustees design funding plans that reflect the level of backing available from their sponsoring employers. Direction on how maturing schemes can reduce heavy reliance on sponsors over time. Neil Bull, the regulator’s executive director of market oversight, called this “the final step” in realising the new funding code. He said the DB funding code achieves the right equilibrium between security and flexibility for scheme-specific funding and investment approaches, in the best interests of members and employers. It will enhance......
Reeves told the House of Commons that the incoming Labour administration must raise certain taxes and pare back expenditure to close a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances attributed to its predecessor. She said the Budget would require tough choices to satisfy fiscal rules spanning spending, welfare and taxation. Initial steps worth £5.5bn will arrive in October 2024 to begin bridging the shortfall, alongside departmental savings of at least £3.2bn, leaving a further £2.3bn to be met through extra tax receipts. A second package totalling £8bn is planned for next year. While she spoke, the Treasury opened industry consultations on scrapping preferential tax treatment for high-net-worth, non-domicile taxpayers, and separately on bringing “carried interest” paid to fund managers within the scope of income tax rather than capital gains. The proposals would align carried interest with income tax rates rather than capital gains. Under the...
Principles on extending time for EAT appeals scrutinised by the Court of Appeal ( Ridley v HB Kirtley t/a Queen's Court Business Centre & Others) Ridley v HB Kirtley (trading as Queen's Court Business Centre); Kostrova v Mc Dermott International Inc and another; Taylor v Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] EWCA Civ 884 What are the practical implications of this judgment? Considering three conjoined appeals where appellants lodged an appeal to the EAT in time but omitted a required document, the Court of Appeal held that the discretion to extend time under EAT Rule 37(1) requires recognition of a material and legally significant difference between situations: an appellant who files a Notice of Appeal and almost all documents required by EAT Rule 3(1) within the limit, and an appellant who files nothing until after the limit has expired. That distinction governs how the EAT should...
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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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