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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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Boris Franz Becker (a bankrupt) v Ford and others [2024] EWHC 1001 ( Ch), [2024] All ER ( D) 11 ( May) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling offers a clear distillation of the approach reflected in the authorities reviewed by Chief ICC Judge Briggs, summarised as: If the court has previously found non-compliance warranting a suspension of discharge, it should likewise be persuaded that the bankrupt has later co-operated to a level aligned with his duties under the Insolvency Act 1986 ( IA 1986). As a rule, the court will attach proper weight to a report from the official receiver or the trustee; as officers of the court, they possess insight into the bankruptcy and can brief the court on the bankrupt's conduct. Co-operation exists on a sliding scale: at one end sit bankrupts who are...
Addison Lee Ltd v (1) Afshar & Others (2) Mushtaq & Others (3) Akinyeye & Others [2024] EAT 114 Employment Appeal Judge Martin Griffiths held that the earlier tribunal committed no error in referring to prior Addison Lee litigation and in making deposit orders against three elements of the minicab company’s defence to claims by more than 300 drivers who maintain they are not genuinely self-employed and should be remunerated as workers. Judge Griffiths observed that earlier findings were not decisive, yet the employment tribunal was permitted to regard them as relevant and to take them into account when evaluating the prospects of success. They did not establish the point, but they were indicative. In 2017, Leigh Day represented three Addison Lee drivers who obtained recognition as workers in Lange v Addison Lee ( ET Case No. 2208029/2016,...
National Council for Civil Liberties, R ( On the Application of the National Council for Civil Liberties) v Secretary of State for the Home Department What are the practical implications of this case? Appreciating this judgment’s effect will assist practitioners guiding clients who may seek to contest both the vires of regulations and the fairness of an earlier consultation exercise. Ahead of introducing the new Regulations, the Government engaged with law enforcement about the operational consequences of reshaping the law to enlarge the definition of 'serious disruption' so that it encompassed anything 'more than minor'. However, it did not undertake broader consultation with the public or with other organisations or bodies that might have resisted the proposals, despite their adverse ramifications for the civil right of protest. Liberty advanced four grounds of challenge, namely: that the Regulations were ultra vires; that they were ultra vires...
The German government has recently unveiled a bill intended to update arbitration legislation. The overhaul is designed to modernise German arbitration rules and to make Germany more attractive as a venue for international arbitration proceedings. The government’s draft is closely modelled on the proposal released by the Federal Ministry of Justice in February 2024, although it also addresses a number of criticisms that had been raised by practitioners. One notable amendment to the existing legal framework is the intention to allow form-free arbitration agreements in the B2B sector. In contrast to the earlier draft bill, however, the government’s version has now removed the ability to demand a written record of such an agreement, and even to bring proceedings to obtain one......
From Munich, the UPC’s office issued a decision that wiped out an Amgen patent across all 17 EU Member States, covering key patent venues including Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy. The outcome represents a significant victory for Regeneron and Sanofi, which produce Praluent, a cholesterol therapy that competes with Repatha. According to the UPC, ‘ The patent as granted is invalid because it does not involve an inventive step’. Since 2014, the companies have been locked in a dispute with Amgen, which has maintained that the manufacture of Praluent infringes wording in multiple patents held by Amgen. In the US, the case appeared before a jury in a Delaware federal court, was subsequently overturned, and later proceeded to the highest court in the US in 2023, after many years of legal wrangling......
Mergers The CMA has formally halted its phase 2 inquiry into Alpha Theta/ Serato after the parties chose to discontinue the deal—see further, case page. NOTE— For all active merger probes before the CMA, see further, UK mergers—ongoing cases tracker Subsidy control The Subsidy Advice Unit has agreed to a request from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority for a report on its proposed GMCA Brownfield Housing scheme—see further, case page. NOTE— For every decision referred to the Subsidy Advice Unit under the Subsidy Control Act 2022, see further, UK subsidy control—cases tracker Upcoming dates For timings of forthcoming UK competition developments, see further, UK Competition calendar......
Judges at the UK’s highest court confirmed in July 2023 that the Quincecare duty does not stretch to individual customers who are duped into sending money to another bank account under false pretences. When a customer’s instruction is plain, a bank owes no duty of care to check, clarify, or verify what it has been authorised to carry out. The ruling effectively closed the door to victims of authorised push payment fraud ( APP) seeking to advance this form of claim. Figures indicate that people caught out by this online crime in the UK lost about £460m ( US$595m) in 2023. Even so, the Supreme Court left open the prospect that a bank could face a claim for failing to take reasonable steps to recover funds already paid out—a residual ‘retrieval duty’......
Amaplat Mauritius Ltd and Amari Nickel Holdings Zimbabwe Ltd stated on 18 July 2024 that Zimbabwe’s chief mining commissioner and its state-run mining company implicitly waived immunity from being brought before foreign courts by opting to arbitrate their mining dispute under the New York Convention. Moreover, because the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp ( ZMDC) is described as an alter ego of Zimbabwe, the filing argues the southern African nation likewise relinquished immunity from proceedings in the United States. According to the brief, Zimbabwe’s interference in ZMDC’s day-to-day operations, its disregard for corporate separateness in relation to ZMDC’s management and assets, and attempts to shift assets to new entities to avoid ZMDC’s creditors are classic indicators justifying treating a state and its state-owned enterprise as indistinguishable. Amaplat and Amari are pursuing enforcement of a 2019 ruling from a Zambian court that upheld the US$50m...
Lime and Black BPS Ltd (in liquidation) v Gill and others [2024] EWHC 1898 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? Many insolvency practitioners confront incomplete or almost non-existent books and records. That does not stop the court receiving oral testimony and setting it against the limited paperwork or other established/proven facts. In this matter, the court proceeded step by step, weighing what it had heard with what it could see, and reached a series of conclusions, not all to the applicant liquidator’s benefit. Those conclusions were sufficient for the court to find that the respondent was a de facto director, that he had breached his duties as a director, and that he should be held liable for all payments made by the company to him and for payments made by the company to third parties from accounts under his...
In the curious case of Fiona Harvey versus the streaming giant Netflix, the plot thickens. Netflix’s latest hit series ' Baby Reindeer' has set tongues wagging across the board. It charts comedian Richard Gadd (playing himself) and his real‑life ordeal with a stalker. Yet from the moment it aired earlier this year, weighty legal and ethical questions have hovered over privacy, commercial exploitation, and whether Netflix owed Ms Harvey a duty of care. Those debates centre on privacy, commercial exploitation, and the platform’s putative duty of care to Ms Harvey. Ms Harvey, reportedly the unwilling inspiration for ' Martha' in the programme, is not merely seeking the price of a subscription back; she is pursuing a $170m lawsuit. She alleges the show’s supposed failure to shield her identity caused defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and infringements of the right of...
Antitrust Commission accepts commitments from Vifor to address abusive practices in iron treatment market The Commission has agreed to commitments proposed by Vifor in the context of an Article 102 TFEU competition probe. For context, on 20 June 2022 the Commission launched a formal antitrust inquiry to determine whether Vifor limited competition by unlawfully denigrating its closest European competitor in the intravenous iron treatment market, Pharmacosmos, in relation to its product Monofer. On 8 April 2024, the Commission issued a preliminary view that Vifor was dominant in several national markets for intravenous iron medicines and might have abused that dominance through its unlawful disparagement activities. To address the Commission’s competition concerns, Vifor initially tabled a number of commitments. Between 22 April 2024 and 22 May 2024, the Commission market‑tested Vifor’s initial proposals and consulted all interested third parties to check whether they would...
On Saturday 20 July 2024, Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed that the review forms part of a 'big bang' package of reforms the party plans to set out to accelerate economic recovery. Reeves and the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, met with figures from the pensions industry on Monday 22 July 2024 to agree the scope of the review. Labour's wording mirrors that of the former administration, when Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak set out their own vision for the field. The Conservatives advanced their plans through the Mansion House reforms in 2023, intended to harness the £2.4 trillion pensions market as a catalyst for investment across the UK. Reeves said the review being launched is the newest stage in a big bang of changes to unlock growth, step up investment and secure savings for pensioners, adding that there is no time to lose......
The FRC announced five immediate alterations intended to ease the reporting load on existing signatories to the Code, which was established in 2010 to increase the overall level of transparency in investments. It obliges asset managers, pension firms and other financial institutions to steward capital responsibly and deliver long-term value for clients. Signatories must submit a detailed stewardship report to the FRC, clearly showing how the organisation has put the Code’s principles into practice over the past 12 months. The FRC said the swift updates ‘will clarify areas that signatories flagged as hard to tackle, cut the amount of reporting, and allow signatories greater flexibility in defining how they carry out their stewardship responsibilities.’ The changes permit signatories to reuse material from earlier reports and to include cross-references. The FRC added that the immediate reporting revisions to the Code are due to......
R (on the application of YVR (a protected party, by his litigation friend YUL)) v Birmingham City Council [2024] EWHC 701 ( Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment stands out for its close examination of a potential discrimination claim arising from the effects of a charging policy on disabled individuals with differing levels of need, and for setting that assessment against the severe financial pressures confronting a local authority. It offers a clear, structured approach to the discrimination issues, making it an important reference point for public bodies facing similar challenges. It carefully analyses the impact of charging arrangements on disabled people with varying needs. It frames that analysis within the context of acute local authority budgetary constraints. The court reviews R ( SH) v Norfolk County Council [2020] EWHC 3436—where a comparable challenge to changes in a social care charging scheme was found...
Introduction The Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) has performed admirably for nearly a quarter of a century. Nevertheless, within the arbitration community there has persisted a belief that a thorough review to modernise the Act was overdue, and recommendations in a Law Commission Report led King Charles III to announce the Arbitration Bill (the Bill) during his inaugural speech at the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024. The King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 made clear that the newly elected Labour government intends to press ahead with reform of the AA 1996 and to pass the Bill into law during the 2024–2025 parliamentary session as set out therein......
As Winston Churchill observed at the Lord Mayor’s Luncheon in 1942, this is no finale—nor even the beginning of one—more likely the end of the opening chapter. So it is with the FCA’s Consumer Duty. A torrent of imagery has been offered, yet those delivering change or advancing board reporting gain scant practical direction: boiling frogs boiling kettles, not oceans golden threads the art of the possible The last two years of implementation mark only the first stage of a wholesale mindset shift for firms—and for the FCA—across retail markets. With its outcomes focus, the Duty requires firms to define what ‘good’ looks like for their business and the processes most likely to secure positive results for all customers. Meanwhile, the FCA is starting to close the gaps, setting a cadence of studies and feedback that appears likely to...
Justice Secretary seeks to remove CCRC chair Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she is seeking to remove Helen Pitcher from her role as chair of the Criminal Cases Review Commission ( CCRC) following findings on 18 July 2024 that the statutory body missed opportunities to help exonerate a man wrongly convicted of rape years before the conviction was overturned. Mahmood, who was sworn into office on 15 July 2024 after Labour swept to power earlier this month, described the conclusions as sobering and stated it is her firm view that Pitcher is unfit to fulfil her duties as chair of the CCRC. She said she has therefore initiated the process to seek Pitcher’s removal from that position. Pitcher, who also chairs the body responsible for identifying candidates for judicial office, was appointed to the CCRC in 2018......
ISG Retail Ltd v FK Construction Ltd [2024] EWHC 878 ( TCC) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling reminds contentious construction practitioners to choose the correct route where any factual controversy persists or may emerge. Where material facts remain in issue, Part 7 is generally the more suitable vehicle. The judgment offers clear procedural guidance on deploying Part 8 and confirms that, to succeed under Part 8, a claimant must demonstrate the dispute is unlikely to involve a substantial dispute of fact. It also shows the court is prepared to step in and exercise its discretion to divert an existing Part 8 claim into Part 7 if Part 8 is found to be unsuitable. In essence, the decision reinforces the importance of ironing out all areas of factual contention before commencing Part 8 proceedings. Practitioners should keep this front of mind...
Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill After lengthy delays, the draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill proposes scrapping the Financial Reporting Council ( FRC) and creating a stronger watchdog, the Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority ( ARGA), intended to prevent major corporate collapses. It featured in the King’s Speech in the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament. On 17 July 2024, the FRC said it would collaborate with the Department for Business and Trade on the draft law, conceding there are ‘serious gaps in the regulatory toolkit’ that have needed reform for a long time. Richard Moriarty, the chief executive of the reporting council, warned that without these changes the regulator is akin to a sheriff for only half the county, working with powers that are too weak. Notable shortcomings under the FRC driving the draft...
Gateway tests On 17 July 2024, the Society of Pensions Professionals ( SPP) reported that a poll of 300 event participants showed 53% in favour of applying the tests to any transaction involving the planned state-backed consolidator. Gateway tests form part of the interim rules governing commercial superfunds. They stipulate that a superfund transaction may proceed only when a pension scheme cannot presently secure a buyout and has no realistic near-term prospect of doing so, and only when the deal increases the probability of members receiving their full benefits, as set out in the interim regulations currently......
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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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