The High Court has published a summary of its findings on liability in the long-running USD$5 billion civil fraud action brought by the Hewlett Packard group in connection with its acquisition of the UK software company Autonomy Corporation Limited in 2012. The claimants have “substantially succeeded” in their claims against two former Autonomy executives: ACL Netherlands … Read more

In the context of a claim brought by the victim of a fraud against the perpetrator, seeking damages for consequential loss of investment opportunity in relation to certain fraudulent transactions, the Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by the fraudster on the basis that the victim was obliged to give credit not only for … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP have published an article in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law on the litigation and regulatory risks for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in England & Wales. SPACs scorched the US stock markets last year, with the UK left out in the cold. While the recent crackdown by the Securities and … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills have published an article in the Journal of International Banking Law and Regulation: COVID-19 market disclosures and managing the associated litigation risks. Since the start of the pandemic many listed companies have sought to strengthen their balance sheet by raising additional capital from shareholders. This article considers the types of disclosures relating … Read more

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a High Court decision striking out the representative element of claims for failing to satisfy the “same interest” requirement under CPR 19.6: Jalla & Anr v Shell International Trading & Anr [2021] EWCA Civ 1389. The Court of Appeal rejected the submission that this case was “materially … Read more

The Board of the Privy Council has allowed an appeal in relation to the application of the so-called “reflective loss” principle, confirming that the rule falls to be assessed as at the point in time when a claimant suffers loss and not at the time proceedings are brought Primeo Fund v Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) … Read more

HM Treasury (HMT) has published an initial consultation on fundamental reforms promising the biggest shake up of the prospectus regime since 2005. The consultation follows the conclusions of the Hill Review of the UK listing regime published in March 2021. In this blog post, we consider HMT’s consultation paper through a securities litigation lens, highlighting the … Read more