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

The Court of Appeal has held that the so-called “reflective loss” principle will not bar the claim of a shareholder, who is also a contractual promisee/beneficiary, in circumstances where the company in which the shares are owned has acquired the right to bring a claim in respect of the same contract against the same wrongdoer … Read more

The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by a purchaser in the context of its claim for damages for fraudulent misrepresentation against the sellers of certain business assets that it had acquired. In doing so, the Court of Appeal held that damages for fraudulent misrepresentation should, as a general rule, be assessed by ascertaining … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills have contributed the England and Wales chapter of The Securities Litigation Review. Now in its seventh edition, The Securities Litigation Review is a guided introduction to the class action regimes for securities claims in the key jurisdictions across the globe, providing a valuable resource for corporates and financial institutions who might face … Read more