Supreme Court applies Patel v Mirza to reject illegality defence to solicitors’ negligence claim where claimant had engaged in mortgage fraud

10 November, 2020
The Supreme Court has held that a claimant who had engaged in mortgage fraud was not barred from bringing a claim against her solicitors for negligently failing to register the forms transferring the property to her and releasing a prior mortgage: Stoffel & Co v Grondona [2020] UKSC 42. The decision applies the (relatively) new … Read more

Court of Appeal finds claimant breached terms of search order by conducting keyword searches of electronic data and considers interplay between search and imaging orders

23 October, 2020
In a recent decision the Court of Appeal has re-emphasised that the purpose of a search order (formerly known as an Anton Piller order) is to preserve evidence that is at risk of being destroyed by a defendant or potential defendant, and that a search order does not allow a claimant to inspect documents to … Read more

Court of Appeal clarifies whether a fledgling business can be pursued when a freezing injunction has been ordered

10 September, 2020
In the recent case of Orange Grape Spirit Limited v Nueva IQT [2020] EWHC 1837 (Ch), the Court of Appeal has clarified that, in the absence of an established pattern of trading, expenditure pursuing a fledgling business is unlikely to fall within the “ordinary and proper course of business” exception to freezing injunctions. The court can however … Read more

High Court finds “without prejudice” statements contained in mediation paper were admissible to defend against allegation of fraud

08 June, 2020
The High Court has held that statements made in a “without prejudice” (WP) mediation paper were admissible as they were to be used to rebut allegations of fraud, by showing that the claimants had known about, and approved, the transactions said to constitute the alleged fraud: Berkeley Square Holdings v Lancer Property Asset Management Ltd … Read more

High Court finds evidence of without prejudice discussions should be admitted to establish real risk of dissipation of assets in support of freezing injunction

22 May, 2020
The High Court has held that evidence of statements made in “without prejudice” settlement discussions should be admitted in support of an application for a freezing order. The respondents’ threat – to move assets and structure its affairs to frustrate the applicants’ enforcement of a US judgment – fell within the narrow “unambiguous impropriety” exception … Read more