On an appeal from the Court of Appeal of the British Virgin Islands, the Privy Council has considered the damages that should have been awarded to a contractor as a result of the BVI Government’s breach of contract in failing to provide a prepared project site to enable the contractor to install a water reclamation … Read more

A disclosure pilot scheme has been underway in the Business and Property Courts since the beginning of 2019, governed by CPR Practice Direction (PD) 51U. The scheme was originally intended to run for two years but, at the June meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC), it was agreed that it should be extended … Read more

Damages-based agreements (or DBAs), under which a lawyer can receive an agreed percentage of any damages in the event of success, were introduced to civil litigation in England and Wales in 2013 as part of the Jackson reforms. But the take-up of DBAs has been slow, in large part due to a lack of clarity … Read more

The Supreme Court’s judgment in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd [2020] UKSC 31 has been eagerly anticipated by financial institutions and brings much needed clarity in respect of the so-called “reflective loss” principle, first established in Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v Newman Industries Ltd (No 2) [1982] Ch 204. By a majority of 4-3, the … Read more

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 introduces sweeping insolvency reforms in response to the business impacts of Covid-19, designed “to give companies breathing space and keep trading while they explore options for rescue”. Our UK Restructuring, Turnaround and Insolvency team have published an article in International Corporate Rescue which considers the key elements of … Read more

The High Court has handed down judgment on costs issues and an application for permission to appeal, following on from the court’s rejection last year of the claims brought against Lloyds in a shareholder class action relating to its acquisition of HBOS in 2008: Sharp & Ors v Blank & Ors [2020] EWHC 1870 (Ch). … Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills has published a new guide exploring a number of areas in which we anticipate that disputes may arise around the globe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic or associated disruption. These include contractual disputes, where parties may take steps to terminate a contract or claim damages if their counterparty is not … Read more

A claimant’s offer to accept a sum which was just 0.3% less than the amount of the total claim constituted “a genuine attempt to settle the proceedings” under CPR Part 36 where there was no substantive defence to the claim: Rawbank S.A. v Travelex Banknotes Ltd [2020] EWHC 1619 (Ch). Where a claimant obtains a … Read more