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The Court of Appeal has held that a settlement agreement between a bank and a group of companies which included releases of the parties’ affiliates prevented the companies from later pursuing claims against their own affiliates. Those affiliates were held to include former administrators appointed by the bank and the administrators’ solicitors: Schofield v Smith [2022] … Read more
The English courts have for many years recognised the benefits of ADR and encouraged parties to engage in it. That endorsement has become all the more pronounced with recent statements by the Master of the Rolls to the effect that there is nothing “alternative” about ADR. In this regard an issue which arises, and has … Read more
The UK government has launched a consultation seeking views on whether the UK should sign the Singapore Convention, which came into force in September 2020 and provides a framework for a global enforcement regime for settlement agreements resulting from mediation of international commercial disputes. The consultation closes on 1 April 2022. The consultation document shows … Read more
In November 2021, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) published an Interim Report considering what role pre-action protocols (PAPs) should play in the civil justice system and inviting views on a range of possible reforms to the existing pre-action regime. The interim report describes the proposed changes as “evolutionary rather than revolutionary”. However, if the proposed … Read more
In this ninth episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts, we give a brief update on developments relating to Brexit, and discuss some recent cases on factual witness and expert evidence. We also look at a recent Civil Justice Council report on compulsory ADR and finally we discuss an important Supreme Court decision … Read more
In a report published earlier this week, Compulsory ADR, the Civil Justice Council (CJC) has recommended a greater use of compulsory ADR within the civil courts of England and Wales. In particular, it has concluded that court-mandated ADR is not incompatible with Article 6 of the European Human Rights Convention (right to a fair trial) … Read more
Tomorrow marks an important day for international dispute resolution as the Singapore Mediation Convention comes into force, just over a year after its signing ceremony on 7 August 2019. More formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, the new Convention aims to establish a global enforcement regime for settlement … Read more
The High Court has disallowed a substantial part of a successful defendant’s costs as a result of its failure to engage in mediation: Wales (t/a Selective Investment Services) v CBRE Managed Services Ltd & Anor [2020] EWHC 1050 (Comm). This decision highlights that a refusal to participate in ADR may have serious consequences for parties … Read more
The High Court has imposed indemnity costs in two recent cases as a result of a party’s unreasonable failure to engage in ADR: DSN v Blackpool Football Club Ltd [2020] EWHC 670 (QB) and BXB v Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society of Pennsylvannia [2020] EWHC 656 (Admin). In both cases, the party’s belief in the strength of its … Read more