As we approach the deadline of 31 October, it is difficult to predict what will happen. But the prospect of a no-deal Brexit – either then or at some later date – remains a very real possibility. In this blog post we consider the implications of such an outcome for commercial litigation involving the English … Read more
The Supreme Court has held that the English courts did not have exclusive jurisdiction to hear certain claims brought by an English subsidiary company against Turkish domiciled defendants, including its parent company: Akcil v Koza Ltd [2019] UKSC 40. The judgment overturns the decision of the Court of Appeal and narrowly interprets article 24(2) of … Read more
The High Court has held that England was the proper forum to determine a dispute against an additional defendant, so as to avoid multiple proceedings and the risk of irreconcilable judgments. The defendant was a necessary or proper party to the claims made against the anchor defendants and the claimant had no real choice where … Read more
The Court of Appeal has partly upheld the injunction granted by the Commercial Court restraining the pursuit of arbitration proceedings seated in Lebanon: Sabbagh v Khoury and others [2019] EWCA Civ 1219. In doing so, it confirmed the power of English courts to restrain a foreign arbitration on grounds that the foreign arbitration is oppressive … Read more
The High Court has held that there is no power under the recast Brussels Regulation to stay English proceedings against an English domiciled defendant in favour of proceedings in a non-EU court commenced pursuant to an exclusive jurisdiction agreement in favour of that court, unless the foreign proceedings were commenced before the English proceedings: Gulf … Read more
On Tuesday 23 July 2019 (1-2pm BST), Anna Pertoldi and Jan O’Neill will deliver the latest in our series of webinars for Herbert Smith Freehills clients and contacts spotlighting legal and practical issues relevant to litigating cross-border disputes. This webinar will focus mainly on the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005 which applies … Read more
The Court of Appeal has held that an exclusive jurisdiction clause in a settlement agreement between an employer and employee was not effective to give jurisdiction to the chosen court. The dispute related to an individual contract of employment and the jurisdiction agreement had not been entered into after the particular dispute had arisen, as … Read more
The Commercial Court has confirmed that an individual investor, with substantial means and more knowledge and experience than the average person, may still be considered a ‘consumer’ for the purposes of Article 17 of the Recast Brussels Regulation (No 1215/2012), even when contracting to trade a specialised product such as cryptocurrency futures: Ramona Ang v … Read more
