Revisiting over 150 years of case law, the High Court has resolved a question on which both the courts and textbooks had given conflicting answers: is a director’s liability for payment of a dividend which is unlawful as a result of incorrect accounts fault-based or strict? Going against what appeared to be the established wisdom, … Read more
Damien Byrne Hill, our head of dispute resolution for the UK and US, reflected on the past challenges and future priorities for the CPR at a conference held at Mansfield College in Oxford last week to mark the 20 year anniversary of the CPR. Damien’s remarks were based on the results of an exercise to … Read more
The Supreme Court has held that the requirement to show “serious harm” under section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013 not only raises the threshold of harm which must be proved but also requires its application to be determined by reference to actual facts regarding the impact of the statement and not just to the … Read more
The Court of Appeal has today dismissed an appeal against the High Court’s decision that Morrisons was vicariously liable for its employee’s misuse of data, despite: (i) Morrisons having done as much as it reasonably could to prevent the misuse; and (ii) the employee’s intention being to cause reputational or financial damage to Morrisons itself: Wm … Read more
Despite evidence that a defendant knew he was facing potential proceedings which could bankrupt him, at the time he transferred assets to his son, the Court of Appeal held that this was not sufficient to find that the transfer was made for the purpose of defrauding creditors. Consequently, the transfer could not be unwound under … Read more
Securities litigation presents an increasing threat to UK corporates, with the potential for both regulatory action and civil claims by investors seeking recovery of losses suffered as a result of investing in applicable securities. Karen Anderson and Harry Edwards have contributed the England and Wales chapter of The Securities Litigation Review (now in its fourth … Read more
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal has clarified the ambit of the so-called rule against reflective loss, which has traditionally operated to prevent shareholders from bringing claims where their loss merely reflects the loss suffered by the company: Carlos Sevilleja Garcia v Marex Financial Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 1468. The question for the … Read more
Herbert Smith Freehills recently held its annual disputes client conference exploring some key legal and compliance risks facing major corporates. The event was attended by close to 100 clients. After opening remarks by Damien Byrne Hill, head of dispute resolution for the UK and US, there were presentations on GDPR, emerging technologies, cyber insurance, reputation management, … Read more
The Court of Appeal has rejected an argument that there is a need to “rebalance” the law of defamation in favour of defendants by imposing a knowledge or negligence based test to establish liability for publication, with the burden of proof on claimants: Stocker v Stocker [2018] EWCA Civ 170. The court held that a … Read more
