Court of Appeal rejects claim to without prejudice or litigation privilege in communications incorporated into settlement agreement

04 December, 2019
The Court of Appeal has held that the claimant was not entitled to withhold from inspection communications that had been incorporated into a settlement agreement with one of five defendants. That was despite the fact that, at the time they were made, those communications had been protected by the without prejudice rule, and potentially also … Read more

46 countries sign the new Singapore Convention on mediated settlements

07 August, 2019
The Singapore Convention, more formally known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, was signed today in Singapore by 46 countries – a record number of first-day signatories for a UN trade convention. While not including the UK or any EU countries, the signatories do include the world’s two largest … Read more

Court of Appeal finds defendant gave good consideration for varied settlement in agreeing to give up defence that was later found to be without merit

03 July, 2019
The Court of Appeal has recently upheld a first instance decision that there was a binding agreement to vary a settlement agreement: Simantob v Shavleyan [2019] EWCA Civ 1105. The claimant argued that there was a lack of consideration for the variation, as the defence which the defendant had agreed not to pursue was without merit … Read more

High Court finds parties agreed to vary application of “without prejudice” rule in subsequent “without prejudice save as to costs” correspondence

02 May, 2019
The High Court has held that correspondence marked “without prejudice save as to costs” and which described the conduct of prior “without prejudice” (“WP”) negotiations (including a mediation and subsequent discussions) was admissible in an application for costs against the claimant’s lawyers: Willers v Joyce & Ors [2019] EWHC 937 (Ch). The court accepted that … Read more

Court of Appeal decision emphasises need to plead conspiracy claim in full 

27 March, 2019
In a recent decision, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s refusal to allow the claimants to pursue claims in unlawful means conspiracy: Elite Property Holdings Ltd v Barclays Bank plc [2019] EWCA Civ 204. While this decision did not involve new law, it serves as a reminder of the difficulties of bringing a … Read more

The perils of withdrawing Part 36 offers after trial (or any time)

26 November, 2018
The High Court has found that defendants who made a Part 36 offer, which the claimant failed to beat, should not be awarded any of their costs where the offer was withdrawn after trial and before judgment: Britned Development Ltd v ABB AB [2018] EWHC 3142 (Ch). Had the offer remained on the table until judgment, … Read more