Court of Appeal holds SPA earn-out unenforceable as an agreement to agree

19 December, 2018
The Court of Appeal has rejected a seller’s claim that he was entitled under a sale and purchase agreement (“SPA”) to provide consultancy services to the target company for a further period after an initial four year earn-out. Applying settled principles, the court held that an agreement to provide consultancy services for “such further period … Read more

Permission for expert evidence of financial market practice refused in relation to allegations of dishonesty but granted for other purposes

19 December, 2018
In a recent decision, the High Court refused  the defendant financial advisers and agents permission to call expert evidence of financial market practices in relation to an allegation that they had acted dishonestly: Carr v Formation Group Plc [2018] EWHC 3116. The court noted that the standard of honesty is an objective one, and it … Read more

A litigator’s yearbook: 2018 (England and Wales)

18 December, 2018
As the end of another year approaches, we look back at some key developments from 2018 from the perspective of the commercial litigator. This post covers a range of topics such as privilege, disclosure, contract law, jurisdiction and various aspects of court procedure. We hope you will find it a helpful reference. Read more

Data breach class actions – new webinar and “handy client guide”

11 December, 2018
Herbert Smith Freehills has today released the second in our series of webinars on class actions in England and Wales, this time looking at data protection and privacy issues. In the presentation, Julian Copeman, Harry Edwards, Miriam Everett and Lucy McAlister explain why this area is ripe for class actions, what we have seen so far, … Read more

Civil Justice Council report on ADR calls for review of Halsey guidelines but stops short of recommending mandatory mediation

07 December, 2018
The Civil Justice Council’s ADR working group has released its final report on ADR and Civil Justice, following consultation on its interim report released last year. The broad mandate of the review was “to maintain the search for the right relationship between civil justice and ADR” and to promote debate over possible reforms. The report … Read more

Court of Appeal finds litigation privilege is restricted to the purpose of obtaining advice or information, not the conduct of litigation more broadly

04 December, 2018
The Court of Appeal has held that emails between a company’s Board members which had been prepared to discuss a commercial proposal for the settlement of a dispute were not covered by litigation privilege: WH Holding Ltd v E20 Stadium LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2652. The court found that, to fall within litigation privilege, a … Read more