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Ben Holland outlines the final chapter of the West Tankers case The Commercial Court’s decision provides guidance that in future arbitrations or court proceedings, a claim for the costs of proceedings brought in breach of an arbitration agreement may properly be made in English law.Where parties have agreed that disputes should be arbitrated in London, …
Continue reading "Arbitration: Loose moorings"
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David Niven and David O’Brien examine the perils of pursuing indemnity insurers For the deductible to apply to each and every claim without aggregation would have resulted in no pay-out at all under the policy. In high-value professional negligence claims against small firms of solicitors, claimants will often be entirely reliant upon those firms’ professional …
Continue reading "Insurance: Fully covered"
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David Robinson reviews a recent case on an accountant’s duties of care to third-party investors in an existing client In Arrowhead Capital Finance Ltd (in Liquidation) v KPMG LLP [2012], the High Court has provided clarification on an accountant’s duty of care to investors in one of its clients that will be welcomed by both …
Continue reading "Conduct: Call of Duty II"
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Lee Coulthard outlines some common pitfalls in the use of Part 36 A Part 36 offer does not protect a party against its own serious misconduct, and practitioners should be ready to alert the court to such misconduct at the close of any trial where a Part 36 offer is not beaten. When seeking to …
Continue reading "Part 36: Money: that’s what I want"
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Alice Anderson and Sarah Harris look at lessons to be learned from Mayer v Hoar Malice can be established where the defendant had an improper motive and knew that the statement was false or was recklessly indifferent as to whether the statement was true or not. As any seasoned defamation lawyer will know, two of …
Continue reading "Privilege: Nearly free speech"
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Tracy Head examines the tension between Jackson and the Court of Appeal’s declaration to increase general damages The 10% increase in general damages did not appear on the face of the Bill. This absence did not go unnoticed during the Bill’s passage through Parliament and fuelled the debate that a 10% increase was not enough.Lord …
Continue reading "Practice: Examining a gift horse"
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David Robinson contemplates a recent case on the extent of a solicitor’s duties The decision in Shepherd Construction Ltd v Pinsent Masons LLP provides welcome clarification on the extent to which solicitors are required to review and update previous advice.In a decision that will be welcomed by solicitors and professional indemnity insurers alike, the High …
Continue reading "Practice: Does duty call?"
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Alison Padfield considers the recovery of the costs of investigating insurance fraud: current routes and proposed reform The only remedy for breach of the duty of good faith is avoidance of the policy, not damages, so the costs of investigating a claim cannot be recovered by that route. According to the United Kingdom’s Insurance Fraud …
Continue reading "Fraud: Bad pennies"
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Clare Arthurs assesses a recent challenge to corporate protection VTB’s original case was pleaded in deceit and unlawful means conspiracy. The judge overturned the permission VTB had obtained (ex parte) to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction. The expression ‘Piercing the corporate veil’ is a neat turn of phrase, but what does it actually mean? …
Continue reading "Commercial: To pierce or not to pierce? The Court of Appeal protects the corporate veil"
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John Leadley, Nicola Gare and Charlotte Nolan discuss costs and litigation funding It is largely accepted by industry, practitioners, the judiciary and government that the introduction of the access to justice reforms in 1999 tipped the balance too far in favour of claimants. The long-awaited costs reforms brought about as a result of Lord Justice …
Continue reading "Funding: Back to the future: costs reform"
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