High Court: Commercial Court judgments, 2024

An exclusive jurisdiction clause using the words in connection with requires a factual connection, not legal dependence or causation. A dispute concerning an…

For jurisdiction applications, the court must avoid conducting a mini-trial where disputed credibility, authenticity and expert evidence prevent a reliable…

A foreign judgment has preclusive effect only in respect of matters necessarily decided under the law of the foreign jurisdiction. Where foreign procedural…

For the purpose of serving proceedings out of the jurisdiction, a defendant may be a necessary or proper party where there is a good arguable case that joining…

Where a contract entitles a party to recover the costs incurred in enforcing and protecting its contractual rights, the court will ordinarily assess those…

A court may proceed with an undefended trial where the defendant has knowingly and voluntarily waived participation and an adjournment would be pointless. The…

A solicitor may be liable for creating an unnecessary risk that contractual documents will be challenged, even where the underlying legal issue is uncertain…

The normal measure for late redelivery under a time charter is the difference between the charter rate and the market rate during the overrun. It compensates…

Whether a cost is deductible under an overriding royalty deed depends on the language of the deed, rather than a broad characterisation of the transaction.…

Permission to appeal requires a proposed ground with a real prospect of success. A trial judge’s evaluative conclusions on disclosure sanctions, causation…

Sentencing for contempt requires an assessment analogous to criminal sentencing, focusing on culpability and the harm caused, intended or likely to be caused.…

An undertaking given to the court is equivalent to an injunction and may be enforced by committal. Contempt requires proof, to the criminal standard, that the…

For the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986, s. 238, a dividend may form part of a wider transaction or arrangement. The court may assess the consideration and the…

A director’s duty under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 is subjective, but the director must have regard to the desirability of maintaining high…

Under Spanish law, commercial contracts are construed by ascertaining the parties’ evident intention from all available evidence. The literal wording remains…

Contractual anti-suit relief may enforce both express jurisdiction clauses and the jurisdictional promise necessarily implicit in an exclusive arbitration or…

An interim anti-suit injunction may be continued where the applicant establishes, to a high degree of probability, a binding exclusive jurisdiction agreement…

Summary judgment may be granted where a defence or counterclaim has no realistic prospect of success and there is no compelling reason for trial. The court may…

Disclosure directed to generic issues should not require evidence about individual claims where those issues are framed on stated factual assumptions. If the…

Disclosure issues should be included where they concern matters arising from the pleadings and are relevant to a pleaded contractual or tortious duty. An…

In deciding an interlocutory disclosure application, the court must assess whether the requested communications have a realistic bearing on the construction of…

The court may order third-party disclosure under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 or its inherent jurisdiction where disclosure is necessary to make a…

A transaction may fall within section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 where security is granted for no consideration. The grant of security can confer valuable…

Disclosure in support of an application for a non-party costs order is exceptional. The application is ordinarily determined summarily by the trial judge on…

An asymmetric jurisdiction and arbitration clause may permit one party to require an arbitration to be discontinued and the dispute to proceed in court, even…

The Shareholder Rule should no longer be applied in English law. Its historical proprietary justification disappeared when the separate legal personality of…

Non-compliance with the pre-contract information obligation in regulation 13 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges)…

Section 18 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is a gateway provision. An applicant must show a failure in the agreed appointment procedure and a good arguable case…

When addressing inadequate disclosure in hard-fought commercial litigation, the court must balance the litigation timetable, the need to give the defaulting…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires a gateway, a claim with reasonable prospects of success, and England as the proper forum. A…

On an application to adjourn a fixed trial, the central question is whether proceeding on the existing timetable would produce an unfair trial in all the…

Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 requires proof of a transaction at an undervalue and a subjective purpose of prejudicing an actual or potential…

Service of foreign proceedings in Hong Kong is not confined to the procedure in Order 69 of the Hong Kong Rules of the High Court. That procedure applies where…

An application under section 32 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is exceptional because it permits the court to determine jurisdiction before the tribunal has done…

A settlement payment obligation is enforceable when the agreement makes the relevant sums payable under a single payment regime. A final reconciliation amount…

A mandatory order for contractual data transfer may be granted where the claimant has demonstrated a serious issue, damages are inadequate, and the contractual…

A seal and gag order supporting third-party disclosure may be granted only where it is strictly necessary to secure the proper administration of justice. The…

Summary judgment may be granted where the court has all necessary evidence to determine a short point of construction and the opposing case has no realistic…

Section 5 of the Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980 prevents enforcement of a foreign judgment for multiple damages. Where compensatory and punitive…

Investigative documents generated by company administrators are not automatically relevant to an auditor-negligence claim merely because contemporaneous…

Contractual default-interest provisions do not automatically constitute an exhaustive liquidated-damages code. Their effect depends on the wording, structure…

Where amendments to claim forms are agreed without opposition, the court may order the costs of the amendment application to be costs in the case. In complex…

In complex multi-party litigation, decisions on sampling claims or trying preliminary issues may properly be deferred where the pleadings remain incomplete and…

A worldwide freezing order requires a plausible evidential basis for a real risk that assets will be dissipated. The risk must be assessed separately against…

Under section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may order the sale of property and determine how the proceeds should be preserved in support of an…

An anti-suit injunction restraining claims against a third party may be granted on a contractual basis only if the arbitration agreement, properly construed…

Part 8 is inappropriate only where the defendant identifies a genuinely substantial dispute of fact with legal relevance and a real prospect of success. The…

In disclosure disputes, a party may rely on informed advice about the broad nature of documents to conclude that they fail the relevance test, without…

For a claim to litigation privilege, documents containing privileged information or advice remain covered where that material cannot be disentangled from the…

Where disclosure from third parties is required, the court may allocate the associated review costs between the parties by assessing which party could…

The court has power to stay proceedings as a case-management measure under its inherent jurisdiction and Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 3.1(2)(f). A stay is…

Summary judgment is unsuitable for deciding an isolated contractual issue where the issue is closely connected with matters requiring trial, particularly where…

A contempt application concerning breach of a freezing order requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the respondent knew the order, acted or failed to act…

Contractual construction is objective and begins with the words used in their admissible commercial and factual context. Specific provisions may qualify a…

In a successful Norwich Pharmacal application, the applicant will normally pay the innocent respondent’s reasonable costs of the application and disclosure.…

A court may enforce a Tomlin order by declaring the meaning and effect of the settlement agreement scheduled to it. Commercial settlement agreements are…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic, not fanciful, prospect of success, or another compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. In a jurisdictional…

Costs of a contested interlocutory application ordinarily follow success. Where an application for trial of a preliminary issue has generated substantial costs…

The court may order a limitation issue to be tried separately where it may dispose of the claim or resolve a major issue, materially reduce costs and trial…

Under a contractual arbitration appeal clause, time may run from the date an award is made and rendered, rather than from the date on which it is notified to…

Where a long-term contract uses an index as machinery for calculating payments, the index’s subsequent unavailability does not ordinarily cause the contract to…

Under section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may order the sale of cargo subject to a contractual lien securing an arbitral claim. The cargo may be…

A Norwich Pharmacal order may be granted where the applicant shows a good arguable case of a legally recognised wrong, involvement by the respondent…

A contractual right to terminate may be waived by election only where the terminating party knows both the facts giving rise to the right and the right itself.…

A material adverse effect clause in a share purchase agreement is construed by ordinary contractual principles. It concerns a post-signing change, event or…

For service out under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 6.33(2B), the claimant must show a sufficiently strong case that the relevant contractual jurisdiction…

In a fraudulent misrepresentation claim, the claimant must prove that the words used would reasonably be understood as conveying the pleaded representation. A…

A freezing or proprietary injunction will not ordinarily be discharged for alleged non-disclosure where establishing the alleged omission requires the court to…

A carrier’s statement that goods are shipped in apparent good order and condition ordinarily concerns their external condition, assessed by reasonable…

In contempt proceedings arising from deliberate non-compliance with a disclosure order supporting a freezing injunction, the court may proceed to sentence…

A Norwich Pharmacal order requires a good arguable case of legally recognised wrongdoing, involvement by the respondent in facilitating it, possession or…

The High Court’s anti-suit jurisdiction depends on personal jurisdiction over the defendant and, where relief concerns an arbitration, a good arguable case…

On an application for a stay on forum non conveniens grounds, the defendant must first show that the foreign court is available and clearly or distinctly more…

Contempt applications must comply strictly with Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 81. The respondent must be told precisely, and succinctly, what conduct is…

For the foreign-judgment enforcement gateway, a claimant need not establish at the jurisdiction stage that executable assets are presently located in England.…

Dishonest investment marketing may found liability in deceit, unlawful means conspiracy and breach of the statutory regime governing collective investment…

Unauthorised filling of another person’s cylinders may constitute conversion even where the cylinders suffer no physical damage. The relevant question is…

A claimant asserting an oral declaration of trust bears the legal burden of proving the facts said to create the trust. Where the claim depends on…

Late amendments are assessed by balancing their timing, explanation, prejudice, merits and the interests of other court users. An amendment is very late where…

Where an existing order requires proceedings brought in breach of arbitration agreements to be terminated, the court may clarify and extend prohibitory…

On an application to set aside service out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must establish a good arguable case that a relevant jurisdictional gateway…

An extension of a claim form’s validity under CPR 7.6(2) requires a proper justification, assessed primarily by reference to the claimant’s explanation for its…

On a continuation application for a worldwide freezing injunction, the ordinary costs approach is that the unsuccessful respondent pays the costs of the…

An exclusive jurisdiction clause may support an anti-suit injunction where the court is satisfied, at the interlocutory stage, to a high degree of probability…

At a return hearing for a worldwide freezing order, the court may continue the order to trial where proper notice has been given, the respondents have not…

Permission to amend a statement of case may be refused where the proposed claim has no real prospect of success. Where the application turns on a short…

A court which has jurisdiction to make an order has jurisdiction to enforce it by committal where committal is a necessary incident of that order. Permission…

An application made before the expiry of an unless order is governed by CPR r3.1(2)(a) and the overriding objective, rather than the relief-from-sanctions test…

Post-judgment anti-enforcement relief may be granted where foreign proceedings were brought in breach of an exclusive jurisdiction or arbitration agreement and…

An application to set aside default judgment under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 13.3, requires consideration of the defendant’s real prospect of…

In the absence of a statutory insolvency procedure, charging orders generally operate on a first-past-the-post basis. The existence of other creditors does…

An application under section 25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 requires the court to consider whether equivalent domestic relief would be…

A settlement agreement made at mediation is construed objectively, with its wording read in the context of the negotiations and the proceedings being settled.…

On a de novo challenge under s 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court must determine the tribunal’s substantive jurisdiction independently. Under an…

A contract may be enforceable for part of a transaction even though another part is an unenforceable agreement to agree. Where the parties have agreed a…

A contractual cancellation right does not ordinarily carry loss of bargain damages. Such damages require an accepted repudiatory or renunciatory breach unless…

An applicant who brings an unsuccessful application to intervene or be joined is a party to that application and may be ordered to pay the other parties’…

In a dispute about oral commercial agreements, the court determines contractual terms from the evidence as a whole, giving particular weight to reliable…

Where a proprietary freezing order restrains assets claimed by the claimant, expenditure on legal costs or living expenses is not approached on the same basis…

For an application under Arbitration Act 1996 sections 44 and 2(3) in support of a foreign-seated arbitration, the court applies a two-stage inquiry. It first…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2(a), the successful party to an interlocutory application should ordinarily receive its costs. Success is assessed by…

An applicant for a freezing injunction may be required to disclose assets as a condition of obtaining or maintaining relief where it lacks assets within the…

For the purposes of a challenge under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996, treaty requirements forming part of the substantive protection afforded by an…

For a challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 based on apparent bias, proof of apparent bias does not automatically establish substantial…

The court may use its inherent jurisdiction and case-management powers to enforce unpaid costs orders, but any sanction must remain proportionate and…

Summary judgment may be granted where the evidence establishes that a defence has no real prospect of success, but the court must avoid conducting a…

A security trustee may exercise contractual rights assigned to it under aircraft leases independently of additional enforcement powers which arise only after…

A firm may re-categorise a retail client as an elective professional client only after taking all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the qualitative…

An arbitral award must be construed as a whole, but its dispositive section ordinarily identifies the orders made and is not merely signposting. Narrative…

Applications for further or varied extended disclosure under CPR Practice Direction 57AD must be directed to the issues in dispute on the statements of case.…

A bribe is a secret payment or inducement creating a realistic prospect of conflict between an agent’s personal interest and that of the principal. The…

To continue a worldwide freezing order, the applicant must establish a good arguable case, assets within the order’s reach, a real risk of dissipation, and…

In an all-risks marine cargo policy, the insured must prove on the balance of probabilities that a fortuity caused loss or damage to the insured subject…

An applicant seeking a without-notice freezing injunction must give full and fair disclosure and present the evidence objectively. The duty includes drawing…

In considering relief to protect rights established by existing orders, the court must distinguish between prohibitory and mandatory relief. A prohibitory…

Whether to adjourn a witness’s evidence is a case-management decision requiring an assessment of overall fairness. The court may proceed where the witness has…

Sentencing for civil contempt must be fact-specific and must reflect both the contemnor’s culpability and the harm caused. Imprisonment is appropriate for…

A guarantee may be binding without a separate guarantee instrument where the contractual wording, read objectively in its commercial context, shows an…

A claimant seeking to enforce a foreign judgment at common law must show a good arguable case that the foreign court had jurisdiction, the judgment is final…

Where a party seeks to continue litigation despite non-payment of an interlocutory costs order, the court exercises a discretion and must consider all relevant…

Signed directors’ minutes are important evidence of proceedings, but they are not conclusive proof of what was agreed. Their weight must be assessed with the…

The unambiguous impropriety exception to without prejudice privilege requires both proof, to an unambiguous standard, that the alleged words were spoken and…

A clear “pay first” clause in a marine liability policy may make enforcement of an indemnity conditional on the insured first discharging the liability…

On an application for strike-out, summary judgment or permission to amend, the court must ask whether the claim has a realistic prospect of success and whether…

Under CPR 32.19, the deadline for serving a notice to prove is the latest date for serving the primary witness statements, not later supplemental statements. A…

In an undefended civil trial, the claimant must still prove its case on the balance of probabilities. Serious allegations require cogent evidence, but not…

In claims for deceit, a representation must be clearly identified and assessed objectively in context. Liability requires falsity, absence of an honest belief…

Contractual wording recording that a customer intends to implement a migration project is declaratory. It identifies the general nature of the project, rather…

Where foreign proceedings breach an agreement to arbitrate, the court will generally grant an anti-suit injunction unless strong reasons justify refusal. The…

Whether to order a preliminary issue is a case-management decision requiring the court to weigh the potential saving in time and cost against the risk of delay…

A contractual loan-to-value condition in a guarantee required strict compliance with the agreed valuation mechanism. Contract-compliant valuations had to exist…

Permission to amend pleadings shortly before trial may be refused where the amendment introduces a materially new legal case, requires investigation of…

A lower court may grant permission to appeal after handing down judgment where its directions for written submissions on consequential matters amounted to a…

Supplementary evidence in chief may be admitted where it corrects a minor error or addresses a peripheral matter raised for completeness. Substantive…

The court may impose an unless order, and ultimately strike out or permanently stay a claim, where a party fails to pay ordered costs or provide ordered…

A charging order may be made against a foreign state's property where the property is currently used or intended for use for commercial purposes. The court…

A guarantor who discharges the principal debtor’s liability is prima facie entitled to an indemnity from the principal debtor. A payment made under the…

The power under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.1(7), is broad but must be exercised consistently with finality, the avoidance of a second attempt on the…

The proper construction of a sophisticated valuation agreement requires the court to balance contractual language, context and commercial consequences. A…

An exclusion for loss directly or indirectly caused by “seizure” is not confined to seizure by a governing authority where the clause is syntactically divided…

For unjust enrichment, a bank or electronic money institution may be enriched by receiving a mistaken payment even though it assumes a corresponding liability…

Contempt of court must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In relation to disputed evidence, the court may reach findings on the balance of probabilities and…

Practical control over documents held by a third party requires evidence of an existing arrangement or understanding giving the litigating party access. A…

Exclusive jurisdiction clauses selecting the courts of Ukraine were binding, enforceable and applicable to claims brought by original parties, assignees…

The court will not ordinarily suspend pleading deadlines so that a defendant can undertake a wide review of documents which would ordinarily be addressed…

The High Court may enforce a court undertaking under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37. It takes the undertaking as its starting point and need only determine…

For an in-time application to extend the validity of a claim form, the conditions in CPR 7.6(3) do not apply. The court must evaluate why service was not…

On an interlocutory application, a claim should proceed to trial where the pleaded facts disclose a realistic case and its resolution depends on disputed…

Summary judgment may be granted where the defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim and no other compelling reason requires a trial.…

On an application for a stay on forum non conveniens grounds, the defendant must show that another available forum is clearly or distinctly more appropriate.…

Where proceedings are brought in breach of an exclusive English jurisdiction clause, the court will ordinarily grant an anti-suit injunction unless strong…

On an application to amend, the proposed case must be arguable, coherent, properly particularised and supported by evidence establishing a factual basis. The…

An English court deciding whether to require disclosure which may contravene foreign criminal law applies English procedural law and retains a discretion to…

In complex securities litigation, effective case management requires claimants to particularise standing, title to sue and quantum sufficiently to enable…

Contempt by breach of a court order generally requires proof of notice of the order, conduct amounting to breach, and knowledge of the facts constituting that…

Summary judgment may be granted on a rectification claim, although such claims ordinarily require a fact-sensitive inquiry. The court must critically assess…

An interim anti-anti-suit injunction may be granted before the English court has determined whether England is the natural forum. This is appropriate where a…

An exclusive jurisdiction clause covering all matters arising from or connected with an agreement may extend to tortious and equitable claims where the conduct…

An anti-suit injunction may be granted where there is a real risk of proceedings being brought in breach of an arbitration agreement or exclusive jurisdiction…

Permission to make a very late amendment should be refused where the resulting pleading, disclosure and evidence cannot be completed fairly without losing a…

A very late amendment introducing a materially different factual case may be refused where it would require disclosure and witness evidence to be revisited and…

Applications to amend pleadings or enlarge issues at a very late stage require careful application of the overriding objective. The applicant must show a real…

The court may substantially abridge procedural time and expedite the final determination of an injunction claim where the defendant has had repeated…

Where disclosure and timetable issues are closely interconnected, the court may adopt a holistic approach to costs rather than assess each application in…

Disclosure for trial must be assessed with close attention to practical utility, necessity, reasonableness and proportionality. Material which may reveal…

Permission to amend a statement of case is discretionary and must further the overriding objective. The court must balance the applicant’s ability to advance…

An arbitration agreement is not frustrated merely because sanctions make arbitration more difficult, costly or procedurally burdensome. The question is whether…

Contractual construction is a unitary exercise directed to the objective meaning of the agreement, read in its documentary, factual and commercial context.…

A party that voluntarily joins English proceedings and participates without reserving its position may submit generally to the jurisdiction. It cannot accept…

In a professional negligence claim against an insurance broker, the claimant need not establish, as a condition of advancing the claim, that a putative insurer…

Where shares in a company holding an asset are transferred to another person or company, the court may find a resulting or express bare trust where the…

A contractual reference to compensation mandated by “national law” may incorporate the mandatory protective law of the place where a dealership operates…

Relief from sanctions requires application of the three-stage test in Denton v TH White: assess the seriousness and significance of the breach, identify why it…

In contempt proceedings, the court may proceed in the defendant’s absence where the defendant has proper notice, has sufficient time to prepare, has waived…

Applications to revisit or extend an order for Extended Disclosure under PD 57AD require careful identification of the applicable power. Paragraph 17 addresses…

The court may grant an anti-suit injunction where there is a high degree of probability that foreign proceedings breach an arbitration agreement, unless strong…

An express power allowing an employer to change an employee’s office, responsibilities or powers is subject to an implied proviso that it must be exercised…

Contractual standard terms are incorporated where the customer is given reasonable notice of them and objectively assents to them, including through an online…

Sentencing for admitted contempt of a freezing order requires an assessment of culpability and harm, followed by consideration of whether a fine is sufficient…

On an application for security for costs under CPR Part 25.13, the court must first decide whether there is reason to believe that the claimant will, rather…

An anti-anti-arbitration injunction should ordinarily be granted only where the applicant establishes to a high degree of probability that a binding…

Representations about the legal basis of a tax-advantaged investment may be opinions rather than statements of fact. Where the representor is better placed…

An order for non-party disclosure may be made before the opposing party serves a defence where the key dispute is already clear and unlikely to change. The…

Under Practice Direction 57AD, destruction of a device engages the obligation to explain missing disclosable documents where there is a likelihood or risk that…

An insurer may restrain foreign proceedings brought by a non-party where the claimant’s asserted right is founded on the insurance contract rather than an…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the claimant establishes a claim and the defendant has no realistic prospect of success, provided there is no compelling…

On summary judgment, the court must decide whether the defence has a realistic prospect of success without conducting a mini-trial. A defendant must…

On a contractual limitation clause, a warranty claim remains contingent or unquantifiable where its value depends on the outcome of a connected contractual…

A challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires proof of a breach of the tribunal’s duty to act fairly, a serious irregularity and…

A transaction at an undervalue falls within Insolvency Act 1986 section 423 where putting assets beyond a claimant’s reach was a purpose of the transaction. It…

A contractual jurisdiction clause allocating governing law and exclusive jurisdiction by reference to the party bringing the claim may apply differently to…

For the purposes of extended negligence limitation, the claimant needs knowledge in broad terms that he has suffered sufficiently serious damage and that it is…

Summary assessment of costs is a broad-brush exercise. The court should consider the parties’ competing submissions and the relevant features of the work, but…

Contempt proceedings, although serious and potentially affecting liberty, must be conducted in accordance with the court’s procedural orders. Where evidence is…

An adjournment is discretionary and should be granted where refusing it would amount to a denial of justice. The court must apply the overriding objective and…

The Business and Property Courts’ disclosure regime under Practice Direction 57AD may support an order for extended disclosure even where initial disclosure…

An exclusive jurisdiction clause should ordinarily be enforced, but it is not absolute. Strong reasons may exist where the agreed forum is unlikely to provide…

Arbitration claims ordinarily begin with a presumption of privacy, reflecting the private nature of arbitration. State-court proceedings remain subject to the…

Where parties choose London as the seat of an arbitration and incorporate LCIA rules providing that the arbitration agreement is governed by the law of the…

Where court proceedings concern an arbitration claim, the court may reserve the costs of the proceedings pending completion of the arbitration, with liberty to…

On an application to amend an arbitration challenge, the merits threshold is whether the proposed ground has a real prospect of success. A new ground of…

A freezing order does not ordinarily extend to assets owned by a company merely because the respondent wholly owns or controls that company. Corporate…

Part 36 consequences are mandatory unless it would be unjust to impose them. The burden on the party seeking departure is formidable. The court may consider…

An exclusive English jurisdiction clause will ordinarily justify anti-suit relief unless there is a strong reason to refuse it. The phrase “arising out of or…

Detention following an assured’s conduct is not necessarily non-fortuitous. The relevant questions are whether the assured consciously chose conduct carrying…

A challenge under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 proceeds as a full rehearing of substantive jurisdiction. The court determines jurisdiction for itself…

When deciding whether to publish a judgment arising from arbitration, the court must balance the public interest in open justice and scrutiny of arbitration…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the defendant has no realistic prospect of successfully defending the claim and there is no compelling reason for a…

On the return date of an interim injunction, the court must assess the balance of convenience by reference to the parties’ legal rights and the practical risk…

On a forum non conveniens application, the defendant must first show that another forum is clearly or distinctly more appropriate. If that burden is met, the…

A state’s agreement that an arbitral award is final, binding and wholly enforceable may constitute written consent to enforcement against its assets under…

Fully-informed consent to a fiduciary benefit requires disclosure of the benefit with sufficient specificity. The court determines whether consent was given as…

Where a transaction is structured through back-to-back bareboat charters, the effect of terminating the head charter depends on the contractual arrangements.…

CPR r.5.4C establishes a mandatory open-justice default under which a non-party may obtain a statement of case once the rule’s jurisdictional conditions are…

A waiver of legal professional privilege requires more than a reference, express or inferred, to legal advice. The reference must be sufficient in the…

Where parties have agreed exclusive English jurisdiction, a party that pursues the same contractual disputes in a foreign court may be restrained by an interim…

In construing a contractual time limit, the question is whether time was intended to be essential for the particular term, viewed in the contract’s full…

Further disclosure will not be ordered merely because alternative search terms identify additional documents or because the disclosure methodology has…

In an LLP, members’ financial rights are determined by the LLP agreement and applicable statutory default rules. Where the agreement makes distributions…

In an application for an interim proprietary injunction, the court applies the American Cyanamid test. A serious issue to be tried is established where the…

A contractual obligation to pay commission may survive termination where the contract expressly provides for that result. A party cannot rely on repudiatory…

Under s.73 of the Arbitration Act 1996, a jurisdictional objection must be identified with sufficient substance and maintained before the tribunal. A general…

In an interlocutory disclosure application, additional forensic imaging of former employees’ personal devices should be ordered only where there is a real…

Permission under paragraph 43 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 is required for a counterclaim in administration unless it is pleaded solely as a…

On a summary judgment application, the claimant must show a realistic prospect of success, meaning more than a merely arguable case. The court must avoid a…

On strike out or reverse summary judgment, the question is whether the pleaded case has realistic, rather than fanciful, prospects of success. A conspirator…

On an application for further disclosure under Practice Direction 57AD paragraph 17, the applicant must first show that there has been, or may have been…

On an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court may correct an arbitrator’s legal error but must respect findings applying the correct law…

A case-management stay is governed by a single question: whether, in the particular circumstances, a stay is in the interests of justice. The court must…

On an application for reverse summary judgment, the court must assess the claimant’s real prospects of success and should determine documentary issues which…

Permission to enforce an arbitration award cannot stand where the supposed arbitration agreement and award are fabrications. The court’s jurisdiction under…

Relief from sanctions for late service of particulars of claim requires application of the three-stage Denton approach. The court must assess the seriousness…

The jurisdictional threshold for security for costs under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 25.13(2)(a), does not by itself justify an order. The court must…

An arbitrator must approach disputed evidence with an open and impartial mind. In a specialist industry, professional familiarity and knowledge of an expert’s…

A contractual mandate to liquidate assets must be construed in its commercial and contractual context. A qualification that the manager has no liability to…

Summary judgment may determine a construction issue where the issue is sufficiently clear, even if permission to appeal is required and related appellate…

Commercial contracts are construed objectively by reference to their language, purpose, relevant background and commercial context. A contractual notice…

A court may grant final judgment against “persons unknown” where proceedings have been validly served by an authorised alternative method and the defendants…

An insurance broker is required to identify the client’s insurance needs, obtain suitable cover, explain material limitations and ensure that policy terms are…

An oral commercial agreement is determined objectively from the parties’ words and conduct, viewed in context. Contemporary documents and subsequent conduct…

On an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court gives appropriate deference to an arbitral tribunal’s evaluative conclusion on a mixed…

A freezing injunction may support an ordinary contractual claim. The claimant must establish a good arguable case, a real risk that assets will be…

In charterparty negotiations, an agreement expressed to be on subjects is ordinarily non-binding until the subjects are lifted. A charterers’…

In a follow-on competition damages claim, the claimant must prove loss caused by the infringement, but damages need not be quantified with mathematical…

An application notice issued under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 23 is not a statement of case and cannot generally be struck out under CPR r. 3.4. In…

The court may make ancillary disclosure orders to police and preserve the effectiveness of a freezing injunction. Further disclosure is justified where it has…

For anti-suit relief, the applicant must show to a high degree of probability that the foreign proceedings breach a binding jurisdiction or arbitration…

An anti-arbitration injunction may protect a legal or equitable right, or restrain arbitration that is vexatious and oppressive. Where an English-seated…

A contractual obligation to act reasonably when considering a nominated agent requires the party to have reasons connected with the agent’s contractual role.…

A sealed claim form lacking the claimant’s address is not automatically incapable of valid service. Where the rules impose no express sanction for that…

On an application for an interim injunction, the court should ordinarily apply the conventional American Cyanamid approach and decide only whether there is a…

An anti-suit injunction is generally granted where the applicant establishes, to a high degree of probability, an arbitration or exclusive jurisdiction…

Issue estoppel requires the later issue to be precisely identical to an issue expressly decided, or necessarily and fundamentally determined, in the earlier…

The court has jurisdiction to appoint the trial judge as a special examiner to take evidence overseas during a trial. The jurisdiction arises from the court’s…

Communications between solicitors and instructed experts are generally protected by litigation privilege. Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 35.10(4), creates a…

A stay of execution pending an application to set aside a default judgment may be granted where the judgment was entered without consideration of the merits…

Under Russian law, entering into a contract to purchase goods with knowledge that performance may interfere with another contract does not, without more…

A marine mortgagee who merely arrests a vessel owes a duty to act in good faith for the purpose of enforcing its security. Arrest does not amount to possession…

A court-ordered third-party disclosure is obedience to a court order, not the provision of financial, brokering, insurance or reinsurance services for…

Summary judgment may be granted where the defendant has no realistic prospect of defending the issue, provided the court avoids a mini-trial and considers…

Relief from sanctions requires consideration of the seriousness and significance of the breach, the reason for it, and all the circumstances, including…

In Covid-19 business interruption insurance claims, regulations made by central government under statutory powers constituted action by a “Statutory…

On an application challenging jurisdiction, the claimant must establish a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case within the relevant service-out…

Where a financial instrument is governed by English law, the forum conveniens inquiry must consider whether the proposed forum can give effect to the…

Where jurisdiction to register an ICSID award is challenged, the court should ordinarily defer issues dependent on the outcome of an appeal determining the…

On an application to set aside default judgment under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 13.3, the court must consider whether the defendant has a real prospect of…

A debarring order must be given its precise effect. Where a defendant is debarred from defending proceedings, the defendant ordinarily cannot adduce evidence…

A challenge under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires a serious irregularity meeting a high threshold. A tribunal does not breach its duty of…

A state’s agreement under the ICSID Convention to recognise and enforce awards amounts to a general waiver of immunity from recognition and enforcement, but it…

A pending appeal in a foreign jurisdiction does not, by itself, constitute the special circumstances making enforcement inexpedient under CPR 83.7(4)(a). The…

A stay of English proceedings will be granted cautiously. The ordinary starting point is that a claimant is entitled to access the court to pursue a bona fide…

An imaging order is an intrusive interlocutory remedy. A failure to comply with disclosure obligations, after an opportunity to do so, ordinarily requires…

A Norwich Pharmacal order to identify anonymous online reviewers requires more than an arguable civil wrong. The applicant must show a prospective claim with a…

A trial judge should be cautious before interrupting a trial to act as a special examiner abroad. The proposed procedure raises unresolved questions about the…

An auditor may be in breach of duty yet cause no recoverable loss. A claimant must prove both that the relevant transaction caused loss and that the loss would…

Damages for breach of a pharmaceutical development agreement are recoverable to the extent that they represent loss directly attributable to the defendant’s…

Applications to amend a pleading are assessed according to whether they are late, very late or neither. For a late application that is not very late, the…

An interim payment may be ordered on a claim for an account of profits where the court can make a reasonable estimate of the likely final judgment and the…