High Court: Commercial Court judgments, 2026

An extension of time is assessed by considering the seriousness of the breach, the reason for it and all the circumstances. A very late amendment requires a…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the evidence and submissions permit a proper decision on a short point of law or construction, and the defendant has no…

A party relying on a contractual prevention case must plead each material fact, including the alleged preventing acts or omissions, the contractual or…

The power to appoint post-judgment receivers is exercised where it is just and convenient. Under the Senior Courts Act 1981 and the Civil Procedure Rules 1998…

In contempt proceedings, the application itself must state the nature of the alleged contempt and briefly summarise the facts said to constitute it. The…

Permission to introduce a counterclaim after the defence requires the proposed claim to have a real prospect of success. The court may decide that issue on the…

For service out of jurisdiction, a claimant must establish a serious issue to be tried, an applicable gateway, that England is the proper place, and that…

Permission to serve a foreign defendant out of the jurisdiction requires a serious issue on the merits, a good arguable case within a jurisdictional gateway…

A D&O policy may make avoidance for fraudulent misrepresentation or non-disclosure conditional on a final decision of a court, tribunal or regulator, or a…

In costs proceedings after summary disposal, the court should identify the overall winner first, then assess success on separate applications and the parties’…

Proceedings brought in England under a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause should not ordinarily be stayed unless strong reasons are shown. Matters foreseeable…

In a secured-lending contract requiring a professional valuation by an appointed valuer, a report is not invalid merely because the work is imperfect, the…

Where a court-ordered judicial Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE) fails, the starting point should ordinarily be that its costs are costs in the case. A different…

A director breaches the duty to promote a company’s success where he causes it to engage a related business on undisclosed and commercially disadvantageous…

Pre-action disclosure is an exceptional case-management remedy. Under rule 31.16 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the applicant must show that the parties…

For an application under CPR 13.3 to set aside a default judgment, the court considers the merits, promptness and all the circumstances. The Denton…

A defendant seeking compensation under a cross-undertaking after a freezing injunction has been discharged is ordinarily entitled to an inquiry. There is a…

Henderson v Henderson abuse is determined by a broad, merits-based assessment of all the circumstances. The fact that a claim could have been brought earlier…

Relevant fraud and dishonesty allegations should remain in a pleading where they disclose reasonable grounds and relate to the pleaded claim. Their potential…

A pre-incorporation agreement between individuals does not bind a company that did not yet exist. Under section 51(1) of the Companies Act 2006, the company…

On a section 69 appeal, an arbitral award is read fairly and commercially, with a starting assumption that the tribunal understood and applied the law. The…

On applications to strike out and for reverse summary judgment, a claimant must plead each misrepresentation with enough precision to identify its terms…

Pre-action disclosure in commercial litigation requires separate satisfaction of the jurisdictional conditions and the discretionary question. Both parties…

An arbitral tribunal’s final determination of an application for interim or conservatory relief is not necessarily an “award” for the purposes of the…

Costs after a jurisdiction challenge are not determined solely by overall success. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, CPR 44.2, the court is not confined to…

In a JOLCO aircraft sub-lease, termination and return provisions do not necessarily form an exclusive code of remedies. A liquidated sum fixes recovery for the…

An anti-suit injunction may restrain foreign proceedings brought in breach of an exclusive English jurisdiction clause where the claimant shows to a high…

A claimant should ordinarily bring accrued contractual claims for past wrongdoing in one conventional claim, rather than seek declarations as a preliminary…

Contractual packaging warranties for dangerous goods can require a shipper to pack cargo so that it is fit for carriage and complies with applicable…

In a cryptoasset fraud claim, a court may proceed in defendants’ absence where they have been properly served, have not responded, and the applicable…

A foreign judgment can be final and conclusive for common-law enforcement while an appeal, retrial application or supervisory review remains possible, if it is…

A charging order over a debtor’s beneficial interest under a trust requires an English-law trust, with the technical characteristics of a trust and an…

A confidentiality ring derogates from the ordinary expectation that a party can inspect disclosed material, subject to the implied undertaking against…

Under GAFTA Form 48 clause 20, “unforeseeable” means a risk whose probability, assessed when the contract is made, is so remote that it is negligible in…

Amendment applications require a case-specific exercise of discretion under the overriding objective. The court weighs fairness, prejudice, reasons and…

At renewal, an insured must disclose material circumstances that remain relevant to the risk and unknown to the insurer, even if they should have been…

A post-termination restraint is enforceable only if objectively reasonable in the parties’ interests and not contrary to the public interest. Where a holding…

Cause of action estoppel and issue estoppel are distinct. Cause of action estoppel requires an identical cause, including the right or remedy and facts on…

A board of a Lebanese joint-stock company may manage regular operations, but cannot, without the appropriate general-assembly authority, dispose of…

A mental health crisis moratorium restricts enforcement action only in relation to a moratorium debt. Under regulation 7 of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing…

In complex investor litigation using a split trial, sample claimants should provide broad coverage of materially different reliance cases without reproducing…

Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 has no territorial limit. Relief may be granted against foreign persons or property where there is a sufficient…

An application for further information should be determined by the order that is just and best promotes the overriding objective. The court may grant it in…

Activation of a suspended committal order is discretionary, not automatic on proof of breach. The court must consider the contemnor’s past and current position…

In a floating hire formula, a clause requiring TTF to be deducted from JKM produces a negative figure when TTF is higher. The signed result must be used in the…

In a commercial insurance policy, a limit stated as applying to each and every loss is a per-loss limit, not an annual aggregate, unless the Schedule provides…

Fraud must be pleaded clearly, identifying the alleged fraudster, the deception and how the court was misled. A defective but curable pleading should…

A court asked to revisit a final judgment on fresh evidence should consider the strength of the case in light of that evidence, its effect on the reasons…

Where a policy excludes damage directly or indirectly occasioned by, happening through, or in consequence of war, the causal link need not be proximate. War…

A self-employed contractor may still be a worker for statutory purposes. The worker-contract exclusion in the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999…

On an amendment application, the court should permit a proposed pleading where the point is arguable and its proper determination depends on the full factual…

An anti-suit injunction on vexation or oppression grounds is available when the ends of justice require it, subject to careful consideration of comity and the…

When a contract requires a hypothetical open-market valuation at a specified date, the asset must be valued as it then existed. The valuation should reflect…

For an interim proprietary injunction, the claimant must show a serious issue to be tried, inadequacy of damages and a balance of convenience favouring relief.…

Rectification of an insurance policy requires proof of a clear agreement that the policy failed to record. A statement that an insurer is able to include a…

A facially compliant demand under an on-demand bond may trigger the bank’s corresponding counter-indemnity rights where the contract authorises payment and…

A contractual anti-suit injunction requires an established breach of the relevant covenant. A prohibition preventing a company from instituting legal…

A contractual guarantee remains enforceable where regulatory approval is capable of being obtained retrospectively, even though approval was absent when the…

In a contract referring to payment within a specified number of “Banking Days”, the definition ordinarily identifies which calendar dates count for calculating…

Abuse of process in phased litigation requires a broad, merits-based assessment of whether raising the point later misuses the court’s process. The fact that a…

On a forum non conveniens application, the defendant must first show that the proposed foreign court is an available forum having competent jurisdiction over…

Where a contract of affreightment requires separate shipments pursuant to separate cargo declarations, failure to provide a vessel for one declared shipment is…

A court may proceed with a trial in a defendant’s absence where the defendant knowingly and voluntarily waives participation, the trial can remain fair, and…

When exercising the power to make a filing modification order under CPR PD 51ZH, the court must balance the value of wider document access in promoting open…

When considering an out-of-time amendment to an arbitration challenge, the court must apply the statutory framework and consider all material circumstances.…

A foreign first-instance judgment may support recognition and enforcement in England while an appeal remains available, because it is ordinarily final and…

A post-termination non-compete covenant in an employment contract is enforceable only where it protects a legitimate business interest and goes no further than…

Documents held by solicitors may be relevant to a limitation issue even where they cannot automatically be treated as evidence of the claimants’ knowledge.…

On an application under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 25.27(b)(ii), security for costs may be ordered where the evidence gives the court real reason to…

The court may restrict a party’s ability to issue or pursue applications when the party has failed to pay costs orders made in the same proceedings. The…

An arbitration agreement’s governing law is determined separately from the law governing the wider contract. Where the parties expressly select English law for…

A contractual power allowing a party to render an early termination agreement null and void and revert to earlier contractual rights is construed in its full…

A post-judgment freezing order may be continued where the evidence establishes a real risk of unjustified dissipation, including opaque financial dealings and…

Commercial contracts must be construed by identifying the natural meaning of their language in the documentary, factual and commercial context. A buyer’s…

Foreign insolvency assignees who alone have authority under the foreign insolvency law to conduct proceedings may be joined under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r…

A challenge under section 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is a complete rehearing. The court must decide whether the tribunal was correct, rather than whether…

Under a business interruption policy, “discovery” of a notifiable disease at insured premises requires proof that a case occurred there during the relevant…

An exclusive English jurisdiction clause may arise from mandatory wording even where the agreement does not use the word “exclusive”. Its scope is determined…

On an appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996, a contract reduced from an oral agreement into writing must be construed as a written contract. The…

On a summary judgment application concerning contractual construction, the court may determine a short point of law where the evidence is sufficient and a…

An asymmetric exclusive jurisdiction clause may require one party to sue exclusively in the designated court while allowing the other party to sue in any other…

Insurance recoveries under contingent cover do not discharge a primary insurer’s liability. They are res inter alios acta as between the insured and the…

A contempt hearing should be adjourned where late-served material introduces evidence requiring a fair opportunity for response and makes the existing time…

The court may order security for costs after judgment, including security for future detailed assessment costs, provided the application is made promptly and…

Where a contract defines a price by an express formula, the court must apply that formula. It is immaterial that the resulting contractual price differs from…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the issue is a short point of law or construction and the court has the evidence necessary to determine it. Contractual…

Where civil and criminal proceedings substantially overlap, a stay or adjournment is discretionary. The court must assess whether there is a real danger of…

Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 71 provides a summary contempt route only for non-compliance with the specific obligations imposed by rule 71.2(6): attending…

In a sale of business, a warranty that a key contract is not being renegotiated is engaged where a customer has invoked a contractual price-match mechanism and…

Enforcement of a domestic arbitration award may be refused on grounds of English public policy, but the jurisdiction requires a careful balance between the…

Under the Arbitration Act 1996, non-mandatory default rules on recoverable arbitration costs may be displaced by the parties’ agreement, including…

An invalid notice of readiness cannot start laytime. Laytime will begin only if the parties agree to treat the notice as valid, or if the charterers’ conduct…

On an application to strike out for non-compliance with court orders, the court must assess the seriousness of the breaches, the reasons for them, and all the…

In a commercial arrangement, fiduciary duties arise where a party has undertaken to act exclusively in another’s interests and the relationship goes beyond…

Permission to bring a counterclaim after the defence requires the court to consider both its prospects of success and whether permission is justified under the…

An anti-suit injunction enforcing an arbitration agreement should ordinarily be granted where incorporation and contractual scope are established to a high…

In an excess of loss reinsurance treaty, the phrase “each and every loss or series of losses arising out of one event” ordinarily refers to a causative event…

A term sheet may create immediately binding obligations even though the parties contemplate later definitive documents. The question is one of construction. A…

Legal advice privilege is not confined to documents passing directly between lawyer and client. It may extend to intra-client communications and documents…

A non-recourse transaction may nevertheless be a secured loan. The court must determine its legal character from the agreement’s written terms, considering the…

A challenge under section 68(2)(d) of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires the court to identify an essential issue, determine whether it was put to the tribunal…

On an application for summary judgment, the court may decide a short point of law or contractual construction where the evidence is sufficient and the parties…

Without prejudice privilege requires negotiations genuinely aimed at settlement of a dispute. A party’s use of the without prejudice label cannot create…

A claim in deceit requires proof of a false representation, dishonesty, an intention that it be believed, reliance in belief, reliance in action and loss.…

Damages for non-acceptance of goods are assessed by awarding the contractual price less costs that would have been avoided by performance. The claimant must…

In a CIF contract incorporating standard terms, stated destination delivery dates are ordinarily indicative where the contract terms provide that the seller…

Whether to order a split trial is a pragmatic balancing exercise under the court’s case-management powers. The court must assess how the litigation is likely…

An amendment is consequential only where it responds to an identifiable change or alteration in the opposing case. It is insufficient that the amendment also…

For interim proprietary and freezing relief, the merits threshold is a good arguable case: the claim must be more than merely arguable and carry some degree of…

Sanction for contempt must reflect the seriousness, duration, deliberateness and consequences of the breach. Continuing and intentional refusal to comply with…

A claimant seeking remuneration for capital-introduction services must prove the existence and terms of any alleged contract, including the identity of the…

A contractual purchase-price formula must be construed objectively and as a whole. Where additions are made for assets and deductions for liabilities or…

Contractual meaning is determined from the words used in their relevant context. Commercial purpose cannot justify replacing a deliberate categorical…

Solicitors’ professional indemnity cover does not ordinarily extend to liabilities arising from separate commercial arrangements undertaken for the solicitor’s…

A standard cross-undertaking in damages supporting a freezing order should not be removed merely because the underlying award has become a judgment and remains…

An English court may grant anti-suit and anti-enforcement injunctions to uphold arbitration agreements where the claimant shows a high probability that foreign…

A judgment following a private hearing of an arbitration claim may be published where the open justice principle outweighs the confidentiality of the…

Under CPR Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 17, the court may act where there may have been a failure adequately to comply with an order for Extended…

A confidentiality ring is a justified exception to open justice only where protection for confidential information is established and the proposed terms are…

An application under Arbitration Act 1996, s 68, is subject to a high threshold and requires substantial injustice. Section 68 is not a route for appealing…

In managing related proceedings, the court must balance the parties’ contingent interests in prompt and cost-efficient justice against the interests of other…

On an interim injunction application, the court must approach the return hearing with a clean sheet. The claimant bears the burden of showing afresh that…

A person authorised to realise company assets, hold the proceeds for the company and direct payments from them may be both a fiduciary agent and trustee, even…

Recognition and enforcement of a New York Convention award may be refused under Arbitration Act 1996, s. 103(3), only on a narrowly construed public-policy…

Whether a contractual time stipulation is a condition is a question of construction, assessed in the contract’s factual and commercial setting. A commercial or…

Estoppel by convention cannot be treated as a slogan that automatically prevents relief whenever a new right is alleged. The court must examine the legal…

Whether a party is a “defendant” entitled to seek security for costs under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 25.26, depends on substance rather than procedural…

Disclosure under PD 57AD must be directed to pleaded issues and remain reasonable and proportionate. A significant pleaded issue ordinarily warrants disclosure…

The construction of a judicial order is determined objectively by its operative language, read in the circumstances known to the court and parties. The…

On a summary assessment of costs, the court must determine a reasonable sum by evaluating the nature and complexity of the work, the appropriate guideline…

For the purposes of a treaty jurisdiction clause, “measures” is not confined to formal legislative, regulatory or administrative acts. It may include informal…

The order in which parties must particularise foreign law and adduce expert evidence is a matter of case management. Where a defendant first raises foreign…

A court retains jurisdiction to determine consequential costs matters where its substantive judgment expressly adjourned those matters. Enhanced interest under…

In enforcing a registered foreign judgment, the High Court may appoint receivers by way of equitable execution where it is just and convenient to do so. The…

The court has a discretion to admit further evidence after trial, but exercises it cautiously. The discretion is informed by the principles that parties should…

Foreign judgments in personam are enforceable at common law where the foreign court had jurisdiction by the defendant’s presence or residence when proceedings…

On an application for summary judgment, the court may decide a short point of law where it has the evidence necessary for proper determination and the parties…

Economic duress requires proof of illegitimate commercial pressure, causation and the absence of a reasonable alternative. Causation is assessed subjectively…

On an application for security for costs, the court must decide whether an order is just in all the circumstances. Relevant considerations include the…

In substantial claims under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the starting point is that all issues which can reasonably be tried together should be…

Defects in an arbitration claim form do not automatically invalidate the proceedings. The court should apply the overriding objective and consider whether…

Where an arbitral tribunal has made a peremptory order, the principal mechanism for enforcement is the procedure in section 42 of the Arbitration Act 1996. The…

Contractual costs provisions generally govern costs where the contract allocates enforcement costs, but the court retains a discretion to make a different…

Case management decisions should reflect the overriding objective, proportionality, fairness and the efficient use of court resources. Where a pleaded validity…

Continuation of a freezing injunction requires a good arguable case on the underlying claim and a real risk of dissipation without relief. The court may assess…

The court has no power under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 rule 3.1(2)(g) to stay arbitral proceedings. The court’s intervention in an arbitration is limited to…

A seller negotiating a contract for the supply of identified goods may impliedly represent that it honestly intends to perform and will not substitute…

Section 45 of the Arbitration Act 1996 permits the court to determine a question of English law arising during an arbitration, even where the tribunal has…

For disclosure purposes, a company director may have legal control of documents held by the company where the director has an enforceable right to possess…

Contractual notification obligations are construed according to the language chosen by the parties. In a sophisticated share sale agreement, a notification…

A material innocent non-disclosure does not automatically require a freezing injunction to be discharged. The court must assess the circumstances, any actual…

Contract damages are assessed by comparing the claimant’s actual position with the position that performance would have produced. The claimant must prove loss…

Contractual “typicals” do not become warranties merely because specially agreed terms describe goods as being “in line with” them. The contract must be…

A party with a right to rescind for misrepresentation may affirm the contract by making a clear and unequivocal election between inconsistent courses of…

An arbitration clause in a sophisticated settlement agreement should ordinarily be construed as providing a one-stop forum for disputes arising from the…

An assignee who takes the benefit of contractual rights takes it subject to the contractual burdens and limitations attached to those rights. This may require…

Where a defendant has failed to file an acknowledgment of service, the court may grant permission to apply for summary judgment if the claim was validly…

In construing an insurance policy, the court applies the ordinary principles of contractual construction. The policy is read as a whole, with the text…

Deferred contractual sums become payable on expiry of the contract where the agreement treats expiry as a form of termination and provides no contrary…

Foreign-law expert evidence is admissible where it is reasonably required or would assist the court on a jurisdictional issue. Its admissibility depends on…

Under a sale contract providing for payment by documentary credit, the buyer’s obligation is ordinarily discharged conditionally, not absolutely. Construction…

For assessing VAT recoverable on legal costs, the relevant question is whether the insured receiving party can recover the VAT as input tax. The insurer’s…