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The recent judgment of the High Court in Palladian Partners & Ors v The Republic of Argentina & Anor [2022] EWHC 2059 (Comm) provides an interesting insight into the factors that will be weighed by the court in determining whether a confidentiality obligation owed to a third party should obviate the need for a party to provide inspection of relevant documents in English litigation.
There is a growing trend amongst activists and claimant law firms to pursue novel causes of action against companies for acts or omissions that, while not directly attributable to them, are said to result in alleged human rights breaches in their value chains.
On 5 August 2022, the FCA issued a Final Notice fining Sir Christopher Gent, former Chair of ConvaTec Group Plc (ConvaTec), £80,000 for unlawful disclosure of inside information to major shareholders.
In a recent decision of the Competition Appeal Tribunal ("CAT"), the CAT held that an email inadvertently disclosed by a party was protected by without prejudice privilege ("WPP").
In this decision, the court confirmed that it did not have the power to extend the "relevant period" for acceptance a Part 36 offer. In reaching that conclusion, Master Thornett gave some important reminders about how the Part 36 rules operate in practice, and how the court's approach to them, as a "self-contained code", will differ from its approach to other rules.
The recent High Court decision of ECU Group PLC v HSBC Bank PLC & Ors [2022] EWHC 1616 (Comm) sheds light on the scope of commercial litigation funders' potential liability for costs in unsuccessful actions, including costs incurred prior to the signing of the Litigation Funding Agreement (LFA).
On 20 July 2022 the Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, announced a package of measures designed to tackle the increased use of SLAPPs in the courts of England and Wales.
On 9 August 2022, the FCA issued its latest portfolio letter (Letter) to alternative asset management firms setting out its supervisory priorities.
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing Russia/Ukraine conflict, and rising inflation and interest rates have exacerbated a slowdown in the world economy. Many borrowers have availed themselves of low-cost debt in the decade since the financial crisis, and some may encounter challenges in servicing or refinancing this debt in a harsher economic climate.
On 19 July HM Treasury issued a report on the outcome of the UK Secondary Capital Raising Review (the "Review").
The UK Government has published its much anticipated Financial Services and Markets Bill (the Bill), previously touted by the former Chancellor as "Big Bang 2.0". The Bill as introduced may or may not be that, but it certainly includes a large number of substantial measures that will effect a major overhaul of the UK's regulatory framework for financial services.
Since the Supreme Court's rulings in Vedanta Resources Plc v Lungowe [2019] UKSC 20 ("Vedanta") and HRH Emere Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell [2021] UKSC 3 ("Okpabi"), much has been written about the potential impact these decisions may have on UK-domiciled businesses with foreign operations and, in particular, how they will assist claimants who wish to initiate large-scale group litigation.
In AIC Ltd v Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria [2022] UKSC 16 the Supreme Court has re-stated the principles to be applied when a judge is asked to revisit a judgment or final order before it has been sealed by the Court, where there has been a change in relevant circumstances in the meantime.
Since the Government introduced the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the "Act") in March this year, there has been uncertainty as to how overseas entities (or those who deal with them) should prepare for the introduction of the new Overseas Entities Register (the "Register"). Some of those questions have now been answered, as we explain below.
The EU's Platform on Sustainable Finance ("PSF") – an expert group established to advise the European Commission – recently published a helpful draft report on so-called "minimum safeguards" ("MS") under sustainable finance legislation.
On 25 May 2022 the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Pfizer and Flynn v CMA [2022] UKSC 14, reinstating the Competition Appeal Tribunal's ("CAT's") decision to award Pfizer and Flynn costs arising from their successful appeal against the decision by the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") which found that Pfizer and Flynn had abused their dominant position in relation to the supply of epilepsy medication.
On 25 July 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288, consisting of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), was published in the Official Journal.
The High Court has ruled that the UK Government's Net Zero Strategy breaches its obligations under the Climate Change Act 2008. The ruling took place on 18 July 2022, following a case brought by Friends of the Earth and ClientEarth (inter alia), who alleged that the Government failed to produce detailed climate policies to show how the UK’s legally binding carbon budgets will be met, in line with its obligations under the Climate Change Act.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.