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On 13 May 2022, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) submitted a number of questions to the European Commission relating to the interpretation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Taxonomy Regulation). Separately, the ESAs have also been asked by the European Commission for their input on possible amendments to the SFDR Delegated Regulation.
Travers Smith LLP acted for the Claimants in these proceedings.
"Fraud on a grand scale; or relentless witch-hunt?": these were the first eight words of Mr Justice Hildyard's mammoth (almost 1,700 page) judgment in the high profile fraud claim brought by various Hewlett-Packard group companies (the "Claimants") against Dr Michael Lynch (the founder and former CEO of Autonomy Corporation Plc ("Autonomy")) and Mr Sushovan Hussain (the former CFO of Autonomy) following a 93 day trial which Hildyard J said "may rank amongst the longest and most complex in English legal history".
The Supreme Court's judgment in Lloyd v Google in November 2021 (see our briefing) significantly curbed "opt-out" representative actions brought under CPR 19.6, but it left a number of unanswered questions - a trail of crumbs for claimant law firms to pick over. One such question was whether a different conclusion would be reached under the Data Protection Act 2018 (and UK GDPR) as the claim for loss of control of data in Lloyd was made under the Data Protection Act 1998.
In this appeal, which Lewison LJ noted was important to those who practise in the professional negligence field, the Court of Appeal considered the effect and scope of section 1(4) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 (the "1978 Act"). The Court held that s.1(4) was concerned only with the liability of the party claiming contribution, and not with the liability of the party against whom contribution is sought, clarifying what has to be proved by a contribution claimant to succeed on a contribution claim.
The UK Government has confirmed that it plans to introduce significantly stronger powers for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to enforce consumer law, including the ability to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. This is a major change for consumer-facing businesses, although question marks remain over the exact timing.
The EU has published a draft directive designed to help address the perceived bias in favour of debt funding companies as compared with equity and, accordingly, promote financial stability.
Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.
A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.
ESG and sustainability issues continue to be a priority for policy makers and regulators globally. The impact of the Ukraine conflict on energy policy and the recent publication of the IPCC's (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) "state of the union" report on the slender window we have to take action in order to meet our climate targets both highlight the scale of the global challenge we face on climate issues.
In the recent decision in MUR Shipping BV v RTI Ltd [2022] EWHC 467 (Comm), the court found that a force majeure clause applied, even though the affected party had offered alternative performance. The case also contains some useful lessons about the limits of arbitral appeals and obligations to pay in a particular currency against the background of sanctions.
With claimants around the globe continuing to bring novel and ambitious climate change-related cases before common law Courts, some judges are hesitant to be drawn into what may be perceived as a political debate.
The UK Government has announced that new border controls on imports from the EU scheduled for July 2022 are being postponed. In the short term, many (but not all) businesses are likely to welcome this move, as it reduces the risk of disruption to supply chains and will ease cost pressures.
The European Commission published a draft Data Act on 23 February 2022 ("Data Act"), as part of the implementation of its February 2020 strategy for data. This proposed regulation, which will have direct effect in members states, is intended to set standards at an EU-wide level to facilitate and create a fairer, more competitive digital environment for the sharing and re-use of data (both personal and non-personal). This briefing looks at who the Data Act impacts, what it does and how it fits into the EU's vision for a single European market for data.
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of responsible business and sustainability has never been so clear. From the growing efforts worldwide to avert the climate emergency to public action on racial injustice, society at large is increasingly focused on confronting a broad range of environmental and social issues.
In pursuit of its commitment to prevent all avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042, the UK Government has recently begun to impose a tax on the manufacture and import of significant volumes of plastic packaging which does not contain a minimum amount of recycled content. The aim of the tax is to increase demand for recycled plastics, creating an incentive to collect and recycle plastic waste and divert it away from landfill and incineration.
In the recent case of SK Shipping Europe Ltd v Capital VLCC 3 Corp (C Challenger) [2022] EWCA Civ 231, the Court of Appeal clarified several points in the law of misrepresentation, including the circumstances in which a representation of fact will be implied from the offer of a contractual term, the effect of a reservation of rights on an alleged affirmation, and the operation of section 2(2) of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 concerning damages in lieu of rescission.
We recently released our update on the Commercial Rents (Coronavirus) Bill and the changes to Covid-19 restrictions on landlord enforcement options that came into effect in March 2022.
If you had an employee share plan or arrangement in the 2021/22 tax year, now is the time to start thinking about your annual reporting obligations.
In this case, the High Court rejected the defendant's application for its expert and factual witnesses, who were both based in Kenya, to give evidence via video link, or for there to be a hybrid trial which the witnesses could attend remotely.