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Since our previous briefing there have been a number of developments in the area of tax investigations and disputes. This briefing summarises some key ones and what they mean for taxpayers.

In a judgment handed down on 18 August 2021, the Supreme Court has confirmed the existence of the doctrine of lawful act economic duress in English law, but has emphasised the narrowness of its scope, citing just two specific sets of circumstances in which the doctrine may apply.

This briefing addresses the impact of Brexit, and the end of the transition period, on cross-border disputes.

This briefing note, which represents an updated version of an earlier note circulated in September 2020, addresses the impact of Brexit, including the end of the transition period, on matters relevant to civil judicial co-operation between the English courts and the courts of EU member states (and, where relevant, the courts of EFTA^[1] member states).

Shareholders in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australia's largest bank, have applied to the Federal Court of Australia to compel the CBA to furnish them with documents pertaining to its decisions to finance certain energy projects. 

It has been reported that two German NGOs (Greenpeace and Deutsche Umwelthilfe) have written a letter of claim to Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz and independent oil and gas company Wintershall Dea, alleging that the companies need to put in place measures to reduce their CO2 emissions by 45% (as against 2019 levels) by 2030.

Welcome to the fifth edition of our quarterly disputes newsletter, which covers key developments in the dispute resolution world over the last three months or so. 

Head of Risk and Operational Regulatory Doug Bryden and Dispute Resolution Partner Heather Gagen recently gave an interview to Legal Business on ESG and the increasing demand for ESG-related advice from clients, in particular in relation to managing risk in this area.

English courts are seeing an increasing number of claims brought against UK companies who are said to be responsible for harm to claimants who live outside of the UK, even though the company was not directly involved in the wrongful conduct alleged.

In May of this year, the UK Supreme Court handed down its judgment in Hurstwood Properties (A) Ltd v Rossendale Borough Council [2021] UKSC 16 ('Hurstwood'), a test case for around 55 other similar claims relating to business rates avoidance schemes, used by companies attempting to avoid the payment of non-domestic rates on empty properties.

On 5 July 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Victorygame Limited, Surjit Singh Pandher v Ahuja Investments Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 993 concerning whether a party can maintain litigation privilege over information, in circumstances where it has misled the party providing that information as to the purpose for which it is required.

The recent judgment of the High Court in Josiya & Ors v British American Tobacco PLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 1743 (QB) is the latest in a series of cases in which the English Courts have refused to strike out novel claims against UK companies in respect of alleged unethical conduct in their overseas business operations.

The FCA has set out an ambitious vision for transformation in its Business Plan for 2021/22, the first under Nikhil Rathi's leadership since he was appointed CEO in October 2020.

We recently held our third webinar in the series "Sustainability and alternative asset managers: the new normal".

Two climate change related cases made global headlines in recent weeks: a Dutch case, brought by a group of activists, against Royal Dutch Shell that imposed carbon emission limits on the oil producing multinational and an Australian case that found the Minister for the Environment had a duty to protect young people from the effects of climate change. In this article, we look at these decisions in their wider legal context, and consider how the law may continue to develop in this area, including in the UK.

It is sometimes suggested that the courts only intervene based on the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) where there is inequality of bargaining power. But a recent case provides a reminder that UCTA can also apply where a contractual provision is regarded as particularly destructive of one party's rights – even where there is no obvious imbalance between the parties.

Many contracts contain requirements for goods or services to meet certain levels of quality – but it's not always easy to define in precise, easily measurable terms. In this briefing, we look at the lessons that can be drawn from a recent dispute over whether the quality of furniture provided for a hotel was suitable for its upmarket status.

Travers Smith LLP has announced the promotion of four lawyers to Senior Counsel as part of its 2021 promotions round.

For many years the High Court in London has been a favoured forum for resolving disputes arising in Russia, particularly those involving oligarchs.

Welcome to the fourth edition of our quarterly disputes newsletter, which covers key developments in the dispute resolution sphere over the last three months or so.