New Judgment: R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal concerns a matter of statutory interpretation in the context of litigation funding. Litigation funding involves the agreement of a third party (with no prior connection to the litigation) to finance all or part of the legal costs of certain litigation, in return for a percentage of any damages recovered should the funded litigant be successful. In particular, this appeal concerns whether each of the agreements to provide this funding, known as litigation funding agreements (“LFAs”), constitute a “damages-based agreement” (“DBA”), a term given a specific definition by statute. In order to be lawful and enforceable a DBA has to satisfy certain conditions. The LFAs have been entered into without satisfying those conditions, so the question whether they constitute DBAs is critical for their enforceability.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th July 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Regulator criticises two supermarket giants over unlawful anti-competitive land agreements – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 15th, 2023 in agreements, competition, markets, news by sally

‘The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has secured agreements from Sainsbury’s and Asda to stop using unlawful anti-competitive land agreements that prevent competitors from establishing stores near to their own supermarkets.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th June 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

On the naughty step – a ‘rising star’ of Barking – Nearly Legal

‘Sadly, it appears that it is necessary to revive the long lapsed tradition of the Nearly Legal Naughty Step post.

We have encountered a number of councils putting, or trying to put, damn silly clauses in their tenancy agreements for secure tenants, and then threatening to evict tenants who breach these damn silly clauses. There was Sandwell silencing tenants, for example (and they were not alone in trying to include such a clause). And there was the spectacle of Wandsworth attempting to impose a clause forbidding the tenant, their household, or their visitors from behaving badly anywhere in the whole borough, on pain of eviction. That one – which is all too relevant for what follows – ended in humiliation for Wandsworth when they actually tried to use it.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th June 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Master of rolls questions ‘impenetrable’ client documents – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 6th, 2022 in agreements, fees, legal language, news, personal injuries, solicitors by sally

‘The ability of lay clients to understand the Law Society’s model conditional fee agreement was questioned by three of the most senior judges in England and Wales yesterday in a much-awaited Court of Appeal hearing.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th October 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Law Commission seeks ban on discrimination in appointing arbitrators – Legal Futures

‘Arbitration agreements requiring that the arbitrator be a “commercial man” or otherwise specifying a protected characteristic will be unenforceable under Law Commission proposals published today.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd September 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court upholds ruling that $3m CFA is unforceable – Legal Futures

Posted August 2nd, 2022 in agreements, enforcement, fees, law firms, news, repayment by tracey

‘The High Court has upheld a decision that a law firm which charged its client nearly $3m under an unenforceable conditional fee agreement (CFA) has to repay the money.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd August 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Kenneth A. Armstrong: From the Shadow of Hierarchy to the Shadow of Competition – Common Frameworks and the Disciplining of Divergence – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted December 16th, 2021 in agreements, brexit, EC law, international relations, markets, news by sally

‘This time last year, the controversial United Kingdom Internal Market Bill was ping-ponging between the Commons and Lords. A key point of contention concerned the relationship between the ‘market access’ principles now enshrined in the Act – the mutual recognition and non-discrimination principles – and future exercises of devolved rule-making. Should post-Brexit internal regulatory divergence be legally disciplined by a strong version of the mutual recognition principle or insulated from such forces? As I explained in a contribution to this blog a year ago, a partial answer can be found in Sections 10(2) and 18(3) of the Act which allows the Secretary of State, by regulations, to amend Schedule 1 (goods) and Schedule 2 (services) to exclude the outcome of a ‘common framework agreement’ from the scope of application of the market access principles. The aim of this new post is to consider how this power is likely to work in light of a written ministerial statement made on 9 December 2021 setting out the mechanism for its implementation.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 15th December 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Sex Pistols win legal fight against Johnny Rotten over songs – The Guardian

Posted August 24th, 2021 in agreements, artistic works, consent, licensing, media, news by sally

‘The former Sex Pistols frontman, Johnny Rotten, has lost a high court attempt to block the punk band’s songs from being used in a forthcoming drama series.’

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The Guardian, 23rd August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

A new ABPI Code for 2021 – Mills & Reeve

Posted June 8th, 2021 in agreements, codes of practice, medicines, news by sally

‘The 2021 version of the ABPI Code will come into effect on 1 July. This brings in important changes to the self-regulatory system for the UK pharma industry. It amounts to the most substantial refresh of the Code since the 1990s.’

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Mills & Reeve, 4th June 2021

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

The environmental implications of the Brexit deal – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Most UK people’s 2020 Christmas eves were cheered by the news that we had some sort of Brexit deal – here, in all its majesty. Given the deadline for no deal, some deal, however thin, was a good deal better than nothing, with the ill-tempered chaos between the UK and a major trading partner which would have followed from the latter.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th January 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Court of Appeal upholds ruling that council overcharged tenants for water – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 27th, 2020 in agreements, appeals, interpretation, landlord & tenant, local government, news, water by sally

‘The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames has lost its appeal to the Court of Appeal over a High Court ruling that it overcharged tenants for water.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th October 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Macquarie Global Infrastructure Funds 2 Sarl v Rodino – Blackstone Chambers

Posted August 13th, 2020 in agreements, jurisdiction, news, shareholders by sally

‘The Commercial Court (Jacobs J) has dismissed applications to dispute the English Court’s jurisdiction in respect of claims for damages and declarations of non-liability in respect of proceedings brought by the Defendants in Luxembourg claiming damages in excess of €68 million. The decision illustrates the English Court’s commercially-minded approach to the construction of exclusive jurisdiction clauses and to the provisions of the Brussels I Recast Regulation that confer priority on courts seised under those clauses.

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Blackstone Chambers, 6th August 2020

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Residential property – the complications of renting to a healthcare company to enable care of an individual – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 29th, 2020 in agreements, care homes, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘A healthcare company intends to rent a residential property for permitted officers or employees to occupy, on a weekly rota basis. However, an individual who is neither an officer nor an employee of the company (but is a person who will be cared for by the officers or employees) will live at the property, together with the officers or employees who are “on duty”. What will be the status of the individual occupier and the employees or officers if the (non-AST) tenancy agreement is terminated?’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 29th May 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

NDAs in spotlight as Court of Appeal gags newspaper – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A Court of Appeal ruling barring the publication of allegations that a ‘leading businessman’ sexually harassed and racially abused employees has re-ignited the debate over the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in settlements. In ABC and others v Telegraph Media Group, Sir Terence Etherton, Lord Justice Underhill and Lord Justice Henderson granted a temporary injunction preventing the Telegraph from publishing what the newspaper says is the result of eight months of investigation into the behaviour of an individual identified as ‘ABC’.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th October 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

High Court finds oral agreement to pay solicitor’s fees – Legal Futures

Posted September 25th, 2018 in agreements, fees, news, solicitors by sally

‘The High Court has found there was an oral agreement between a solicitor and the son-in-law of a client that the latter would cover his fees, which in the end totalled £330,000.’

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Legal Futures, 25th September 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

No-deal Brexit thrusts UK into ‘legal vacuum’, warns Keir Starmer – The Guardian

Posted August 28th, 2018 in agreements, brexit, EC law, legislation, news, treaties by sally

‘Theresa May and the government would face a race against time to pass a slew of new laws, or risk creating an “unsustainable legal vacuum”, if Britain plunged out of the EU without a deal, Labour’s Keir Starmer has warned.’

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The Guardian, 26th August 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

British Accession to the Hague Agreement – NIPC Law

Posted August 21st, 2018 in agreements, consultations, intellectual property, news, regulations, treaties by sally

‘On 13 March 2018 the British government deposited with the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) an instrument of ratification of the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (“the Hague Agreement”). The deposit of that instrument enabled the UK to join the Hague system for the registration of industrial designs from 13 June 2018. The Hague system allows businesses to register up to 100 designs in 69 countries in a single application.’

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NIPC Law, 18th August 2018

Source: nipclaw.blogspot.com

Business to Business Collaboration Agreements – NIPC Law

Posted August 6th, 2018 in agreements, intellectual property, news by sally

‘According to the Intellectual Property Office’s Facts and Figures for 2016 and 2017, 24 out of the 38 inter partes disputes that came before the Office’s tribunals arose from disputes over ownership of inventions. This can be an expensive and time consuming process as I explained in Disputes over Ownership of Inventions 6 Aug 2015 NIPC Southeast. Disputes over ownership of other intellectual property (“IP”) rights result in infringement actions like MEI Fields Designs Ltd v Saffron Cards and Gifts Ltd and another [2018] EWHC 1332 (IPEC) (6 June 2018).’

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NIPC Law, 4th August 2018

Source: nipclaw.blogspot.com

Solon Solomon: The Chequers Agreement: Brexit and the Infeasibility of Judicial and Legal Independence – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘The Chequers agreement reshapes the UK Brexit position. By formally throwing its lot behind a soft Brexit, Theresa May’s government has made a point. It is unclear how this stance was influenced by the House of Lords voting in favour of such a soft Brexit some months ago or by the City entrepreneurs voicing their support to such a scenario. Projecting into the future, it is equally unclear how the Chequers agreement will impact UK politics and the government’s viability.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 12th July 2018

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Brexit: trade marks and designs – 10 things to know – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 12th, 2018 in agreements, brexit, EC law, intellectual property, news, trade marks, treaties by sally

‘While Brexit negotiations between the UK and EU are ongoing, the UK government and European Commission have found an agreement in principle that will alleviate many right holders’ concerns in respect of trade marks and designs.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th July 2018

Source: www.out-law.com