Litigation Notes

Supreme Court ruling in Merricks: some important clarifications but a number of unresolved issues

On 11 December 2020 the Supreme Court handed down a very significant judgment relating to the certification of a £14bn opt-out competition …

Supreme Court remits £14bn class action against Mastercard back to Competition Appeal Tribunal for reconsideration of certification

Earlier today the Supreme Court handed down its hotly-anticipated judgment regarding the certification of an opt-out competition collective action …

Class actions in Italy: a second wave of reform

Although a decade has passed since the introduction of class actions in Italy, only a handful of actions have been brought before the Italian …

Our annual disputes client conference - Managing risk: A disputes perspective

Shaping the boundaries of collective redress in Germany - a glimpse of the future under an EU representative action regime?

In a decision that will help shape the boundaries of collective redress in Germany, the country's highest civil court has dismissed a claim …

Commercial litigation podcast series – Episode 5: General update

High Court strikes out claims against BHP as an abuse of process in light of parallel claims in Brazil

The English High Court has struck out the claims of over 200,000 claimants against two companies in the BHP Group (domiciled in England and Australia …

Class action reform in France: Necessary, but debatable

Proposals for a new, general regime for class actions in France were recently presented to the French National Assembly. If accepted, the new regime will …

Article published - Class action test cases: selection and strategy

In the High Court's recent decision in Lancaster and others v Peacock QC [2020] EWHC 1231 (Ch), the court has taken the rare step of commenting on how …

High Court finds claims arising out of oil spill cannot proceed as representative action under CPR 19.6

In a recent decision, the High Court has struck out the representative element of a claim purportedly brought on behalf of large numbers of Nigerian …

Lloyds/HBOS litigation: judgment on costs and permission to appeal

The High Court has handed down judgment on costs issues and an application for permission to appeal, following on from the court's rejection last year of …

Catalyst // Pressure Points: Disputes risks - new guide on dispute risks arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic

Herbert Smith Freehills has published a new guide exploring a number of areas in which we anticipate that disputes may arise around the globe as a result …