Two recent decisions – both coincidentally dealing with the application of Italian law in the English courts – have given some useful general indicators about how the courts will approach the determination of disputes concerning foreign law. In River Countess BV & Ors v MSC Cruise Management (UK) Ltd [2021] EWHC 2652 (Admlty), Andrew Baker…
Read moreLocal standards in skiing claims
My thanks to Tom Collins of 1 Chancery Lane for letting me feature this article about a recent package travel case in which he successfully appeared on instructions from Michael Gwilliam of Plexus Legal LLP. The article first appeared in 1 Chancery Lane’s Weekly Roundup, which can be accessed here. In Doyle v Rayburn Tours Limited (Unreported)…
Read moreGriffiths overturned by Court of Appeal majority
In Griffiths v TUI (UK) Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 1442, the Court of Appeal has handed down judgment on the question of whether the court can evaluate and reject an “uncontroverted” expert’s report, and if so, in what circumstances. The background to this holiday sickness case will by now be familiar to travel lawyers: we…
Read moreCourt of Appeal: strike out stands in Nigerian oil spill “representative action”
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that claims pursued in a “representative action” on behalf of over 28,000 members of the Bonga community in Nigeria affected by an oil spill will be struck out. This was a claim on behalf of individuals and communities based on the coast of Nigeria spanning Bayelsa State…
Read moreLord Frost: changes incoming for retained EU law
A major issue for English civil lawyers since Brexit has been making sense of the complex new idea of “retained EU law”. Sam Cuthbert wrote an excellent summary of the key points in a blog back in January of this year. 2TG have recently released a detailed analysis of the many difficult questions about this…
Read moreCan a defendant who unnecessarily submits to the jurisdiction be an “anchor defendant”?
This is a short blog considering a fairly niche but potentially important issue. The situation is this: The Claimant brings a claim against a foreign-domiciled D1, who submits to the jurisdiction. In fact, if D1 had not submitted, then there would not have been any valid jurisdictional basis for the claim against D1. Can D1…
Read moreForeign law evidence: think about the practical side
It is one thing to follow the formalities to get expert foreign law evidence before the court in the first place (and all litigants should, of course, make sure that they follow the proper formalities). But canny litigants need to go a step further and think about the practicalities of how their expert will give…
Read moreSuccess for pursuer in Scottish fatal diving accident claim
In this blog post, Lois Aldred of 12 King’s Bench Walk considers a new and perhaps conclusive development in the long-running litigation in Warner v Scapa Flow Charters [2021] CSOH 92. The case is best known for its trip to the Supreme Court on limitation in 2018. Readers may recall that the Supreme Court allowed…
Read moreX v Kuoni: Supreme Court unanimously allows Claimant’s appeal
The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in X v Kuoni Travel Ltd (ABTA intervening) [2021] UKSC 34, unanimously finding in favour of the Appellant. It follows the ruling of the CJEU in March of this year. We previously blogged about the first instance decision, the Court of Appeal’s decision, the interim judgment of the Supreme Court, and…
Read morePermission to appeal granted in struck-out Fundão Dam Disaster Litigation
We previously blogged about Turner J’s decision to strike out the Fundão Dam Disaster Litigation. Coulson LJ then refused permission to appeal that decision on paper. The claimants applied for Coulson LJ’s decision to be re-opened on the basis of the court’s exceptional powers to avoid injustice pursuant to CPR r. 52.30. The Court of…
Read more