The UK recently formally requested accession to the Lugano Convention. This is likely to represent the touchstone for English jurisdiction in the near future. How timely, then, is the judgment of Waksman J last week in Mastermelt Ltd v Siegfried Evionnaz SA [2020] EWHC 927 (QB), which neatly highlights one of the persisting deficiencies of…
Read moreSupreme Court rules on “weaker party” in cross-border insurance claims
Although the Supreme Court’s rulings on vicarious liability and surrogacy costs may have stolen the limelight yesterday, eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the important jurisdiction decision in Aspen Underwriting Ltd & Ors v Credit Europe Bank NV [2020] UKSC 11. The Supreme Court, in overruling the Court of Appeal, made important comments on identification of…
Read moreJurisdiction – what next?
The “Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community” has been given effect in the UK by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020. The Withdrawal Agreement is being voted on by the European Parliament today. It must also…
Read moreDoes art. 4(1) of Brussels I (Recast) confer a right enforceable by an anti-suit injunction?
In this blog post, Elizabeth Boulden of 12 King’s Bench Walk looks at the recent case of Gray v Hurley [2019] EWCA Civ 2222. This explores the interesting question of whether art. 4(1) of Brussels I (Recast) gives rise to an enforceable right which obliges a court to grant an anti-suit injunction to prevent a party…
Read moreExpert foreign law evidence in jurisdiction disputes: ask for permission first
In Gulf International Bank BSC v Aldwood [2019] EWHC 1666 (QB), John Kimbell QC (sitting as a High Court Judge) gave some brief practical guidance on the proper approach to expert foreign law evidence in jurisdictional disputes. This arose in the context of a multi-million pound claim based on a personal guarantee signed by the…
Read moreThomas Cook mini-series – (2) Alternative avenues for claimants
This blog by Philip Mead forms part of a series on the aftermath of the collapse of the package holiday provider Thomas Cook. A previous blog covers the rights of injured claimants to pursue a remedy where a purchase was made with a credit card. Philip assesses other possible avenues against alternative defendants.
Read moreKeefe question to go back to CJEU
In Cole and Others v IVI Madrid SL and Zurich Insurance Plc (Unreported) QBD, 24 September 2019, the court decided to refer to the CJEU the question of whether it was a requirement of art. 13(3) that, for an injured person to make a parasitic claim against the insured, the claim against the insured had…
Read moreJurisdiction and Applicable Law Post-Brexit: A Refresher
This blog post is by Spencer Turner of 12 King’s Bench Walk. With ‘exit day’ looming on 31st October 2019 and the very real possibility of a no-deal Brexit, it seems to a be a good time to set out a refresher on jurisdiction and applicable law in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Read moreJurisdiction and foreign hotels post-Keefe
This blog post is by Spencer Turner of 12 King’s Bench Walk. In Lackey v Mallorca Mega Resorts and Anor [2019] EWHC 1028 (QB), Master Davison held that the Claimant, who had been paralysed as a result of an accident at a holiday resort, could sue a Spanish hotel and its insurer in England. There…
Read moreBrexit and the Government White Paper: Are the Civil Judicial Cooperation plans Realistic?
In this blog, which follows on from Philip Mead’s recent post explaining the legal implications the Government’s recent White Paper (Cm 9593), Patrick Vincent suggests that the Lugano Convention has been wrongly worded and wrongly translated – but that even if corrected it will not help the UK achieve post-Brexit civil judicial cooperation with the…
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