Commercial News

Victoria Jones represents British Gymnastics before the Court of Appeal

25th March 2021

3PB's specialist intellectual property barrister Victoria Jones (pictured here) represented British Gymnastics before the Court of Appeal. The appeal was brought by UK Gymnastics against the judgement of IPEC Judge HHJ Clarke handed down on 26 June 2020 in which she found UK Gymnastics to be liable for acts of passing off and trade mark infringement. On 24 March 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its decision with Lord Justice Arnold upholding the findings...

Seb Oram analyses good faith and ‘the spirit of agreement’ in commercial contracts

24th March 2021

3PB's specialist commercial and construction law barrister Seb Oram (pictured here) has reviewed the case of Westfields Homes Ltd v Keay Homes (Windrush). The case involved a potential breach of commercial, land-development contract and serves as a must-read for all commercial lawyers and litigators alike. In this case, the Court held that where the contract prescribed no basis for determining the meaning of clauses of good faith or ‘the spirit of the agreement’, it would...

Neil Fawcett gives legal opinion that estate agents could be 'negligent' for not disclosing air pollution levels

19th March 2021

3PB’s commercial barrister Neil Fawcett has co-produced,  with Jessica Simor QC from Matrix Chambers,  a 20-page legal opinion for the Central Office of Public Interest which says there is a "strong legal argument" that estate agents not disclosing air pollution levels would be considered negligent. This follows the news about a new pollution rating tool for every postcode in the UK, addresspollution.org - using 1.5 billion data points generated by air pollution experts at Imperial...

Top arbitrator and litigator David Parratt KC joins 3PB

29th January 2021

3PB Head of Chambers David Berkley KC is delighted to announce that barrister and former Advocate David Parratt KC (call: 1999/Silk: 2017) has joined full-time from Arnot Manderson Chambers in Scotland, having previously been a door tenant with the national chambers. David (pictured here) is a leading counsel for international and UK arbitrations and also has experience acting as arbitrator. He is renowned for his work in commercial, construction, engineering and energy disputes. He has...

3PB burns the midnight oil for claimant businesses ahead of Supreme Court decision in their favour on the FCA’s Business Interruption Insurance test case

15th January 2021

3PB Head of Chambers David Berkley QC (pictured here) and fellow commercial litigation barrister Neil Fawcett have been burning the midnight oil since Christmas ahead of today’s test case in favour of their clients, most of whom are small to medium-sized businesses, after the Supreme Court found in favour of the Financial Conduct Authority in their case against Arch Insurance and other UK insurers. Some insurers have already paid out on certain claims, but many have...

Max Schofield’s OnlyFans VAT case is referred to the European Court of Justice ahead of Brexit

15th December 2020

3PB’s commercial and tax barrister Max Schofield was instructed to advise Fenix International Limited, who operate the OnlyFans website, in their VAT dispute with HMRC about the VAT liability of online platforms under EU law. OnlyFans is a global social media platform where fans subscribe to creators to see online content. Led by Valentina Sloane QC of Monckton Chambers, Max obtained an order from the UK’s First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) referring the question of the validity...

Watch again: webinar on vicarious liability and reflective loss

2nd December 2020

3PB's Head of Chambers David Berkley QC, Seb Oram and Naomi Webber hosted a very well-attended webinar this morning on vicarious liability and reflective loss. In this lockdown year the Supreme Court has not been idle. The common law, by nature organic, was, in 2020, significantly developed or at least refined in respect of two key concepts. First, in Barclays Bank v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13 and WM Morrisons Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants...

Property conveyancing solicitors and tax practitioners involved with stamp duty land tax need to be wary after a rise in claims against them for professional negligence for failing to advise on, or failure to submit a return for, Multiple Dwelling Relief (MDR). 3PB’s commercial and tax specialist barrister Max Schofield, who has described the present spike in claims as  a “new negligence outbreak”, explains the importance of multiple dwellings relief when considering stamp duty land...

Max Schofield successfully opposes HMRC's appeal in VAT zero-rating case

13th November 2020

Indirect tax specialist Max Schofield successfully acted for the Respondent juice cleanse company before the Upper Tribunal in HMRC v The Core (Swindon) Ltd [2020] UKUT 0301 (TCC). In this case, a programme of juices was held by the FTT to be zero-rated food rather than standard-rated beverages. Following this decision, HMRC were refused permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on the papers twice but were eventually granted permission on a limited ground following...

3PB sponsor Support Through Court “In Conversation with" Sarah Langford and William Clegg QC

29th October 2020

3PB are pleased to sponsor Support Through Court’s 4th “In Conversation” event due to take place via Zoom on Wednesday 18 November 7-8.30pm. The event will be joined by Sarah Langford and William Clegg QC, who will discuss their experiences at the bar and help raise funds and awareness for the charity. Sarah Langford is a barrister from 3PB and Sunday Times Best Seller for ‘In your defense’, a book commended for powerfully communicating the...

46 barristers at 3PB ranked in Chambers & Partners 2021 UK Bar directory

22nd October 2020

The 2021 Chambers and Partners legal directory - which ranks and rates barristers and solicitors based on independent research by the publisher and direct feedback from clients - has given 46 3PB barristers rankings in this year's guide, across 16 different practice areas. This includes two new group rankings for Family (Children) and Family (Matrimonial Finance) teams in the Midlands and new ratings for Chancery in the Midlands as well as Planning Law in the...

Business Interruptions Insurance webinar - recording now available!

13th October 2020

3PB barristers David Berkley KC, David Parratt KC (Scot) and Neil Fawcett bring you a recording of their webinar on ''Business Interruption Insurance''. The test case of Financial Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd. and Ors [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm) which was handed down in a 160-page judgement, provides some interesting points for businesses - and their lawyers - looking to claim against business interruption insurance. During this recorded webinar, the 3PB team outline...