Commercial News

When one party pulls out of commercial negotiations before a contract is signed, how does the Court determine if a contract has been formed? Seb Oram analyses the Commercial Court’s recent decision in Rotam Agrochemical Co Ltd v. GAT Microencapsulation GmbH [2018] EWHC 2765 (Comm). Click here to read Seb's analysis. Seb is a Commercial Law barrister specialising in professional negligence and the construction sector. View Seb's profile here.

When will a solicitor need to give a warning to his client about obvious risks that come to his attention when performing his retainer, but which he has not been formally retained to advise on? Richard Whitehouse  analyses the Court of Appeals recent decision in Lyons v. Fox Williams LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2347. Click here to read Richard's analysis. Richard is a Commercial Law barrister specialising in professional negligence and business disputes. View Richard's profile here.

3PB’s Alexander Whatley has successfully defended against a claim for an agency fee which turned on the interpretation of an ‘Introduction’. This is a widely contested issue in both the estate agency and recruitment agency sectors in the UK. The claim was defeated half-way through the trial by way of a successful submission, by 3PB commercial barrister Alexander Whatley, of no case to answer relying on Foxtons Ltd v Pelkey Bicknell [2008] EWCA Civ 419....

3PB silk David Berkley QC appeared on Sky News this week commenting on the £210,000 in damages awarded to Cliff Richard in a High Court privacy case against the BBC. Mr Berkley said that the rights to privacy of the individual and the freedom of speech afforded to the press needed to be balanced.

3PB’s Commercial and Property barrister Rebecca Farrell, instructed by Ian Baker of London solicitors PGB Gitlin Baker, acted for the Petitioning Creditor Darius Khakshouri in successfully obtaining the bankruptcy of former property tycoon Kevin Cash who owed the businessman in excess of £3 million. The bankruptcy was obtained at Oxford County Court last week. The bankruptcy of Kevin Cash has attracted widespread publicity – alongside the planned sale of his £28m Oxfordshire home. Coverage includes...

Victoria Jones successfully represents UK law firm Loch Associates Group in successfully defending oppositions to its nine trade mark applications incorporating the word ‘Loch’ brought by Cloch Solicitors Limited based upon its earlier ‘Cloch’ marks and in successfully opposing Cloch Solicitor’s attempt to register the mark ‘Loch’. The Registrar found that (i) ‘Loch’ was conceptually dissimilar to ‘Cloch’ with the former having an obvious meaning and the latter being meaningless such that despite identical services, the average consumer would not be confused between...

John Jessup considers the recent Court of Appeal decision of Marex Financial Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 1468 which answers the question of whether the rule against reflective loss (which prevents a shareholder bringing an action for loss of value of their shares) applies to unsecured creditors. Click here to read John's analysis. Read John's profile here.

Christopher Edwards considers the case of First Tower Trustees Ltd and Intertrustees Limited v CDS (Superstores International) Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 1396 and the role of basis clauses in avoiding liability in contracts. Click here to read his analysis. Click here to view Christopher's profile.

Intellectual property specialist Victoria Jones will speak to CITMA delegates at an event today about trade mark cases of interest to date so far in 2018. From EUIPO Torpedoes to the renowned red sole, Victoria will explore cases of note and the issues arising from them including: locality of goodwill and the section 11(3) defence, the future for colour and shape marks, reputation for the purposes of Art.9(2)(c), website targeting and jurisdiction, invalidity for imprecise...

3PB Barristers are delighted to announce that three of their barristers have been appointed as Recorders. Lawrence Messling, is assigned to sit on the North Eastern Circuit dealing with Family matters. William Hansen has been assigned to sit on the South Eastern Circuit dealing with Criminal matters. Mathew Gullick has also been assigned to sit on the South Eastern Circuit dealing with Criminal matters. Lawrence Messling, a specialist family law barrister with over twenty five...

What provides good reason for validating irregular service of a claim form? Hugh-Guy Lorriman analyses the Supreme Court’s most recent contribution to the issue (Barton v. Wright Hassall LLP [2018] UKSC 12). Read the full briefing here Hugh-Guy is a pupil barrister with an interest in Commercial Law.

Will a settlement agreement compromise claims that are unknown to the parties? Alexander Whatley analyses the Court of Appeal’s most recent contribution to the issue (Khanty-Mansiysk Recoveries Ltd v Forsters LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 89). To view Alexander's analysis please click here. Alexander is a Commercial Law barrister specialising in contract disputes. To view his profile click here.