Get up to date with the Spring 2021 edition of The Brief Case, our litigation newsletter

Work messages on personal devices: when might the contents of employees' "personal" communications fall within the scope of disclosure?

When a claim includes allegations of fraud, conspiracy or collusion or some other activity that may motivate people to avoid using normal channels which may be monitored or recorded, the claimant will be keen to see channels of communication where less guarded remarks may have been made, in a bid to avoid detection.

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Parental responsibilities: Okpabi v Shell and the control conundrum

The Shell Case is one of three cases that have progressed through the English Courts in recent years in which groups of foreign claimants have sought to litigate claims in England against English companies at the head of multinational corporate groups arising from alleged wrongdoing by local foreign subsidiaries within the corporate group.

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Remote Court Hearings

Remote court hearings have become increasingly prevalent since the first lockdown in March 2020 and show no signs of disappearing soon. So-called 'hybrid hearings', a combination of both physical and remote presence at a hearing, have also become more common as the courts continue to demonstrate how flexible hearings can be.

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The Price of Loyalty – Do Expert Advisory Firms owe a Fiduciary Duty to clients? It depends on the retainer…

Organisations which offer expert/advisory services may find themselves with a conflict of interest, where they have one office acting on behalf of a client and another acting for a party whose interests are adverse to that client.

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Disclosure of 'Non Transactional' documents cannot be compelled under Bankers Books Evidence Act 1879

Applications for disclosure of documents pursuant to the Bankers' Books Evidence Act 1879 are limited to 'transactional records' and UK court proceedings only.

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A pragmatic approach to confidentiality claims in the course of litigation

Confidentiality is not, by itself, a reason for documents to be withheld from disclosure. There are obligations set out in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR 31.22) for parties to proceedings to use documents they receive from another party only for the purpose of the proceedings, until the documents are read out or referred to in a hearing in open court.

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ENFORCING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS - DEBT, CLAIM OR SOMEWHERE INBETWEEN?

The Court of Appeal holds that settlement agreements may be unenforceable under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

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Who bears short shorts? GameStop: possible regulatory and litigation implications

The proliferation across social media of speculative, bullish sentiment among a bloc of retail investors to the extent seen recently with GameStop was unprecedented.

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The Briefest Case - Quick updates for those dealing with Disputes

The Briefest Case holds several quick updates, highlighting recent useful decisions for those dealing with disputes.

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