Commercial Law

Banks Under No Duty to Play Detective

Financial Fraud – Banks Under No Duty to Play Detective, High Court Rules

To what extent, if any, are banks under an investigatory duty to protect their clients from fraud? The High Court considered that critical issue in a case concerning a woman who lost £700,000 after falling victim to a sophisticated scam. The woman made international payments from her bank account after a fraudster convinced her that her money would be safe

Financial Fraud – Banks Under No Duty to Play Detective, High Court Rules Read More »

Private Hospitals Operator Triumphs in 20 Million Insurance Dispute

Private Hospitals Operator Triumphs in £20 Million Insurance Dispute

No matter how long and technical the wording of an insurance policy may be, it may contain ambiguities that can only be resolved with expert legal assistance. A case on point concerned an eight-figure loss sustained by an operator of private hospitals arising from a breast surgeon’s negligent and criminal acts. The company inherited the liabilities of a predecessor which

Private Hospitals Operator Triumphs in £20 Million Insurance Dispute Read More »

Biogas Facility Operator Wins Substantial Damages After Components Buckle

Biogas Facility Operator Wins Substantial Damages After Components Buckle

If goods supplied to you are unfit for purpose, you are entitled to be compensated in full for any losses that you suffer as a result. In a High Court case on point, the operator of an anaerobic digestion facility won substantial damages from a company which supplied components that failed catastrophically under pressure. The facility, which cost £12 million

Biogas Facility Operator Wins Substantial Damages After Components Buckle Read More »

Encouraging New Employees to Bring Clients With Them Can Be Risky

Encouraging New Employees to Bring Clients With Them Can Be Risky

Encouraging employees recruited from competitors to bring their clients with them may not be inherently wrong, but it is often legally hazardous. A Court of Appeal ruling in the context of the travel agency business served to highlight the pitfalls. A travel agency which used a franchise model to employ over 700 sales consultants took action after a substantial number

Encouraging New Employees to Bring Clients With Them Can Be Risky Read More »

Jean Maker Blocks Competitor

Maker of ‘Shapewear’ Jeans Blocks ‘Rip-Off’ Product from the Market

There is nothing more galling than witnessing competitors profiting at your expense by ripping off your original ideas and designs. As a High Court case concerning a novel variety of ‘body-enhancing’ jeans showed, however, intellectual property lawyers are always there to ensure your rights are not trampled upon. The jeans were designed to give the appearance of slimmer hips, whilst

Maker of ‘Shapewear’ Jeans Blocks ‘Rip-Off’ Product from the Market Read More »

Helicopter Crash Ruling Highlights Risk of Suing the Wrong Company

Helicopter Crash Ruling Highlights Risk of Suing the Wrong Company

Companies within the same group frequently have almost identical names, but that does not detract from their independent legal personalities. As a High Court case concerning an offshore helicopter crash showed, that fundamental principle constitutes a trap into which the unwary persistently fall. The helicopter’s passengers and crew lost their lives after it fell into the sea whilst on its

Helicopter Crash Ruling Highlights Risk of Suing the Wrong Company Read More »

Bank Fraud

Worldwide Asset Freezing Orders Issued After Bank Cries $1 Billion Fraud

Even banks and other sophisticated financial institutions are sometimes caught out by apparently thriving businesses which are not all that they seem. In a case on point, the High Court came to the urgent aid of an overseas bank which claimed to have lost more than $1 billion as a result of wholesale fraud. The case involved a UK-registered company

Worldwide Asset Freezing Orders Issued After Bank Cries $1 Billion Fraud Read More »

Are Criminal Fines Provable Debts in Company Insolvencies

Are Criminal Fines Provable Debts in Company Insolvencies?

Is a fine imposed on a company by a criminal court a provable debt in the company’s winding up or administration? In an important ruling for insolvency professionals, the High Court has provided an authoritative answer to that novel question. Prior to entering voluntary liquidation, a recycling company pleaded guilty to seven environmental offences in connection with the storage of

Are Criminal Fines Provable Debts in Company Insolvencies? Read More »

Scroll to Top