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The Court of Appeal sets out the steps parties should take to ensure service

The High Court declines an application for a permanent stay of proceedings on the grounds that the English courts are an inappropriate jurisdiction to hear a claim in light of connections to Cyprus.

The latest post in our series covers the recent trends in the duration and resolution of English banking litigation, including an analysis of whether fraud cases are more or less likely to settle

A significant demonstration of their approach to new technology and a new era for trade finance

Adam Sanitt and Jonathan Hawkins joined this month’s episode of our firm’s FinTech Pulse podcast to discuss how a recent investigation by the UK law commission into how the current law of contract applies to smart legal contracts.

The Privy Council has upheld the Supreme Court of Mauritius’s refusal to set aside an arbitral award. The report highlights the necessity for clear drafting and the complexities associated with the use of hybrid arbitration clauses.

In McClean and others v Andrew Thornhill QC [2019] EWCH 3514 (ch), the High Court dismissed a £40m claim brought by investors in film finance tax schemes. Zacaroli J held that Andrew Thornhill QC owed no duty of care to investors and his advice in relation to the schemes was not negligent. The judgment includes helpful guidance on the duty of care owed by professional advisers and the application of both limitation periods. The case will be of particular interest to professional indemnity insurers, litigation funders and parties in various other film finance claims.

The latest instalment in the Tulip Trading v Bitcoin Association litigation has been greeted with relief by many in the blockchain community, after the High Court threw out a claim that bitcoin developers (including several bitcoin forks) owed a duty of care or a fiduciary duty to an alleged owner of bitcoin. But the Court did not rule out duties being owed in other circumstances – distributed ledger technology developers, miners and users should all beware that the risk of unexpected liability has not been completely eliminated.

The Court of Appeal held that the duty can apply in principle where an individual gives the bank a payment instruction relating to their own account.

As published in the International Journal of Blockchain Law, our New York and London Commercial Disputes teams have collaborated to consider how you can spot and manage litigation risk in DeFi.