Top Tens Of 2010 And 2011

We present a round-up of ten of the most significant cases and events in 2010, including the refusal of privilege for in-house lawyers and accountants, a new exception to the without prejudice rule and Lord Justice Jackson's report on costs. This is followed by a preview of ten cases and events to watch out for in 2011, including the Jivraj appeal on restricting the nationality of arbitrators, a possible end to expert witness immunity and the coming into force of the Bribery Act 2010.

TOP TEN OF 2010

Dallah: Enforcement of an award will be refused where there is no valid arbitration agreement Springwell : Bank not liable for representations made to sophisticated investor

Akzo Nobel: ECJ rules against widening of legal professional privilege for in-house lawyers Oceanbulk Shipping: Settlement discussions: admissible if part of factual matrix Prudential : Legal advice from accountants: no privilege BSkyB: Unlimited liability for deceitful bid statements Shah: Banks may have to prove POCA "suspicions" when delaying carrying out instructions BAE: "Accounting offence" settlement grudgingly allowed by Court Louis Dreyfus: Court proceedings to secure evidence may not breach an arbitration clause Lord Justice Jackson: Review of Civil Litigation Costs

TOP TEN OF 2011

Bribery Act 2010 to come into force Lord Justice Jackson's Costs Review: consultation ends Expert witness immunity: Supreme Court decision Jivraj: Supreme Court decision EU Mediation Directive comes into force PPI Complaints: Bank's judicial review of FSA rules Defamation reform Brussels Regulation reform EU contract law reform New ICC rules come into force

TOP TEN OF 2010

Enforcement of an award will be refused where there is no valid arbitration agreement

In Dallah Real Estate and Tourism Holding Co v The Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan, the Supreme Court refused to enforce an arbitral award rendered in France where there was no valid arbitration agreement. In doing so, it held that no arbitration agreement existed to which Pakistan was a party and that there were no other grounds for enforcing the award. This case was the first decision by the Supreme Court on the legal framework supporting international arbitration. It demonstrates the extent to which the courts will, for the purposes of enforcement, re-examine awards rendered and, crucially, the need for parties to have agreed to arbitrate disputes. Parties that are entering into transactions that might require enforcement of arbitral awards in England and Wales should think carefully about transactional structure issues. In particular, where a third party is using a special purpose vehicle or equivalent, it will be important to ensure that there is a performance guarantee, or some other mechanism, from the third party containing a separate, valid, arbitration agreement. Read more

Bank not liable for representations made to sophisticated investor

The Court of Appeal considered in Springwell Navigation Corp v JP Morgan Chase Bank the potential liability of banks for, amongst other things, negligent misstatement and misrepresentation. The court concluded that sophisticated investors must take responsibility for their own decisions and indicated that it will be extremely difficult to establish that those selling complex investments owe duties of care to such sophisticated investors. It also suggested that correctly drafted entire agreement clauses will serve to successfully exclude liability for any (non-fraudulent) misrepresentation. The key is to ensure that there are clear contractual provisions in place which include an entire agreement clause and which the investor has clearly read, understood and accepted. Read more

ECJ rules against widening of legal professional privilege for in-house...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT