Litigation/Dispute Resolution

Claimant lawyers yesterday celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to reject HM Treasury’s bid to intervene in the motor finance appeal.

A barrister was not negligent in his advice over possession proceedings and the law centre that instructed him was entitled to rely on his expertise, the High Court has ruled.

Green industrialist Dale Vince is seeking an injunction to stop a Conservative peer he is suing for libel from publishing his lawyer’s response to the letter before action on the grounds that it too is defamatory.

The government’s bid to intervene in the Supreme Court hearing on the motor finance appeals breaches the constitutional separation of powers, solicitors for two of the claimants have argued.

Only one in 10 law firms handling financial services mis-selling matters will have to pay the new £250 case fee to the Financial Ombudsman Service, it has estimated.

A partner who misled his clients for two years about the status of their claim – leading them to believe it had been issued when it had not been – has been struck off.

There is “no need” for stricter regulation of third-party litigation in the EU, an umbrella group of 44 consumer organisations in both Europe and the UK has said.

It was “unacceptable” for lawyers representing the actor Noel Clarke to allege The Guardian newspaper fabricated evidence in defending his libel claim, the High Court has ruled.

The Lady Chief Justice has suggested that a new mediation council should be set up for civil and commercial matters to bolster England and Wales’s status as a leading international mediation centre.

A new group bringing together businesses that fund, litigate, insure and recruit clients, especially to class actions, has been unveiled.

Litigators need to start preparing for a new era of costs budgeting, with three-year simplified pilots set to start in April, the Association of Costs Lawyers has said.

The Arbitration Bill sailed through its second reading in the House of Commons this week, with the government saying the legislation did not need to address arbitral corruption.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has come under fire for closing a complaint about a law firm that represented a Russian warlord without any further action.

The High Court has struck out “abusive, wasteful and meritless litigation” targeted at a direct access barrister, her clerk and her insurer – where the damages claimed ran into 27 figures.

Mastercard will back the man suing it, Walter Merricks, in his dispute with his litigation funder over its proposed settlement with him, which the funder opposes – to the tune of £10m.