Sarah Croft of Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP looks back over some of the main European product liability cases of 2013 and examines the trends which may impact businesses going forward.
We have considered ten notable Scottish cases decided in the civil courts in 2013. These include a ruling on the novel question of whether a liquidator can abandon heritable property in Scotland; a case confirming the law of rectification of contract; a Supreme Court ruling that an Act of the Scottish parliament was outwith its …
That companies have an existence entirely separate to that of their shareholders and directors is a foundational principle of English law and commerce. But, however much historians and economists (and economic historians) may enjoy surveying the grand historical sweep of the development of trade and increasing prosperity, and the role of the company in that …
Continue reading “Behind the corporate veil: is that all there is?”
Technology is playing an increasingly prominent role in the world of vendor/supplier sourcing and procurement management. Recent advances in the world of electronic procurement and supplier management technology span many different industries. Leveraging buying power is a driving force in the use of procurement technologies. Small to medium-sized organisations may also take advantage of an …
It is often difficult to predict what will be recoverable as damages for breach of contract. To provide some certainty, parties will often seek to agree the sum that will be payable in the event of specified breaches. It is well established that such an approach does not present a problem if the sum agreed …
On 7 August 2009 a 40-inch pipeline ruptured, spilling 5,400 cubic metres of crude oil into the soil and groundwater of La Crau nature reserve in southern France, a habitat protected under French and European law. The operator had to excavate and replace 60,000 tons of soil, install 70 wells to pump and treat groundwater …
Continue reading “Restoring environmental damage: putting a price on ecosystem services”
In May 2014, it will be ten years since Regulation No 1/2003 entered into force. When the legislator of the European Union adopted this Regulation on 16 December 2002, its main objective was to decentralise the enforcement of the two main provisions of EU antitrust law, Articles 81 and 82 of the Treaty establishing the …
Continue reading “The role of arbitrators in EU antitrust law”
The year 2013 has seen a string of reforms to the immigration system by the current coalition government. On 10 October, the government published a Bill aimed at continuing its drive to reduce net migration figures. Immigration minister Mark Harper MP stated, ‘The government is determined to build a fairer system and address public concern …
Pre-pack sales by administrators are now used frequently enough for most people in business to be aware of them and many have come across them in their business lives. A small amount of controversy still attaches to pre-packs, but it is probably right to say that they are now an accepted part of the UK …
Continue reading “New revised guidelines for administrators in pre-pack sales”
In PGF II SA v OMFS Company 1 Ltd [2013], the Court of Appeal considered, for the first time, whether a failure by a party to respond to an invitation to mediate should be treated as an unreasonable refusal to mediate – previous cases having focused on situations where there had been an express refusal …