Chris MacCafferty - Business Litigation & Professional Negligence Solicitor
I recently read in the Law Gazette that expert witnesses have lost their immunity from being sued over matters arising in the course of proceedings, following a landmark ruling.
The full article can be read here.
In my view this is a sensible Judgement. I guess those in favour of maintaining immunity would argue it ensures that Experts are prepared to give evidence in litigation. That said I do not think it will deter good experts from giving evidence. In my experience good experts are fully aware of their paramount duty to the Court and furthermore would not stake their professional reputation at risk for a case.
Whilst this Judgement opens the possibility of bringing professional negligence claims against Expert Witnesses, I agree with the other commentators that this is very unlikely to open a floodgate of claims. There will be claims however for those Experts who dabble and therefore should either not be holding themselves out as an expert or decline the instructions, or are not strong enough to uphold their own professional integrity.
For those good Experts out there I do not think they need to worry. The usual test for professional negligence will still apply and therefore if they are maintaining the standards of the reasonable competent expert in their field they have nothing to fear. That said they may want to check the Professional Indemnity Insurance to ensure they are adequately covered.
Michael Forrester- Business Litigation Solicitor
It was widely reported last week that LG obtained a legal injunction against Sony which subsequently banned the importation of PS3 games consoles into Europe.
Thousands of PS3 games consoles were seized by customs officials in The Netherlands, with the legal dispute centering around the ownership of Blu-Ray technology.
Applications for interim injunctions in intellectual property, and particularly patent cases, are not uncommon. Businesses seek this type of relief because a cash award is sometimes inadequate. The number of claims may increase because local courts were given authority to deal with this type of case last year.
The interim injunction in this case granted by the International Court of Justice in The Hague has received considerable publicity because of the parties involved and the large effect that an interim injunction can have on a market place. Read more »
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Business Law, Intellectual Property, Media | Ralli | 
March 8, 2011 11:15 am | 
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Chris MacCafferty - Professional Negligence Solicitor
The Daily Mail recently reported that a Solicitor had been suspended after “taking 19 years to settle spinster’s estate”.
Guy Choat was subsequently barred from the profession for three years for the delay in winding up the affairs of Miss Muriel McCarthy.
The full article can be read here.
This is a very unfortunate state of affairs and I would have to echo the comments of the Chairman that this sort of delay is simply unacceptable.
It would appear that Mr Choat was in breach of the profession’s code of conduct of which there were several editions during the 19 year period.
I am only glad that this sort of extreme case is rare. I suspect that the Estate and Beneficiaries have been worn down by the length of time but they should consider the possibility of bringing a claim for professional negligence arising from the delay.
David Potts, Partner and Head of Business Litigation
Especially when two leading academic express their views in writing and that leads to the loser in a piece of litigation having to write cheques in relation to both parties’ costs.
In 1991, Mr Robinson and his Wife agreed to buy a house which was being built from PE Jones (Contractors) Limited for £350,000.00 or so. The purchase of the property, 12 Magnolia Rise, Prestbury, was completed around April 1992. In September 2004, Mr Robinson called a gas service engineer to service his gas fires. The gas fires failed the service engineers’ test and both were disconnected for safety reasons. Mr Robinson wrote to the builder saying that the flues were not built in accordance with good building practice or Building Regulations. It appeared that the cost of repairs would be substantial (about £35,000.00 or so) because the flues would require reconstruction. Mr Robinson issued proceedings against the builder in December 2006. Read more »
Keith Arrowsmith, Head of Intellectual Property & Media
Fourteen Trading Standards Offices have volunteered to pioneer a new range of new civil sanctions as an alternative to criminal prosecution in the armoury against rogue traders.
Sanctions may include fixed penalties of up to £3,000 for minor breaches, variable penalties of up to £500,000 or 1 per cent of turnover for more serious offences, enforcement undertakings, stop notices and other discretionary requirements.
The latter include powers for restorative measures to put right problems suffered by consumers as a result of the law being breached. Consultation on the pilot scheme ends on 14 February 2011.
Mark Briegal - Partner & Partnership Law Expert
Mark Briegal, Partner at Ralli gives his views on the issue of the sorry banker…..
Now I have to admit that I used to work in banking and, sadly, I never got a multimillion pound bonus. Like most bank employees I did an interesting job that paid OK and I sometimes got a bonus. Like most people in banking my bonus might have paid for a weekend away, not a yacht. I remember buying a nice rug one year!
I was asked to rant about this in a blog, but it’s not that simple, but what ever is! On the one hand I object to the banks having a business model that seems to allow them to take the gains but allow someone else (the taxpayer) to pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong. I also think that they need some humility in relation to what they say – we did bail them out. I don’t object to people being paid the going rate for the job. For some (a very small number!) of bankers the figures are astronomical, but I also object to footballers being paid so much whilst nurses, teachers etc. are paid far less.
However, we do need banks and we can’t allow them to fail. We also need the banks to be successful. If they are successful, then they will be able to repay us for the money we lent them, with interest. They will also pay tax and the high paid bankers will not only pay tax, but also spend their money and boost the economy. If we ban bonuses and the big banks move abroad or the good people who generate the big profits move abroad, that will be detrimental to the economy. Read more »
Chris MacCafferty - Associate - Professional Negligence
“It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way!”
Ever since I started dealing with people’s disputes 9 years ago my mentor always said to me, “Litigation is a last resort.” Whilst some people find this hard to believe when I tell them, this is something I have stood by.
I accept that sometimes litigation is inevitable; you may need to prevent someone causing you financial harm and therefore an injunction maybe required. Your opponent may not cooperate in avoiding Court leaving you either to back down or continue to Court to protect your interests. Commercially you may choose the former but quite often this is not financially viable.
So, whilst the alternatives to Court action may not always be possible, they must always be considered first. Going back to my early teachings, litigation is the last resort.
So what are the alternatives? Read more »
Keith Arrowsmith, Head of Intellectual Property & Media
Reports are circulating that the Liverpool footballer, Ryan Babel may face disciplinary action following his tweeted comment at the weekend.
A spoof photo appeared on his twitter account showing the referee of his latest match wearing the opponent team’s strip. Babel has now apologised.
Making any kind of public comment that causes damage to reputation can lead to serious consequences, especially if the commentator has agreed to follow a code of practice. Using twitter is like using the world’s biggest megaphone – the whole online community can hear it, and some may take it seriously. There is a fine dividing line between jokes, honestly held views, and mischief making.
Babel may face further problems if he did not obtain the permission to reuse the photograph of the referee. Copyright in images applies to the online world, and more people are now prepared to protect their reputation and sources of income.
Keith Arrowsmith, Head of Intellectual Property & Media
The Court of Appeal has recently dealt with a complaint from a sponsor, following a breakdown of its relationship with the Force India Formula One Team company.
The two year sponsorship deal was set out in a contract, and despite its provisions, the court found that following a sale of the Formula One company, it was re-branded contrary to the interests of the sponsor. The case highlights the need to carefully consider the sponsor’s perks, and to deal with any changes of circumstances at the earliest possible opportunity.
With the current government’s focus on philanthropy, the relationship between sports or arts organisation and the donor will be more important, with the need to fully protect the organisation’s reputation.
Michael Forrester - Solicitor & Harassment Law Expert
News emerged yesterday that thousands of IP addresses alleged to have been used to infringe copyright over Peer to Peer networks have been deleted by an ISP.
Reports suggest that Ministry of Sound has since suspended plans to send warning notices to more than 25,000 BT broadband customers suspected of illegal downloading.
Lohan Presencer, Chief Executive of Ministry of Sound stated that it was “very disappointing that BT decided not to preserve the identities of the illegal uploaders”, and that they are “more determined than ever to go after internet users who illegally upload our copyrighted material.”
It is reported that further applications for information from all ISPs are expected.
Read more »
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