Page 19 - Law Developments News Today

For the first time the Court of Appeal has considered the duties of an expert concurrently engaged in two potentially conflicting disputes. While Secretariat Consulting Pte Ltd v A Company involved an unusual set of circumstances, it provides an interesting review of the duties owed by expert witnesses to their clients and the court and highlights important considerations for those engaging expert witnesses and drafting engagement letters.(1) Facts Secretariat Consulting Pte Ltd (SCL) provides...

potential claims by exclusive distributors against importers of grey market goods. Other major developments included: the Trademark Offices issue of new limits on extensions of time for responding to an office action; and the availability of expedited examination for trademark applications where the goods or services are for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. This article revisits these notable cases and developments and considers their implications for 2021. Case law developments in 2020...

Introduction In November 2020 the limitation fund established following the grounding of the Full City near Langesund in 2009 was finally distributed. The limitation fund proceedings, which ran parallel to the proceedings concerning the limitation fund established following the Server casualty in 2007, have helped to clarify several procedural aspects of limitation funds. The Full City grounding caused a major oil spill, which led to: a state-led clean-up operation; civil claims for damages aga...

In its recent five-to-four split decision in 1688782 Ontario Inc v Maple Leaf Foods Inc,(1) the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the proposed class action brought by Mr Sub franchisees against Maple Leaf Foods for damages resulting from a listeria outbreak linked to Maple Leaf cold cuts. By ruling in favour of the supplier, the majority of the court found that no duty of care is owed by an exclusive supplier for purely economic losses suffered by franchisees with which the supplier has no dir...

The Federal Tribunal recently rendered a decision in a dispute between a bank and its client, a company, with regard to a (discretionary) wealth management contract. The claimant sought damages from the bank for a loss relating to the performance of the contract. This decision serves as a reminder of the fundamental issues of substantive law and gives food for thought in terms of the legal and strategic approaches to resolving a conflict.

In December 2020 the new Licensing Code, which regulates renewable energy source (RES) production certificates, was published in the <i>Official Journal</i>. The code aims to implement the new RES licensing procedure and was published on the day on which the first submission round for the issuance of these certificates started. This last-minute regulation caused uncertainty for interested applicants regarding the application procedure and the required documents.

Unlike in England, pre-trial disclosure against a third party is generally not available in Guernsey. However, there are exceptions to this rule. This article sets out the main exceptions - namely, claims for personal injury or in respect of a person's death, ancillary orders to freezing injunctions, <I>Anton Piller</i> orders, <i>Norwich Pharmacal</i> orders and <i>Bankers Trust</i> orders.

In Secretariat Consulting PTE Ltd v A Company, the Court of Appeal considered for the first time the question of an experts duty to avoid a conflict of interest.(1) The Court of Appeals decision, while not deciding the point finally, means that it is unlikely that a court will now recognise such a duty as a matter of law. The issue is a matter of contract. On the terms of the expert firms engagement in this case, the Court of Appeal upheld the High Courts decision to grant an injunction restra...

Patents are restricted to a specific territory and no single patent confers protection for inventions worldwide. However, an international patent application does exist. Filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, an international patent application aims to facilitate the procedures for protecting inventions in multiple countries in a cost-effective and insightful way.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates aviation, railroad, highway, marine and pipeline accidents to determine their probable cause and issues safety recommendations to reduce the risk of future accidents. This article considers the analytic phase of NTSB investigations, which follows the factual phase. Party submissions of proposed findings and recommendations Parties to an NTSB investigation can submit proposed findings and recommendations. The five presidentially-appoin...