Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne focuses his practice on litigation and dispute resolution, advising across a broad range of domestic and international disputes, with a focus on commercial litigation and arbitration, finance litigation, and corporate insolvency. He has particular experience dealing with cross-border disputes arising out of corporate and financial transactions.
“Dominant motive…lies in the financial interests of its backers”: High Court Strikes Out a Representative Action under CPR 19.8 by Passengers in 116,000 Delayed or Cancelled Flights
By Jack Thorne and Briana Walley on Sep 12, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, Transportation & Logistics, United Kingdom
On 2 September 2024, the High Court struck out an application for a representative proceeding under CPR 19.8 that had been brought against certain airlines for cancelled and delayed flights: Smyth v British Airways Plc & Ors [2024] EWHC 2173 (KB). The Court considered that the “same interest” requirement under CPR 19.8 had not been...
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All Aboard the Omnibus Claim Form
By Jack Thorne and Jonathan Robb on Sep 10, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, United Kingdom
In Adams and others v Ministry of Defence,[1] the High Court has recently followed the Court of Appeal judgment in Morris and others v Williams & Co Solicitors (a firm)[2], in confirming that multiple claimants can bring proceedings via a single Claim Form, provided that the test of convenience is satisfied. The English Courts have...
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Court of Appeal Interprets Released Claims in a Settlement Agreement
By Jack Thorne and Kimberley Smith on Jul 10, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, United Kingdom
In the case of Abdullah Nasser Bin Obaid and Ors v Khalid Abdullah Al-Hezaimi and Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 612,[1] the Court of Appeal handed down a judgment highlighting the importance of carefully drafting settlement agreements and, in particular, which claims are released. Background 2017 Proceedings In 2017, Mr Bin Obaid, a Saudi Arabian national...
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UK General Election: Anti-PACCAR Bill Torpedoed
By Jack Thorne and Harry Denlegh-Maxwell on May 31, 2024
Posted In Legislative Update, United Kingdom
In a previous blog post, we discussed the introduction to Parliament of the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill (the Bill), which was designed to introduce legislation that would reverse the outcome of the UK Supreme Court’s decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others.[1] As we...
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Supreme Court Clears the Air on ‘Force Majeure’ Clauses
By Jack Thorne and Sadaat Cheema on May 28, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, Transportation & Logistics, United Kingdom
The UK’s Supreme Court has issued an important judgment clarifying the extent to which parties are required to use reasonable endeavours to avoid force majeure. Force majeure, or in layman’s terms ‘act of god’, is a specified, and generally unforeseen and disruptive, event which may mean that one or both parties to a contract are...
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Commercial Court Orders Disclosure in Wake of Fraud Summary Judgment
By Jack Thorne and Jonathan Robb on May 22, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, United Kingdom
In the case of Lowry Trading Limited and anor v Musicalize and ors [2024] EWHC 773 (Comm),[1] the Commercial Court demonstrated its willingness to use the various tools at its disposal to compel disclosure and/or the provision of information, particularly where there is a subtext of fraud. Background The Claimants operate investment businesses. They claim...
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Collateral Waiver: When Voluntary Disclosure Has Unintended Consequences
By Jack Thorne and Jonathan Robb on May 22, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, United Kingdom
In Alexander Gorbachev v Andrey Grigoryevich Guriev [2024] EWHC 622,[1] the Commercial Court held that the claimant’s voluntary disclosure of a privileged chronology originally produced by its barrister gave rise to a collateral waiver of: (i) an updated draft of that chronology; as well as (ii) all documents containing, recording or otherwise evidencing the claimant’s...
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High Court Issues First Judgment on Quincecare Duty After Landmark Supreme Court Ruling
By Jack Thorne and Harry Denlegh-Maxwell on Mar 27, 2024
Posted In Banking & Finance, United Kingdom
The so-called Quincecare duty has come under consideration for the first time since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK plc[1] in July 2023. As we set out in our article here, the ruling in Philipp was widely seen as a welcome clarification of the scope of the Quincecare duty owed by...
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New Government Bill to Reverse Supreme Court’s Decision on Litigation Funding
By Jack Thorne, Briana Walley, Harry Denlegh-Maxwell and James Dobias on Mar 27, 2024
Posted In Legislative Update, Regulatory/Compliance, Transportation & Logistics, United Kingdom
The Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill was introduced to Parliament this week, following the UK government’s announcement earlier this month that it would introduce legislation that would reverse the outcome of the UK Supreme Court’s recent decision in R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others.[1] In PACCAR,...
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Clearview AI Inc Overturns Regulatory Intervention at First Instance
By Jack Thorne, Pilar Arzuaga and Jonathan Robb on Feb 14, 2024
Posted In Court Judgment, Regulatory/Compliance, Technology, United Kingdom
Clearview AI Inc.’s facial recognition technology has been subject to regulatory scrutiny from the privacy sector worldwide, including the UK Information Commissioner who issued the US company with monetary penalty and enforcement notices (the Notices) for alleged violations of GDPR/UK GDPR (the Regulations). In a judgment dated October 17, 2023 (the Judgment), the UK’s First-tier...
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