Commercial Disputes
We have assisted clients to resolve a range of business disputes. Our experience can be divided into two categories: (a) IP and technology disputes; and (b) general business disputes.
IP and technology disputes
Examples of our experience include the following:
- A disputed termination of a development and licence agreement. Our client, a university spin-out company, had licensed some patents to a European diagnostics company, which was developing diagnostic kits that were claimed by the patents. The licensee was acquired by a well-known European pharmaceutical company, and the development programme was terminated as part of a strategic review. Our client had been engaged in inconclusive discussions with the licensee for over 18 months before we became involved. After obtaining leading counsel's opinion that our client was entitled to terminate the agreement, we assisted our client to obtain a seven-figure sterling sum as compensation for the licensee's failure to exploit the patents.
- A dispute over the supply of scientific testing equipment to our client. Our client, a UK biotech company, was unable to make the equipment work satisfactorily in a "real" environment. The supplier (the UK office of a US company) claimed that the equipment met its written specification, and refused to provide a refund. We obtained an expert opinion on the defective equipment and instructed counsel, and by our actions demonstrated that the client was willing to litigate the dispute if necessary. The supplier eventually agreed to provide a full refund (a six-figure sterling sum) and a substantial contribution to our client's legal costs.
- A dispute between our client and a cybersquatter over the use of a domain name. We assisted our UK client to mount a successful claim before the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center, in Switzerland, to obtain a domain name from a cybersquatter (an Indian company).
Contact: Mark Anderson
General business disputes
We have extensive experience of assisting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on business disputes. We have experience of negotiating settlements on a commercial basis to save costs and, where necessary, to represent clients at a full-scale trial. We have developed a reputation as "trouble-shooters" and have taken over the conduct of several disputes that have proved to be difficult to resolve. Examples of our experience in recent years include:
- Acting for a quantity surveyor in relation to an acrimonious break-up of a professional partnership.
- Acting for a tenants' property company in a dispute with their landlord in Central London.
- Acting for a specialist waste management company in relation to an Environment Agency prosecution.
- Acting for a development consortium in defending planning enforcement proceedings in a regeneration area.
- Acting for the purchaser of a nursing home in a dispute with the sellers.
- Acting for a property developer in a fraud case.
- Acting for a company director fighting a claim under a personal guarantee.
- Acting for a small business in a debt-recovery action against a non-resident.
- Credit-crunch litigation and bankruptcy.
Contact: Lionel Jermy or Mark Anderson
