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United Kingdom > South East > Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

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In 2011, Dentons successfully defended a £57m claim concerning a joint venture to fund and build a £300m shopping centre development in Wolverhampton. Other clients include Ernst & Young, Home Retail Group and the Institute of Chartered Accountants. Alastair Young heads the team.

IBB (Iliffes Booth Bennett) acted for Ceridian in a £1m claim arising out of an abandoned outsourcing contract with Somerfield. It also represented Cummins Power Generation in a breach of contract injunction claim involving proceedings in the UK and Pakistan. Paul Kite heads the five-partner team.

Matthew Arnold & Baldwin LLP is strong in retail and investment banking litigation; it advises a host of financial institutions, and is one of three national firms on Barclays’ litigation panel. Its response times are ‘first class’.

Shoosmiths acted in a dispute between Land Rover and a European importer and distributor of vehicles and parts. Paul Kirkpatrick joined from Bevan Brittan LLP in early 2011 to lead the Milton Keynes commercial litigation team, which supplements the firm’s national offering. The team is valued for its ‘detailed technical knowledge’ and ‘practical, hands-on guidance’.

B P Collins LLP is rated for its ‘impressive’ commercial understanding and ‘very high standards’. It acted for the creditors in a bankruptcy case concerning an accountant’s valuation of the bankrupt party’s shares. Matthew Brandis heads the practice.

EMW successfully represented Levi Roots, owner of the Roots Reggae Reggae Sauce brand, in a breach of contract claim. Damon Watt heads the dispute resolution team, which gained British Standards Institution and Monarch Airlines as clients in 2011.

Kimbells Freeth LLP is highlighted for its ‘sound commercial advice’ and ‘good response times’. In 2011 it represented new client Costa Ltd in the termination of two separate contracts for the supply of coffee. Simon Hobbs is known for his ‘very approachable style’ and ‘first-class knowledge’.

SA Law LLP acted for RL UK Ltd in a dispute with British Gas over electricity charges and common parts usage, and for GWA Group Ltd in a dispute with a former distributor for approximately £200,000. Joint practice head Robert Ryall is ‘extremely heplful’.

The ‘exemplary’ team at Sherrards Solicitors LLP acted for an individual at the Supreme Court in a high-profile planning dispute over a luxury home. The firm also gained two major financial institutions as clients. Practice head Paul Marmor is ‘vastly experienced’.

Taylor Walton LLP’s practice covers contentious probate and employment, IP, professional negligence and shareholder disputes. Highlights included a shareholder dispute in relation to a deadlocked company, and a claim by a developer for alleged breach of contract in relation to a sale of land with planning permission for development.

Geoffrey Leaver fields four partners who have specialist expertise across insolvency law, professional negligence, partnership and shareholder disputes and debt recovery, and act with ‘minimum fuss and minimum cost to the client’. Kenneth Stangoe inspires ‘absolute confidence’.

Harvey Ingram Borneos’ Milton Keynes based practice recently concluded two breach of warranty claims totalling over £12m. Vincent Foley and Alan Hamblett focus on ‘practical as well as technically sound outcomes’.

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Legal Developments in South East for Commercial litigation: Beds, Bucks, Herts, Middx

  • US rules regarding offshore accounts

    The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act 2010, enacted on 18 March 2010, imposes a new US withholding tax and reporting regime, known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The FATCA regime applies generally to payments made after 31 December 2012, except on obligations (to be defined in future guidance) outstanding on 18 March 2012. Substantial effort is required by foreign entities to bring their worldwide operations and policies into compliance with the FATCA rules as of the effective date.

    - Jones Day

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