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21 April 2021 / Valya Georgieva , Jeremy Clarke-Williams
Issue: 7929 / Categories: Features , Defamation , Cyber
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A Bit-ter dispute: libel claims & lis pendens

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Valya Georgieva & Jeremy Clarke-Williams consider the landmark Court of Appeal decision on lis pendens under the Lugano Convention in a Bitcoin libel dispute
  • Lis pendens doctrine applied in global defamation claims.
  • Criteria for determining whether parallel proceedings involve the same cause of action under Art 27 of the Lugano Convention.

Bitcoin continues its roller-coaster ride after recently hitting a new record high of US$64,000. Aside from the growing cryptoeconomy, the increasing buy-in from institutional investors and the increasing scope of cryptocurrency regulation, one other factor that has the potential to affect the price of cryptocurrency is the disclosure of the identity of Bitcoin’s mysterious inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto (Satoshi).

Since 2016 (seven years after the creation of Bitcoin), Craig Wright (Dr Wright), an Australian computer scientist and businessman, has claimed to be Satoshi, a statement doubted by many in the crypto world.

In January 2021, the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in the case of Craig Wright v Magnus Granath

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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