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06 October 2023 / Charlotte Hill
Issue: 8043 / Categories: Features , Cyber , ADR , Arbitration
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Arbitration: David meets Goliath

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Can an arbitration award be recognised & enforced against a UK consumer? Charlotte Hill reports
  • Is an arbitration award relating to a cryptocurrency exchange contract recognisable and enforceable against a UK consumer?

The English Commercial Court has recently considered whether an arbitration award relating to a cryptocurrency exchange contract is recognisable and enforceable against a UK consumer. In Payward, Inc and ors v Chechetkin [2023] EWHC 1780 (Comm), [2023] All ER (D) 102 (Jul) Mr Justice Bright refused to enforce a foreign-seated arbitration award against a UK consumer, because to do so would be contrary to public policy.

Exchanges, marketplaces and other payment service providers must therefore review their B2C terms and conditions to consider whether any arbitration clauses are effective against a UK consumer given this judgment, and the other similar judgment in Soleymani v Nifty Gateway LLC [2022] EWCA Civ 1297. In Nifty Gateway, the Court of Appeal lifted a stay (pending a New York arbitration) to consider whether an arbitration agreement was null and void, inoperative

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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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