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26 May 2017
Issue: 7747 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 26 May 2017

Guess the interest rate; coughing gender pay; Ooops; & enforcement tort.

OF INTEREST

Generally, the Commercial Court has historically awarded pre-judgment interest at base rate plus 1%, looking at the rate at which the successful party could borrow commercially. But its guide tells us that these days, there is no presumption that this is the appropriate measure of a commercial rate of interest. In Kitcatt and others v MMS UK Holdings Ltd and another [2017] EWHC 786 (Comm) the claimants had collected a judgment for £2.6m. They ambitiously sought interest at base plus 5%, relying on Attrill v Dresdner Kleinwort Ltd [2012] EWHC 1468 (QB) where non-commercial claimants secured base plus 5% and Reinhard v Ondra LLP [2015] EWHC 2943 (Ch) in which base plus 3% was awarded. Males J gave them base plus 2%. The rates at which a commercial concern would be able to borrow were not available to the claimants as individuals. However, they were successful business people who might be able to achieve a better rate than some other individual

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Ward Hadaway—19 promotions

Ward Hadaway—19 promotions

19 promotions across national offices, including two new partners

Brabners—Ruth Hargreaves

Brabners—Ruth Hargreaves

Partner promoted to head of corporate team

Slater Heelis—Liam Hall, Jordan Bear & Joe Madigan

Slater Heelis—Liam Hall, Jordan Bear & Joe Madigan

Chester office expansion accelerates with triple appointment

NEWS
As AI chatbots increasingly provide legal and commercial advice, English law is beginning to confront who should bear responsibility when automated systems get things wrong
Businesses are facing a ‘dramatic rise in prosecution risks’ as sweeping reforms to corporate criminal liability come into force, expanding the net of who can be held responsible for wrongdoing inside organisations
The Court of Appeal’s decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys has reignited debate over what exactly counts as the ‘conduct of litigation’ in modern legal practice
A controversial High Court financial remedies ruling has reignited debate over secrecy, non-disclosure and fairness in divorce proceedings involving hidden wealth
Britain’s deferred prosecution agreement regime is undergoing a significant shift, with prosecutors placing renewed emphasis on corporate cooperation, reform and early self-reporting
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