4 Pump Court

On 14 March 2024, the Commercial Court handed down judgment in the case of Chugga Chugg Pty Ltd v Privinvest Holding SAL [2025] EWHC 585 (Comm) in which Rani Noakes and Jacob Haddad of 4 Pump Court were instructed by Preston Turnbull LLP on behalf of the Defendant.   The judgment addresses a number of important issues for commercial practitioners, including: (1) The circumstances in which renunciation of a contract will be established. (2) When a renunciation is withdrawn or cured by subsequent words and / or conduct. (3) The relevance of the putative contract breaker’s response to requests by the innocent party for comfort of its ability to perform. (4) The proper approach to deciding whether an innocent party has affirmed the contract following a renunciation. (5) The approach to the proper construction of the guarantee instrument.   Read more about the case and access the judgment here: https://lnkd.in/es5EPHHR

On 10 March 2025, the TCC handed down judgment in the case of IBM United Kingdom Ltd v LzLabs GmbH & Ors [2025] EWHC 532 (TCC). The case, which was featured as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024, proceeded to a 10-week trial last April on liability issues. IBM UK’s (“IBM”) claim related to the development by the Defendants of a platform known as the Software Defined Mainframe (“the SDM”), which was marketed as a substitute for various mainframe software products offered by IBM. IBM issued proceedings in 2021, alleging reverse engineering by the Defendants in breach of contract. IBM said that it was “inconceivable” that the SDM could have been developed without making unlawful use of IBM mainframe software. 4 Pump Court’s Matthew Lavy KC, Laura Wright, Alex Taylor and Jacob Haddad, together with Nicholas Saunders KC and Fred Hobson KC of Brick Court Chambers, James Weale of Serle Court, and Henry Edwards of 8 New Square Intellectual Property, were instructed by Partners Kate Vernon, Gregory Pantlin and David Lancaster of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP on behalf of the successful Claimant, IBM. You can read the full judgment here: https://lnkd.in/eban78gM

New blog: 'Judgment handed down in Changyou.com Ltd v Fourworld Global Opportunities Fund Ltd (Cayman Islands) [2025] UKPC 12' In its recent judgment in the case of Changyou.com Ltd v Fourworld Global Opportunities Fund Ltd (Cayman Islands) [2025] UKPC 12, published on 11 March 2025, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has definitively decided that minority, dissenting shareholders in a “short-form” corporate merger between a parent company and a subsidiary company under Part XVI of the Cayman Islands’ Companies Act do have a right to apply for a ‘fair value’ appraisal by the Court of their minority shares (in the alternative to accepting the company’s cash offer at the price determined by the company). Alex Potts KC represented Changyou.com Ltd before the Grand Court and the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands. Alex also assisted with drafting the Appellant’s grounds of appeal and the Appellant’s written submissions before the Judicial Committee. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/eTgjsWYT

Yesterday, Matthew Lavy KC spoke at the British Legal Technology Forum on the ‘Adopting Legal AI: Pitfalls and Enablers’ panel alongside Matt Hervey, Head of Legal and Policy at Human Native AI, and chair of the session Clare McMahon, Senior Publisher at Thomson Reuters. Starting with a discussion of whether legal AI was evolutionary or transformational, Matthew, Matt and Clare considered legal and organisational risks currently inhibiting legal AI adoption, mitigations for those risks, and the key enablers to faster and wider adoption. The panel concluded that Legal AI is here to stay, that there will be a client-driven increase in adoption, that lawyers are going to have to grapple with legal risks, so it makes sense to embrace the benefits. #BLTF2025

Having been successful in the jurisdictional judgment delivered in February 2024 (Decision No. 2024/04), Alexandre Philippe Haines, leading Henry Reid, appeared for the Applicant at the final hearing, before five judges, in Jeddah on 3 November 2024. Alex represented the Saudi National Applicant against the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (“ICD”) in a termination case before the IsDBGAT. The Applicant challenged the Respondent’s decision to terminate his employment as the Director of the Internal Audit Department. The Tribunal agreed with the Applicant that the termination had been effectuated by ICD’s CEO and that the decision “was, for all intents and purposes, an administrative decision and not a ‘governance’ decision” [24]. In its judgment, the Tribunal also addressed ex parte filings and the production of documents. The Tribunal awarded costs against the Respondent. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gwu9j89q

In a judgment delivered today in the case of BDW -v- Ardmore Construction Limited, the TCC (His Honour Judge Keyser KC) has given very significant new guidance on both: (1)       when a Building Liability Order can be made and (2)      when a Section 132 Information Order will be made –including the significant limits on such an Order. 4 Pump Court’s joint Head of Chambers Sean Brannigan KC, and Thomas Crangle (both of whom had acted for the successful Respondent in the case of Wilmott Dixon -v- Prater) successfully resisted an application for building information orders against the Respondents, instructed by Gurbinder Grewal of Mantle Law. In this article Jennie Gillies (who acted for the successful applicants in the recent Vista Tower case) sets out a summary of the guidance given in this very significant new case. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eyyPz5xC

On Thursday 6 March, Matthew Lavy KC, Iain Munro and Anna Hoffmann will be speaking at the SCL - Society for Computers and Law Tech Disputes Masterclass - an afternoon of essential training for legal professionals, tech consultants, and in-house counsel facing the complexities of IT and tech-related disputes. For further information including details to register, see below.

On Friday 7th March, Claire Packman KC will be speaking at the The Society of Construction Law’s Annual Spring Conference in Leeds.   Claire will be speaking at 10am on ‘Architects: where does “everyone else was doing it” get you these days, and other liability questions?’   For further information about the conference or to book your place, please see here: https://lnkd.in/eXSGfNB3

The Chambers Global Guide 2025 has been released which highlights the top global legal professionals in over 200 jurisdictions across the world. 43 members have once again been recognised across multiple practice areas demonstrating our breadth of international experience.   4 Pump Court has also received a band 1 ranking under the ‘Dispute Resolution: The English Bar | Middle East-wide’ guide. Our members have a longstanding reputation for excellence in advocacy and advice in disputes originating from and dealt with in locations around the globe, particularly the Middle East.   Huge thanks to our clients for taking the time to provide feedback. View the full rankings here: https://lnkd.in/gyQ3XgPZ

Sanjay Patel KC, Thomas Crangle, George Woods, Andrew Stevens, Laurence Page and Richard Sumarno will be in Riyadh between the 23-27 February 2025 attending Riyadh International Disputes Week.   The team look forward to supporting the international event, sharing our experiences in the region, and collaborating with clients and new contacts.   If you would like to meet with any of the team during the week, please email rsumarno@4pumpcourt.com. #RIDW2025