UK High Court Witnesses Ongoing Impact of Russo-Ukrainian War
The continuing impact of the Russo-Ukrainian War has reverberated through the corridors of the UK High Court during the first quarter of 2023, causing a surge in insurance claims relating to aircraft seized in Russia. Alongside this, an uptick in winding up petitions, previously identified, has persisted and there has been a marked increase in the number of group action claims being filed.
Despite these trends, the total number of claims submitted in the first quarter of 2023 has seen a slight decrease, with just over 1,700 claims recorded. This represents a 9.3% reduction compared to the previous year and a 10.7% decline from the first quarter of 2021.
Nevertheless, the impact of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to be felt, and we have seen some contrasting fortunes for the top 15 firms in the first quarter.
Leigh Day has been the most litigious law firm for Q1 2023 due to its representation of individuals affected by the ‘diesel-gate’ scandal and more recently representing families in 27 claims filed against the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and related organisations over care home COVID deaths.
DAC Beachcroft has also been one of the most active firms, acting for both claimant and defendant in a range of sectors. Notably, the firm represented Liberty Mutual and Allianz in a high-profile post-COVID claim filed by racecourse owners including Bath and Brighton against several major insurance companies, including Aviva.
Herbert Smith Freehills secured a leading rank as the claimant firm for aircraft lessors in 17 out of 20 claims against insurers in relation to the Russo-Ukrainian war. Notably, the clients included major aviation businesses AerCap and Celestial Aviation Trading.
GSC solicitors experienced a significant surge in claims in comparison to previous years, largely attributed to their representation of the Performing Right Society and Phonographic Performance Limited. They filed the highest number of claims in 2022. Their focus lies in safeguarding the rights of record companies and performers by addressing instances of copyrighted music being used in public, broadcasted on radio or TV, or utilized on the internet.
Hamlins LLP, who were joint fourth, also represented the Performing Right Society and Phonographic Performance Limited.
Clyde & Co remain one of the top 3 busiest law firms for the quarter.
Generally, claim activity was down in most sectors compared to the first quarter last year. Decreases in manufacturing and industrials (34.3%) and banking and finance (17.2%) were most striking. Despite these decreases, banking and finance disputes remained consistently active and among the busiest.
The professional services sector witnessed a significant increase of 16.7% in dispute activity, establishing itself as the most litigious sector during the quarter.
Insurance saw a sizeable increase in activity, with claims increasing by 67.3% compared to Q1 2022. This was in large part due to disputes between aircraft lessors and insurers over aircraft stranded in Russia and claims for compensation for business interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shipping cases also saw a significant rise (45.4%) in the quarter.
A flurry of Dieselgate related claims ensured that Leigh Day secured the top spot, acting as the claimant firm for individuals affected by the scandal and more recently for individuals claiming against the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
Hamlins LLP were second placed claimant law firm for Q1 2023 representing Phonographic Performance and the Performing Right Society in the majority of their claims. GSC Solicitors represented the same claimants and received a similar boost.
Roose + Partners have been active, representing various shipping and maritime clients and Herbert Smith Freehills’ aircraft insurance work sees them in the top 5.
DAC Beachcroft was the top defendant law firm for the quarter handling a total of 21 new claims. Close on their heels were RPC, acting for Mirror Group Newspapers and Clyde & Co who represented a diverse range of organisations within many sectors including insurance and maritime.
Notably, Holman Fenwick Willan LLP also made it into the top 15 acting for major insurers including Aviva, Liberty Mutual and Convex Insurance.
In recent years, group action disputes have grown as more individuals seek to pursue organisations for damages. This increase can be attributed to a growing awareness of consumer rights, the availability of class action mechanisms, the prevalence of mass torts and availability of funding for these actions.
Notably, there has been a surge in group litigation focused on consumer protection and public safety, with cases involving financial product mis-selling and data privacy breaches by tech and news media companies being particularly prevalent.
Moreover, there has been a rise in group actions related to environmental issues, with claims against companies for their contribution to climate change gaining traction.
This trend is expected to continue in the coming years as individuals continue to assert rights and pursue remedies, supported in many cases with litigation funding.
Winding up petitions have been on a sharp rise since March 2022, with a decrease of around 100 claims observed only in October. Despite the dip, the number of petitions remained notably high, and this trend has persisted into 2023. Unfortunately, it’s expected that this trend will continue throughout the rest of the year as the economic environment continues to be highly challenging.
*NB: Our analysis includes all publicly available King’s Bench and Chancery Division claims but currently excludes Insolvency & Companies list and Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence cases except for the ‘Winding up petitions’ chart which includes Insolvency & Companies list data