Commercial litigation EP34: General update

This is the 34th episode of our series of commercial litigation update podcasts. In this episode we discuss the upcoming pilot on public access to court documents, the new disclosure survey, and some important decisions on service of proceedings, termination of contracts, contractual interpretation and conditions precedent. This episode is hosted by Maura McIntosh, a knowledge counsel in our commercial litigation team, who is joined by James Farrell, a disputes partner, and Chris Cox, a senior associate in our disputes team.

Below you can find links to our blog posts on the developments and cases covered in this podcast.

• UK Commercial Court pilot will mean many more court documents publicly available by default from 1 January 2026
• Disclosure Review Working Group seeks views on disclosure under PD 57AD
• Court of Appeal confirms defendant not required to take any steps in proceedings unless claim form validly served in time
• Court of Appeal confirms party cannot waive contractual right to terminate unless it is actually aware of the right
• Court of Appeal finds loss of bargain damages were available on termination for non-repudiatory breach of contract under express contractual provision
• Court of Appeal overturns High Court’s interpretation of deferred consideration clause
• Supreme Court finds there is no principle in English law that a condition precedent to payment of a debt will be deemed fulfilled if fulfilment was prevented by a party's own breach

See podcast episode transcript here.