Richard Coleman QC and Philip Ahlquist (together with Sophie Holcombe of Serle Court) acted for Your Lawyers Limited in their dispute with Harcus Sinclair over the conduct of the litigation against the Volkswagen group arising out of the diesel emissions scandal. On 23 November 2017 the High Court granted injunctions preventing Harcus Sinclair LLP from acting for a group of claimants in the ongoing litigation. In a judgment handed down on 15 November 2017 ([2017] EWHC 2900 (Ch)), the High Court found that Harcus Sinclair LLP had breached an undertaking in a non-disclosure agreement entered into with Your Lawyers that it would not act for any group of claimants other than those represented by Your Lawyers. The court also found that the undertaking given by Harcus Sinclair LLP was a solicitor’s undertaking, but that the court’s supervisory jurisdiction over solicitors under section 50 of the Solicitors Act 1974 did not extend to regulated entities. The court has directed that a case management conference be listed to determine the quantum of Your Lawyers’ claim against Harcus Sinclair LLP. Harcus Sinclair LLP has been given permission to appeal. A copy of the judgment is available here.
