Law360, London: An Illinois state appellate panel said 21 May 2025 that a trial court properly dismissed a shareholder class action against biopharmaceutical company AbbVie Inc that accused the drugmaker of issuing unregistered shares to investors after acquiring Irish pharmaceutical company Allergan.

The chief executive and chief ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Abby Thomas, has delivered a speech on the kinds of credit and debt complaints the FOS receives, and how firms can better serve customers in financial difficulty. The FOS received over 18,000 complaints about credit cards in the first three months of this financial year, with the vast majority of those—well over 15,000—to do with irresponsible and unaffordable lending. It has seen a 70% rise in cases compared with the first quarter of 2023. Thomas noted that both the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules around consumer credit and the Consumer Duty set out clearly what’s required when a customer is struggling to manage, and firms should ensure complaint-handling teams have a thorough and in-depth understanding of both.

The Insolvency Service has announced that Liam Mccreadie, 26, from Aberdeen, has been disqualified as a director for four years after failing to pay more than £1.1m in taxes and not submitting tax returns for his two companies.

Abeyance describes a state in which a right, title, claim, application or proceeding is held in suspense, with no present vested holder or step being taken, pending a future event or decision. It is not generally defined by statute; it is a common-law and practice term used across multiple contexts and recognised in case law.- Peerage: In English peerage law, a barony by writ may fall into abeyance when the holder dies leaving co‑heiresses; the dignity is in suspense between the co‑heirs until the Crown terminates the abeyance in favour of one, or until only one co‑heir remains. This concept does not typically apply to Scottish peerages, which more often become dormant than fall into abeyance.- Procedure/regulators: Courts and tribunals may hold matters in abeyance (England & Wales/Northern Ireland/Ireland: usually by a stay; Scotland: by a sist) pending related litigation, settlement or a preliminary issue. IP and regulatory bodies may likewise hold trade mark or other applications in abeyance pending prior‑rights disputes or investigations.- Property/probate/trusts: At common law a freehold cannot be in abeyance (save in the Crown); pending vesting, title remains with trustees, personal representatives or a reversioner. Practitioners use “in abeyance” descriptively for contingent or unascertained beneficial interests and for grants of representation pending challenge.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has reported that Abi Howarth will be joining the Executive Team as Chief Operating Officer. Howarth, who held the position of Director of Operations at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) since 2018, has said she is 'delighted to be joining the SFO team and supporting the next phase of the improvement journey, continuing the organisation’s vital efforts to fight financial crime and deliver justice to victims.'

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has added the ability for solicitors to archive draft cases on the MyHMCTS portal where the case is in pre-submission stage and is no longer required. Solicitors will also have the ability to move the case out of the archived state, should their client decide they wish to continue with the case. Previously cases in the draft state were unable to be closed or archived and remained in the solicitor's case list, making it more difficult to find relevant cases. The revised functionality is only available in relation to cases added following the coming into force of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 on 6 April 2022.

In legal practice, “able to work” describes whether an individual has the physical and/or mental capacity to perform work, with or without reasonable adjustments, rather than whether they actually have a job. It commonly arises in employment law, social security/benefits, discrimination, health and safety and insurance disputes.Across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, related statutory concepts appear in employment and social security legislation (for example, fitness for work, limited capability for work, capability dismissals, and disability discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 in Great Britain and equivalent Northern Ireland provisions). In Ireland, similar issues arise under employment, equality and social welfare legislation, including “capable of work” assessments.The expression itself is usually a descriptive term used by lawyers, tribunals, medical experts and employers, rather than a precise statutory definition. Whether a person is “able to work” is typically an evidence-based question, relying on medical reports, occupational health, functional assessments and job requirements. It is central to decisions on sick pay, reasonable accommodation, dismissal for ill health or incapability, income protection and personal injury quantum, with broadly consistent usage across the UK and Ireland.

STOP PRESS: As of 24 February 2025, the main provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023) are in force. Procurements begun on or after this date must be carried out under PA 2023, whereas those begun under the previous legislation (the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011) must continue to be procured and managed under that legislation. See Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023—PA 2023. PCR 2015 as assimilated law PCR 2015 are EU-derived domestic legislation and therefore assimilated law under sections 2 and 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. For practical guidance on the status and interpretation of assimilated law, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. Investigating abnormally low tenders Contracting authorities (CAs) are obliged under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015), SI 2015/102, reg 67(1) to award a public contract to the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT). Price or cost is a necessary element in identifying the MEAT, but the CA

ARCHIVED : This archived Practice Note focuses on the abolition of defined benefit (DB) contracting-out with effect from 6 April 2016. It is not maintained. For information on the DB contracting-out regime applicable since 6 April 2016, see Practice Note: Legal regime applicable to Section 9(2B) rights and GMPs from 6 April 2016. For information generally on the meaning and purpose of contracting-out, see Practice Note: What does ‘contracting-out’ mean for pension lawyers? Alongside DB contracting-out, there used to be another form of contracting-out—contracting-out on a money purchase basis (also known as defined contribution (DC) contracting-out). DC contracting-out was abolished on 6 April 2012. For further information, see Practice Note: Abolition of DC contracting-out [Archived]. Why was DB contracting-out abolished? On 6 April 2016, contracting-out on a salary-related basis (also known as DB contracting-out) ceased to exist. Schemes that were contracted-out salary-related (COSR) schemes immediately before 6 April 2016 automatically ceased to be contracted-out with effect from that date. This was originally announced in a White Paper published in January 2013, in which the government

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information on the issues which the government and HMRC, and ultimately employers and trustees, had to face to implement the abolition of DB contracting-out on 6 April 2016. It is not maintained and is for background information only. For further information on DB contracting-out post-abolition, see Practice Note: Legal regime applicable to Section 9(2B) rights and GMPs from 6 April 2016. On 6 April 2016, contracting-out on a salary-related basis (also known as DB contracting-out) ceased to exist. Schemes that were contracted-out salary-related (COSR) schemes immediately before 6 April 2016 automatically ceased to be contracted-out with effect from that date. For further information, see Practice Note: Abolition of DB contracting-out—an introduction [Archived]. To ensure a smooth implementation, the government and HMRC have had to clarify various uncertainties and face certain challenges. Not all of these issues have been satisfactorily resolved. Note that the rights accrued by members in COSR employment before 6 April 2016, namely Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs) and Section 9(2B) rights (also known as post-1997

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note, which applies in relation to schemes that were contracted-out salary-related (COSR) schemes immediately before 6 April 2016, covers the scope of the statutory amendment power given to employers of former COSR schemes until 5 April 2021 to amend their scheme rules so as to offset any increase in national insurance contributions resulting from the abolition of defined benefit (DB) contracting-out on 6 April 2016. It also considers the application of this power to multi-employer schemes, ‘protected persons’, public sector schemes, as well as the interaction of this power with existing consultation and disclosure requirements. This Practice Note is not maintained. For further information on the abolition of DB contracting-out, see Practice Note: Abolition of DB contracting-out—an introduction [Archived]. Nature of employers' statutory amendment power Employers of schemes that were contracted-out salary-related (COSR) schemes immediately before the abolition of defined benefit (DB) contracting-out on 6 April 2016 were given a statutory amendment power, exercisable until 5 April 2021, which they could use to amend

ARCHIVED : This archived Practice Note focuses on the abolition of contracting-out on a money purchase (or protected rights) basis with effect from 6 April 2012. It is not maintained. For information generally on the meaning of contracting-out, see Practice Note: What does ‘contracting-out’ mean for pension lawyers? Contracting-out on a money purchase basis before 6 April 2012 Contracting-out was the mechanism whereby an individual (whether employed or self-employed) could elect to forgo accrual of the element of the State pension which, before 6 April 2016, was known as the additional State pension (or Second State Pension (S2P)). Contracting-out on a money purchase basis (also known as DC contracting-out) first became possible in April 1988. Contracting-out on a money purchase basis required the relevant contracted-out pension scheme to provide contracted-out members with ’protected rights’ in lieu of the state benefits forgone as a consequence of contracting-out. Schemes contracted-out on a money purchase basis Before 6 April 2012, protected rights could be provided through the following contracted-out schemes: • contracted-out money purchase (COMP) schemes.