St. Louis

We explore the trends for Business and Commercial Disputes in the UK, US and France/EU in 2025. Here's what you should know. UK In the spotlight: corporates asserting privilege against shareholders Continued focus on litigation funding Increase in open justice Easier enforcement Court-compelled Negotiated Dispute Resolution – watch this space France Rise of mass claims in France and rise of class actions in France and the EU The new EU product liability directive adopted on October 11, 2024 Rise of ESG related claims US More M&A deals means more post-closing disputes? Head off rising number of workplace issues with internal investigations Disclosure of litigation funding in the United States

On December 4, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) released its enforcement results for Fiscal Year 2024 (“FY 2024”), showcasing record awards of monetary relief totaling more than $17.2 billion.The historic awards reflect the agency’s continued pursuit of misconduct charged in enforcement actions filed in FY 2023 in the digital asset space along with enforcement actions against traditional financial services firms and commodity trading houses. The CFTC’s FY 2024 robust enforcement efforts featured a focus on intermediaries, emphasizing the importance of proper registration and compliance by entities facilitating derivative transactions. Enforcement against repeat offenders intensified, reflecting a strategy of escalating penalties to deter recidivism and safeguard market integrity. Additionally, the agency expanded its attention to environmental fraud, bringing its first enforcement cases involving fraud in the voluntary carbon markets.

Both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division have focused their sights on big technology companies. Understanding the precedents set by these suits is critical for clients operating in today’s online marketplaces, both to avoid the risk of antitrust investigations or litigation, and to understand whether a client has been harmed by potentially unlawful conduct.  A September 30, 2024 decision by Judge Chun in the Western District of Washington in the FTC v. Amazon.com case—unsealed to the public on October 7, 2024—demonstrates the increasing breadth of the agencies’ antitrust theories and the wide impacts of Amazon’s sprawling pricing algorithms.*