×

Matrix featured in three of The Lawyer’s top fifteen appeals of 2020

Published:

Matrix has featured in three of The Lawyer’s top fifteen appeals to watch in 2020, which also noted that Matrix was instructed 37 times in the Court of Appeal in 2019.

The cases include:

  • R (Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

This case challenged an element of the government’s hostile environment immigration policy, which was rebranded to the complaint environment policy. The appeal concerns “right to rent” provisions in the Immigration Act 2014 and the requirement that landlords must not let property to someone who is an illegal immigrant – and if they do so then the landlord is guilty of a criminal offence.

Acting for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Phillippa Kaufmann QC and Doughty Street’s Jamie Burton, instructed by Leigh Day.

  • Mastercard / Visa – Interchange Fee Litigation

In February 2017, Mr Justice Popplewell threw out a £450m claim made on behalf of retailers such as ASDA and Morrisons alleging that Mastercard’s rules setting default multilateral interchange fees payable on credit card and debit card transactions were in breach of the UK and EU rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements. The trial judge’s judgment was successfully appealed by the retailers. The Court of Appeal’s judgment (which also determined appeals brought in related proceedings brought by Sainsbury’s) was then itself appealed by the payment card schemes. The Supreme Court heard the appeals in January 2020; judgment is pending.

Acting for Asda, Argos and Morrisons Christopher Brown is instructed by Stewarts partner Kate Pollock.

  • ZXC V Bloomberg

    In this case the claimant, a businessman, was being investigated by a UK law enforcement agency and was the subject of a Letter of Request sent by the UK to the authority of a foreign state. Bloomberg obtained a copy of the letter and published an article containing details from it relating to the criminal investigation into the claimant. The claimant brought proceedings for an injunction and damages for misuse of private information.  The claimant was awarded £25,000 and Bloomberg was ordered to remove the article. Bloomberg has appealed claiming there was a strong public interest in the publication of the story.

    For ZXC Tim Owen QC and Sara Mansoori instructed by Byrne and Partners’ David Byrne and Ben Brocklehurst. For Bloomberg Antony White QC and 5RB’s Clara Harmer instructed by RPC partner Keith Mathison.

    See here to read the article in full.