Unveiled: The Top 20 cases of 2024 – The Eclipse litigation

Millions of claimants, billions of pounds, and a smorgasbord of international cases: 2024 promises to be another landmark year for the English courts. The Lawyer’s annual preview of the most important cases to hit the courts this year includes our work, led by David Greene and Thomas Johnson, on The Eclipse Litigation: Upham & Ors -v- HSBC UK Bank PLC which will heard in the Commercial Court later in the month.

This £240m claim against HSBC has all the hallmarks of a Hollywood blockbuster, with claimants alleging deceit, conspiracy and joint tort-feasance against the banking giant. HSBC has instructed Norton Rose Fulbright to defend two jointly managed actions being pursued by Edwin Coe and Stewarts on behalf of claimants who contend they suffered financial losses because of the tax-advantaged film investment scheme, ‘Eclipse’.

The tax scheme was devised by HSBC’s Private Wealth Solutions’ team, and marketed by Future Capital Partners to investors between 2005 and 2008, with profits shared by both entities. Claimants allege the scheme was marketed as a genuine film distribution business involving feature films produced by Disney, as such participants believed they could claim statutory tax reliefs that were available for investments in businesses “trading with a view to a profit”.

You can read the full article on The Lawyer’s website (subscription required)

Updates on our work on The Eclipse Litigation can be seen on this page.