News and current topics from various practice areas and industries

In today’s digital and highly competitive business environment, crucial evidence can disappear and be altered in an instant, with significant economic and legal consequences. It can also be challenging to assess one’s legal position in potential disputes without first having access to key evidence. Court ordered securing of evidence before court proceedings allow the parties to secure documentation and data before a dispute is brought before the courts. In the following you will find an overview of the main requirements for securing evidence outside of legal proceedings and how the process is executed in practice.

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court’s Appeals Committee has ruled that plaintiffs cannot employ seizure (arrest) to secure anticipated legal costs in civil disputes. Despite the likelihood of a favorable outcome for the plaintiff, the Committee emphasized that legal costs cannot be determined or awarded until the case is resolved. In a 2-1 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the use of seizure as a tool to safeguard potential future claims for legal costs, citing both procedural and legal limitations.

Consumers often have grounds for claiming reimbursement of their actual legal expenses, even if they are higher than the limitations that follow from the Dispute Act’s provisions on legal costs, writes the author of the article.

We recently assisted Stein Lie and Svein Roar Grande in an extensive legal dispute against the artist Bjarne Melgaard. The trial took place in Oslo District Court in October 2024, and the court has now handed down a judgment in the case.

Unio gets to keep the current main collective agreement in the state. This became clear after the National Wage Board today issued its ruling in the fundamental dispute between Unio and the state in connection with the 2024 state settlement. Hjort has assisted Unio in the case.

We are often asked what court mediation is, how it works and whether it is something that must occur if one finds themselves in a legal dispute. In the following article, we provide brief answers to frequently asked questions.

Read about the Supreme Court’s 2024 verdict on the Karasjok case where Finnmarkseiendommen (FeFo) was acquitted in a significant land rights dispute.

The main rule in separation and divorce is that the spouses’ fortunes, which are joint property, should be divided equally. In a recent decision from the Supreme Court, it was clarified how a repurchase right for shares should be treated in a divorce settlement.

In a judgment issued on April 15, 2024, the Borgarting Court of Appeal addressed whether a law firm and the firm’s insurance company were liable for damages to a former client. The former client had received assistance in connection with two disputes that arose after purchasing an apartment in 2016. Both the law firm and the insurance company were acquitted and awarded legal costs with assistance from Hjort.