Woman with learning difficulties will be forcibly checked for possible cancer, judge rules – The Independent

Posted August 6th, 2013 in cancer, learning difficulties, medical treatment, news by sally

“A woman with severe learning difficulties who has refused to undergo medical examinations for a possible cancer of the uterus will be sedated and forcibly treated, a High Court judge ruled today.”

Full story

The Independent, 6th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Female 999 operator wins pay-off from fire service after hiring private investigator to spy on her – Daily Telegraph

“A 999 operator who went on sick leave due to stress has won an £11,000 pay-off from the fire service after it hired a private investigator to spy on her and secretly fitted a GPS tracker underneath her car.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 5th August 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Father’s rights severely curtailed; James Hargen comments on PM v MB – Sovereign Chambers

Posted August 6th, 2013 in appeals, contact orders, news, parental responsibility, parental rights by sally

“On 31st July the Court of Appeal delivered a reserved judgement in the case of PM –v- MB & anr [2013] EWCA Civ 969, in which the Father of the child concerned sought to appeal a County Court decision refusing him parental responsibility, allowing indirect email contact only, and, section 91(14) CA ’89, prohibiting any further application by him without leave for a period of two years.”

Full story

Sovereign Chambers, 5th August 2013

Source: www.sovereignchambers.co.uk

“Back to the Future” – The Retrospective Variation of Leases of Flats under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 – Tanfield Chambers

Posted August 6th, 2013 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, tribunals by sally

“Sometimes the draftsman gets it wrong. Sometimes his only mistake is to fail to predict the future. Either way a landlord can face a serious shortfall if the combined percentages of service charges payable under the leases for the block do not add up to 100%. While at first blush, the landlord’s shortfall is the tenants’ windfall, defective leases can seem a much less attractive prospect if the result is that the landlord is reluctant to provide services.”

Full story (PDF)

Tanfield Chambers, 27th July 2013

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

High Court rejects “bedroom tax” claims – Hardwicke Chambers

“The High Court has rejected claims for a judicial review of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’. Its judgment brings to an end – for the time being at least – months of speculation about the lawfulness of arguably the most controversial aspect of the Government’s welfare reform programme.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 31st July 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Adjudication decision declared invalid for serious breaches of the rules of natural justice – 4 New Square

Posted August 6th, 2013 in arbitration, construction industry, contracts, news by sally

“The grounds for impeaching an adjudication decision are extremely limited. However, Mr Justice Akenhead recently held that ABB Ltd. v BAM Nuttall Ltd [2013] EWHC 1983 (TCC), as one of those relatively rare cases in which reliance by the adjudicator on a clause of the subcontract between the parties – which neither party argued (let alone mentioned to the adjudicator) and which he did not refer to the parties before issuing his decision – was a material breach of the rules of natural justice.”

Full story

4 New Square, 30th July 2013

Source: www.4newsquare.com

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted August 6th, 2013 in law reports by sally

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Caterpillar (NI) Ltd v John Holt & Company (Liverpool) Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 779 (13 June 2013)

Stuart v London City Airport Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 973 (31 July 2013)

Vince v Wyatt [2013] EWCA Civ 934 (13 June 2013)

High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Poole v Wright (t/a Simon Wright Racing Development) & Ors [2013] EWHC 2375 (QB) (05 August 2013)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Newcombe v Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [2013] EWHC 2160 (Admin) (20 June 2013)

High Court (Family Division)

London Borough of Camden v Caratt & Ors [2013] EWHC 2336 (Fam) (31 July 2013)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Oakapple Homes (Glossop) Ltd v DTR (2009) Ltd & Ors [2013] EWHC 2394 (TCC) (31 July 2013)

Source: www.bailii.org

Wembridge Claimants and others v Winter and others – WLR Daily

Wembridge Claimants and others v Winter and others [2013] EWHC 2331 (QB); [2013] WLR (D) 334

“Regulations pertaining to health and safety in the workplace made pursuant to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 applied to fire and rescue services and were capable of amending duties under existing statutory provisions so that a breach of the regulations by a fire service employer would be actionable, save where it was expressly provided otherwise.”

WLR Daily, 30th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) and others v Nazir and others (No 2) – WLR Daily

Bilta (UK) Ltd (in liquidation) and others v Nazir and others (No 2) [2013] EWCA Civ 968; [2013] WLR (D) 333

“The knowledge of a fraud perpetrated by a director by means of a company was not to be attributed to that company when it sought to recover losses which the company itself had suffered as a result of the fraud, even where the director was the sole director and shareholder of the company. In those circumstances the director could not rely on the maxim ex turpi causa non oritur actio to defeat the claim.”

WLR Daily, 31st July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Teal Assurance Co Ltd v WR Berkley Insurance (Europe) Ltd and another – WLR Daily

Posted August 6th, 2013 in appeals, insurance, law reports, Supreme Court by sally

Teal Assurance Co Ltd v WR Berkley Insurance (Europe) Ltd and another [2013] UKSC 57; [2013] WLR (D) 332

“An insurer could not choose the order in which claims made by an insured exhausted layers of insurance cover under a programme of professional liability insurance.”

WLR Daily, 31st July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina (Lewisham London Borough Council) v Secretary of State for Health and another; Regina (Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign Ltd) v Same – WLR Daily

Regina (Lewisham London Borough Council) v Secretary of State for Health and another; Regina (Save Lewisham Hospital Campaign Ltd) v Same [2013] EWHC 2329 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 331

“The words ‘the trust’ in sections 65F(1), 65I(1) and 65K(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006, as inserted, meant the particular failing trust to which a Trust Special Administrator had been appointed and not any other NHS trust.”

WLR Daily, 31st July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Fox v British Airways plc – WLR Daily

Fox v British Airways plc [2013] EWCA Civ 972; [2013] WLR (D) 330

“Where a claimant could establish liability for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in respect of his son who had been a member of a company pension scheme and who died shortly after dismissal by the company for medical incapacity, the son’s estate would be entitled to compensation in a sum equivalent to the full amount of the death in service benefit that would have been payable under the scheme if the son had remained in employment at the date of his death.”

WLR Daily, 31st July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Dangerous dogs: tougher penalties for irresponsible dog owners – Home Office

Posted August 6th, 2013 in consultations, dogs, news, penalties, sentencing by sally

“The government is asking for people’s views about whether current penalties for dog offences are severe enough.”

Full story

Home Office, 6th August 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

How do you stop jurors using the internet? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted August 6th, 2013 in contempt of court, internet, juries, news by sally

“On 29 July 2013, two men, Mr Davey and Mr Beard, were sentenced to two months’ immediate custody each for contempt of court. On 23 July 2013, they were, despite their protestations of innocence, found to have committed contempt of court. The transcript is available here.”

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 5th August 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Countess fired housekeeper over pregnancy, tribunal told – The Guardian

Posted August 6th, 2013 in damages, employment tribunals, news, pregnancy, redundancy, unfair dismissal by sally

“Housekeeper at Surrey home of Maya Von Schoenburg, former wife of Mercedes-Benz heir, awarded £19,000 in damages.”

Full story

The Guardian, 5th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Neighbour of Tia Sharp’s grandmother convicted of wasting police time – The Independent

Posted August 6th, 2013 in news, wasting police time by sally

“A neighbour of the grandmother of Tia Sharp was today convicted of wasting police time by giving a false statement that he had seen her alive.”

Full story

The Independent, 5th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Mervyn Rush jailed for Norfolk school sex abuse in 1970s – BBC News

Posted August 6th, 2013 in child abuse, guilty pleas, news, sentencing, sexual offences, teachers by sally

“A former teacher who evaded the authorities for more than a decade has been jailed for 14 years for sexually abusing boys at a Norfolk school.”

Full story

BBC News, 5th August 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Spike in criminal prosecutions for tax evasion signal middle class professionals now in HMRC firing line, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 6th, 2013 in crime, HM Revenue & Customs, news, prosecutions, tax evasion by sally

“A steep rise in the number of criminal prosecutions for tax evasion indicates that the financial affairs of middle class professionals are now subject to increasing scrutiny by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), an expert has said.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 5th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Met unit hit by new claims of incompetence as officer who mishandled rape claim kept his job – The Independent

Posted August 6th, 2013 in complaints, disciplinary procedures, news, police, professional conduct, rape by sally

“Scotland Yard was criticised last night for allowing an officer who mishandled a rape claim to keep his job – with one senior politician condemning the punishment handed out by the force as ‘woefully inadequate’.”

Full story

The Independent, 6th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Owners of killer dogs could face life in prison – The Guardian

Posted August 6th, 2013 in bills, consultations, dogs, news, penalties, sentencing by sally

“Owners of dogs that kill people could face life imprisonment if an online consultation run by the government demonstrates public support for more severe penalties.”

Full story

The Guardian, 6th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk