Holly Clegg discusses The Court of Appeal on Potholes – Park Square Barristers

Posted July 5th, 2017 in appeals, negligence, news, road safety, roads by sally

‘Holly Clegg considers the recent case of Lee Crawley v Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Councils must have an adequate system in place for repairing defects in the highway over the weekend.’

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Park Square Barristers, 14th June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Nicholas Goodfellow on Challenging the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards – Littleton Chambers

‘The Commercial Court has recently considered the principles relating to the refusal to enforce a foreign arbitral award on grounds of fraud: Stati and others v The Republic of Kazakhstan [2017] EWHC 1348 (Comm), a decision of Knowles J, writes Nicholas Goodfellow.’

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Littleton Chambers, 19th June 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Allocations: Local Lettings and Undisclosed Policies – Garden Court Chambers

‘The defendant, Islington Borough Council, maintained an allocation scheme which provided that certain categories of people were excluded from joining the housing register, including those who had lived in the borough for less than three out of the previous five years. However, the scheme allowed for exceptions to be made. In particular, in respect of homeless applicants to whom a long-term housing duty under Part 7 Housing Act 1996 had been accepted.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 5th July 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

The Insolvency Rules 2016: an assault on red tape? – Hardwicke Chambers

‘The long-awaited overhaul of the Insolvency Rules 1986 (IR 1986) is now complete, and the Insolvency Rules 2016 (IR 2016) came into force on 6 April 2017. The journey to this point has not been without its difficulties and it would be fair to say that many had anticipated them being in force some time earlier. Perhaps unusually for provisions so overtly procedural in their nature, IR 2016 have also proved to be somewhat controversial.

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Hardwicke Chambers, 14th June 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Harrison v. University Hospitals – Hailsham Chambers

Posted July 5th, 2017 in appeals, budgets, costs, news, proportionality, reasons by sally

‘In a decision handed down yesterday, the Court of Appeal in Harrison v University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust [2017] EWCA Civ 791 determined important issues in costs budgeting. They are of relevance to all practitioners.’

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Hailsham Chambers, 22nd June 2017

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Janine Wolstenholme Reviews a Recent Case on Relief from Sanctions – Park Square Barristers

‘The substantive claim was a straight forward, low value personal injury claim arising out of a road traffic accident. Liability was admitted. Trial directions were given, requiring witness statements to be served by 3rd November 2016. At the eleventh hour, the Claimant’s solicitors sought an extension of two weeks from the Defendant, which was agreed (an “indulgence” in the view of the judge on appeal).’

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Park Square Barristers, 27th June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Revised Benefit Cap Unlawfully Discriminates Against Lone Parents With Children Under Two, High Court Rules – Garden Court Chambers

‘In a robustly worded judgment handed down today, Mr Justice Collins found the revised benefits cap operated to unlawfully discriminate lone parents with children under the age of two and those children under the age of two.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 22nd June 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Whether a Room is a “Bedroom” for the Purposes of the Bedroom Tax – Garden Court Chambers

‘In Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v The City of Glasgow Council & IB [2017] CSIH 35, 31 May 2017 (Lord Brodie, Lady Clark of Calton and Lord Glennie) the Court of Session in Scotland considered what factors should be taken into account in establishing whether a room is a bedroom for the purposes of Reg B13 of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006 SI 2013 (the bedroom tax).’

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Garden Court Chambers, 3rd July 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Service Occupiers: Exclusion from Security of Tenure Regime Compatible with ECHR – Garden Court Chambers

‘The claimant, Hertfordshire County Council, were the owners of a bungalow occupied by the defendant, Mr Davies, and his family. The accommodation was tied to a local school, and Mr Davies had lived there since 2003 in his role as caretaker for the school.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 5th July 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Defendant Secures non-party Costs order against Credit Hire Organisation – Park Square Barristers

‘In this Judgment handed down last week, the Court considered the potential for credit hire companies, who were not parties to the litigation, to be the subject of costs orders. The Appellant car hire company was the subject of such a non-party costs order at first instance and appealed to the High Court. The decision is one which anyone involved in credit hire should be aware of.

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Park Square Barristers, 29th June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

‘Or’, ‘Or’ or ‘Or’: Construction of alternative notice provisions in a lease – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Earlier this year in the US, a legal case revolved around the use of an Oxford comma. Not to be outdone, last month the Court of Appeal in England & Wales had to determine the meaning of the word ‘or’; in doing so, they embarked upon a semantic analysis of one of the most common words in the English language, flavoured by the Supreme Court’s most recent case on construction of contracts.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 15th June 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Strike out of Claim due to Solicitor’s failure to comply with Court Orders – Park Square Barristers

‘In Reece Gladwin v Adrian Bogescu [2017] EWHC 1287 (QB) the Court was concerned with an appeal by the Defendant in a road traffic accident claim against a decision to grant the Claimant relief from sanctions, following late service of the Claimant’s witness evidence.’

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Park Square Barristers, 23rd June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Charlotte Davies on Proving Misuse of Confidential Information – Littleton Chambers

‘Ex-employers need to protect their confidential information. Some of the most potent weapons in the ex-employers’ armoury are orders for preservation, return and protection of confidential information. However, two recent cases provide a warning of the dangers of making assumptions in relation to applications for that relief, and show the stringent approach taken by the courts to orders for the protection of confidential information.’

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Littleton Chambers, 29th June 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Issues highlighted by GB Building Ltd v SFS Fire Services Ltd – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Practical completion is a key concept in any construction project. It has a significant impact on a party’s rights and obligations, and represents a major milestone in the overall project timetable. Under the majority of construction projects, it marks the point at which the clock starts running for the overall transfer of risk from the contractor to the owner.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 30th June 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The end for the Mawer v Bland order? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted July 5th, 2017 in bankruptcy, news, statutory interpretation, trustees in bankruptcy by sally

‘In an earlier edition of this publication I identified what appeared to be a growing trend for the making of a draconian form of order suspending the discharge of bankruptcies.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 26th June 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Dispute Resolution Post-Exit – Henderson Chambers

‘Both sides to the negotiations have already taken positions on the mechanisms for dispute settlement under the arrangements for the UK’s withdrawal from, and its future relationship with, the EU. As with other aspects of the negotiations, we have to hope that more flexibility will be shown on this issue, once the hard bargaining begins, than has seemed evident in the preparatory stage.’

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Henderson Chambers, 24th June 2017

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Insurer Justified in Refusing Indemnity for Misrepresentation – Park Square Barristers

‘Last month I discussed the Court of Appeal decision in Ashfaq v International Insurance Company of Hannover PLC [2017] EWCA Civ 357 in which the insurers were held to be entitled to avoid a commercial landlord policy on grounds of non-disclosure of pending criminal proceedings. The Courts again considered avoidance for misrepresentation and non-disclosure in this latest case heard by Judge Slater in the Queens Bench Division.’

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Park Square Barristers, 19th June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Nicholas Siddall on Employment Tribunal Costs: New Guidance – Littleton Chambers

Posted July 5th, 2017 in civil procedure rules, costs, employment tribunals, judgments, news by sally

‘Nicholas Siddall analyses the recent judgment of the EAT in Swissport v Exley & Ors [2017] UKEAT/007/16 (Slade J) in which he successfully appeared and the interesting observations therein made by the EAT as to the correct approach to assessing costs in the Employment Tribunal.’

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Littleton Chambers, 30th June 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Supreme Court rules against the Home Secretary on ‘Deport First, Appeal Later’ – No. 5 Chambers

‘The Supreme Court has allowed appeals in R (Kiarie) and R (Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42 by persons whom the Home Secretary wished to deport even before they had had a chance to appeal to a tribunal on human rights grounds against the deportation decision. It has concluded that the very system of appealing from abroad in such cases simply does not provide an effective right of appeal.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 14th June 2017

Source: www.no5.com

Section 57 Application to High Value Cases: Stanton v Hunter – Park Square Barristers

Posted July 5th, 2017 in damages, fraud, negligence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘On 31st March 2017 Recorder Hatfield QC, sitting at Liverpool County Court, dismissed the claim in Stanton v Hunter pursuant to section 57 of the Criminal Courts and Justice Act 2015 (judgment available on Lawtel). The Defendant admitted primary liability but alleged contributory negligence in response to the claim for damages as a result of personal injuries arising from an accident which occurred whilst he was working on the Defendant’s property. Following a two-day trial, the Judge found although the Claimant had suffered a genuine injury, he had deliberately and dishonestly exaggerated the extent of his symptoms and in particular his ability to work and dismissed the entire claim.’

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Park Square Barristers, 19th June 2017

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk