Day: 24 August 2026

‘In Doubtfire v Horrell [2026] EWHC 2173 (Ch) (‘Doubtfire’), Chief ICC Judge Briggs heard an application to set aside a statutory demand (‘SD’) served on an individual/(alleged) debtor (‘D’), by an alleged creditor (‘H’), on grounds under Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (the ‘Rules’), r.10.5(5), that:
(a) ‘the debtor appears to have a counterclaim, set-off or cross demand which equals or exceeds the amount of the debt specified in the statutory demand;’
(b) ‘the debt is disputed on grounds which appear to the court to be substantial;’
(d) ‘the court is satisfied, on other grounds, that the demand ought to be set aside.’

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33 Bedford Row, 23rd August 2026

Source: www.33bedfordrow.co.uk

‘Philippa Seal and Ayesha Omar’s article in the Landlord and Tenant Review has been published this week, examining the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and its implications for service charge disputes. Their article considers the Act’s new transparency and enforcement provisions alongside the Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Bradley v Abacus Land 4 Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 1308. The reforms promise greater transparency for leaseholders — but will transparency alone make it easier to challenge a service charge? “What use is transparency if the legal threshold for challenging a landlord’s decision remains so high?” Philippa and Ayesha explore that question and consider whether further reform may be needed.’

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4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 14th August 2026

Source: www.4-5.co.uk

‘Secretary of State for the Home Department v Hirtie [2026] EWCA Civ 1000, handed down by the Court of Appeal on 30 July 2026, is a deportation appeal that turns less on the substance of Article 8 than on procedural discipline: whether a party who unequivocally withdraws a ground of appeal before the Upper Tribunal (”UT”) can resurrect it before the Court of Appeal. The Court’s answer, delivered by Stuart-Smith LJ, was a firm no, reinforcing a growing body of authority requiring parties to identify and narrow the issues in dispute at the earliest opportunity.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st August 2026

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A recent Supreme Court decision has removed a significant procedural hurdle for foreign judgment creditors seeking to pursue bankruptcy proceedings in England and Wales, confirming that a separate English recognition judgment is not needed before a petition can be presented.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 21st August 2026

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

‘In 2016 we posted Flood damage and the faculty jurisdiction in which the Salisbury consistory court considered options for post-flood remediation, Re St. Mary Charminster [2016] ECC Sal 1. The recent determination Re St. Mary the Virgin Beachamwell [2026] ECC Ely 1 concerned a faculty petition for another “post-disaster” restoration of a church following a devastating fire in February 2022. In both cases, the parish was faced with a tabula rasa from which restoration works could be planned, albeit within constraints from the insurers, and as such these differ from most considerations of reordering.’

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Law & Religion UK, 24th August 2026

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

‘A County Court judge has allowed an appeal in a homelessness case brought against the Royal Borough of Greenwich even though crucial points were not originally raised by the claimant.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st August 2026

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

‘It is likely that “humans will come to accept, on economic grounds, machine-enabled resolution of small disputes”, the Master of the Rolls has predicted.’

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Legal Futures, 21st August 2026

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Hundreds of head injury claims from former rugby players have narrowly survived strike-out attempts.’

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Law Society Gazette, 21st August 2026

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Five Palestine Action activists who vandalised a Barclays branch in Burnley will not be sentenced as terrorists, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 21st August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘Drugs that help control the libidos of people who have committed sexual offences could be rolled out for thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales from December 2028, an expert has said.’

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The Guardian, 22nd August 2026

Source: www.theguardian.com

‘A man has been jailed for life for murdering his flatmate in the UK just three years after completing a prison sentence in Romania for a “strikingly similar” killing.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Prince Harry and six other public figures face paying up to £34.5m to the publisher of the Daily Mail after a High Court judge imposed an exceptional order for legal costs over their failed privacy case.’

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BBC News, 21st August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘A scheme that could see serious sexual and violent offenders confined to areas just a few miles wide after leaving prison will be launched in October, Justice Secretary Alex Norris has announced.’

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BBC News, 23rd August 2026

Source: www.bbc.co.uk