After settlement of a claim for asbestos-related disease against two employers, is it an abuse of process to bring a claim for mesothelioma against a third employer two and a half years later? – Zenith PI Blog

Posted March 31st, 2015 in abuse of process, asbestos, industrial injuries, limitations, news by sally

‘The High Court decision in Lloyd v Humphreys and Glasgow Ltd [2015] EWHC 525 (QB) handed down on 20.3.2015 considers if there was abuse of process in those circumstances. It is also a useful example of the Court’s willingness to exercise its discretion under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980.’

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Zenith PI Blog, 30th March 2015

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

High Court considers purpose behind subject access request under the DPA – Panopticon

‘It is not uncommon for data controllers to be faced with subject access requests under s. 7 of the Data Protection Act 1998 the motivations for which appear to have nothing whatever to do with the purposes of the DPA. The DPA seeks to protect individuals’ privacy rights with respect to data which is processed about them. The subject access provisions help people check up on that data and its processing (see for example YS v Minister voor Immigratie (Cases C-141/12 & C-372/12)). In practice, however, a subject access request is a fishing expedition with an eye on prospective litigation.’

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Panopticon, 10th March 2015

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Regina v Akhtar (Itzaz) – WLR Daily

Regina v Akhtar (Itzaz) [2015] EWCA Crim 176; [2015] WLR (D) 91

‘Where a jury brought in a guilty verdict on one count but were unable to agree on another count, a retrial on that other count was not an abuse of process unless the two counts were true alternatives in that they were mutually exclusive alternatives.’

WLR Daily, 26th February 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Chai v Peng Undermining the purpose of “forum conveniens?” – Family Law Week

Posted December 15th, 2014 in abuse of process, appeals, divorce, estoppel, jurisdiction, news, stay of proceedings by tracey

‘Tim Scott QC, Peter Duckworth and James Pullen, all of 29 Bedford Row who represented Dr Kay Peng Khoo in Chai v Peng, analyse the proceedings to date.’

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Family Law Week, 11th December 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Second bite of the cherry? Bringing a second action against different employers for development of mesothelioma: abuse of process, cause of action estoppel and discretion under s33 Limitation Act 1980 considered – Zenith PI Blog

‘Would an action against employers who were unidentifiable at the time of an initial claim against 8 other employers in 2003 succeed where it was argued that such proceedings were an abuse of process of the court, that there was cause of action estoppel and where the claim was statute barred and required an application under s 33 Limitation Act 1980?’

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Zenith PI Blog, 21st October 2014

Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com

You’ve got absoutely nothing out of this – NearlyLegal

Posted September 1st, 2014 in abuse of process, banking, contracts, costs, housing, indemnities, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

‘For most parties that enter into litigation (save for those on CFAs and some who are legally aided) a win isn’t really a win unless the other side is also ordered to pay your costs. I say most, because certain litigants enter into litigation knowing that come what May their costs will be paid on the indemnity basis. They have the foresight (or more accurately the power) to draft contracts which provide that, in the event of litigation, the other side (often a borrower or a long leaseholder) will indemnify them for all their legal costs irrespective of whether they win or lose.’

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NearlyLegal, 31st August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

‘On-the-run’ scheme flawed but not unlawful, inquiry finds – The Guardian

‘The post-Troubles scheme devised to reassure Irish republican “on-the-runs” (OTRs) that they were no longer wanted by the police was lawful and did not give terrorist suspects an amnesty, an independent review has concluded.’

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The Guardian, 17th July 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Agbenowossi-Koffi v Donvand Ltd (t/a Gullivers Travel Associates) – WLR Daily

Agbenowossi-Koffi v Donvand Ltd (t/a Gullivers Travel Associates): [2014] EWCA Civ 855; [2014] WLR (D) 282

‘Where a claim of race discrimination had been dismissed on limitation grounds those allegations could not be repeated in a second claim together with additional allegations which could have been included in the first claim but had not been, in order to avoid the limitation defence by founding a claim based on conduct extending over a period of time. The second claim was an abuse of process.’

WLR Daily, 24th June 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v Clayton – WLR Daily

Posted May 29th, 2014 in abuse of process, appeals, enforcement, law reports, planning by michael

Regina v Clayton [2014] EWCA Crim 1030;  [2014] WLR (D)  231

‘Where there was information suggesting that an enforcement notice should not have been issued, a prosecution for breach of the notice was not open to challenge as an abuse of process because that would involve a challenge to the validity of the enforcement notice and such a challenge could be mounted only on appeal or by way of judicial review.’

WLR Daily, 23rd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Abu Hamza – the ten-year battle – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘It is worth considering two important legal judgments that the ten-year battle to extradite him involved.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 20th May 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Secretary of State for the Home Department v Mohamed (formerly CC); Same v CF – WLR Daily

Secretary of State for the Home Department v Mohamed (formerly CC); Same v CF; [2014] EWCA Civ 559; [2014] WLR (D) 187

‘Suspected terrorists subject to control orders and terrorism prevention and investigation measures who brought proceedings for abuse of process relating to the manner in which they were removed to the United Kingdom from Somaliland were entitled to see the Secretary of State’s objections to their case for alleged collusion and mistreatment. The Secretary of State was not permitted to confine reasons for rejecting their case on those issues to a closed judgment. The applicants and the public should not be denied all knowledge of the extent to which their factual and/or legal case was accepted or rejected. Such a total denial offended justice and propriety.’

WLR Daily, 2nd May 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

A second bite of the cherry: Can a claimant bring a fresh claim having failed to obtain relief from sanctions? – Hardwicke Chambers

‘In the brave new world created by the Court of Appeal decision in Mitchell v Newsgroup Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1537, claimants whose claims have been struck out for failure to comply with a rule, practice direction or order are honing in on second actions as a way of bringing their litigation back to life. The threatened slew of professional negligence suits post-Mitchell could be avoided if lawyers subject to a Mitchell strike-out are able to placate their clients by simply re-issuing proceedings against the defendant.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 13th March 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

English courts will not generally interfere with court proceedings in Brussels Regulation member states, expert says – OUT-LAW.com

Posted March 27th, 2014 in abuse of process, courts, foreign jurisdictions, injunctions, news by tracey

‘A recent High Court decision shows that courts in England will not usually interfere with litigation taking place in other countries that are signatories to the Brussels Regulation, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Private Prosecutions: The foundations are laid – Six Pump Court

Posted February 14th, 2014 in abuse of process, compensation, confiscation, fraud, news, police, private prosecutions by sally

‘The headline in The Guardian on Wednesday 29th January 2014 (“Metropolitan Police accused of acting on behalf of big business”) would undoubtedly have caused a stir amongst private prosecutors, public prosecutors, the police, the Home Office and others interested in the issue of commercial organisations seeking redress in the criminal courts in relation to crimes committed against them. The story, based upon observations made by the Lord Chief Justice in a recent Court of Appeal case, queried the efficacy of private prosecutions brought in such circumstances and – quoting labour MP Tom Watson and Jenny Jones, a London assembly member for the Green party – suggested that they represented the “…creeping privatisation of policing…”. The former spoke of “…two tier-policing where corporate interests can buy the time of the police…” whilst the latter complained, “I hate the thought that if you are rich you can buy more justice than if you are poor…”. And yet at a time when funding for public bodies – and in particular prosecuting authorities – is under such severe strain, it is inevitable that there will be a growing demand for the private sector to operate in areas that were once solely or mainly inhabited by the state. Private prosecutions are here to stay – that much is clear from the case concerned. But are the criticisms levelled against them fair? And what is the real impact of the case on private prosecutions, confiscation and compensation and the very real problem of fraud on commerce? ‘

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Six Pump Court, 5th February 2014

Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk

Student litigation – Choosing the right words – Hardwicke Chambers

“The case of Mr John Scarborough v Canterbury Christ Church University (Scarborough) which was recently decided carries potentially significant implications in terms of bringing a case that may fall under separate heads of action.This article discusses this decision and its practical effect on future litigation.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 7th November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Fairclough v Summers – An abuse of Process – Sovereign Chambers

“On the 13th May 2003 whilst acting in the course of his employment with Fairclough Homes Limited (‘Fairclough’), Shaun Summers (‘Mr Summers’) fell from a truck and sustained both a fractured bone in his right hand and a fractured left heel bone. On the 28th October 2003 Fairclough admitted liability for the accident through its insurers (‘the admission’). Mr Summers went on to issue a claim for personal injury and associated losses on the 10th May 2006 but, having examined his medical records (which appeared to cast doubt on Mr Summers’ account of the accident), Fairclough applied for permission to withdraw their admission and served an Amended Defence in relation to liability. On the 28th August 2007, following a trial before HHJ Tetlow (‘the Judge’), Mr Summers obtained judgment against Fairclough with damages to be assessed.”

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Sovereign Chambers, 25th September 2013

Source: www.sovereignchambers.co.uk

Binns and another v Firstplus Financial Group plc – WLR Daily

Binns and another v Firstplus Financial Group plc [2013] EWHC 2436 (QB); [2013] WLR (D) 361

“Where a claimant had obtained an award pursuant to alternative dispute resolution (‘ADR’) and subsequently brought a civil claim where the only potential advantage in bringing that litigation was the possibility of an additional award in respect of legal costs, the claim was to be struck out under CPR r 3.4(2).”

WLR Daily, 24th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

David Miranda detention legally sound, says Scotland Yard – BBC News

Posted August 20th, 2013 in abuse of process, detention, immigration, intelligence services, media, news, terrorism by tracey

“Using the Terrorism Act to detain the partner of a Guardian reporter who covered US and UK security services was ‘legally sound’, Scotland Yard says.”

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BBC News, 20th August 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judicial review proceedings may be terminated by government – UK Human Rights Blog

“The Government’s termination of existing judicial review proceedings via certification under the Justice and Security Act was ‘troubling’ but lawful. Parliament’s intention was clear, even though there were no new rules in force yet.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 12th August 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Investigate law firm after ‘untruthful’ asylum case, says top judge – Daily Telegraph

“One of the country’s most senior judges has asked a legal regulator to consider striking off a law firm over its last-minute bids to block the deportation of failed asylum seekers.”

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Daily Telegraph, 8th August 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk