In Too Deep – Zenith Chambers

“Kate Mckinlay considers the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision in Woodland v Essex County Council UKSC 2013.”

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Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Mediation: No duty to put meat on the bones – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, dispute resolution, duty of care, news, solicitors by sally

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a mediation can be nauseating at three in the morning, as Ian Fleming might have written had he declined a successful career as a thriller writer in favour of the less glamorous life of a commercial litigator. It is a sentiment which clearly resonates even in the Court of Appeal, as revealed in the Court’s judgment in Frost v Wake Smith & Tofields [2013] EWCA Civ 772 last month.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 17th October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Where now for mediation? Extending the Halsey guidelines – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, costs, dispute resolution, news, penalties by sally

“Since the case of Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] 1 WLR 3002, the manner in which the Court may encourage parties to settle their disputes by mediation has been largely settled. Thus, the court should not compel parties to mediatebut it may engage in robust encouragement. Importantly, a successful party may be deprived of some or all of its costs if it unreasonably refuses to mediate. The burden is on the unsuccessful party to demonstrate unreasonableness.”

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11 Stone Buildings, October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Jackson: 6 months on – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, claims management, costs, news, time limits by sally

“It is now almost 6 months since the Brave New World of Jackson. This article considers the impact of the reforms and stated ‘culture change’.”

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Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Green v RBS: Lessons in Interest-Rate Hedge Products Litigation – Littleton Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, consumer protection, duty of care, interest, limitations, news, statutory duty by sally

“Interest- Rate Hedge Products (‘IRHPs’) include a variety of different products sold to customers to help protect them against interest rate risk. The down side is that such products are often complex and structured to produce adverse financial effects for the customer if the Bank of England Base Rate (‘Base Rate’) goes down. And we all know that is exactly what has happened in recent years. This has given rise to a wave of IRHP mis-selling claims.”

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Littleton Chambers, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Is this the end for Swap Mis-selling Claims? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, banking, consumer protection, contracts, interest, limitations, news by sally

“One of the difficulties encountered when advising clients as to the merits of their claim that they have been mis-sold an Interest Rate Hedging Product (IRHP), usually an Interest Rate Swap, is the paucity of decided case law concerning the sale of such products.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 21st October 2013

Source: www.no5.com

NCA suffers Supreme Court defeat on assets recovery marshalling claim – 11 Stone Buildings

“On 23 October 2013, the Supreme Court gave judgment in Szepietowski v. the National Crime Agency (formerly the Serious Organised Crime Agency, ‘SOCA’). The case is now the leading authority on the marshalling of securities and will be of interest to those advising banks and other businesses involved in secured lending. The case, however, will also be of general interest in light of the Court’s consideration of the principles applicable to the construction of settlement agreements which involved the Court distinguishing the decision of the House of Lords in Bank of Credit and Commerce International v. Ali [2002] 1 AC 251.”

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11 Stone Buildings, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Jackson: six months on – New Law Journal

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, claims management, costs, news, time limits by sally

“Dominic Regan serves up a survival guide.”

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New Law Journal, 29th October 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

National Crime Agency v Szepietowski and another – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, assets recovery, debts, equity, law reports, mortgages, proceeds of crime by sally

National Crime Agency v Szepietowski and another [2013] UKSC 65; [2013] WLR (D) 408

“The equitable remedy of marshalling was not available where the security held by the second chargee did not secure an underlying personal debt of his to the chargor. Therefore the National Crime Agency, having agreed to take a second mortgage over a property in settlement of its claim that it had been purchased by its owner with the proceeds of crime, could not, when the sale of the property only realised sufficient funds to pay off the debt secured under a first mortgage to a bank, require the bank to enforce its security against another property mortgaged by the owner to that bank.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

HF(Iraq) and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department; MK(Iraq) v Same – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, EC law, human rights, immigration, Iraq, law reports, tribunals by sally

HF(Iraq) and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department; MK(Iraq) v Same [2013] EWCA Civ 1276; [2013] WLR (D) 407

“There was no presumption that the eligibility guidelines issued by the UNHCR in relation to Iraq should be followed unless there were cogent reasons for not doing so.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Jeremy Hunt loses appeal as Lewisham hospital cuts ruled illegal – The Guardian

“The health secretary suffered another embarrassing legal defeat on Tuesday when appeal court judges ruled he had acted illegally in cutting A&E and maternity services at Lewisham hospital in south-east London.”

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The Guardian, 29th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme court to make final ruling on Poundland case – The Guardian

“The UK supreme court will hand down judgment on Wednesday morning in what is expected to be the final chapter in a long-running dispute between the Department of Work and Pensions and former jobseeker Cait Reilly over the legality of so-called workfare schemes.”

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The Guardian, 30th October 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update – Family Law Week

Posted October 29th, 2013 in adoption, appeals, care orders, children, expert witnesses, interpreters, media, news, witnesses by sally

“John Tughan, barrister, of 4 Paper Buildings reviews important recent cases of which all public law practitioners ought to be aware.”

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Family Law Week, 25th October 2013

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Wind farms, birds, and that pesky thing called the rule of law – UK Human Rights Blog

“The current storms brought down a turbine in Teignmouth: see here for good pics of this and other mayhem. And the rule of law recently brought down a massive wind farm proposed for Shetland. The Scottish Ministers had waved aside a request for a public inquiry, and ended up drafting reasons which ignored the obligations in the Wild Birds Directive in respect of this bird – the whimbrel. Lady Clark quashed the consent on this ground, and also decided that the wind farmer could not apply for the consent anyway because it had not got the requisite licence which she concluded was a pre-condition for such an application. ”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

BSB guilty of “misleading conduct” in disciplinary case, says High Court judge – Legal Futures

“A High Court judge has accused the Bar Standards Board (BSB) of ‘misleading conduct’ in the way it handled a disciplinary matter that led to a barrister being disbarred.”

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Legal Futures, 28th October 2013

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge bans film of Afghan ‘execution’ by British Marine – The Independent

Posted October 29th, 2013 in appeals, armed forces, courts martial, disclosure, execution, news, video recordings by sally

“Footage showing the alleged execution of an injured Afghan insurgent by a British serviceman will not be released for fear it could spark revenge attacks on troops, a judge has ruled.”

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The Independent, 28th October 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Minerva Navigation Inc v Oceana Shipping AG; Oceana Shipping AG v Transatlantica Commodities SA – WLR Daily

Posted October 28th, 2013 in appeals, charterparties, law reports, shipping law by sally

Minerva Navigation Inc v Oceana Shipping AG; Oceana Shipping AG v Transatlantica Commodities SA [2013] EWCA Civ 1723; [2013] WLR (D) 406

“The off-hire clause in clause 15 of the New York Produce Exchange 1946 (‘NYPE’) form of time charterparty was concerned with the service immediately required of the vessel, and not with ‘the chartered service’ as a whole or the entire maritime adventure or adventures which might be undertaken in the course of the chartered service. The clause concentrated on the period during which full working of the vessel was prevented or stopped.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

PGF II SA v OMFS Co 1 Ltd – WLR Daily

PGF II SA v OMFS Co 1 Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1288 ; [2013] WLR (D) 405

“As a general rule, complete silence in the face of a serious invitation to consider alternative dispute resolution amounted to unreasonable conduct and the judge in his discretion could impose costs sanctions.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

When a decision-maker gives retro-reasons – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 28th, 2013 in appeals, housing, judicial review, local government, news, planning, reasons by sally

“This planning judicial review tackles the problem posed by an authority who says one thing in its formal reasons granting planning permission, and another thing in the court proceedings when the grant is challenged.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Court of Appeal refuses anonymity for offender – UK Human Rights Blog

“Only ‘clear and cogent evidence’ that it was strictly necessary to keep an offender’s identity confidential would lead a court to derogate from the principle of open justice. The possibility of a media campaign that might affect the offender’s resettlement could not work as a justification for banning reporting about that offender, even though a prominent and inaccurate report about him had already led to harassment of his family.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th October 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com