Category: appeals

McNeil v HMRC- Old Square Chambers

Posted March 24th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, employment, employment tribunals, news, sex discrimination, women by sally

‘This case concerned an equal pay claim brought by several women employed by HMRC. The pay system implemented by HMRC in respect of the claimants was one which employees moved through the pay band for their grade, from a fixed minimum up to a fixed maximum, by different amounts each year, without any fixed increments but with the amount of any increase depending on the pay award for the particular year. As a result of the way this system operated, one factor relevant to where an employee was within the band, was length of service: the longer an employee had been employed in the band, the more opportunities s/he would have had to move up towards the maximum.’

Full Story

Old Square Chambers, 12th March 2020

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk

Inducing Breach of Contract: – Reliance on Legal Advice Saves the Day in Court of Appeal – Littleton Chambers

Posted March 24th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, contracts, covenants, enforcement, legal services, news by sally

‘In an important decision yesterday (27 February), Allen v Dodd & Co Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 258, the Court of Appeal held that if a person believes their conduct will probably not result in a breach of a contract they will not be liable for inducing a breach even if: (a) they knew there was a risk of breach; and (b) the court subsequently finds such a breach.’

Full Story

Littleton Chambers, 28th February 2020

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Landmark Supreme Court judgment on state obligations under Article 4 ECHR to identify & protect victims of trafficking – Garden Court Chambers

Posted March 24th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, human rights, immigration, news, Supreme Court, trafficking in human beings, victims by sally

‘The Supreme Court has issued a landmark judgment regarding the scope of positive obligations of the state under Article 4 ECHR, to identify victims of trafficking and afford them protection, including immigration status, for their safety and recovery.’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 18th March 2020

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Kensington Forum Judicial Review Succeeds: High Court Quashes Permission for Tallest Building in Kensington after Mayor Forced to Admit the Decision was Taken for an Improper Purpose – Francis Taylor Building

Posted March 24th, 2020 in appeals, judicial review, local government, London, news, planning by sally

‘On 21 June 2019, the Mayor of London granted planning permission for a significant and controversial development, on land at the Kensington Forum Hotel, 97-109 Cromwell Road, London, SW7 4DN. The scheme, designed by Simpson Haugh, included a 30 storey tower, which would have been the tallest in Kensington, and provided a 749 bed hotel and 402 residential units in South Kensington. However, following a judicial review brought by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, the High Court has quashed the planning permission, after the Mayor of London conceded that the decision to grant the permission was motivated by an improper purpose; namely frustrating the Secretary of State for Housing Communities and Local Government.’

Full Story

Francis Taylor Building, 16th March 2020

Source: www.ftbchambers.co.uk

Can a one-off decision amount to a PCP? Generally not, unless it can be shown that the decision, act or omission relied upon would be the same in a similar situation, says the Court of Appeal in Ishola v Transport for London [2020] EWCA Civ 112 – 3PB

Posted March 24th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, employment, employment tribunals, equality, news, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Mr Ishola was employed by the respondent (TfL) as a customer services administrator. He was at all material times a disabled person suffering with depression and migraines. He raised a grievance about the conduct of a colleague in April 2015 which was not upheld, shortly after which he went on long-term sick leave. The sickness absence was managed by the respondent through a process of referrals to occupational health doctors and management review meetings. Ms Bhaimia was appointed as the “People Management Adviser” (or PMA) responsible for dealing with the claimant. The task of managing his absence on sick leave was given to Mr Walters.’

Full Story

3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Issuing an EHC Plan—the meaning of ‘necessary’ (Nottinghamshire County Council v SF and another) – 3PB

Posted March 23rd, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, disabled persons, education, interpretation, learning difficulties, local government, news, school children by sally

‘The Court of Appeal held that the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) had correctly construed the meaning of ‘necessary’ in section 37(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) in finding that it was necessary for special educational provision to be made for HD in accordance with an EHC Plan. This was despite his school having identified his needs, made provision to meet those needs and HD making progress at school. The court considered and affirmed the approach to making a determination under CFA 2014, s 37, determining what is ‘necessary’ requires an evaluative judgment based on the facts of each case.’

Full Story

3PB, 9th March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Raiffeisen Bank International AG v Asia Coal Energy Ventures Ltd & Anor [2020] EWCA Civ 11 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 20th, 2020 in appeals, banking, chambers articles, contracts, disclosure, fiduciary duty, news, privilege, solicitors by sally

‘The Appellant was a corporate and investment bank (the “Bank”). On 7 May 2015, it entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) as the seller of a 23.8% shareholding in an Indonesian company traded on the London Stock Exchange. The Respondent solicitors, (“Ashurst”), had acted for the First Defendant, the counterparty buyer under the Agreement (“ACE”).’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 5th March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Icebergs Avoided: Navigating the s23 Case Law – Panopticon

Posted March 20th, 2020 in appeals, disclosure, freedom of information, news, tribunals by sally

‘Anyone who has had a FOIA case in the national security space will have faced the near-impossible task of trying to work out what on earth Corderoy & Ahmed v Information Commissioner & Attorney General & Cabinet Office [2017] UKUT 495 (AAC) means; a front-runner for most impenetrable Upper Tribunal decision on FOIA. Now Judge Markus QC has had a go at squaring the circle in Lownie v Information Commissioner & Foreign and Commonwealth Office & The National Archives [2020] UKUT 32 (AAC).’

Full Story

Panopticon, 19th March 2020

Source: panopticonblog.com

Court of Appeal finds for council in dispute over false statement and social housing – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 20th, 2020 in appeals, deceit, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘A false statement given in support of an application for social housing can invalidate a tenancy even if it was not directly determinative of the decision to grant it, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

R (Christie Elan-Cane) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – Blackstone Chambers

Posted March 20th, 2020 in appeals, chambers articles, costs, documents, gender, government departments, human rights, news, passports by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in an appeal brought by a non-gendered person, Christie Elan-Cane, challenging the Government’s policy not to issue non gender-specific “X” passports to non-gendered, non-binary and other trans persons who do not identify as, or exclusively as, male or female.’

Full Story

Blackstone Chambers, 10th March 2020

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

Further Lessons from Lehman Bros: The Court’s Control of Office Holders – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted March 20th, 2020 in administrators, appeals, banking, chambers articles, coronavirus, debts, insolvency, news by sally

‘When major financial institutions go to the wall the ensuing legal squabbles over the carcases often provide rich seams that can be mined to provide judicial clarification of the law for the benefit of all. The spectacular collapse of the Lehman Brothers empire is no exception and the latest chapter does not disappoint. In Lehman Brothers Australia Ltd (In Liquidation) v Macnamara & Ors (Joint Administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration)) [2020] EWCA Civ 321, the Court of Appeal (Patten, David Richards, Newey LJJ) has provided some timely and useful clarification on the correct test for the court to apply when considering the exercise of its inherent jurisdiction to control its officers within the principle of Re Cordon, Ex p. James (1873-74) LR 9 Ch App 609 or through the more specifically targeted statutory provisions for such control, as for example those in para 74 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) with regard to administrators. In the present climate induced by Coronavirus (COVID-19), any clarity that makes the necessity of going to court less likely is to be doubly welcomed.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 17th March 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

New Judgment: MS (Pakistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 9 – UKSC Blog

Posted March 19th, 2020 in appeals, asylum, Equality and Human Rights Commission, human rights, news, Supreme Court, trafficking in human beings by sally

‘MS’ application for asylum was rejected in August 2013 and the Secretary of State decided to remove MS from the UK. Appealing this decision to the FTT, on human rights grounds, the FTT had found that MS had been under compulsion and control but nonetheless dismissed the appeal. The UT then re-made the decision in view of errors of law by the FTT, finding in favour of MS. The UT observed that the decision of the National Referral Mechanism could only be challenged by judicial review proceedings, not through the immigration appeals system. However, the UT also held that if an NRM decision was perverse or otherwise contrary to some public law ground, the UT could make its own decision as to whether an individual was a victim of trafficking. Otherwise, the decision to remove him would be contrary to the European Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (‘ECAT’) and the European Convention on Human Rights (‘ECHR’).’

Full Story

UKSC Blog, 18th March 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Court of Appeal to live-stream family cases – Ministry of Justice

Posted March 13th, 2020 in appeals, families, family courts, internet, press releases, video recordings by sally

‘Family hearings at the Court of Appeal will be live-streamed under a joint initiative by the judiciary and government to boost transparency in the justice system.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 12th March 2020

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Amendment of LA Plan, post final orders – what can parents do? – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 13th, 2020 in appeals, care orders, children, families, fostering, human rights, local government, news by sally

‘Natalie Cross looks at what needs to happen where parents seek to challenge a change to a care plan where the earlier plan (i.e. remaining at home) has already been approved by the court when the final order was made.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Valid or not valid? – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 13th, 2020 in appeals, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, notification, repossession by sally

‘Does an obvious mistake in a Notice of Seeking Possession invalidate it…or not? Steven Eccles reports on the lessons for housing associations and local authorities from an important recent ruling.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Islamic Nikah ceremony and marriage validity – Family Law

Posted March 13th, 2020 in appeals, divorce, families, financial provision, Islam, islamic law, marriage, news by sally

‘The case of Khan v Akhter has now been decided by the Court of Appeal. It received a huge amount of coverage in the legal press and beyond. In simple terms, the court has ruled that a couple who went through a religious-only wedding ceremony in the UK are neither validly married nor parties to a void marriage, overturning an earlier decision of the High Court.’

Full Story

Family Law, 12th March 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Email blocked by tribunal’s firewall not validly served – Litigation Futures

Posted March 12th, 2020 in appeals, electronic filing, electronic mail, news, service by sally

‘An email blocked by a firewall at the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) did not constitute valid service of an appeal, a judge has ruled.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 12th March 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

False imprisonment not synonymous with breach of right to liberty – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted March 11th, 2020 in appeals, detention, electronic monitoring, false imprisonment, government departments, human rights, immigration, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘R (on the application of Jalloh (formerly Jollah)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] UKSC 4.In a pithy parting shot to the Home Secretary, Lady Hale has given the unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court on the question of whether a person subject to a home curfew under immigration powers had been falsely imprisoned at common law and whether that concept should now be aligned with the concept of deprivation of liberty in article 5 of the ECHR. The Court decided the case against the defendant, as did every court below (the Blog covered the Court of Appeal’s decision here). The defendant had been required to pay the claimant £4,000.’

Full Story

UK Human Rights Blog, 10th March 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Supreme Court to hear case over whether 18th century lead urns were ‘buildings’ for purposes of listed building consent – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 10th, 2020 in appeals, listed buildings, local government, news, planning, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court will this week hear a dispute over whether a pair of 18th century lead urns resting on limestone piers were “buildings” on an application for listed building consent.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Is a Section 8 notice on rent arrears a demand for rent? – Nearly Legal

Posted March 9th, 2020 in appeals, county courts, housing, interpretation, landlord & tenant, news, notification, rent by sally

‘I have kindly been sent a couple of county court Circuit Judge decisions on the issue of whether section 8 notices (where the ground is rent arrears) have to comply with the requirements of section 47 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 by the inclusion of the landlord’s name and address. They reach contradictory conclusions, leaving open an issue to be resolved by a higher court, and a further issue for first instance courts.’

Full Story

Nearly Legal, 8th March 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk