The £55 court fee that should have been £10,000 – Litigation Futures

‘The fee to bring an unlimited additional claim should be £10,000, rather than the £55 the court office had advised one of the parties in bitter litigation involving two law firms, a judge has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 10th February 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Case Comment: Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (Formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd) [2020] UKSC 48 – UKSC Blog

‘In this post, Neil Newing and Olivia Flasch who both practice at Signature Litigation, comment upon the decision handed down by the UK Supreme Court in the matter of Halliburton Company v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd (Formerly known as Ace Bermuda Insurance Ltd) [2020] UKSC 48. They ask: is the decision a missed opportunity?’

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UKSC Blog, 2nd February 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Family wins lawsuit against NHS trust over woman’s decomposed body – The Guardian

‘The family of a woman whom they suspect was killed has won a lawsuit against a health trust that allowed her body to decompose to the point that experts were unable to rule out third-party involvement in the death in a first-of-its kind ruling.’

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The Independent, 29th January 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Solicitor fined for failing to disclose counsel’s opinions to ATE insurer – Litigation Futures

‘An experienced solicitor who failed to disclose two counsel’s opinions on a case to an after-the-event (ATE) insurer, one of them assessing chances of success at less than 50%, has been fined £8,000.’

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Litigation Futures, 27th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court of Appeal Considers ‘Lost Years’ Claims in Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd – Ropewalk Chambers

‘In a judgment handed down on 18 January 2021 in Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 34, the Court of Appeal unanimously allowed an appeal against the decision of HHJ Melissa Clarke dismissing the Claimant’s “lost years” claim. The judge had dismissed the claim on the basis that the Claimant’s income derived from his successful family business, the profitability of which would continue after his death such that there was no loss. In the Court of Appeal, however, Bean LJ (with whom Males and Andrews LJJ agreed) held that the Claimant’s income was the product of his hard work and flair as opposed to a return on passive investment, such that it should be treated as earnings rather than investment income and was thus recoverable in the “lost years” claim.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 19th January 2021

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

Not all breaches lead to loss – a cautionary tale – Littleton Chambers

Posted January 22nd, 2021 in causation, chambers articles, compensation, damages, news by sally

‘“The bitter truth for an innocent party is that some breaches by its counterparty, however unscrupulous or unethical, result in no loss that can be recovered by an award of compensatory damages; cf. injunctive relief or gain-based damages. Damages are awarded for the breach itself not the manner of the breach”.’

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Littleton Chambers, 18th January 2021

Source: littletonchambers.com

Very Late Applications for Expert Reports: The Key is ‘Significance’ – Ropewalk Chambers

‘In Knapman v Carbines [2020] EWHC 3586 (QB), HHJ Cotter QC considered the balancing exercise to be conducted upon a very late application to rely on an expert report.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 14th January 2021

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

Latest Instalment in Insurers’ Challenge to CRU Provisions – Ropewalk Chambers

‘In R (on the application of (1) Aviva Insurance Ltd (2) Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd) v The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] EWHC 30 (Admin), Henshaw J dealt with certain consequential matters arising from his earlier judgment dated 20 November 2020 which arose from the Claimants’ challenge to the onerous consequences of the Compensation Recovery Unit scheme, particularly in cases involving long-tail asbestos-related diseases.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 18th January 2021

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

Abuse of Process – Credit hire brought outside of the MOJ portal – Poku v Abedin – Park Square Barristers

Posted January 13th, 2021 in abuse of process, appeals, chambers articles, damages, news, personal injuries by sally

‘This is an appeal in the matter of Poku v Abedin [2020] by the Claimant against a decision by DDJ Omoregie in which a claim for credit hire was struck out on the grounds that the claim was as an abuse of process. The Claimant had previously raised and settled a personal injury claim through the RTA Portal not including the credit hire charges. The appeal was heard on the 8th October 2020 before Her Honour Judge Backhouse sitting in the RCJ.’

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Park Square Barristers, 6th January 2021

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Professional liability update: 2020 year in review – 4 New Square

‘In this review of the year, Helen Evans, Ben Smiley, Pippa Manby, and Ian McDonald of 4 New Square explain what the 2020 cases tell us, how the various strands of development interact, and what to watch out for as we go into 2021.’

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4 New Square, 5th January 2021

Source: www.4newsquare.com

High Court grants girl anonymity in TikTok representative action – Litigation Futures

Posted January 8th, 2021 in anonymity, children, damages, data protection, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘A High Court judge has granted anonymity to a 12-year-old girl, allowing the Children’s Commissioner, as her litigation friend, to bring a breach of privacy action against social media platform TikTok.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th January 2021

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Council wins appeal over finding of negligence over personal injuries suffered by teaching assistant – Local Government Lawyer

‘A county council has won an appeal over a ruling that it was liable in negligence for personal injuries suffered by a teaching assistant.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th January 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Families of Hyde Park bombing victims to appeal ruling against damages – The Independent

Posted December 17th, 2020 in bereavement, damages, explosives, news, terrorism, victims by sally

‘The families of the victims of the Provisional IRA’s 1982 Hyde Park bombing are to challenge a high court decision not to award punitive damages for the atrocity.’

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The Independent, 17th December 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Claimants in breast implant case buy cause of action to sue defendant’s lawyers – Litigation Futures

‘A leading defendant law firm and a QC have failed to strike out a professional negligence action brought after the claimants in a case they defended acquired their insolvent client’s cause of action.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th December 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Collective Actions in the Supreme Court – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

‘The big news from today’s UK Supreme Court collective action decision in Mastercard v Merricks [2020] UKSC 51 is not only that Mr Merricks won and defeated the appeal, but that the Supreme Court approached the issues in a far more claimant-friendly way than even the Court of Appeal had done.’

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Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 11th December 2020

Source: competitionbulletin.com

Mastercard judgment ‘lowers bar’ for collective action – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Supreme Court’s ruling against Mastercard will make it easier for group damages claims to proceed to trial, commentators have said. However, the card issuer’s solicitors have stressed the “very unusual circumstances” of the judgment, in which justices were divided on key issues.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Times pays damages to advocacy group falsely linked to Reading killer – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2020 in compensation, damages, defamation, Islam, media, murder, news, terrorism by sally

‘The Times has apologised to the advocacy organisation Cage and agreed to pay it £30,000 in damages for suggesting it was supporting a man who stabbed three people to death in what police said was a terrorist rampage in a Reading park.’

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The Guardian, 4th December 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Bolton v Stone Revisited – Ropewalk Chambers

‘The seminal case of Bolton v Stone [1951] AC 850 concerned a Claimant on a residential side road who was hit by a ball struck by a batsman on an adjacent cricket ground. The claim ultimately failed. Some 67 years later, the Claimant in Lewis v Wandsworth London Borough Council was walking along the boundary path of a cricket pitch in Battersea Park. She was struck in her left eye by a cricket ball, hit from the game of cricket being played on the pitch. Her claim succeeded before Mr Recorder Riza QC, who distinguished Bolton. Stewart J allowed the Defendant’s appeal and dismissed the claim.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 30th November 2020

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

East Yorkshire hospital trust pays millions over child’s brain damage – BBC News

‘A child who suffered brain damage after a catastrophic fall in blood sugar levels within days of his birth is to get millions of pounds in compensation.’

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BBC News, 3rd December 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

International community “will see Halliburton ruling as protecting Bar” – Litigation Futures

‘The Supreme Court’s decision not to remove a QC from an arbitration will reinforce the international perception that members of the English Bar are being protected, a solicitor has claimed.’

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Litigation Futures, 30th November 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com