Vos: Disclosure pilot applies even if order made before January 2019 – Litigation Futures

Posted April 15th, 2019 in civil procedure rules, disclosure, news, pilot schemes by michael

‘The disclosure pilot applies to all Business and Property Courts proceedings, including cases where a disclosure order was made before 1 January 2019, the Chancellor of the High Court has ruled. Sir Geoffrey Vos said the newly published White Book was wrong on this point.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 15th April 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Top judge attacks growing ‘abuse’ of parliamentary privilege – The Guardian

‘The lord chief justice has accused MPs and peers of endangering the rule of law through repeated “abuse” of parliamentary privilege to name individuals granted anonymity in court cases.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 9th April 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Solicitors must think about “impression created” by NDAs – Legal Futures

‘Solicitors must think beyond the drafting of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and confidentiality agreements to the “impression created” by them, a panel of experts has warned.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 1st April 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Murder conviction quashed after detective hid relationship with juror – The Guardian

Posted March 20th, 2019 in disclosure, juries, murder, news, police, retrials by sally

‘Three killers had their murder convictions quashed because a police officer involved in the case failed to disclose she knew one of the jurors in their trial, it has been revealed.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 19th March 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

The end of the line for Kennedy v Charity Commission – Panopticon

‘The background, as you may recall, is that Mr Kennedy, a Times journalist, was trying to get information out of the Charity Commission in connection with the ‘Mariam Appeal’, a fund set up by George Galloway MP for the purposes of supporting Iraqi children suffering from leukaemia. Mr Kennedy wanted to get hold of the information in connection with an investigation he was conducting into whether monies collected under the name of Mariam’s Appeal had been misused. Mr Kennedy made a FOIA request to the Charity Commission, which had conducted an investigation into Mariam’s Appeal. Mr Kennedy’s request was refused on the basis that the information requested fell within the scope of s. 32 FOIA (absolute exemption concerning court records).’

Full Story

Panopticon, 18th March 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

R (X) v General Medical Council General Medical Council v X – Blackstone Chambers

‘The Administrative Court has handed down judgment in the case of Dr X which raises important issues about the extent to which a regulator may have to modify its usual publication procedures for reporting disciplinary outcomes where the practitioner claims that publication would expose him or her to a real and immediate risk of death.’

Full Story

Blackstone Chambers, 11th March 2019

Source: www.blackstonechambers.com

“No ethical leadership”: Law Society blasted over NDA guidance – Legal Futures

‘Law Society guidance on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) demonstrates an absence of “ethical leadership” and shows why the profession cannot be allowed to sort such issues on its own, a leading academic has claimed.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 15th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Not Knowing the Amount of Compensation Award (EXB (A Protected Party by his Mother and Litigation Friend) v FDZ and Others) – 39 Essex Chambers

‘Emily Formby, barrister at 39 Essex Chambers, considers the case of EXB (a protected party by his mother and litigation friend) v FDZ and others concerning the overlap in jurisdiction between the civil courts and the Court of Protection (CoP). Despite the overlap being commonplace in daily practice, reported cases giving guidance on how to navigate issues thrown up by the different procedures are rarer than one might think.’

Full Story

39 Essex Chambers, 8th February 2019

Source: www.39essex.com

MoD hit with indemnity costs for disclosure failure – Litigation Futures

Posted March 8th, 2019 in armed forces, costs, disclosure, indemnities, news by sally

‘The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been ordered to pay indemnity costs after the High Court ruled that it “has not begun to grapple with its obligations in terms of disclosure” in a procurement challenge.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 7th March 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Court of Appeal rejects legal duty for council tax purposes to disclose fact of residence – Local Government Lawyer

‘No legal duty exists that requires a resident to notify a council of their residence at a particular address for council tax purposes, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 7th March 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court of Appeal discharges injunction banning firm from VW group action – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by group action specialists Harcus Sinclair challenging the enforceability of a non-disclosure agreement it entered into with a Derbyshire firm regarding the Volkswagen group litigation.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 6th March 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Autistic people angry at having to disclose diagnosis to DVLA even if driving not affected – The Guardian

‘The National Autistic Society (NAS) is challenging a decision by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to force autistic people to inform them of their diagnosis even if it does not affect their driving.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 3rd March 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

High Court rejects evidence from law firm ‘whistleblower’ – Legal Futures

‘The president of the family division has rejected a wife’s application to admit the statement of a “whistleblower” inside her former husband’s legal team who sent the court privileged information.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 5th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Unethical’ use of NDAs prompts consultation on laws to protect victims – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The government today indicated it will legislate to stop employers from using confidentiality clauses to intimidate victims of harassment into silence.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 4th March 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Addict solicitor struck off after hiding cocaine offences – Legal Futures

‘An experienced solicitor has been struck off after accepting a caution for possession of banned drugs, failing to report the conviction to the regulator, and misleading police.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 4th March 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Personal Data in the Upper Tribunal – Panopticon

Posted March 4th, 2019 in data protection, disclosure, freedom of information, news by sally

‘We all love nuggets, be they of gold or chicken. A couple of short recent Upper Tribunal judgments reached under FOIA may not be finger-lickin’ good, but are nonetheless worthy noting as a tasty morsel or two.In Information Commissioner v Halpin [2019] UKUT 29 (AAC) Judge Markus QC overturned an FTT decision which had held that personal data was not exempt under section 40(2) FOIA. She explained that the FTT had erred in declining to have regard to the possibility of wider disclosure to the world beyond the requestor – because the public authority would no longer have any control over the information once released – such that it had failed properly to balance the competing interests and effects of disclosure. This was a point made in GR-N v Information Commissioner & NMC [2015] UKUT 449 (AAC) and applied since. The requestor’s private motives were sufficient to form a legitimate interest, but did not form a justification for disclosure to the world at large. The FTT had also erred in failing to address the core concern of the public authority, that disclosure would lead to inappropriate complaints against or other targeting of the particular data subjects causing them stress. It was no answer to that to say that the authority had procedures to address complaints: the point was not that the complaints would be upheld but that they would have to be dealt with when they would not have been without disclosure.’

Full Story

Panopticon, 28th February 2019

Source: panopticonblog.com

Firms face ban on use of gagging clauses to silence whistleblowers – The Guardian

‘The government has announced proposals to prevent employers from using gagging clauses to stop people reporting criminal behaviour, harassment or discrimination to police.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 4th March 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

James Bulger: Father of murdered toddler in legal bid to reveal more details about killer’s new life – The Independent

‘The father and uncle of murdered toddler James Bulger have begun a legal battle for information about one of the killers, Jon Venables, to be made public.’

Full Story

The Independent, 26th February 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Bullying and sexual harassment ‘endemic’ in NHS hospitals – The Guardian

‘Hundreds of doctors have been accused of bullying and sexually harassing colleagues in the past five years, prompting concern that a culture of intimidation is thriving in the NHS.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 24th February 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge rejects bid to exit shorter trial scheme – Litigation Futures

Posted February 22nd, 2019 in case management, disclosure, evidence, expert witnesses, news, patents by tracey

‘A judge has refused a party’s application to remove their case from the shorter trial scheme.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 22nd February 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com