Deprivation of liberty, children, care orders, and overlooked caselaw: a tangle for the Court of Appeal – Mental Capacity Law and Policy

‘West Sussex County Council v AB & Anor [2025] EWCA Civ 132, concerned a very challenging situation. It concerned a 17 year old woman with complex needs.’

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Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 20th February 2025

Source: www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk

Law firm ordered to pay wasted costs after failing to instruct counsel – Legal Futures

‘A law firm was negligent in failing to prepare for a three-day hearing or instruct counsel for it, a Family Court judge has ruled in making a wasted costs order.’

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Legal Futures, 25th February 2025

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High court orders legal aid firm to pay costs in family case – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A family law firm has been ordered to pay costs of the other party after the High Court found it was negligent in the preparation of a family case for a three-day hearing.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 24th February 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Council to pay family £6k for education failures – BBC News

‘A council has been told to pay a family more than £6,000 after failing to provide alternative education to a pupil who struggled to attend classes.’

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BBC News, 25th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Risk assessment in care proceedings – Local Government Lawyer

‘Reece McAllister analyses a significant Court of Appeal ruling on risk assessment and judicial reasoning in care proceedings.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th February 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Mother seeks court’s permission to ‘tell her story’ in legal first – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A mother whose rape allegation was wrongly dismissed is asking the High Court for permission to speak out about her case.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 20th February 2025

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

INXS’s former manager wins divorce battle after estranged parents secretly ‘gifted’ ex-husband £27.6m – The Independent

Posted February 19th, 2025 in divorce, families, financial dispute resolution, news by sally

‘A wealthy businesswoman has won a court fight against paying out £1.2m to her ex-husband after discovering her super-rich family had secretly “gifted” him £27.6m behind her back.’

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The Independent, 18th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Police did not properly probe killer’s assaults before attacks, report says – The Independent

‘Police failed to properly investigate an assault on warehouse workers by Nottingham killer Valdo Calocane which could have stopped his murder spree a month later, a report by the police watchdog has found.’

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The Independent, 19th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Jamaican drug dealer avoids deportation after pledging to only smoke cannabis – not sell it – The Independent

Posted February 18th, 2025 in deportation, drug offences, drug trafficking, families, human rights, news by sally

‘A Jamaican drug dealer avoided deportation after he promised to only smoke cannabis and not sell it.’

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The Independent, 17th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Judicial Anonymity? Not this time. – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In Tickle & Anor v The BBC & Ors [2025] EWCA Civ 4, the Court of Appeal considered the High Court’s decision to anonymise the names of several judges who had made decisions in historic care proceedings and private family law proceedings (“the historic proceedings”).’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 17th February 2025

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Secondary school teacher paid damages after alleged harassment by pupils’ parents – The Guardian

Posted February 17th, 2025 in bullying, damages, families, harassment, news, school children, teachers by sally

‘A secondary school headteacher has been paid damages in the settlement of a legal claim against abusive parents who he alleged launched a campaign of harassment against him, including turning up at his family home and verbally abusing him at the school gates.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s sentence not unduly lenient, attorney general says – The Independent

‘Southport killer Axel Rudakubana’s sentence was not unduly lenient and will not be referred to the Court of Appeal, the attorney general has said.’

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The Independent, 14th February 2025

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Non disclosure and adverse inferences – Becket Chambers

‘A common complaint of parties to financial remedy proceedings is they are often dissatisfied with the level of disclosure provided by their former spouse. In practical terms, what can a Court realistically do? Much depends on the nature of any non-disclosure. Sadly, it is fairly common for spouses to try to hide assets or evade disclosing them. Whilst it happens all too frequently, it does not mean we should turn a blind eye to it and just accept it is happening. This article provides some practical tips to maximise the power of the adverse inference.’

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Becket Chambers, 10th February 2025

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

Up to 140,000 blood scandal relatives may claim compensation – BBC News

Posted February 13th, 2025 in bereavement, blood products, compensation, families, government departments, HIV, news by sally

‘As many as 140,000 bereaved parents, children and siblings of infected blood scandal victims may claim compensation under new laws laid before Parliament.’

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BBC News, 12th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

NHS trust fined £1.6m over failings in baby deaths – BBC News

‘An NHS trust has been fined £1.6m for “avoidable failings” connected to the deaths of three babies in 2021.’

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BBC News, 12th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge’s sperm donor warning over man who ‘fathered 180 children’ – BBC News

‘A sperm donor who claims to have fathered more than 180 children has been used by a judge to warn of the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.’

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BBC News, 11th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Bereaved parents launch court challenge over UK benefit ‘discrimination’ – The Guardian

Posted February 11th, 2025 in benefits, bereavement, children, civil partnerships, families, human rights, marriage, news by sally

‘Two bereaved parents have filed a case at the European court of human rights, claiming that the UK government’s treatment of them is discriminatory.’

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The Guardian, 8th February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

What to Do Where One Spouse Will Not Co-operate with a Court-Ordered Sale? – Financial Remedies Journal

‘The recently reported case of WZ v HZ [2024] EWFC 407 (B) (1 May 2024) provides guidance on how to manage the common occurrence of one spouse holding out in the family home despite an order for sale.’

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Financial Remedies Journal, 6th February 2025

Source: financialremediesjournal.com

Home Office ordered to pay £100,000 to asylum seeker whose life it ‘grossly restricted’ – The Guardian

‘The Home Office must pay £100,000 to an asylum seeker who was unlawfully detained before her ability to work, buy food and socialise was “grossly restricted”, the high court has said.’

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The Guardian, 6th February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Local authorities cannot authorise deprivations of liberty of children in care, Court of Appeal rules – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal over whether a local authority can authorise the deprivation of liberty of a 14-year-old boy in exercise of its parental responsibility under a care order.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th February 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk