Suspending belief – Nearly Legal

Posted December 15th, 2014 in appeals, equity, land registration, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘We have dealt with the basic facts in Scott v Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd [2014] UKSC 52 when considering its previous incarnations (Cooke v Mortgage Business [2012] EWCA Civ 17 and Re North East Property Buyers Ltd [2010] EWHC 2991 (Ch)). In summary, the basic question for the Supreme Court was this: where a seller has agreed, prior to the contract of sale, that the buyer will grant the seller a tenancy after the sale, does the seller have that right so as not only to bind the buyer but also the buyer’s lender? I think, when framed as a question like that, the answer seems obvious. Call me a weak-kneed liberal, but all the equity (colloquially speaking) is in favour of the seller. They have entered in to the transaction on that basis and would not have entered in to the transaction otherwise. We all make bad deals which the law doesn’t get us out of, but the equity isn’t really in our favour: why should the law get us out of a bad deal?’

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Nearly Legal, 14th December 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Conscious Re-coupling and Succession – Nearly Legal

‘In R (Turley) v LB Wandsworth , the Claimant was the partner of the late Mr Doyle, who was the secure tenant of a property at Battersea Park Rd, London, SW8 from 1995 until his death on 17/3/2012. Mr D and Ms T had 4 children together and they lived at the property throughout, apart from a critically important period of separation between December 2010 and January 2012.

Ms T applied to succeed to the secure tenancy but the council decided that because she had not resided at the property for the 12 months immediately preceding Mr D’s death, she did not qualify to succeed. Ms T brought judicial review proceedings against that decision.’

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Nearly Legal, 14th December 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

High Court judge quashes selective licensing scheme over consultation failings – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 15th, 2014 in appeals, consultations, housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, local government, news by sally

‘The High Court has quashed a selective licensing scheme that Enfield Council was seeking to apply to the entire borough.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

HMRC raid on claims management company was lawful, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

‘HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) did not act unlawfully when it searched and removed files from a claims management company it was investigating, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th December 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Solicitors From Hell founder wins surprise High Court victory – Legal Futures

Posted December 15th, 2014 in harassment, injunctions, law firms, news, solicitors by sally

‘He has been sued 18 times in relation to the website he founded, and lost each time, but now Rick Kordowski, the man behind SolicitorsFromHell.co.uk, has recorded an unexpected High Court win.’

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Legal Futures, 15th December 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Chai v Peng Undermining the purpose of “forum conveniens?” – Family Law Week

Posted December 15th, 2014 in abuse of process, appeals, divorce, estoppel, jurisdiction, news, stay of proceedings by sally

‘Tim Scott QC, Peter Duckworth and James Pullen, all of 29 Bedford Row who represented Dr Kay Peng Khoo in Chai v Peng, analyse the proceedings to date.’

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Family Law Week, 11th December 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Representing Transgendered Clients – a guide for family lawyers – Family Law Week

Posted December 15th, 2014 in barristers, civil partnerships, legal representation, marriage, news, solicitors by sally

‘Lyndsey Sambrooks-Wright, barrister of 2 Dr Johnson’s Buildings, offers a guide to the Gender Recognition Act 2004.’

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Family Law week, 11th December 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

DWP urged to publish inquiries on benefit claimant suicides – The Guardian

‘The Department for Work and Pensions has been urged by mental health and disability charities to publish its secret investigations into suicides that may have some link to benefit changes, following revelations that it has carried out internal reviews into 60 such cases.’

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The Guardian, 14th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Policing cuts put public safety at risk, warns Met chief – Daily Telegraph

‘The head of the Metropolitan Police has warned that large cuts to police budgets and other services will put public safety at risk.’

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Daily Telegraph, 14th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Terror law reform signals fundamental shift – BBC News

Posted December 15th, 2014 in bills, confiscation, freedom of movement, news, passports, police, terrorism by sally

‘Monday sees the return of the government’s Counter Terrorism and Security Bill to the Commons where MPs will get their say on the legislation’s most controversial measure: should ministers be able to ban British citizens from coming home?’

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BBC News, 15th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family of Ben Needham to sue Home Office for funding of police operation – The Guardian

‘Ben Needham’s family is preparing to take the home secretary to court in an attempt to secure funding for British police to pursue suspects who might be linked to the toddler’s disappearance 23 years ago.’

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The Guardian, 15th December 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Mohammed Rafiq, 80, guilty of acid revenge attack on teenage ex – BBC News

Posted December 12th, 2014 in assault, conspiracy, grievous bodily harm, news by sally

‘An 80-year-old man has been convicted of masterminding an acid revenge attack on his teenage ex-lover.’

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BBC News, 12th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tribunal adopts a literal interpretation of the provisions in allowing the taxpayer’s appeal – RPC Tax Take

Posted December 12th, 2014 in appeals, income tax, news, shareholders, tax avoidance, tax credits by sally

‘In Philip Shirley v HMRC, [1] the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) (FTT) concluded that a provision in a statute rewritten as part of the Tax Law Rewrite Project should be literally interpreted as the wording in question was clear and unambiguous.’

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RPC Tax Take, 11th December 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

SFO makes first use of Bribery Act in prosecution for fraudulent UCIS – RPC Financial Services Blog

Posted December 12th, 2014 in bribery, conspiracy, fraud, news, prosecutions by sally

‘Earlier this week three individuals were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court following the first prosecution by the SFO under the Bribery Act 2010. The case hasn’t give us a meaningful judicial interpretation of the Bribery Act, but it does show that the SFO is prepared to use the Act and the case also serves as a further example of the risks of investing through a SIPP into an investment that seems too good to be true.’

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RPC Financial Services Blog, 11th December 2014

Source: www.rpc.co.uk

Being Human Event – The Humanity of Judging – Supreme Court

Posted December 12th, 2014 in judiciary, news, Supreme Court by sally

Being Human Event – The Humanity of Judging (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 19th November 2014

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

High Court judge bemoans “appalling” level of costs in insurance dispute – Litigation Futures

Posted December 12th, 2014 in civil procedure rules, costs, news, part 36 offers by sally

‘A case in which £7m in legal costs were racked up over a dispute worth £904,000 is “an appalling state of affairs which brings no credit to modern commercial litigation”, a High Court judge declared yesterday.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th December 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Consumer Rights Bill: new rules on liability proposed for digital content suppliers – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 12th, 2014 in bills, computer programs, consumer protection, contracts, electronic commerce, news by sally

‘Businesses that supply digital content to consumers would be able to insert contract terms that would exclude them from liability for damage caused by their content to consumers’ devices or other digital content, under proposed new consumer protection laws backed by UK law makers.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th December 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Do we need a Royal Commission for penal policy? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted December 12th, 2014 in news, prisons by sally

‘Recently Louis Blom-Cooper QC and Professor Sean McConville (QMUL) proposed that the next government set up a royal commission on prison policy.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 12th December 2014

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Ex-prison officer jailed for selling Jon Venables story – BBC News

Posted December 12th, 2014 in conspiracy, misfeasance in public office, news, sentencing by sally

‘An ex-prison officer has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for selling details about James Bulger’s killer to a journalist.’

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BBC News, 11th December 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal Voice conference report: Innovation in the delivery of legal services – LegalVoice

Posted December 12th, 2014 in civil justice, criminal justice, insurance, legal aid, news by sally

‘Roger Smith OBE made the case for 1% of the legal aid budget to be directed towards an ‘innovation fund’ to promote access to justice online. The former director of JUSTICE, who was delivering the keynote speech earlier this week at the 2014 Legal Voice conference, called upon Chris Grayling to ‘re-evaluate’ priorities and to deploy online help for initial advice.’

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LegalVoice, 11th December 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk