Owens: unreasonable behaviour on trial – New Law Journal

Posted June 18th, 2018 in divorce, marriage, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 17 May, the Supreme Court heard the case of Owens v Owens . It is the first time that the ‘fault based’ divorce provisions in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973) have been considered by the highest court.’

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New Law Journal, 15th June 2018

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Judges uphold listing of field as asset of community value despite trespassing – Local Government Lawyer

‘An open space can be designated as an asset of community value even if its present use is one arising from trespass, the Court Of Appeal has said.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st May 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Case Comment: R (Gibson) v Secretary of State for Justice [2018] UKSC 2 – Supreme Court Blog

Posted April 23rd, 2018 in confiscation, enforcement, news, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by tracey

‘On one view this is perhaps the most esoteric of the 28 appeals regarding the confiscation or civil recovery legislation which have been determined by the House of Lords, Privy Council or Supreme Court over the past 24 years.’

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Supreme Court Blog, 20th April 2018

Source: ukscblog.com

Robert Craig: The Fall-out from Evans: Positioning Roszkowski and Privacy International in a Post-Evans Constitutional Landscape (Part 2) – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘This post is in two parts. The first post (available here) addressed the detail of McCombe LJ’s judgment in Roszkowski v Secretary State for the Home Department (‘Roszkowski’) and in particular the impact of the differing judgments in R (Evans) v Attorney General (‘Evans’). This second post puts forward an alternative argument not canvassed in Evans or Roszkowski. A version of the argument was first suggested in a case note on Evans written by the author in the Modern Law Review. This second post also addresses some implications for Privacy International.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 11th December 2017

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Thomas Fairclough: Privacy International: Constitutional Substance over Semantics in Reading Ouster Clauses – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘I have previously written on this blog and elsewhere about statutory interpretation and the rule of law. In the previous blog post I stated that the idea “that the courts will not allow the executive to escape their jurisdiction is well established as part of the rule of law” and referenced, inter alia, Anisminic Ltd v Foreign Compensation Commission [1969] 2 AC 147 (HL) to support this view.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 4th December 2017

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Intentional Homelessness: Whether 2-Years Renting Amounted to Settled Accommodation – Garden Court Chambers

‘In November 2010 the appellant, Mr Doka, was evicted from his home at Laburnam Close in South East London on the basis of rent arrears. His former employer, Mr Theobald, subsequently allowed him to stay in his home in Dartford. The arrangement was initially meant to be a temporary one. But after a few weeks the arrangement was put on a more stable footing, with Mr Theobald agreeing to provide what he described as ‘full-time accommodation’, allowing Mr Doka to sleep in his son’s bedroom (while his son was away at University) for £500 a month. Mr Theobald told Mr Doka that he could live there for two-three years, while his son finished at University, though Mr Doka would be required to stay with friend’s on occasion if Mr Theobald’s son returned and needed the use of the room.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 10th November 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

‘Significantly More Vulnerable’: The Court of Appeal Explains – Garden Court Chambers

‘At [53] of Hotak v Southwark LBC [2015] UKSC 30, [2016] AC 811, Lord Neuberger explained that whether or not a homeless applicant was ‘vulnerable’ within the meaning of s189(1)(c) Housing Act 1996 required consideration of whether he or she would be ‘significantly more vulnerable than ordinarily vulnerable’ as a result of being rendered homeless. In the conjoined appeals of Panayiotou and Smith, the Court of Appeal considered the meaning of the word ‘significantly’ in this context as well as a number of issues relating to the contracting out of homelessness decision making in instances where the public sector equality duty under s149 Equality Act 2010 is engaged.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 10th November 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Local Authority Decisions on Level of Fees They Will Pay For Residential Care Under National Assistance Act 1948 (Pre-Care Act 2014) – Garden Court Chambers

‘This case concerned care costs for residential care homes and Local authorities’ powers and duties. In summary the Court of Appeal held by a majority that there was nothing in the applicable guidance that precluded a local authority from taking account of certain revenue streams (namely private fees, top-up payments and support from the NHS) when making the evaluative judgment of what it would expect to pay for residential care for the elderly.’

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Garden Court Chambers, 10th November 2017

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Contributory negligence and construction contracts – Hardwicke Chambers

‘A plethora of issues were raised, and disposed of, by Fraser J’s recently handed-down judgment in Riva Properties and others v Foster + Partners Ltd, the most awkwardly entertaining one being the sense of pantomime arising from the court’s clear disapproval of the architect’s behaviour, which was described at various stages as “grubby”, “disingenuous” and “wholly unprofessional”.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 10th November 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Reasonable Belief in Adverse Possession – 14 Years Later – Hardwicke Chambers

‘The doctrine of adverse possession arises from the Limitation Act 1980. Section 15(1) provides that no action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the right of action accrued. Sections 1-7 provide that at the expiration of the period of 12 years the title of the paper owner is extinguished. The claim of a person to a possessory title was therefore based on the negative effect of the extinguishment of the paper owner’s title, and the basic principle that what is required for a case in trespass is not ownership, but possession or a right to possession.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 9th November 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Importation of Child Sex Dolls – A Need for Guidance? – Drystone Chambers

‘In recent months, there have been a number of prosecutions under the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (CEMA); an Act drafted in the latter part of the last century and covering the physical importation of “prohibited items” into the UK and the evasion of duties more generally. At the time, the Act caught those seeking to import pornographic videos and magazines.’

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Drystone Chambers, 26th October 2017

Source: drystone.com

Know your limitation – New Law Journal

Posted November 22nd, 2017 in damages, limitations, negligence, news, statutory interpretation, taxation, time limits by sally

‘A number of hot topics in the professional negligence arena came before Mrs Justice Moulder in the recent case of Halsall and Others v Champion Consulting Limited and Others [2017] EWHC 1079 (QB), [2017] All ER (D) 44 (Jun). The result ultimately turned on the application of s 14A of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) and the claim, which otherwise would have succeeded, was dismissed as statute barred. But was the decision on limitation correct?’

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New Law Journal, 27th October 2017

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Autumn Newsletter – Falcon Chambers

– Prescriptive easements – a glass half-full: out with the negative; in with the positive 10

– Keeping the Title Clean: Unwanted Notices and Restrictions 12

– Estoppel in Pre-Contractual Negotiations 15

– The Curse of the Freebie 17

– Voidable and no Mistake 20

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Falcon Chambers, November 2017

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Court of Appeal rejects challenge over power to close parks for festivals – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has rejected an attempt to stop London boroughs holding large music festivals in public parks, setting up a potential Supreme Court challenge.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st November 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Treat Insolvency Rules as ‘a complete code’ for payment of statutory interest, rules Court of Appeal – OUT-LAW.com

‘The Court of Appeal has determined the extent of creditors’ entitlements to statutory interest on their debts and the correct approach for calculating their entitlement. It has ruled on the entitlement of representative creditors of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE) to the surplus funds and on the calculation of the statutory interest due to them.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th November 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Financial claims for children following parental separation: child maintenance and Schedule 1 – Family Law

Posted November 6th, 2017 in child support, judges, legislation, news, statutory interpretation by tracey

‘In the recent case of Green v Adams [2017] EWFC 24 Mr Justice Mostyn discussed the constraints of child support and the perceived shortcomings in the latest child maintenance regime (introduced by the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008).’

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Family Law, 3rd Niovember 2017

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Regulators can be taken to employment tribunals, Supreme Court rules – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Solicitors claiming wrongful dismissal can potentially hold the Solicitors Regulation Authority to account in the employment tribunal following a Supreme Court judgment which clarifies rules on bringing complaints against qualifications bodies. The long-running case Michalak v General Medical Council and others centred on a discrimination complaint brought against the medical regulator by Dr Ewa Michalak. The SRA intervened in support of the GMC.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 3rd November 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Self-driving cars and “safety-critical” software updates – Technology Law Blog

‘As noted previously, the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill currently under consideration by Parliament includes draft rules concerning the insurance of “automated” vehicles – being vehicles “designed or adapted to be capable, in at least some circumstances or situations, of safely driving themselves”. Tesla, Volvo, and BMW amongst others have already developed vehicles with limited self-driving capabilities, although fully autonomous vehicles (i.e. those actually capable of driving themselves) are still in the testing phase.’

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Technology Law Blog, 30th October 2017

Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk

High Court: TV formats can be protected by copyright even if elements of the shows are spontaneous or changeable – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 27th, 2017 in confidentiality, copyright, documents, media, news, statutory interpretation by sally

‘Media companies that create TV game or quiz shows can win copyright protection for the format of those programmes in certain circumstances, the High Court in London has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 26th October 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

Bridge is not a sport and can’t have tax break, says European Court of Justice – Daily Telegraph

Posted October 27th, 2017 in EC law, international courts, news, sport, statutory interpretation, VAT by sally

‘Bridge is not a sport, European Union judges ruled today, in a decision that dealt a blow to British clubs’ hopes of a VAT tax break.’

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Daily Telegraph, 26th October 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk