‘Companies that persistently breach environmental regulations should expect a “substantial increase” in fines levied for their second and subsequent offences, judges in the Court of Appeal have warned.’
OUT-LAW.com, 12th June 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Water and sewage utility companies are “public authorities” for the purposes of the environmental information regulations, and are bound by them accordingly, the Administrative Appeals Chamber of the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 16th April 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Ofwat has confirmed that Bristol Water has committed to change its procedures and structures to address an alleged abuse of dominance in the provision of water infrastructure.’
Full story (PDF)
Zenith Chambers, 1st April 2015
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
‘As my colleague Robin Hopkins has warned, the decision of the Upper Tribunal in Fish Legal looks like a pretty big beast: sixty pages on whether water companies are public authorities for the purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations, applying the CJEU’s lengthy ruling on the points of principle (for which, see this post by Chris Knight).’
Panopticon, 24th February 2015
Source: www.panopticonblog.com
‘Under the Water Industry Act 1991 sewerage undertakers were impliedly empowered to discharge surface water and other non-pollutant water into private watercourses to which they were already discharging at the time the Act came into force, but had no right to create new outfalls into such watercourses without the agreement of their owners.’
WLR Daily, 2nd July 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Supreme Court, 2nd July 2014
‘In Ground Rents (Regisport) Ltd v Dowlen [2014] UKUT 144 (LC), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) had to – once again – grapple with s.20B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The facts are quite straightforward. Imagine, if you will, that there is a modern development of three blocks of flats. It was developed by Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd, who were also the original landlords under all the long leases. Once the leases had been created, the freehold was transferred to the appellant.’
NearlyLegal, 13th June 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
“There are those who say that service charges are a dry subject. To them I say, welcome to Wallace-Jarvis v (1) Optima (Cambridge) Ltd (2) Khazai [2013] UKUT 328 (LC).”
NearlyLegal, 29th July 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
“The breach by a sewerage undertaker of its duty under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991 to permit connection of a private sewer to the public sewer did not give rise to a liability in nuisance.”
WLR Daily, 27th March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The Competition Appeal Tribunal today delivered that rarest of beasts: a judgment awarding damages in a follow-on claim. After its decade-long fight, Albion Water has been awarded around £2 million for Dŵr Cymru’s abuse of dominant position in relation to the price it was prepared to charge Albion for the use of its water pipes.”
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 28th March 2013
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
“Companies responsible for the operation of the sewer networks in England and
Wales can be found criminally liable for unlicensed depositing of controlled
waste even where that deposit of waste is unintentional, the High Court has
ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 27th March 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
An unintended escape of sewage amounted to a “deposit” for the purpose of an offence under section 33(1)(a) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
WLR Daily, 20th March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Water Industry (Financial Assistance) Act 2012 published
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
“An operator carrying out activities authorised by legislation is immune from common law nuisance liability unless the claimant can prove negligence. Any damages for such a nuisance will constitute ‘sufficient just satisfaction’ for the purpose of the Human Rights Act; even if breach of a Convention right is proved, no further remedy will be available.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 2nd January 2012
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“A Thames Water radio advert has been banned after the firm failed to honour a promise not to back-date bills for people taking part in an amnesty.”
BBC News, 12th May 2011
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Thames Water has agreed to pay £60,000 in compensation to customers after it admitted ignoring thousands of complaints following an email blunder.”
Daily Telegraph, 29th October 2010
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Hertfordshire County Council v Veolia Water Central Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 887; [2010] WLR (D) 200
“In order to avoid absurdity, s 81 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and regs 3 and 4 of the Street Works (Maintenance) Regulations 1992 had to be given a purposive interpretation, meaning that the power of a street authority to undertake emergency works under reg 4 was conditional upon an inspection having been undertaken under reg 3 only where appropriate.”
WLR Daily, 28th July 2010
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Britain’s water companies were ordered yesterday to slash 4 per cent from their bills by 2015 in a rare piece of good news for millions of hard-pressed consumers.”
The Times, 24th July 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Severn Trent, the UK’s second largest water company, was today fined £2 million at the Old Bailey for misreporting leakage information in a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).”
The Times, 1st July 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The Serious Fraud Office is charging Severn Trent with three criminal offences for supplying inaccurate leakage data to Ofwat, the water regulator.”
The Independent, 23rd November 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
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