‘Southern Water has been fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea. The company admitted 6,971 illegal spills from 17 sites in Hampshire, Kent and West Sussex between 2010 and 2015.’
BBC news, 10th July 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Southern Water has denied deliberately dumping raw sewage into seas and rivers on thousands of occasions to avoid investing in its treatment works.’
BBC News, 8th July 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘People flooded out of their homes after a mine blow-out say it is “disgusting” the Coal Authority is refusing to accept liability for the damage caused.’
BBC News, 25th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘This note considers the judgment of Turner J in the Technology and Construction Court of 10 November 2020 in the case of Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group plc, BHP Billiton plc and BHP Group Ltd. In that judgment, Turner J struck out a claim by a very large group of claimants for compensation for damage caused by the 2015 collapse of the Fundão Dam in South Eastern Brazil, in which over 40 million cubic metres of tailings washed into the Doce River with massive human, environmental, and economic cost. This note presents the factual background of the case and sets out the most relevant features of the judgment for the practice of mass tort litigation in the multinational context.’
Blackstone Chambers, 15th February 2021
Source: www.blackstonechambers.com
‘The High Court has struck out claims brought by more than 200,000 Brazilian claimants in the English courts against British and Australian holding companies in relation to the collapse of the Fundao Dam in Brazil in 2015. In Municipo de Mariana v BHP Group PLC ([2020] EWHC 2930 (TCC)) Turner J found the claims to be an abuse of process and also considered that, in the alternative, the proceedings should be stayed under the Recast Brussels Regulation and on the basis of forum non conveniens. While Turner J emphasised that the factual background of this case was central to his conclusions, his judgment contains a detailed analysis of the relevant caselaw and his consideration of the facts surrounding the claim will no doubt be of interest to parties involved in similar cross-jurisdictional and group actions. Charles Gibson QC led the Counsel team for the Defendants.’
Henderson Chambers, 19th November 2020
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames has lost its appeal to the Court of Appeal over a High Court ruling that it overcharged tenants for water.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th October 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Britain’s competition watchdog has sided with water suppliers in a row over the regulator’s plan to reduce industry revenues in order to cut an average of £50 a year from water bills.’
The Guardian, 29th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A coalition of river and sea organisations is calling for targets for water companies to reduce sewage discharges to be included in the upcoming environment bill.’
The Guardian, 28th September 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Charles Morgan, Christopher Badger and Mark Davies consider a Court of Appeal case on the meaning of exempt waste operations, a new report on financing energy efficient buildings and the impact of COVID-19 on the aqueous environment.’
Six Pump Court, 26th May 2020
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Charles Morgan, Gordon Wignall and Natasha Hausdorff consider recent flooding events in the UK, the Tate Gallery viewing platform case and the rise in fly-tipping and organised crime.’
Six Pump Court, 19th February 2020
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
‘Ofwat, the water regulator, has ordered water companies in England and Wales to cut bills for customers by £50 over five years and spend £51bn on improving services and investment in infrastructure.’
The Guardian, 16th December 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Local authorities and housing associations could face having to refund millions of pounds to tenants after a council lost a test case in the High Court on water re-selling, it has been claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 2nd December 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Royal Borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames v Moss (2019) EWHC 3261 (Ch). Ever since Jones v London Borough of Southwark (2016) EWHC 457 (Ch) (our report), the position on water rates taken as rent by a number of London Councils and Housing Associations under agreements with Thames Water has been conflicted. Some councils (including Southwark) refunded tenants the ‘discount’ that they had received. Other councils did nothing, and frantically tried to settle and defence to rent arrears possession proceedings that raised the water rates point (not always successfully), in the hope and expectation that someone else would take another case to the High Court and overturn or distinguish Jones.’
Nearly Legal, 1st December 2019
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Anglers are “appalled and dismayed” at the decision not to prosecute a company that polluted a river, killing about 18,000 fish.’
BBC News, 2nd September 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Christopher Badger considers the decision by Ofwat to impose a financial penalty on Southern Water for failings in the performance of its wastewater operations, the imposition of over £3.7 million of civil sanctions on charitable organisations for environmental offences and further developments in the Manchester Ship Canal case.’
Six Pump Court, 26th June 2019
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
‘Southern Water faces prosecution by the Environment Agency after being handed a record £126m penalty by the water regulator over “shocking” failures at its sewage treatment sites.’
The Guardian, 25th June 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In this latest Environmental Law News Update, Charles Morgan, Gordon Wignall, Christopher Badger and Mark Davies consider the EU Exit Legal Position on the Withdrawal Agreement and the Attorney General’s Legal Advice, the Draft National Policy Statement for Water Resources Infrastructure and an important case about the courts’ approach to the balance between private rights and the public interest.’
Six Pump Court, 10th December 2018
Source: www.6pumpcourt.co.uk
‘The wife of Britain’s most controversial buy-to-let landlord, Fergus Wilson, has been ordered to pay £25,000 in fines and legal costs after a court ruled that she had failed to supply hot water to a disabled tenant.’
The Guardian, 12th December 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The High Court was entitled to use its discretion to grant Vauxhall Motors relief from forfeiture of its licence to discharge surface water into the Manchester Ship Canal, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 25th May 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
‘When the supply of gas to your house fails, you are entitled to compensation from the gas undertaker for the inconvenience. If that failure has been caused by another utility’s burst water main, the gas undertaker may seek to recoup its expenses for repair to its own infrastructure and the compensation it has had to pay out to consumers. A simple enough picture.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd February 2018
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
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