Colette McCulloch inquest: Autistic woman’s death ‘avoidable tragedy’ – BBC News
‘The death of an autistic woman hit by a lorry on the A1 was an “avoidable tragedy”, an inquest has heard.’
BBC News, 21st March 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Supreme Court
Takhar v Gracefield Developments Ltd & Ors [2019] UKSC 13 (20 March 2019)
SAE Education Ltd v Revenue and Customs [2019] UKSC 14 (20 March 2019)
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
Easy Rent A Car Ltd & Anor v Easygroup Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 477 (20 March 2019)
Matthew & Ors v Sedman & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 475 (20 March 2019)
Salix Homes v Mantato [2019] EWCA Civ 445 (20 March 2019)
Christianuyi Ltd & Ors v Revenue And Customs [2019] EWCA Civ 474 (19 March 2019)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
YZ & Anor, R. v [2019] EWCA Crim 466 (19 March 2019)
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Freshasia Foods Ltd v Lu [2019] EWHC 638 (Ch) (20 March 2019)
Source: www.bailii.org
Police and council acted unlawfully when using 1847 law to seize sheep – Local Government Lawyer
‘A council and the police acted unlawfully when they used a Victorian law against a shepherd whose sheep had entered a village.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st March 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
NHS employee fined for unlawfully accessing personal records – Local Government Lawyer
‘An employee of an NHS Foundation Trust in the West Midlands has been fined for unlawfully accessing the personal records of 14 individuals.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st March 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Supreme Court allows ‘reasonable diligence’ appeal in fraud claim – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A person who applies to set aside a judgment on the basis of fraud does not have to demonstrate that the fraud could not have been spotted with reasonable diligence, the Supreme Court has ruled. The judgment in Takhar v Gracefield Developments Limited and others seeks to resolve a ‘bare-knuckle’ conflict between two long-standing principles of public law: that fraud unravels all and that there must come an end to litigation.’
Law Society's Gazette, 20th March 2019
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Barry Bennell expenses claim raises questions about Crewe’s legal defence – The Guardian
‘Here is the expenses claim from Barry Bennell that raises significant questions about the defence put forward by Crewe Alexandra’s lawyers to fight the high court claims lodged by victims of the paedophile coach. It shows Bennell claimed £5 per boy to accommodate them at his house during the years when he used his position as Crewe’s youth-team coach to feed what prosecutors have described as his “almost insatiable appetite for young boys”.’
The Guardian, 20th March 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Home Office refuses Christian convert asylum by quoting Bible passages that ‘prove Christianity is not peaceful’ – The Independent
‘The Home Office has refused asylum to a Christian convert by quoting Bible passages which it says prove Christianity is not a peaceful religion. The Iranian national, who claimed asylum in 2016, was told passages in the Bible were “inconsistent” with his claim to have converted to Christianity after discovering it was a “peaceful” faith.’
The Independent, 21st March 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Sheffield United’s Sophie Jones quits football after being found guilty of racial abuse, labels FA hearing a ‘kangaroo court’ – The Independent
‘Sheffield United’s Sophie Jones has claimed she will quit football after being found guilty of racially abusing Renee Hector by the FA. Jones labelled the FA’s hearing as a “kangaroo court” and says she can no longer play under a governing body who she “does not have any confidence in”. The FA reached a guilty verdict on Wednesday after Jones was alleged to have made monkey noises at Tottenham’s Renee Hector on 6 January in the Women’s Championship, with the 27-year-old receiving a five-match ban and being fined £200. Jones was subsequently sacked by Sheffield United.’
The Independent, 20th March 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Judge who banged her head on a desk during a court hearing was being ‘sarcastic and condescending” investigation rules – Daily Telegraph
‘ A “sarcastic and condescending” judge who banged her head on her desk after a member of the public appeared before her at a family court hearing has been reprimanded.’
Daily Telegraph, 20th March 2019
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Home Office overseeing ‘serious failings’ in almost every stage of immigration detention process, MPs warn – The Independent
‘The Home Office is overseeing “serious failings” in almost every stage of the immigration detention process, according to a new report which makes fresh calls for a time limit on detention.’
The Independent, 21st March 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Shamima Begum family challenge Javid’s citizenship decision – The Guardian
‘The family of Shamima Begum has formally started court challenges against the home secretary, saying Sajid Javid’s decision to strip the teenager of her citizenship is unfair because hundreds of Britons who went to Islamic State territory have been allowed back.’
The Guardian, 20th March 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Lorraine Kelly wins £1.2m tax case against HMRC over ITV work – BBC News
‘Lorraine Kelly has won a row over a £1.2m tax bill, after a judge ruled she was not employed by ITV, but performs as her “chatty” TV persona.’
BBC News, 21st March 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Case Analysis: Fearn v Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2018] EWHC 246 (Ch) – Tanfield Chambers
‘The claim related to a public viewing platform on the 10th Floor of the Tate Modern art gallery in Central London. The gallery overlooked a modern residential development approx.35m away with striking floor to ceiling windows. As a result, visitors using the platform could see into the living areas of the flats. There was evidence that there were up to 300 visitors at a time, and that a significant minority waived and shouted at the occupiers of the flats, took photos and posted pictures of the interiors of the flats on social media. The owners of the flats brought a claim for private nuisance against the trustees of the gallery.’
Tanfield Chambers, 22nd February 2019
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Capacity to tweet? – Doughty Street Chambers
‘In two judgments (Re A and Re B) Cobb J has confirmed that capacity to make decisions about internet and social media use do not form a “subset” of of a person’s ability to make decisions about care or contact. Capacity to use the internet and social media are “inextricably linked; the internet is the communication platform on which social media operates. For present purposes, it does not make sense in my judgment to treat them as different things. It would, in my judgment, be impractical and unnecessary to assess capacity separately in relation to using the internet for social communications as to using it for entertainment, education, relaxation, and/or for gathering information.”‘
Doughty Street Chambers, 26th February 2019
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
Fundamental dishonesty “should lead to strike-out of whole claim” – Litigation Futures
‘A finding of fundamental dishonesty in a personal injury claim should mean an associated credit hire claim is also struck out, a circuit judge has ruled.’
Litigation Futures, 19th March 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Sailing to Byzantium – Blockchain and the art market – Tanfield Chambers
‘One of the great frustrations of reading about blockchain is that many of those who set themselves the task of explaining it tell you what they believe it does, rather than explaining what it is, and often what they think it does is received wisdom, leading their expositions to founder on the Scylla of over-simplification. Others, who do understand what it is, often presume on the part of a general readership a level of familiarity with what might appear to be arcane technical concepts which such a readership does not possess: anyone for Byzantine Fault Tolerance? Their expositions thus founder on the Charybdis of incomprehensibility to all but fellow experts. Neither approach really facilitates a consideration of the benefits nor an appreciation of the risks involved in the use of blockchain technology.’
Tanfield Chambers, 11th March 2019
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Judge: solicitors need “adequate cash flow” to fund med neg cases – Litigation Futures
‘Solicitors may refuse to take on medical negligence cases at an early stage if courts fail to ensure “adequate cash flow”, a circuit judge has warned.’
Litigation Futures, 19th March 2019
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
Domestic abusers ‘sewing GPS trackers into teddy bears’ – BBC News
‘Technology is increasingly being used by domestic abusers to trap, control or hunt down their victims, Refuge has told the Victoria Derbyshire programme.’
BBC News, 20th March 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Murder conviction quashed after detective hid relationship with juror – The Guardian
‘Three killers had their murder convictions quashed because a police officer involved in the case failed to disclose she knew one of the jurors in their trial, it has been revealed.’
The Guardian, 19th March 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
