Reforms to UK trade mark laws take effect – OUT-LAW.com
‘Businesses should note changes made to UK trade mark laws that came into effect on Monday, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 14th January 2019
Source: www.out-law.com
Whether Rates Proposal Invalidated by Omission – Local Government Law
‘In Alam v Valuation Officer (2018) UKUT 266 (LC) Mr Alam is the proprietor of the restaurant. He took a lease of a Property. His agents submitted a proposal to reduce the rateable value of the Property. In their proposal they stated correctly that Mr Alam was the occupier of the Property but also stated that the Property was “owner/occupied”. The proposal was completed in that way because of a misunderstanding between Mr Alam and his agents. As a result, the agents did not include any information in response to the question “if not owner/occupied, is a rent or licence fee paid?” and, in particular, did not state the rent payable, the date it had first become payable and the date of the next rent review. All of this was information required by Regulation 6(3) of the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009 (“the 2009 Regulations”). The issue in Mr Alam’s appeal to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) concerned the consequence of the mis-statement of the capacity in which Mr Alam occupied the Property and the omission of any information about the rent payable. The Valuation Tribunal for England (“VTE”) found that the proposal was invalid, explaining: “… in whatever circumstances to omit the rent from the proposal was a substantial failure to comply with the Regulations. The panel was therefore persuaded that the error was so fundamental that the proposal could not in any circumstances be treated as valid.” ‘
Local Government Law, 9th January 2019
Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com
Court relaxes costs rule for PI claim heading towards multi-track – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A PI claimant who had applied for re-allocation from the fast track to the multi-track – only for the defendant to settle before it reached that stage – will be allowed to recover assessed rather than fixed costs, a court has ruled.’
Law Society's Gazette, 14th January 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Knifeman shot by police ‘lawfully killed’ – BBC News
‘A knife-wielding man shot by police after imprisoning his fiancée in his flat was lawfully killed, an inquest has concluded.’
BBC News, 14th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
West Midlands Police ‘fails to record 16,600 violent crimes’ – BBC News
‘West Midlands Police is “failing victims” and not recording more than 16,600 violent crimes each year, a watchdog has said.’
BBC News, 15th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Woman ordered not to contact son spared jail for going to parents’ evening – The Guardian
‘A woman under orders not to contact her son has been spared jail for accepting an invitation to attend a parents’ evening at his London school.’
The Guardian, 14th January 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Student who sparked Newcastle bomb scare with artwork on bridge given community service – The Independent
‘A student who sparked a bomb scare by attaching piece of art to a bridge has been sentenced to 90 hours of community service.’
The Independent, 15th January 2019
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Homeless family ‘can’t use £500,000 trust fund’ – BBC News
‘A woman awarded £500,000 after being left with severe physical and mental disabilities is homeless after her mother was barred from buying them a home with the money.’
BBC News, 14th January 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Infrastructure Planning (Water Resources) (England) Order 2019
The Postal and Parcel Services (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018
The Leghold Trap and Pelt Imports (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
The Protocol 1 to the EEA Agreement (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
The Weights and Measures etc. (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
The Blood Safety and Quality (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
The International Driving Permits (Fees) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019
The Finance Act 2004 (Standard Lifetime Allowance) Regulations 2019
The Online Pornography (Commercial Basis) Regulations 2019
BAILII: Recent Decisions
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Deansgate 123 LLP v Workman & Anor [2019] EWHC 2 (Ch) (11 January 2019)
Source: www.bailii.org
More flexibility, but potentially more disputes, after UK highways case – OUT-LAW.com
‘A recent UK Supreme Court decision on the common law meaning of ‘highway’ will have significant implications for property developers, an expert has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 11th January 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
London borough acted unlawfully in dismissing three housing officers, tribunal rules – Local Government Lawyer
‘The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham acted unlawfully when it dismissed three housing officers, an Employment Tribunal has ruled. The ruling of the East London Employment Tribunal was handed down last month (27 December), following a hearing in October and November 2018. The council dismissed the three employees in the summer of 2017, suggesting that their roles were redundant. However, the Employment Judge ruled that in reality their roles were not redundant and that all three employees were unfairly dismissed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th January 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Court orders insurer to cover negligent solicitors’ unpaid costs – Legal Futures
‘The insurer of a negligent Italian law firm operating in London has been ordered to pay £3m in costs to the victims after the lawyers failed to pay up.’
Legal Futures, 14th January 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Opinion: Why do we separate the mother and child victims of domestic abuse? – Family Law
‘Domestic abuse hurts children, whether they are the direct target, or find themselves witness to warfare in their home. The latest government figures show that half of all children assessed as needing social services support are in that plight through domestic abuse – and when social workers feel a child is no longer safe at home, they can be removed into the care system. This means being taken away from their mothers – typically the victim in all this. But she’s not usually the one being violent. Most often, it’s the children’s father or stepfather who is. As rates of reported domestic abuse soar – incidents sufficiently serious to be recorded by police as crimes rose 5% between 2016 and 2017, according to the Office for National Statistics – it’s estimated by the charity Safe Lives that 130,000 children live in households with “high‑risk” domestic abuse. So why are victims investigated by social services, rather than the perpetrators who cause such physical and mental harm?’
Family Law, 14th January 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Summary: What offences may be committed if someone is shouted at or approached by another person in the street? – Crown Prosecution Service
‘This summary does not cover every eventuality but intends to outline some of the possible criminal offences that may be committed. It should not be treated as legal advice and is not meant to be an exhaustive account of this area of law.
The police are responsible for investigating an allegation that a crime has been committed. Following investigation, the decision whether to charge a person with a criminal offence lies either with the police or the CPS.
Where a series of existing offences – including harassment and public order offences – are committed, and such an offence was motivated by hostility to race or religion, or was accompanied by hostility to race or religion proximate to the commission of the offence, a separate racially or religious aggravated offence is committed attracting a greater penalty. For further details, see the CPS-published guidance on this website. For those offences not covered but where hostility or hostile motivation towards race or religion is present, or hostility or hostile motivation towards disability, sexual orientation or transgender is present, this must be treated as an aggravating factor at sentence and stated as such in open court.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 11th January 2018
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Financial Remedy & Divorce Update, January 2019 – Family Law Week
‘Rose-Marie Drury, Senior Associate, and Sue Brookes, Principal Associate, Mills & Reeve LLP analyse the news and case law relating to financial remedies and divorce during December 2018.’
Family Law Week, 11th January 2018
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Grayling under fire as serious crimes committed on parole soar by 50% – The Guardian
‘The number of rapes, murders and other serious crimes committed by offenders on parole has risen by more than 50% since reforms to probation were introduced four years ago, according to official data that has triggered calls for the government to rethink its plans for another shake-up of the service.’
The Guardian, 12th January 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Prison sentences: Charities and probation staff union welcome proposals – BBC News
‘Ministers are being warned that a proposal to scrap prison sentences of six months or less will only work if there is more investment in the probation services. The government says this approach in England and Wales’ prisons could reduce overcrowding and re-offending.’
BBC News, 12th January 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
