Man jailed for stalking mother of murdered toddler James Bulger – The Guardian
‘A man has been jailed for stalking the mother of the murdered toddler James Bulger.’
The Guardian, 25th October 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk
The Family Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2016
The Water Act 2014 (Commencement No. 7 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2016
The National Police Records (Recordable Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2016
The Childcare Payments (Eligibility) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2016
The Childcare Payments (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2016
The Biofuels and Hydrocarbon Oil Duties (Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations 2016
The Aqua Methanol (Use as Additive or Extender) (Rates of Excise Duty) Order 2016
The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 (Consequential Amendments) (No. 2) Order 2016
The Deregulation Act 2015 (Commencement No. 6 and Savings Provision) Order 2016
Source: www.legislation.gov.uk
Woodfield v JJ Gallagher Ltd and others (Cherwell District Council and another as interested parties) – WLR Daily
‘The developers challenged the adoption by the council of a single policy in the local plan. The judge allowed the appeal and made an order that the Secretary of State appoint a planning inspector who would recommend adoption of the policy subject to a modification and that the council adopt the policy subject to that modification. The developers and the Secretary of State opposed an appeal brought by an objector who, although not a party below, was given permission to appeal.’
WLR Daily, 12th October 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Webber v Department for Education (Pensions Ombudsman intervening) – WLR Daily
Webber v Department for Education (Pensions Ombudsman intervening) [2016] EWHC 2519 (Ch)
‘The complainant was a teacher and a member of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. In November 2009 the pension scheme’s administrator wrote to the complainant seeking recovery of pension overpayments in respect of each year since 2002. The complainant made a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman, pursuant to Part X of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, in which he took a limitation defence. The administrator wrote to the ombudsman in December 2011, indicating it opposed the complaint. The ombudsman went on to reject the complainant’s limitation defence. On his appeal, the High Court held that the complainant had a limitation defence for the recovery of any overpayments made more than six years before the relevant date when the limitation period was to be regarded as having stopped. On a further determination, the ombudsman held that the relevant cut off date for the purposes of limitation was that of the November 2009 letter, namely, the date of an unequivocal demand.’
WLR Daily, 14th October 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
McPhee v The Queen – WLR Daily
McPhee v The Queen [2016] UKPC 29
‘The defendant, a 17-year-old from Nassau, was arrested on a neighbouring island of The Bahamas on suspicion of murder following an armed robbery. He gave his mother’s phone number in Nassau to the police but no contact with her was established and no lawyer was called. After more than 31 hours in custody, during which time the custody log showed he had been taken from his cell several times but without any record made of his being questioned, a church minister in his mid-seventies was asked to come to the police station to witness the defendant make a statement. The minister did not speak to the defendant alone nor offer him any advice, but observed that the defendant was hungry and gave the police money to buy him a meal, after which the defendant made a written statement under caution confessing to the murder. Apart from the confession the only evidence against the defendant was that of another defendant who became a prosecution witness during the trial. At trial, the defendant claimed that his statement had been made following torture and so was not admissible. The judge rejected the claim of torture but did not consider whether the taking of the defendant from his cells had been for the purpose of informal interrogation, or whether the minister could properly be said to have been acting as an “appropriate adult” for the witnessing of a juvenile’s confession, and allowed the confession to go before the jury. The defendant was convicted of murder. The conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The defendant appealed to the Privy Council on the grounds, inter alia, that the confession should have been excluded under section 20 of the Bahamas Evidence Act as being unreliable, by reason of the defendant having been subjected to unrecorded questioning in the absence of a lawyer or appropriate adult and in any event should have been excluded as unfair under section 178 of the Bahamas Evidence Act.’
WLR Daily, 24th October 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
BAILII: Recent Decisions
Court of Appeal (Civil Division)
HM Revenue & Customs v GMAC (UK) Plc [2016] EWCA Civ 1015 (25 October 2016)
HM Revenue & Customs v Infinity Distribution Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ 1014 (25 October 2016)
Infinis Energy Holdings Ltd v HM Treasury & Anor [2016] EWCA Civ 1030 (21 October 2016)
R (Child), Re [2016] EWCA Civ 1016 (20 October 2016)
Brogden & Anor v Investec Bank Plc [2016] EWCA Civ 1031 (20 October 2016)
Cardiff County Council v Lee (Flowers) [2016] EWCA Civ 1034 (19 October 2016)
Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Norman, R v [2016] EWCA Crim 1564 (20 October 2016)
Nelson & Anor, R v [2016] EWCA Crim 1517 (20 October 2016)
Geraghty v R [2016] EWCA Crim 1523 (18 October 2016)
High Court (Administrative Court)
High Court (Chancery Division)
Price v The Registrar of Companies & Anor [2016] EWHC 2640 (Ch) (25 October 2016)
Bramwell & Ors v Robinson [2016] EWHC B26 (Ch) (21 October 2016)
Heathcliffe Properties Ltd v Dodhia & Anor [2016] EWHC 2628 (Ch) (20 October 2016)
Abbott & Ors v RCI Europe [2016] EWHC 2602 (Ch) (20 October 2016)
Sovereign Trustees Ltd & Anor v Lewis [2016] EWHC 2593 (Ch) (18 October 2016)
High Court (Commercial Court)
Marathon Asset Management LLP & Anor v Seddon & Ors [2016] EWHC 2615 (Comm) (21 October 2016)
Transocean Drilling UK Ltd v Providence Resources Plc [2016] EWHC 2611 (Comm) (20 October 2016)
OJSC Bank of Moscow v Chernyakov & Ors [2016] EWHC 2583 (Comm) (20 October 2016)
High Court (Family Division)
J (A Minor), Re [2016] EWHC 2430 (Fam) (21 October 2016)
Thum v Thum [2016] EWHC 2634 (Fam) (21 October 2016)
J (A Minor), Re [2016] EWHC 2595 (Fam) (21 October 2016)
High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)
Rush Hair Ltd v Gibson-Forbes & Anor [2016] EWHC 2589
Lokhova v Longmuir [2016] EWHC 2579 (QB) (20 October 2016)
High Court (Technology and Construction Court)
Fluor Ltd v Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Ltd [2016] EWHC 2500 (TCC) (19 October 2016)
Supreme court case reopens debate over battlefield human rights – The Guardian
‘The political row over whether human rights law can be extended to the battlefield will be reopened this week in a supreme court case over the legality of detaining a Taliban suspect in Afghanistan.’
The Guardian, 25th October 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
High Court rejects security for costs application in face of £5m ATE policy – Litigation Futures
‘The High Court has accepted after-the-event (ATE) insurance cover of £5m as sufficient to dismiss an application for security for costs.’
Litigation Futures, 24th October 2016
Source: www. litigationfutures.com
Defendant penalised after “unreasonably” refusing to mediate costs dispute – Litigation Fures
‘Newspaper group Mirror Group Newspapers has been hit with indemnity costs after the Senior Costs Judge ruled that it had unreasonably failed to engage in efforts to use alternative dispute resolution instead of going to detailed assessment.’
Litigation Futures, 20th October 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
High Court bids to minimise delay in bitter costs dispute between solicitors – Litigation Futures
‘A High Court master has rejected an application from a Leicestershire solicitor for trial of a preliminary issue in a costs claim involving another law firm, citing the “high degree of personal animosity between the parties”.’
Litigation Futures, 18th October 2016
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
City council ordered to pay £115k over failure to manage roadworks properly – Local Government Lawyer
‘Liverpool City Council has been ordered to pay £115,000 in fines and costs after a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the authority had failed to ensure that the arrangements for managing roadworks were suitable.’
Local Government Lawyer, 24th October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Farm owners fined over ‘Stoulton Stink’ after council wins High Court appeal – Local Government Lawyer
‘The owners of a farm responsible for a smell known as the “Stoulton Stink” have been sentenced this month, after a district council successfully appealed in the summer to the High Court.’
Local Government Lawyer, 24th October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Law Society warns on mandatory child abuse reporting duty – Local Government Lawyer
‘A mandatory duty to report child abuse and neglect would simply lead to high volumes of unsubstantiated reports that fall far below the significant harm threshold, the Law Society has warned.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Solicitor accepts rebuke for involvement in £2m SDLT schemes – Legal Futures
‘A solicitor involved in conveyancing transactions that resulted in the non-payment of £2m in stamp duty land tax (SDLT) has accepted a rebuke from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).’
Legal Futures, 24th October 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Jail again for fraudulent ex-solicitor who hijacked law firm’s identity – Legal Futures
‘An ex-solicitor has been found guilty and jailed for five years for five counts of fraud by false representation – his second spell in jail for fraud after he previously stole from his firm’s client account’
Legal Future, 21st October 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Online gambling operators being scrutinised for compliance with UK consumer protection rules – Out-Law.com
‘An investigation into online gambling operators’ compliance with UK consumer protection rules has been opened by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).’
Out-Law.com, 25th October 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
Man banned from having sex without telling the police first – Daily Telegraph
‘A man dubbed a “sexual predator” has been banned from going into pubs after 9 pm or having having sex without informing the police.’
Daily Telegraph, 24th October 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Sham marriage gang jailed for more than 52 years – Crown Prosecution Service
‘Eleven people have been jailed after they were found guilty of facilitating and participating in sham marriages between European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and non-EEA nationals.’
Crown Prosecution Service, 24th October 2016
Source: www.cps.gov.uk
Speech by Lord Justice McFarlane – ‘Nothing Else Will Do’ – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
‘Over the past 3 years family lawyers, social workers, judges and magistrates have got themselves into a fair old spin over four short words. The words are “Nothing else will do” and they appeared, for the first time, in three of the judgments of the five Supreme Court Justices who presided over the case of Re B in 2013…’
FLBA National Conference, Keynote Address, 22nd October 2016
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
