New anti-slavery helpline launched with £1m from Google – Daily Telegraph
‘Home Office to launch new hotline based on US model, announces Home Secretary Theresa May.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th December 2015
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Council tenants lose lifetime right to live in property – The Guardian
‘People will no longer have the right to live in their council home for life in future after ministers moved to impose a five-year limit on new tenancies.’
The Guardian, 9th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Tobacco firms challenge plain packaging rules – BBC News
‘Four of the world’s biggest tobacco firms are to begin a legal challenge to the government’s new packaging rules.’
BBC News, 10th December 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Regency Villas Title Ltd and others v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd and another – WLR Daily
‘There was no legal impediment to a right of recreation taking effect as an easement, provided that the intention to grant an easement, as opposed to a merely personal right, was evident on the proper construction of the grant construed in the light of the material surrounding circumstances.’
WLR Daily, 7th December 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Lee Rigby killer sues Prison Service after having teeth knocked out – The Guardian
‘One of the men who killed the British soldier Lee Rigby is suing for compensation two years after his teeth were knocked out during an incident at Belmarsh prison.’
The Guardian, 10th December 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Ramburs Inc v Agrifert SA – WLR Daily
Ramburs Inc v Agrifert SA [2015] EWHC 3548 (Comm); [2015] WLR (D) 505
‘Where a buyer of goods FOB nominated a substitute vessel pursuant to its right under the GAFTA FOB period of delivery clause appearing in GAFTA form 49, he was nevertheless required to comply with the terms of the contract of sale as to nomination and pre-advice in respect of the nomination of the substitute vessel.’
WLR Daily, 4th December 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Gavin Edmondson Ltd v Haven Insurance Co Ltd – WLR Daily
Gavin Edmondson Ltd v Haven Insurance Co Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 1230; [2015] WLR (D) 496
‘A solicitors firm which had concluded conditional fee agreements with road traffic victims and had entered those details in accordance with the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents on the website used by lawyers and insurers in such circumstances was entitled, when the claimants settled their personal injury claims directly with the defendants’ insurers, to recover the fixed costs and other sums payable under the Protocol scheme.’
WLR Daily, 2nd December 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
West End Investments (Cowell Group) Ltd v Birchlea Ltd – WLR Daily
West End Investments (Cowell Group) Ltd v Birchlea Ltd [2015] EWHC 3381 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 499
‘There must be a significant deviation from the vertical plane for the exception in section 2(2) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 to apply.’
WLR Daily, 27th November 2015
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Radical thinking on enfranchisement – Tanfield Chambers
‘The law of enfranchisement is very complicated. A whole industry has evolved to try to interpret the provisions of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 (“the 1967 Act”) and the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (“the 1993 Act”) and put them into practice. The cost and frustration to leaseholders of such a convoluted process is considerable.’
Tanfield Chambers, 3rd December 2015
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Arbitration in landlord and tenant disputes – Tanfield Chambers
‘Most landlord and tenant disputes end up in court. From the perspective of landlords, this can be a lengthy, frustrating, and costly process. For tenants, the experience is often uncertain, draining, and also costly. Is there a place for arbitration in this?’
Tanfield Chambers, 30th November 2015
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
When is property added to a settlement “excluded property”? – New Square Chambers
‘The decision of Mann J. in Barclays Wealth Trustees (Jersey) Ltd and Michael Dreelan v HMRC [2015]EWHC 2878 (Ch) answers an important question regarding what is excluded property for purposes of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 s.48(3). This provides that foreign situs property which is settled property is excluded property for IHT purposes unless the settlor was domiciled in the U.K. at the time the settlement was made. Suppose a settlement was made when the settlor was domiciled outside the U.K, he subsequently becomes domiciled in the U.K and then adds foreign property to the settlement. Is the added property excluded property? HMRC have always contended that it is not. It has been argued in leading textbooks that it is. Mann J. has decided that HMRC are right.’
New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Good Faith Clauses in Development Agreements – Tanfield Chambers
‘In recent years it has become increasingly common for parties to a development agreement to agree to act towards one another with “good faith”. The meaning and extent of the obligations on the contracting parties imposed by such clauses is often difficult to ascertain. The purpose of this paper is to consider a number of cases in which good faith clauses, implied and express, are discussed and identify the general principles that apply to development agreements.’
Tanfield Chambers, 30th November 2015
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Penalty Clauses – New Square Chambers
‘On 4 November 2015 the Supreme Court handed down a judgment in relation to penalty clauses in a contract – Cavendish Square Holding BV v Makdessi [2015] UKSC 67, a judgment of 124 pages before a panel of seven Justices. This was the first time that this Court or the House of Lords had considered such an issue for a century. Some commentators describe this judgment as, in effect, a complete re-writing of the relevant law. Others may call it merely a change, albeit an important change, of emphasis.’
New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Wellesley v Withers: A significant change in the analysis of remoteness of damage – Hardwicke Chambers
‘In Wellesley Partners LLP v Withers LLP [2015] EWCA Civ 1146 the Court of Appeal made an important change to the law of causation. From now onwards, the contractual approach causation shall apply instead of the tortious principles of remoteness in cases of concurrent liability. The effect of this case will be to materially change causation analyses in professional negligence matters, albeit the conclusion (as demonstrated in the Wellesley case itself) through the two analytical frameworks may well be identical.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Separate Representation, Conflicts and Costs: A Practical View from the Bar – Littleton Chambers
‘In his monthly column, James Bickford Smith discusses the decision in Ong and others v Ping [2015] EWHC 3258 (Ch) and the apparent revival of the “rule” in Lewis v Daily Telegraph Ltd (No 2) [1964] 2 QB 601.’
Full story
Littleton Chambers, 4th December 2015
Source: www.littletonchambers.co.uk
When does the clock start ticking? Limitation and the Privy Council case of Maharaj v Johnson – Hardwicke Chambers
‘The majority of claims against professionals are framed in contract, the tort of negligence, or a combination of both. As readers of this article will be aware, the Limitation Act 1980 provides the same limitation period for both causes of action: “six years from the date on which the case of action arose.” But readers will also know that those periods frequently begin (and more importantly end) on different dates. This is because a breach of contract is actionable per se, i.e. without the need to prove damage, where as a claim in negligence requires proof of damage, which will often occur some time after the breach of duty, which is said to have caused it. For this reason many claims which are out of time for a claim in contract, are nevertheless in time for a claim in the tort of negligence.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd December 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
A return to orthodoxy in matters of contractual interpretation – New Square Chambers
‘In its decision in Arnold v Britton [2015] 2 WLR 1593 the Supreme Court has restored the supremacy of the traditional approach to the construction of commercial contracts.’
New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Wrongful trading: A tale of Robin Hood directors – New Square Chambers
‘Applications for wrongful trading under s 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 are notoriously difficult. In Brooks v Armstrong [2015] EWHC 2289 (Ch), Registrar Jones ordered the former directors of Robin Hood Centre plc (the “Directors”) (the “Company”) to make a contribution to the Company’s assets under s 214. But the relatively small award serves as a cautionary reminder of the risks of s 214 applications for liquidators and directors alike.’
New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Automatic Permission for Housing on Brownfield Sites – No. 5 Chambers
‘The National Planning Policy Framework’s paragraph 17 lists 12 core land-use planning principles, including “encourage the effective use of land by reusing land that has been previously developed (brownfield land), provided that it is not of high environmental value”. Within Green Belts its paragraph 89 lists six circumstances where the construction of new buildings is not inappropriate, including “… the partial or complete redevelopment of previously developed sites (brownfield land), whether redundant or in continuing use (excluding temporary buildings), which would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt and the purpose of including land within it than the existing development”. Its paragraph 111 states, “Planning policies and decisions should encourage the effective use of land by re-using land that has been previously developed (brownfield land), provided that it is not of high environmental value. Local planning authorities may continue to consider the case for setting a locally appropriate target for the use of brownfield land.”’
No. 5 Chambers, 1st December 2015
Source: www.no5.com
That’s Entertainment? The Anonymity of Arrestees and the Law – Doughty Street
‘Last week, The Mirror reported that John Leslie was being questioned by police in connection with an alleged sexual assault. The report contained photographs of the police with evidence bags outside Leslie’s house. The Mirror reminded its readers of allegations made against the former TV presenter in 2002 and 2008. This the most recent example of media reports concerning allegations of sexual offences involving public figures.’
Doughty Street, 2nd December 2015
Source: www.doughtystreet.co.uk
