Ruling on interim costs payment reveals judge’s proportionality concern – Litigation Futures

Posted November 13th, 2015 in costs, law firms, negligence, news, proportionality by sally

‘A claimant law firm has been given a major shot across the bows over its costs claim in a clinical negligence case after a High Court judge heavily reduced the sum its client sought as payment on account of costs, on the grounds of both proportionality and necessity.’

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Litgiation Futures, 13th November 2015

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

CA adds extra negligence finding and £375k damages on top of High Court’s £1.6m Withers ruling – Legal Futures

Posted November 13th, 2015 in damages, drafting, law firms, limited liability partnerships, negligence, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has made an additional finding of negligence against leading London law firm Withers over its drafting of an LLP agreement and increased the £1.6m in damages awarded in the High Court by a further £375,000.’

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Legal Futures, 12th November 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Conveyancing solicitors acting for both sides must report crucial details to lenders, appeal judges rule – Legal Futures

Posted November 13th, 2015 in conveyancing, disclosure, mortgages, news, solicitors, valuation by sally

‘Solicitors acting for both sides in property transactions are under a duty to disclose crucial details to lenders, the Court of Appeal has ruled..’

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Legal Futures, 13th November 2015

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A modern legal framework for protecting and managing wildlife – Law Commission

Posted November 13th, 2015 in environmental protection, news, reports, statute law revision by sally

‘In a report published on Tuesday 10 November the Law Commission recommends reforms to modernise and simplify the law regulating wildlife and create a flexible legal framework for the future.’

Full press release

Law Commission, 10th November 2015

Source: www.justice.gov.uk/lawcommission

Sir Brian Leveson: Security and Justice – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench Division gave the 13th Annual Isaiah Berlin Lecture in London on 12 November 2015.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th November 2015

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Samuels v Birmingham City Council – WLR Daily

Posted November 13th, 2015 in benefits, homelessness, housing, law reports, remuneration by sally

Samuels v Birmingham City Council: [2015] EWCA Civ 1051; [2015] WLR (D) 435

‘For the purposes of a person’s application for housing assistance as a homeless person, where a local authority was determining whether that person’s previous accommodation was affordable for that person and therefore whether it would be, or would have been, reasonable for that person to continue to occupy that accommodation, the local authority was to take into account all forms of the person’s income, including social security benefits of all kinds, and of relevant expenses, so that a judgment was to be made on the basis of income and relevant expenses as a whole. Benefits income, including income support, child tax credits and child benefit, was not to have any special status or treatment in that exercise or to be excluded from income which could be taken into account as income which could assist with housing costs.’

WLR Daily, 27th October 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Regina v FNC – WLR Daily

Posted November 13th, 2015 in DNA, evidence, law reports, no case to answer, sexual offences by sally

Regina v FNC: [2015] EWCA Crim 1732; [2015] WLR (D) 440

‘There might be a case to answer even where the prosecution relied on DNA evidence alone.The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, so held when allowing an appeal by the prosecution against a decision made on 5 May 2015 in the Crown Court at Blackfriars (Mr Recorder Day QC) to terminate proceedings against the defendant, FNC, on the grounds that there was no case to answer on a charge of indecent assault contrary to section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.’

WLR Daily, 4th November 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bootle man jailed for cyber attacks on more than 300 websites – BBC News

Posted November 13th, 2015 in computer crime, guilty pleas, internet, news, sentencing by sally

‘Merseyside PoliceImage caption Ian Sullivan was jailed for 34 weeks at Liverpool Crown Court.
A man has been jailed for carrying out a string of cyber attacks against high-profile websites, resulting in more than 300 being taken offline.’

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BBC news, 12th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Degrees for all new police officers under radical new plans – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 13th, 2015 in education, news, police, recruitment by sally

‘All new police constables will be required to have a degree in policing before they can join the force, under radical new proposals. The new scheme, set out by the College of Policing, could be implemented as early as 2019 and would represent a massive shift in the academic criteria for would-be Pcs.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Liam Laverick jailed for killing baby son Tommy Lee – BBC News

‘A father who killed his four-week-old son has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.’

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BBC News, 12th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Woman who posed as man jailed for sex assaults – BBC News

Posted November 12th, 2015 in news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A woman who posed as a man to dupe her friend into having sex with her has been jailed for eight years.’

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BBC News, 12th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Open Offers: A Practical View from the Bar – Littleton Chambers

Posted November 12th, 2015 in civil procedure rules, construction industry, costs, news by sally

‘In his monthly column, James Bickford Smith discusses the High Court’s decision in The Dorchester Group Limited t/a The Dorchester Collection v Kier Construction Limited [2015] EWHC 3051 (TCC) concerning an open offer of settlement.’

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Littleton Chambers, 11th November 2015

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Yes you can discriminate against a company (but you shouldn’t!) – No. 5 Chambers

‘How odd, you might think. A company can suffer a detriment under the Equality Act 2010 and so bring a claim for direct discrimination. Yet a company is impersonal and protected characteristics are highly personal that only individuals can have. How can that be?’

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No. 5 Chambers, 8th October 2015

Source: www.no5.com

MOJ Portal Stage 3 and Part 36: What are protocol offers? – Park Square Barristers

‘A regular issue that is being raised at MOJ Stage 3 hearings, particularly since the introduction of the 13th edition of the JC Guidelines: can parties make new offers in their Part B forms and benefit from the cost consequences of Part 36.29 for beating/matching them? This article aims to set out the relevant rules and paragraphs to determine this issue.’

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Park Square Barristers, 6th November 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter – 39 Essex Chambers

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter (PDF)

39 Essex Chambers, November 2015

Source: www.39essex.com

Postman walks free after stealing 11,000 items of post over 22 years – Daily Telegraph

‘A postman who has stolen over 11,000 items of post since 1993 says he is “so sorry” for what he did.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Air freight damages claim struck out as “irresponsible” and lacking in authority – Zenith Chambers

Posted November 12th, 2015 in abuse of process, airlines, class actions, damages, news, striking out by sally

‘The High Court has struck out claims against British Airways for damages allegedly arising from the air freight cartel on the basis of lack of authority. The claim was issued on behalf of 64,697 claimants, all members of the Chinese Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), an organisation that issues certificates of origin when goods are exported from China.’

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Zenith Chambers, 2nd November 2015

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Police ‘overlooked threat’ to man killed after being mistaken for paedophile – The Guardian

Posted November 12th, 2015 in misfeasance in public office, murder, news, police by sally

‘Three experienced police constables and a community support officer failed to deal with complaints made by a vulnerable disabled man in the 48 hours before he was murdered and his body set on fire by vigilantes, a court has heard.’

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The Guardian, 11th November 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

MoJ to publish impact of reforms on civil legal aid – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 12th, 2015 in civil justice, legal aid, news, reports, select committees by sally

‘Government research on the impact of its reforms on civil legal aid are expected to be published by the end of the year, the Ministry of Justice has revealed.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 11th November 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Dyson considers appealing court rule against changing EU energy labelling laws – The Guardian

Posted November 12th, 2015 in appeals, consumer protection, EC law, energy, news by sally

‘Dyson is considering launching an appeal after its legal bid to change the EU energy labelling of vacuum cleaners – based on its claims that rival models were receiving misleadingly high ratings – was thrown out by a European court.’

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The Guardian, 11th November 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk