Category: news

Former landlords and s.20B LTA 1985 – NearlyLegal

Posted June 16th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, water companies by sally

‘In Ground Rents (Regisport) Ltd v Dowlen [2014] UKUT 144 (LC), the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) had to – once again – grapple with s.20B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The facts are quite straightforward. Imagine, if you will, that there is a modern development of three blocks of flats. It was developed by Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd, who were also the original landlords under all the long leases. Once the leases had been created, the freehold was transferred to the appellant.’

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NearlyLegal, 13th June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Section 13 DPA in the High Court: nominal damage plus four-figure distress award – Panopticon

Posted June 16th, 2014 in compensation, damages, data protection, disclosure, documents, news, time limits by sally

‘Given the paucity of case law, it is notoriously difficult to estimate likely awards of compensation under section 13 of the Data Protection Act 1998 for breaches of that Act. It is also very difficult to assess any trends in compensation awards over time.’

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Panopticon, 13th June 2014

Source: www.panopticonblog.com

Family court case spanning 13 years is ‘longest case’ in history, judge says – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 16th, 2014 in appeals, children, contact orders, family courts, news by sally

‘A family court case which has taken almost 13 years is believed by a judge to be the longest running in history.’

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Daily Telegraph, 13th June 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Precedent H “irregularity” does not render it a nullity, High Court rules – Litigation Futures

Posted June 16th, 2014 in budgets, civil procedure rules, costs, drafting, legal representation, news, precedent, proportionality by sally

‘It would be disproportionate and unjust to strike down a Precedent H budget that was signed by a firm’s in-house costs draftsman, rather than by a “senior legal representative”, the High Court has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 16th June 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Forced marriage outlawed as ministers step up efforts to curb practice – The Guardian

Posted June 16th, 2014 in children, forced marriages, news, prosecutions by sally

‘Forced marriage is “a tragedy for each and every victim”, home secretary Theresa May said as a new law outlawing the practice came into effect.’

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The Guardian, 16th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Taxman wins fight to close property tax loophole – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 16th, 2014 in appeals, housing, mortgages, news, stamp duty, taxation by sally

‘A High Court ruling has sided with the taxman over legislation introduced last year which aims to stop wealthy property buyers avoid paying tens of thousands of pounds in stamp duty.’

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Daily Telegraph, 13th June 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prisons face overcrowding due to policy failure, says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted June 16th, 2014 in budgets, news, ombudsmen, prisons, sexual offences, standards, statistics, suicide by sally

‘The public is being put at risk by a “political and policy failure” in jails which risks boiling over this summer, the prisons’ inspectorate has warned as the government admitted more inmates would have to share cells to cope with an unexpected rise in numbers.’

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The Guardian, 14th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Vanity cases? – New Law Journal

Posted June 13th, 2014 in confidentiality, contract of employment, cosmetic surgery, employment, news, sick leave by sally

‘Employees & cosmetic surgery: Sarah Johnson reports.’

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11th June 2014

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Finance and Divorce Update – Family Law Week

Posted June 13th, 2014 in divorce, financial provision, litigants in person, news, perverting the course of justice by sally

‘Jessica Craigs, senior solicitor, and David Salter, Joint Head of Family Law, both of Mills & Reeve LLP, analyse the financial remedies and divorce news and cases published in May.’

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Family Law Week, 12th June 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Delaney v Secretary of State for Transport – WLR Daily

Posted June 13th, 2014 in compensation, dangerous driving, drug offences, EC law, joint enterprise, law reports, news, personal injuries, uninsured drivers by sally

Delaney v Secretary of State for Transport [2014] EWHC 1785 (QB); [2014] WLR (D) 253

‘Clause 6(1)(e)(iii) of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (Compensation of Victims of Uninsured Drivers) Agreement 1999, made between the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the Secretary of State for Transport and which provided an exclusion from liability for compensation for the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, was incompatible with Council Directive 72/166/EEC, Second Council Directive 84/5/EEC and Third Council Directive 90/232/EEC.’

WLR Daily, 3rd June 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

On the naughty step: The unacceptable face of London landlords – NearlyLegal

Posted June 13th, 2014 in benefits, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, unfair contract terms by sally

‘Some of you, those in London at least, might have noticed Boris Johnson announce a new, and completely voluntary, no compulsion here, landlord accreditation scheme. The idea being that tenants, desperate to find somewhere in the middle of the worst accommodation shortage in London for many, many years, will choose to avoid a ‘non-Boris’ landlord. This is of dubious worth, but no matter, what concerns us here is what followed that announcement. Bear with me, because it is worth it in the end.’

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NearlyLegal, 12th June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Offenders caught with knife a second time could face six months in jail – The Guardian

Posted June 13th, 2014 in news, offensive weapons, sentencing by sally

‘A plan to jail any offender caught in possession of a knife for a second time is likely to pass into law next week after the Conservatives announced they are to defy the Liberal Democrats to support the measure.’

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The Guardian, 12th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court: “reasonable suspicion” entitled customs officers to detain goods pending tax enquiries – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 13th, 2014 in customs and excise, fraud, judicial review, news, search & seizure, taxation by sally

‘Officers from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are entitled to detain goods pending further investigation where they have “reasonable grounds to suspect” that excise duties have not been paid, the Supreme Court has confirmed.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 12th June 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

BSB bids to improve barristers’ reporting of certain diversity data – from abysmal to awful – Legal Futures

Posted June 13th, 2014 in barristers, diversity, news, statistics by sally

‘The Bar Standards Board has set itself a minimum target of 30% for diversity data collection from barristers on sexuality, religion and disability.’

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Legal Futures, 13th June 2014

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Monster’ sergeant major jailed for sexually assaulting lesbian soldier – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 13th, 2014 in armed forces, courts martial, news, sentencing, sexual offences by sally

‘A “monster” sergeant major has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting a lesbian soldier following a drink-fuelled party, in an attack which left her considering suicide.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th June 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Appeal court raises murder jail term of Adam Singer – BBC News

Posted June 13th, 2014 in appeals, domestic violence, murder, news, sentencing by sally

‘A father who killed his ex-girlfriend while their young daughter slept upstairs has had his minimum jail term increased at the Court of Appeal to 23 years.’

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BBC News, 12th June 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Trial of AB and CD part of creeping move towards secret justice – The Guardian

Posted June 13th, 2014 in closed material, intelligence services, murder, news, private hearings, terrorism by sally

‘The case of AB and CD has been widely described as “Britain’s first secret trial”. It would be more accurately described as the latest of a number of creeping moves towards secret justice.’

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The Guardian, 12th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court reduces religious no-go area for courts – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted June 12th, 2014 in appeals, charities, jurisdiction, news, Supreme Court, trusts by sally

‘The Supreme Court has just reversed a decision of the Court of Appeal (see my previous post here) that a dispute about the trust deeds of two Sikh religious charities was non-justiciable and so could not and should not be decided by the Courts. By contrast, the SC said that two initial issues concerning the meaning of trust deeds were justiciable, and, because of this, further issues which did raise religious issues had to be determined by the courts.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 11th June 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Lord Dyson to rule on whether cheque for court fees should have been put in Christmas post – Litigation Futures

Posted June 12th, 2014 in appeals, case management, courts, fees, news, sanctions, solicitors by sally

‘One of the three Mitchell cases to be heard by the Master of the Rolls next week centres on whether a solicitor should have put a cheque in the post shortly before Christmas to pay for the hearing fee.’

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Litigation Futures, 12th June 2014

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Nominet’s new rules on .uk domains could mean the end to users’ privacy – The Guardian

Posted June 12th, 2014 in disclosure, domain names, internet, news, privacy by sally

‘Since Tuesday, running a personal website has become a privacy minefield for people using .uk domain names. A recent rule change by Nominet, the company which manages the .uk registry, means that domain name owners whose home addresses were previously kept private may now be publicly visible in online searches. People setting up domain names through Nominet must now also show their full legal personal or business name on the public registration database.’

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The Guardian, 11th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk