PC Darren Heath ‘has more victims’ in sex case – BBC News
‘A police officer who admitted having sex with three vulnerable women he met while on duty has more victims, Gloucestershire Police has said.’
BBC News, 18th March 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Eleanor de Freitas inquest: Family’s anger at suicide verdict for woman who killed herself before trial for ‘false rape claim’ – The Independent
‘The family of a young woman who killed herself days before she was due to stand trial for making false rape allegations have attacked the inquest into her death, saying they may launch legal proceedings over alleged failings by the CPS for allowing her case to go to court.’
The Independent, 17th March 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Home secretary: Cyril Smith cover-up claims ‘could lead to prosecutions’ – The Guardian
‘Theresa May has said the claims a police investigation into the late Liberal MP Cyril Smith was scrapped, and corruption blocked other historic police operations into child abuse, were “shocking and could lead to criminal prosecutions”.’
The Guardian, 17th March 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Assignments and anti-avoidance: the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 – New Square Chambers
‘The Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, applies to “new tenancies” – tenancies granted on or after 1 January 1996. It reformed privity of contract in this area, giving a clean break to tenants on assignment of a new tenancy, except for excluded assignments and authorised guarantee agreements(AGAs). A guarantor is released to the same extent as a tenant upon a lawful assignment. s.25(1)(a) makes void agreements which have effective to frustrate the provisions of the 1995 Act. Below is a look at recent decisions concerning the application of the anti-avoidance provision and of other provisions against that background.’
Full story (PDF)
New Square Chambers, February 2015
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
The Costs of Complexity (Revisited): A Practical View From the Bar – Littleton Chambers
‘In his monthly column, originally published by PLC, James Bickford Smith considers again the Supreme Court’s judgment in Coventry v Lawrence (No 2) [2014] UKSC 46, the adjourned hearing of which has been listed for 9-11 February 2015. James assesses some of the key issues which have been debated since his initial analysis of the decision in October 2014, including the potential uncertainty for current funding arrangements that are not dependent on the Access to Justice Act 1999.’
Littleton Chambers, 5th February 2015
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
Credit Hire Update: Stevens v Equity Syndicate Management Limited – Henderson Chambers
‘In the most important credit hire decision since Bent, the Court of Appeal rules that judges evaluating credit hire claims involving pecunious claimants should adopt the “lowest reasonable rate”.’
Full story (PDF)
Henderson Chambers, March 2015
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
The Review by Robert Francis QC into Whistleblowing in the NHS – Littleton Chambers
‘The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (“ERRA”) introduced the first major legislative changes to the whistleblowing provisions in the Employment Rights Act introduced by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. Those provisions afford remedies to workers who are subjected to a detriment or dismissed for making ‘protected disclosures’ of ‘relevant failures’.’
Littleton Chambers, 13th February 2015
Source: www.littletonchambers.com
Getting to Grips with the Holiday Pay Conundrum – Littleton Chambers
‘The Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT’s) judgment in the Bear Scotland case is the latest in a series of cases considering what must be included in the calculation of holiday pay under the UK’s Working Time Regulations (WTR). The ruling sent shockwaves through the business community, with some commentators estimating that around five million workers in the UK could be entitled to more holiday pay at a potential cost to companies of billions of pounds. Business Secretary Vince Cable even set up a taskforce to assess the possible impact of the EAT’s decision. Adam Solomon and Sophia Berry throw the spotlight on the Bear Scotland litigation in the context of other decisions on holiday pay and consider its implications. This article first appeared in the March 2015 edition of Tolley’s Employment Law Newsletter.’
Full story
Littleton Chambers, 17th March 2015
Source: www.littleton.com
Trying to make sense of a mansion tax – Falcon Chambers
‘The 2015 election campaign will not be the first in which all parties will be promising to outstrip their rivals in their support for the NHS. At the Labour Party Conference last year Ed Miliband announced that a next Labour Government would introduce a tax– a so-called mansion tax – on high value homes worth more than £2million. In an article in the Hampstead and Highgate Express (October 23 2014), designed to calm jittery voters where Labour’s majority is the smallest in the country, Ed Balls stated that the tax will be charged at £250 a month on properties worth between £2 and £3 million, but above £3 million it is apparently to be charged at 1% of capital value. The revenue from the tax, it is said, will contribute to a Time to Care Fund to help the NHS. He estimates that the mansion tax alone will put £1.2 billion into the Fund.’
Full story (PDF)
Falcon Chambers, February 2015
Source: www.falcon-chambers.co.uk
Variation of employment contracts – Hardwicke Chambers
‘If employers want to vary a contract of employment they must first make sure that they have a very clear right to do so.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 18th February 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Donatio Mortis Causa – Hardwicke Chambers
‘As the opening comments of Charles Hollander QC in his judgment in King v Dubrey [2014] EWHC 2083, make clear, a donatio mortis causa (DMC) takes effect as a historic and anomalous exception to the requirements of the Wills Act. It involves… a present gift which takes effect in the future and remains conditional until the donor dies. On death it becomes absolute. It has previously been described as being of “an amphibious nature, being a gift which is neither entirely inter vivos nor testamentary.” The task for the Court is to distinguish between a genuine DMC and an attempt to make a testamentary gift other than in accordance with the Wills Act. The test has, for over one hundred and fifty years, been a high one:
“…no case of this description ought to prevail unless it is supported by evidence of the clearest and most unequivocal character.”’
Hardwicke Chambers, 16th February 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Income payment orders and pensions revisited: The decision in Horton v Henry – 11 Stone Buildings
‘The recent High Court decision in Horton v Henry has now thrown the debate over the extent to which the pension pot of a bankrupt can be made available to his creditors wide open.’
Full story (PDF)
11 Stone Buildings, January 2015
Source: www.11sb.com
Radical overhaul of anonymity in approval hearings – Cloisters
‘The Court of Appeal have just handed down judgment in the key case of JXMX v Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust [2015] EWCA Civ 96. This fundamentally changes the approach to anonymity in approval hearings.’
Cloisters, 18th February 2015
Source: www.cloisters.com
Two key legislative reforms to Personal Injury law due – Cloisters
‘Two key pieces of legislation affecting personal injury and clinical negligence law, the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 and the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Act 2015, were given royal assent on 12 February 2015 and are expected to come into force in April 2015.’
Cloisters, 19th February 2015
Source: www.cloisters.com
The continuing problem of recovering the cost of improvements from leaseholders – Hardwicke Chambers
‘The distinction between a repair and an improvement when a landlord carries out works to a property is often problematic. The volume and age of reported cases on this point shows this is not a recent problem.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 9th March 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Supreme Court considers tests for justification under s15 Equality Act 2010 and Article 8 ECHR in a housing eviction case against a disabled tenant – Cloisters
‘The Supreme Court handed down its decision yesterday in Akerman-Livingstone v. Aster Communities Ltd (formerly Flourish Homes Ltd) [2015] UKSC 15 in which it considered the test of justification for discrimination under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010 (the EqA) as compared with justification for Article 8 of the Convention.’
Cloisters, 12th March 2015
Source: www.cloisters.com
EVENT: UCL – Changing Times, Changing Relationships at Work…Changing Law?
‘We are privileged to host two distinguished members of the Australian and UK judiciary, offering us a unique perspective on the charged question as to whether labour law has kept pace with the constantly changing nature of work relations so as properly to regulate them.’
Date: 23rd April 2015, 6.00-7.30pm
Location: UCL Central Campus, Wilkins Building (Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre)
Charge: Free, registration required
More information can be found here.
Advising on a secondary victim claim? December 2014 produced a trio of new cases – Hardwicke Chambers
‘If you are struggling to pin down the relevant principles when advising in a secondary victim case this should be no surprise. As Lord Hoffmann observed: “It seems to me that in this area of the law, the search for principle was called off in Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] 1 A.C. 310. No one can pretend that the existing law, which your Lordships have to accept, is founded upon principle.” in White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1999] 2 AC 455 (the police officers’ claims arising out of the Hillsborough disaster).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 20th January 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Proof of defect under the CPA 1987: Hufford v Samsung Electronics – Henderson Chambers
‘To what extent must a claimant relying on the Consumer Protection Act 1987 (“the Act”) prove with precision the nature of a defect in a product said to have caused him or her damage?’
Full story (PDF)
Henderson Chambers, 9th January 2015
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
The new Part 36 – Hardwicke Chambers
‘From 6 April 2015, the structure of Part 36 will change and a number of new rules are to be introduced. This is the most fundamental change in the Part 36 rules for many years.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 20th January 2015
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
