Current Awareness

Another reason to avoid the CAT – Emerson in the Court of Appeal – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in appeals, competition, jurisdiction, news by sally

“The famous Victorian cricketer WG Grace is reputed once to have offered the following advice:

‘When you win the toss – bat. If you are in doubt, think about it, then bat. If you have very big doubts, consult a colleague – then bat.’

The recent Emerson decision [2012] EWCA Civ 1559 is another illustration that bringing a follow on claim in the CAT rather than in the High Court is the law’s equivalent of choosing to bowl.”

Full story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 4th December 2012

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Man who kidnapped and raped 15-year old school girl jailed – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 4th, 2012 in child abduction, firearms, rape, sentencing by sally

“A man who kidnapped and raped a 15-year old schoolgirl at gunpoint was jailed for life today.”

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Daily Telegraph, 4th December 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted December 4th, 2012 in legislation by sally

The Legal Services Act 2007 (The Law Society) (Modification of Functions) (Amendment) Order 2012

The Closure of Prisons (HM Prison Wellingborough) Order 2012

The Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2012

The Benefit Cap (Housing Benefit) Regulations 2012

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

‘Squatters are not home stealers’ – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2012 in housing, news, squatting by sally

“On 26 September, Alex Haigh became the first person to be jailed under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. His crime was one of which countless thousands of people could now be guilty: squatting. A 21-year-old from Plymouth, Haigh was arrested for living in a house in Pimlico that had been empty for over a year. He had come to London seeking work as a bricklayer; now he has a criminal record.”

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The inherent jurisdiction: where are we now? – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Posted December 4th, 2012 in jurisdiction, mental health, news by sally

“That very significant vestiges of the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction to grant declaratory and injunctive relief have survived the implementation of the MCA 2005 is now clear. However, what is very much less clear is precisely: (1) how far the inherent jurisdiction has survived; and (2) how the High Court can or should exercise its powers under the inherent jurisdiction in respect of those who can only be afforded protection by way of its exercise. Cases decided since the beginning of the year have perhaps made the answers less rather than more clear, and this note seeks to draw together some of the threads, as much to provoke discussion as to offer solutions. It concludes with a brief discussion of the prospects for statutory reform in the area in the shape of the draft Care and Support Bill.”

Full story (PDF)

Thirty Nine Essex Street, December 2012

Source: www.39essex.com

Triumph of substance over form – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in disability discrimination, disabled persons, homelessness, housing, local government, mental health, news by sally

“In Pieretti v. LB Enfield [2011] 2 All ER 642 the Court of Appeal held that a local authority in exercising its powers under Part VII Housing Act 1996 (Homelessness) was carrying out a ‘function’ for the purposes of s.49A. It was therefore an obligation on the Local Authority to have ‘due regard’ to the factors set out in the section and, in the case of homelessness, in particular to have ‘due regard’ to ‘the need to take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities’. Moreover, this duty arose irrespective of whether or not the applicant, or their advisers, had raised disability as an issue.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 30th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Housing and the CPR: A Factual and Speculative Account of Amendments Past and Present – Zenith Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in appeals, civil procedure rules, committals, housing, news by sally

“The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2012 came into force on 1st October 2012. These Amendments cover many aspects of the CPR. This article only considers those amendments which a housing practitioner is likely to encounter.”

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Zenith Chambers, 27th November 2012

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Arbitration update: Tang v Grant Thornton – provisions for conciliation or mediation of disputes prior to arbitration or court proceedings examined – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in arbitration, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by sally

“Tang Chung Wah and others v Grant Thornton and others [2012] EWHC 3198 (Ch)

In Tang, the Honourable Mr Justice Hildyard dismissed a claim under s. 67 of the Arbitration Act 1996 that a final LCIA Award should be found to be of no effect on grounds that the Tribunal had lacked substantive jurisdiction to determine the dispute in question.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Philosophy, theology and service provision change – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in employment, employment tribunals, news, transfer of undertakings by sally

“As employment lawyers will know, in order to determine whether there is going to be (or has been) a service provision change (SPC) under Regulation 3 of TUPE Regulations 2006 it is necessary to subject the material facts to a number of tests. These should be carried out in a logical order starting with an examination of the relevant activities to decide whether those activities to be carried out after any SPC are fundamentally or essentially the same as those carried out before. Then one must check whether the conditions in Reg 3(3) are satisfied.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

An Analysis of Employment Injunctions in 2011/12: are applicants slipping on their own banana skins? – Littleton Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in compensation, employment, injunctions, news by sally

“Although there is no data available to establish the actual figures, it is a truism that only a small proportion of cases in which applications are made for interim employment injunctions culminate in a trial.”

Full story (PDF)

Littleton Chambers, December 2012

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Drawing the Fault Line: Multiple Tortfeasors and Intervening Acts – Cloisters

Posted December 4th, 2012 in assault, causation, negligence, news, personal injuries, prosecutions, third parties by sally

“It is not uncommon for a potential personal injury or clinical negligence claimant to have been subjected to a series of events that may all be linked to causation of his injury – we’ve all met the unfortunate client for whom nothing seems to go right. Sometimes the events will be the acts of third parties, which
may or may not be tortious; at other times, the individual’s own actions may have played a part in the causation of his injuries. The third party acts may involve personal injury, or clinical negligence, or even assault. In such circumstances, there may be multiple potential defendants to any legal claim
and serious thought needs to be given to the question of whom to claim against, to avoid potential adverse costs consequences from bringing proceedings against the wrong, or too many, defendant(s) or – worse – failing to sue the tortfeasor ultimately found to be primarily or even solely responsible for the claimant’s losses.”

Full story (PDF)

Cloisters, November 2012

Source: www.cloisters.com

Privacy in the 21st Century – Lord Neuberger

Posted December 4th, 2012 in freedom of expression, news, privacy, speeches by sally

Privacy in the 21st Century (PDF)

Lord Neuberger

UK Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists’ Lecture, 28th November 2012

Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk

SodaStream to seek legal advice after ad ban appeal fails – The Guardian

Posted December 4th, 2012 in advertising, appeals, news by sally

“SodaStream is to seek legal advice after failing to get its £11m ad campaign on UK television, with the regulator understood to have rejected its appeal against a ruling it ‘denigrates’ the bottled drinks industry.”

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The Guardian, 4th December 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

School teaching assistant Emma Webb jailed for pupil sex offences – BBC News

Posted December 4th, 2012 in news, school children, sentencing, sexual grooming, sexual offences, teachers by sally

“A school teaching assistant who had sex with teenage pupils after grooming them on Facebook and sending them indecent text messages has been jailed.”

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BBC News, 3rd December 2012

Source: www.bbc.co.uk