What a difference a PSED makes… – Nearly Legal

‘Ms Durdana was a tenant of LCH. She faced possession proceedings under ground 17 Sch 2 Housing Act 1988 – that the landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by the tenant or someone acting at the tenant’s instigation.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th April 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Remote Justice : A Judge’s perspective – Transparency Project

‘There is no question that remote hearings are a good means of ensuring the continued delivery of the decision-making element of the family justice system. It is amazing that we can do it at all and it is great that we can. But doing so in this way is at the cost of our ability properly to connect to one another, and judges like me are compromised in their ability to conduct hearings with the empathy, fairness, understanding and compassion that is rightly valued as an essential element of the Family Court. I appreciate that in order to deliver justice in the time of Covid-19 we must accept compromise. I wanted to share my experiences however, as there have been times that the extent to which I have felt constrained has been uncomfortable, and I worry about the impact on the parties, and the wider goal of delivering justice fairly. Even though huge progress has and will continue to be made in improving remote hearings, we will be working under the effects of Covid-19 for many months yet to come. I am concerned about the responsibility that will continue to fall on judges for deciding what cases are to be heard or not, and for setting the terms of reference for what constitutes a fair hearing in the time of Covid-19.’

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Transparency Project, 7th April 2020

Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk

Barrister breached court order to see ex-girlfriend – Legal Futures

‘A senior barrister has been suspended for three months and fined £1,000 for twice breaching a non-molestation order to see his ex-girlfriend.’

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Legal Futures, 8th April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bayer v NHS Darlington Appeal – NIPC Law

‘This was an appeal by Bayer Plc and Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited against Mrs Justice Whipple’s judgment in Bayer Plc v NHS Darlington Clinical Commissioning Groups and others : [2019] PTSR 922, [2018] WLR(D) 589, [2018] EWHC 2465 (Admin) which I blogged in Bayer Plc v NHS Darlington CCG and Others 2 Oct 2018. In her judgment, Mrs Justice Whipple dismissed applications for judicial review by Bayer and Novartis of a decision by NHS Darlington and other Clinical Commissioning Groups in Northeast England that the NHS Trusts from which they commission services should use a drug called Avastin as the preferred treatment option for an eye disease generally referred to as wet age-related macular degeneration (“WAMD”).’

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NIPC Law, 7th April 2020

Source: nipclaw.blogspot.com

Coronavirus: Walsall dad fined for son flouting lockdown – BBC News

‘A father has been fined by police after his son persistently flouted the coronavirus lockdown rules.’

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BBC News, 7th April 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Gethin Thomas: Back to the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill – UK Constitutional Law Association

‘On 24 March 2020, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill 2020 was introduced into the House of Commons, for its first reading, by Caroline Lucas MP. The Bill had been introduced into the House of Lords on 21 October 2019, by Baroness Jenny Jones, on behalf of Lord John Bird (who is best known as the founder of Big Issue). Whilst the Bill is not supported by the Government, it has garnered cross party support, and the Bill’s co-sponsors are drawn from all of the major UK political parties.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 7th April 2020

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

UK lawyers inundated by divorced parents arguing over lockdown custody – The Guardian

Posted April 8th, 2020 in children, coronavirus, custody, divorce, families, news by sally

‘Lawyers have been inundated with inquiries from divorced parents arguing about where their children should stay during the lockdown, with some trying to get their former partners sent to jail for breaking existing custody arrangements.’

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The Guardian, 7th April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

What’s in an appeal? – Nearly Legal

Posted April 8th, 2020 in appeals, homelessness, housing, jurisdiction, local government, news by sally

‘What can be addressed in a section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeal of a review decision? What is the scope of the jurisdiction? This second appeal provides answers, albeit in a rather phyrric way.’

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Nearly Legal, 6th April 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Inquests into deaths in custody during the COVID-19 pandemic – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Following the sad news of the first death in custody from COVID-19, a question arises: what are likely to be the issues at inquests into the deaths in custody from COVID-19?’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th April 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Lockdown: A Response to Professor King — Robert Craig – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This post analyses the legal provisions that accompany some of the restrictions on movement of individuals announced by the Government. The movement restrictions themselves are vital to the protection of life in the current crisis and must be adhered to by all persons. The current Government guidance setting out these and other restrictions can be found here. Legal scrutiny of the associated regulations is warranted but should not be taken to question the undeniable imperative to follow that guidance.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 6th April 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Vicarious liability — the new boundary dispute – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In the Christian Brothers case Lord Phillips of famously declared that “the law of vicarious liability is on the move”. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Barclays Bank v. Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 13 has brought that movement to a juddering halt. The question posed by the appeal was a simple one. Is it possible to be vicariously liable for the acts of a self-employed ‘independent contractor’? The answer the Court gave in this case was ‘no’.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd April 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Corporate failure to prevent abuses – Law Society’s Gazette

‘While debate rumbles on over the extension of ‘failure to prevent’ offences into the broad spectrum of financial crime, including fraud and money laundering, some have called for their introduction into an altogether different sphere: human rights.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th April 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Supreme Court holds hospital liable for commercial surrogacy — William Edis QC – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Supreme Court has held that a defendant hospital trust must pay for the cost of a commercial surrogacy arrangement abroad despite such arrangements being unlawful in the UK.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd April 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Company must disclose documents held by subsidiaries – Litigation Futures

‘A company must disclose documents held by its subsidiaries and which it controls, the High Court has ruled, in a case handled under the disclosure pilot.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Junior solicitor who lied about lost documents struck off – Legal Futures

‘A junior solicitor at the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) external advisers Capsticks lied about losing documents she was working on while acting for the regulator in a data protection case.’

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Legal Futures, 6th April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Institute of Licensing issues protocol for licence applications and hearings under Licensing Act 2003 during COVID-19 pandemic – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 7th, 2020 in coronavirus, licensed premises, licensing, local government, news by sally

‘The Institute of Licensing has published a Protocol designed to assist licensing authorities in complying with their obligations and duties under the Licensing Act 2003 during this emergency period.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd April 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New Judgment: WM Morrison Supermarkets plc v Various Claimants [2020] UKSC 12 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal concerns the circumstances in which an employer is vicariously liable for wrongs committed by its employees, and also whether vicarious liability may arise for breaches by an employee of duties imposed by the Data Protection Act 1998.’

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UKSC Blog, 1st April 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Ex-detective who preyed on women given suspended sentence to care for son – The Guardian

‘A former detective constable who admitted inappropriate contact with women he met in the course of his duties has been given a suspended sentence after a judge heard that no one else could care for his one-year-old child during the coronavirus lockdown.’

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The Guardian, 6th April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tribunal rejects SRA deal with flight delay solicitor – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has taken the unusual step of rejecting an agreement between the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and a solicitor who broke the rules through his involvement with flight delay compensation claims.’

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Legal Futures, 7th April 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge upholds acceptance of ‘mistaken’ £0 part 36 offer – Litigation Futures

‘A claimant who issued proceedings after the defendant accepted a part 36 offer for £0 – which he said had been made by mistake – has had his claim struck out for abuse of process.’

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Litigation Futures, 7th April 2020

Source: www.litigationfutures.com