Latest Cases

Solicitor – Negligence. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the defendant solicitors' firm's appeal and allowed the claimant's cross appeal from an order made after the quantum only trial of a professional negligence claim against the defendant. The judge had made an error of principle in having confined his assessment of loss to the transaction date, rather than the trial date and none of the judge's reasons justified the conclusion that the claimant had not unreasonably failed to mitigate its loss. Nonetheless, the defendant was liable for the full cost which the claimant had incurred in curing a defect in a lease, albeit after trial, in the sum of £157,100. 

Practice – Civil litigation. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the claimant's appeal against the district judge's allocation of his claim, within the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents, from CPR Pt 8 to Pt 7 in circumstances where the personal injury claim had been settled but damages for car hire charges remained at issue. The district judge had erred in that further evidence had not been necessary. Further, the case had not fallen within para 7.2 of CPR PD 8B and the district judge had had no power under that paragraph to re-allocate the claim. 

Libel and slander – Defamatory words. The Queen's Bench Division held that in a claim for slander the claimant had not proved that the defendant had made the statement complained of and therefore the claim failed at the first hurdle. 

European Union – Free movement of capital. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed, in part, an appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against two judgments regarding the tax treatment of dividends paid to United Kingdom companies on shares in foreign companies. The court upheld the judge's finding that European law required a tax credit for the higher of tax actually paid and the foreign nominal rate of tax of the dividend paying company capped at the UK corporation tax rate. The appeal succeeded regarding the pro rata arrangements for advance corporation tax payments. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that, the general principle prohibiting discrimination on grounds of age, as given concrete expression by Council Directive (EC) 2000/78 should be interpreted as precluding, including in disputes between private persons, national legislation, such as that at issue in the proceedings before the referring court, which deprived an employee of entitlement to a severance allowance where the employee had been entitled to claim an old-age pension from the employer under a pension scheme which the employee had joined before reaching the age of 50, regardless of whether the employee chose to remain on the employment market or take his retirement. 

Civil procedure – Interim interdict – Construction of will and codicil. Court of Session: In proceedings in which the pursuers contended that a will and codicil should be read as requiring the defender to ensure that their rights to development profits were guaranteed in all time coming by the imposition of a burden on the title to an estate, and that unless interdicted he would convey the estate to a third party free of arrangements giving effect to the condition which ought to attend the title, the court recalled an interim interdict granted earlier, holding that the pursuers' averments and submissions disclosed at best a weak prima facie case and that the balance of convenience did not favour the grant of interim interdict. 

Police – Disclosure of information. The Administrative Court allowed the claimant's application for judicial review of the decision of the defendant Independent Monitor of the Home Office, upholding the disclosure of information in an enhanced criminal record certificate. The defendant had not undertaken the independent review required of him and his analysis could not withstand the application of the Wednesbury test of reasonableness. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division ruled on the re-hearing of cross-applications for child arrangements orders in respect of a six-year-old child, T, whose mother had died. It held that, in all the circumstances, T's interests would be best served by her remaining in the care of the family friends of the mother and a child arrangements order would be made that T lived and made her primary home with them. However, the father and his partner had to play a full part in T's life and childhood and a further child arrangements order would be made which provided for, among other things, contact and visits during the school holidays. 

Immigration – Appeal. The Administrative Court allowed the claimant Afghani national's application for judicial review of the refusal of the defendant Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) to grant permission to appeal against the refusal of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) to fully address his appeal under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. However, in the circumstances, relief would be declined. 

Shipping – Charterparty. The Commercial Court dismissed the claimant charterer's application for permission to appeal against the decision of an arbitrator regarding the financial consequences of the detention of the vessel that was the subject of an agreement between the parties. The arbitrator had not erred in his interpretation of the contract. Further permission to appeal had been required, and would be refused because the statutory criterion in the Arbitration Act 1996 had not been fulfilled.