Latest Cases

Riot – Damage. The Supreme Court held that in assessing compensation for liability for riot damage by the respondent insurers against the police authority, s 2(1) of the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 did not provide compensation for consequential loss including loss of profit and rent. 

Financial services – Financial Conduct Authority. The Supreme Court, in dismissing the appellants' appeal, held that arrangements made by the first appellant company, which was controlled by the second appellant, to enable members of the public to invest in land, amounted to collective investment schemes within the meaning of s 235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and, thus, 'regulated activities' for the purpose of s 19 of the Act. 

Value added tax – Supply of goods and services. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) dismissed the action brought by way of judicial review by Telefonica Europe plc and Telefonica UK Ltd challenging a decision by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners to change the method by which those companies had calculated the proportion of the monthly charge to customers for the supply of access to the mobile telephone network that related to such access used and enjoyed by customers outside the European Union. 

Insurance – Contract of insurance. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, ruled on the true construction of an aggregation clause contained in an insurance policy applicable to all solicitors' indemnity policies, pursuant to the requirement in the Solicitors' Act 1974 for compulsory liability insurance for solicitors and the Minimum Terms and Conditions required to be incorporated into such polices. The true construction of the words 'in a series of matters or transactions' was that the matters or transactions had to have an intrinsic relationship with each other, not an extrinsic relationship with a third factor. 

Personal Injury: Quantum Case. Medical negligence. PSLA of £10,000 with total damages of £17,500. The claimant suffered pain in her teeth, eventually leading to bone loss in the jaw and bone graft implantation surgery, as a result of the defendant's failure to carry out root canal treatment to treat an infection. 

Negligence – Information or advice. The Queen's Bench Division held that the defendant solicitor had given negligent advice in relation to the identification of general conditions of service in the giving of advice in an employment termination agreement. If the claimant had been given correct non-negligent advice about the effect of the payment in lieu of notice clause on the vesting of the final 25 per cent of the long term incentive plan (LTIP), the CRU Group would have been able to avoid agreeing to the vesting of the remaining 25 per cent of the LTIP in the employment settlement agreement and side letter. 

Children and young persons – Jurisdiction. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed a mother's appeal against an order of the court that prevented her from naming her two children (who had been taken into care) 'Cyanide' and 'Preacher'. The naming of a child was an act of parental responsibility, the extent of which could be determined by a local authority. There was no restriction in the Children Act 1989 preventing an authority from overruling a parent in relation to a forename, but that was subject to a parent's rights under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judge had erred in finding that the authority could determine the mother's choice of name pursuant to s 33(3)(b) of the 1989 Act, where the proper route was for the matter to be put before the High Court by way of an application to invoke its inherent jurisdiction under s 100 of that Act. 

Company – Shares. The Chancery Division made findings concerning the ownership of property belonging to the claimant and the first defendant, who had formerly been in a long-term relationship. Among other things, it made findings concerning the ownership of the second and third defendant companies. 

Insolvency – Bankruptcy. The Chancery Division held that, providing the claimant gave certain undertakings, it would grant permission to appeal and allow an appeal and set aside a bankruptcy order made in respect of the claimant on the petition of a local authority. The petition had been based on council tax liability orders, which the claimant disputed. The court held that the judge ought to have adjourned the bankruptcy petition in order to await the outcome of the claimant's appeal to the Valuation Tribunal in respect of the liability orders. 

Health and safety – Health and safety inspector. The Administrative Court allowed the appellant health and safety inspector's appeal against the decision of the employment tribunal, cancelling a notice prohibiting the respondent from carrying out further roofing works. The tribunal had failed to determine whether it would have issued the notice based on the information that the inspector had known, or ought to have known, when he had issued the notice and to recognise that, subject to reasonable practicality, the respondent had been obliged to provide sufficient work equipment to prevent a fall or minimise the distance and consequences of a fall.