Latest Cases

Practice – Family proceedings. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed a mother's appeal against orders made by a judge in connection with a local authority's appeal, including that the mother would give oral evidence at the appeal hearing. It held that the process adopted by the judge on the authority's appeal to him had not been appropriate or fair to the mother, even though he had embarked upon it with the best of intentions. 

Competition – Competition Appeal Tribunal. The Competition Appeal Tribunal dismissed the appeal by British Telecommunications plc against a decision of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) contained in a statement in which Ofcom had expressed its concern that BT could distort the development of competition in superfast broadband services (SFBB) to customers by setting an insufficient margin between the price of virtual unbundled local access (VULA) and the price of its retail packages which used VULA as an input. The tribunal rejected BT's range of arguments that Ofcom's market analysis was deficient and could not withstand profound and rigorous scrutiny. 

Elections – Parliamentary. The Queen's Bench Division held that due to an admitted breach by the thee elected candidates of r 6 of the Local Elections (Parishes and Communities) England and Wales Rules 2006, SI 3305/06 the election was void and it would be necessary to rerun it. 

Libel and slander – Pleading. The Queen's Bench Division, in a libel action, allowed the claimant's application to strike out parts of the defence and, bar one exception, refused the defendants' cross-application to amend their defence. 

Mental health – Court of Protection. The Court of Protection, on the Public Guardian's application to revoke a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for property and financial affairs, held that, in circumstances where the only evidence of the donor's capacity was in the Court of Protection General Visitor's report, which was ambivalent on the question of her capacity to revoke the LPA, an assessment by a Court of Protection Special Visitor was required prior to considering revoking the LPA and making a substantive deputyship appointment. Pending receipt of that report, the attorneys' authority to act under the LPA would be suspended and the donor's daughter would be appointed as an interim deputy. 

Costs – Orders for costs. The Administrative Court determined the costs consequences, following its decision, dismissing an application by the respondent for the discharge of a property freezing order (see [2016] All ER (D) 195 (Feb)). It ordered the respondent to pay the National Crime Agency (the NCA) £3,460, which provided a 50% discount from the NCA's total bill of costs would be discounted to reflect its non-disclosure. 

Practice – Striking out. The Technology and Construction Court granted a local authority's application to strike out a claim brought by an unsuccessful tenderer, under the Public Contract Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102 (the Regulations), where a contract for council tax and similar debt collection and enforcement services by bailiffs and enforcement agencies amounted to a 'services concession contract' and therefore fell outside the Regulations. The claim was unarguable in law and fact and there were procedural and substantive authorities which made it plain that a CPR Pt 7 claim should not be amended so as to turn it into a claim for judicial review, as requested by the claimant. 

European Union – Social security. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding, among other things, that art 67(3) of Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 had be interpreted as not precluding a member state from refusing to aggregate periods of employment necessary to qualify for unemployment benefit to supplement income from part-time employment, where that employment had not been preceded by any period of insurance or of employment in that member state. 

Immigration – Detention. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the claimant Somali national's appeal against the dismissal of his claim for judicial review, seeking a declaration and damages in the tort of false imprisonment and for breach of art 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the basis that he had been unlawfully detained by the defendant Secretary of State. Among things, it held that each of the conclusions reached by the deputy judge that had underpinned his conclusion that the period of the claimant's detention had been reasonable in all the circumstances had been material conclusions he had been fully entitled to have reached on the evidence available to him. 

Trade mark – Licence. The Chancery Division granted an order for an expedited trial of a dispute concerning intellectual property rights in industrial machines and parts and an exclusive licence in respect of the assembly and sale of whole machines. However, it held that it was not appropriate to grant the defendant company, which claimed to have the exclusive licence, interim injunctive relief against the claimant where the damage to the claimant if an injunction was granted was far more credible and far more likely to be uncompensatable in money terms than any possible damage to the defendant if an injunction was not granted.