Latest Cases

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. 

Personal Injury: Quantum Case. Road traffic accident. PSLA of £3,100 with total damages of £3,512. 

Personal Injury: Personal Injury: Quantum Case. Road traffic accident. PSLA and total damages of £5,500. 

Immigration – Leave to enter. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appellant Nepalese national's appeal concerning the respondent Entry Clearance Officer's (ECO) refusal of his application for entry clearance to settle in the United Kingdom. It considered whether the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) had erred in law in having assessed his claim under art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights as at 2013, rather than as at the date of the ECO's original decision some three years earlier. 

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. 

Patent – Practice. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ruled on a number of applications made in respect of a claim concerning a patent for a snap-in insert which was used in display panels for shops. Among other things, it held that the English courts had jurisdiction over the dispute; granted the claimants' application for an order, under CPR 6.15(1) and (2) that good service was deemed to have been achieved by delivery to the defendants of a copy of an unsigned claim form; and dismissed a claim against one of the defendants where there were no arguable pleaded grounds on which the claimants could allege that that defendants had infringed the patent. 

Human rights – Right to a fair hearing. The European Court of Human Rights dismissed the applicant's contention that his right to a fair trial had been violated by the admission of hearsay evidence at his murder trial. Having regard to the existence of other incriminating evidence and of procedural safeguards, it could not be said that the criminal proceedings had been rendered unfair. 

Minor – Medical treatment. The Family Division held that it was in the best interests of a seven-year-old child, who had profound disabilities and needs, to grant the declarations sought by the applicant NHS trust, which sought the court's permission to treat the child in accordance with the treating clinicians' clinical discretion, including whether or not to resuscitate her in the event of a collapse. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division made rulings concerning twins born to the applicant, X, who was in a same-sex relationship with the first respondent, Y. Owing to IVF treatment, X was the biological mother, and Y the gestational mother, of the twins. Owing to an error on the part of the clinic that had provided the treatment, X was not registered as the parent. The court held that an order would be made that X was the parent of the twins. 

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.