Latest Cases

Child – Custody. The Family Division granted Madonna permission to withdraw proceedings brought by her, under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, for the summary return of her son to the United States. It held that r 29.4 of the Family Procedure Rules, SI 2010/2955, applied to applications in proceedings under the Hague Convention and, accordingly, the permission of the court was required to withdraw such proceedings. It ruled that, applying settled law to the facts, in circumstances where the mother and the father accepted that the Supreme Court of the State of New York had jurisdiction in the present matter, there were positive merits to permitting the mother to withdraw her application in the present jurisdiction. 

Damages – Measure of damages. The Queen's Bench Division assessed damages under various heads including general damages in a case where liability had been admitted by the defendant company following the death of the claimant's husband from mesothelioma. 

Claim form – Service. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed an appeal against the refusal to validate service of a claim form under CPR 6.15. There had been no error in law in the judge's approach in circumstances where there had not been a good reason not to have correctly effected service on the defendant within time. 

European Union – Jurisdiction. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding, among other things, that arts 23(5) and 24 of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 should be interpreted as meaning that, in a dispute concerning the non-performance of a contractual obligation, in which the applicant had brought proceedings before the courts of the member state in which the respondent had its seat, the jurisdiction of those courts could stem from art 24 of that regulation where the respondent did not dispute their jurisdiction, even though the contract between the two parties contained a clause conferring jurisdiction on the courts of a third country. 

European Union – Agricultural products and foodstuffs. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, decising that art 27(4)(a) and Annex VI, points (1) and (2), of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council should be interpreted as precluding member states, when they prescribed the fees charged to food sector establishments, from including the costs connected to the compulsory basic training of official auxiliaries. 

Town and country planning – Development. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, ruled on two conjoined appeals concerning the meaning and effect of para 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework (the NPPF). Among other things, it held that, '[relevant] policies for the supply of housing', meant 'relevant policies affecting the supply of housing'. A 'relevant' policy was simply a policy relevant to the application for planning permission before the decision-maker, relevant either because it was a policy relating specifically to the provision of new housing in the local planning authority's area or because it bore upon the principle of the site in question being developed for housing. 

Banking and finance – Lending and security – Performance bond – Notice calling up bond – Validity. Court of Session: Refusing a reclaiming motion in an action seeking payment of a sum said to be due by the defender under a performance guarantee bond it had granted in favour of the pursuer in security of the obligations of the operator of an opencast mine to restore the land following the cessation of mining operations, in which the defender asserted that the notice the pursuer served to call up its liability under the bond was invalid, the court held that the Lord Ordinary was correct to conclude that the notice sent by the pursuer was an effective notice in the light of the terms of the bond. 

Minor – Custody. The Family Division held that the father's defences under arts 12 and 13 of the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980 had not been made out and the two children retained by him in the United Kingdom had to be returned to Spain where their mother resided and where they had been habitually resident. 

Education – Discrimination – Age and/or disability. Court of Session: In an appeal by a local education authority, which had refused a request to continue funding the school fees of the pursuer, who suffered from a disability (autism), for further year after he attained the age of 18, and also refused to grant him funding by way of a bursary, the court allowed the appeal in part, holding that while the sheriff was entitled to find that the local authority did discriminate against the pursuer and an award in respect of anxiety and upset should be affirmed, it was not open to the sheriff to make an award based on a finding of liability to pay the school fees for a further year. 

Public procurement – Tender process. Court of Session: Pronouncing decree of absolvitor in action in which the unsuccessful bidders in a competition for the award by the defenders of a contract for the provision of ferry services sought damages, contending that the defenders breached the duty of transparency imposed by reg 4(3) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 in two respects, the court rejected contentions that the defenders had failed to define the subject matter of the contract with the clarity required by law and that their evaluation of the freight proposals in the bids which had been submitted had been carried out without reference to any objective criteria.