Latest Cases

Value added tax – Supply of goods and services. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) allowed the appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) to the effect that Vodafone Group Services Ltd could amend a previous claim for repayment of overpaid output tax, in respect of which an appeal was pending, so that it encompassed subsequent claims on different grounds, limited to the same amount as the previous claim. The tribunal held that, in the present case, the later claims had not been subsumed within the previous claim, as claimed by Vodafone. 

Variation of trusts – Power of appointment. The Chancery Division gave its reasons for allowing an application to vary three trusts. The object of the variation was to eliminate the need for the involvement of non-parties to the proceedings in discussions about the future of the trust. The court held that, in the circumstances, it was perfectly proper for the trustees to effect the partial releases. No fraud on a power was involved. 

Housing – Local authority. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant severely autistic children's application for judicial review of the defendant local authority's failure to afford them a transfer to other accommodation was unlawful, alleging that their present accommodation was unsafe for them. There was no doubt that the system in operation to deal with accommodation to meet needs complied with the indirect application of s 27 of the Children Act 1989 and its application to each claimant was lawful. 

Arbitration – Award. The Mercantile Court held that a New York Convention arbitration award should be enforced in the courts of England and Wales in its entirety. The important public policy against enforcement of penalty clauses was not sufficient to permit refusal of enforcement. The decision of the court chosen by the parties, applying the law chosen by the parties, would be respected. 

Patent – Infringement. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal against the quantification of an account of profits following an earlier finding that the defendant had infringed the claimants' patent for a snap-in insert that attached to shop display panels. The judge had erred in his approach to apportionment of the overall profit made by the defendant and had further erred in his assessment of the deduction of general overheads. 

Value added tax – Penalty. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) dismissed the appeal by Marsdens Caterers of Sheffield (Marsdens) against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) (the FTT) by which the FTT had dismissed Marsdens challenge to a default surcharge imposed on it by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners in respect of late payment of VAT for the relevant period. 

Human rights – Right to liberty and security. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant's application for damages for unlawful detention, following the decision of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, that his sentence of imprisonment for public protection had been beyond the judge's powers. Although the judge had made a mistake about her sentencing powers, the claimant's detention under her order had been lawful and not arbitrary. Further, he had been provided a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate rehabilitation. 

Prison – Prison conditions. The Administrative Court allowed the claimant indeterminate sentence prisoner's application for judicial review. In having a system in which the review date for consideration of the transfer of indeterminate sentence prisoners to open conditions and the actual transfers had been so delayed, the defendant Parole Board had been in breach of the common law duty and, as that systemic failure had directly affected the claimant, also in breach of his ancillary right under art 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought the Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) concerning proceedings by Coca-Cola for the registration as a Community trade mark of a three-dimensional sign consisting of the shape of a contour bottle without fluting. 

Negligence – Duty to take care. The Queen's Bench Division held that there had been a breach of duty in the failure to treat and diagnose the claimant's injury. The examining doctor had not undertaken an examination which had addressed and elicited responses in relation to all three tests in the guidelines and therefore, his examination had fallen below the requisite standard of care in order to satisfy to the Bolam test.