Latest Cases

European Union – Trade marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Bristol Global Co. Ltd (BGCL) against the decision of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) relating to opposition proceedings between Bridgestone Corp. and BGCL regarding the application by the latter for registration of a figurative sign 'AEROSTONE' as a Community trade mark. 

Commercial contract – Construction. The Commercial Court ruled on the second case on the Financial List and held that, for a trade on the 2012 Loan Market Association terms in respect of a surety bonds facility: (i) the trade would, generally speaking, include the economic burden of the seller's obligations under issued surety bonds; (ii) the 'Purchased Assets' were, generally speaking, 'funded' to the extent that money had been paid by the seller under issued surety bonds, rather than to the extent by which the facility had been drawn by the mere issue of the surety bonds. 

European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that arts 49 and 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be interpreted as precluding a restrictive national provision, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which required a licensee to transfer, free of charge, on the cessation of business as a result of the expiry of the final term of the licence, the rights to use tangible and intangible assets which he owned and which constituted his network for the management and collection of bets, in so far as that restriction went beyond what was necessary to attain the objective actually pursued by that provision, which was for the referring court to verify. 

Firearms – Possession. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division held that a sentence of three years and six months' imprisonment for possession of a prohibited firearm, contrary to s 5(1)(aba) of the Firearms Act 1968, had been unduly lenient. Exceptional circumstances, pursuant to s 51A(2) of the Act, had not existed to justify a departure from the five-year mandatory minimum term. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division continued a freezing injunction in the Lord Chancellor's favour against the respondent former managing director of a solicitors' firm. There seemed to be a real risk that any judgment would go unsatisfied because of the respondent's disposal of his assets, unless he was restrained from disposing of them. 

Immigration – Detention. The Administrative Court allowed the claimant Zimbabwean national's application for judicial review of his immigration detention, as there was no realistic, foreseeable prospect of returning him to Zimbabwe. Although the claimant would be likely, if released, to abscond and to commit further offences, the defendant Secretary of State could not justify his continued detention when he had made it clear that he would not agree to his return home and the Zimbabwean authorities would only accept returning nationals if they had a passport or wished to return. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The Divisional Court dismissed the appellant's application for judicial review of the first judge's decision to refuse a witness summons to compel attendance at court and production of material by a police officer responsible for an English investigation into methylamphetamine importation by the appellant. Consequently, it also dismissed his appeal against orders for his extradition to the Czech Republic in relation to a series of drug offences based on the forum bar. 

Building contract – Terms. The Technology and Construction Court determined preliminary issues which arose in the court of a claim brought by the claimant company in respect of building work carried out at a warehouse in Kent. The issues included, among other things, whether a clause concerning limitation and notice of complaint, had been incorporated into a sub-contract between the first defendant contractor and second defendant sub-contractor and, if so incorporated, whether it was subject to the provisions of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division refused the application by the father, a convicted sex offender for contact with his son as no method of managing the kind of dangers that a convicted sex offender like the father might pose even to his own son had been put before the court. The mother's application for an order under s 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 would be refused as the present case was not one involving repeated applications. Nor had it displayed on the part of the father the kind of behaviour which, typically, founded a successful application for such an order. 

Patent – Threats of infringement proceedings. The Chancery Division made rulings in the claimant companies' claim for unjustified threats of patent infringement proceedings concerning the patent rights in a self-closing flood barrier. It held that, among other things, the question of the making of groundless threats of infringement proceedings would be adjourned, and that the claimant companies' counterclaim for misrepresentation would be dismissed.