Latest Cases

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Court declined to make an interim care order in respect of a child C who had been living with the maternal grandmother and in contact with her mother despite the fact that the mother had serious drug addiction issues. Although the criteria for making an interim care order under the s 38 of the Children Act 1989 was satisfied however in the exercise of the court's discretion C's welfare demanded that C nevertheless be left in the care of the maternal grandmother. 

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. 

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. 

Insurance – Policy. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the claimant's appeal concerning a claim for hire charges in respect of a replacement vehicle following a road traffic accident. The particulars of claim made it clear that the claim was a subrogated claim under a policy of insurance, under which the claimant had claimed, and that the hire charges had been discharged by payments under the policy. Among other things, the court did not accept that, if there had been, as the judge had found, two insurance policies, it had been right to confine the claimant to a claim only in respect of the first. 

Sentence – Life imprisonment. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the Secretary of State's appeal, held that the evidence had not established that the claimant prisoner had been denied a real opportunity to demonstrate a sufficient reduction of risk by the end of the tariff period. It dismissed the claimant's cross-appeal, by which he sought to advance a claim under art 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Income tax – Assessment. The Chancery Division allowed an application for summary judgment by seven companies in the course of the FII group litigation concerning restitution of advance corporation tax (ACT) paid on foreign income dividends (FIDs). The companies had succeeded in claims regarding FIDs which the respondent Revenue and Customs Commissioners sought to appeal. The court held that the Revenue's arguments did not have a real prospect of success. 

Terrorism – Prevention of. The Administrative Court determined that the claimant's appeal against the defendant Secretary of State's refusal to vary measures set out in his Terrorism Prevention Investigation Measures notice should be held at the same time as the statutory review of that notice. It further set out the procedure to be followed, given the Secretary of State's refusal to disclose in open proceedings all the material sought by the claimant. 

Income tax – Partnership. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (the tribunal) dismissed the appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (tax Chamber) which had allowed the taxpayer's claim for deduction of a payment made to a bank on the basis that it had been am expense incurred 'wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade' as required by s 34 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005. The tribunal held that it was in the context of the limited liability partnership (LLP) conducted collectively that the taxpayer had to justify the deduction of his payment and that the payment at issue had not been incurred 'wholly and exclusively' for the purposes of the LLP's trade. 

Mental health – Persons who lack capacity. The Court of Protection held that the parent of a 16 year old young person could not consent to their confinement which, absent a valid consent, would amount to a deprivation of that young person's liberty for the purposes of art 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that it was for the local authority to protect a young person's right in such circumstances by applications to court to determine whether that young person was deprived to his liberty, is so, to seek authorisation for its continuance. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division allowed an appeal to amend the particulars of a case of medical negligence in the case of a 6-year old boy with complex mental and physical disabilities following a home birth. It held that the amendment ought to be allowed even at the risk of the trial date being lost. The consolidation of all claims to be heard at one trial was so much more practical and economic in terms of time, trouble and cost to the parties.