Latest Cases

Mental health – Court of Protection. The patient suffered a stroke which left him incapacitated and unable to manage his own affairs. There were two applicants to the court of protection who sought to manage his affairs. The Court of Protection chose the candidate proposed by a support network of friends and neighbours, who represented the status quo in terms of being the persons in whom the patient had placed trust and confidence immediately before he became incapacitated. 

Town and country planning – Permission for development. The claimant Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicestershire challenged the defendant local authority's grant of outline planning permission so far as it concerned funding for police services. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the claimant had failed to surmount the very high threshold for establishing irrationality in the authority's failure to ensure an agreement under s 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 secured adequate and timely contributions to policing. Further, the authority had not made an unequivocal representation that could have led the claimant to expect that it would be consulted on the level of and timing of the delivery of the contribution. 

Education – Higher education. The claimant, who had discretionary leave to remain in the United Kingdom, was ineligible for a student loan as a result of her immigration status. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in allowing the defendant Secretary of State's appeal, found that the defendant Secretary of State had adopted a lawful bright line rule in formulating the 'basic category' of eligible students given in para 2 of pt 2 of Sch 1 to the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011. 

Company – Distribution of assets. M built up a considerable business involving property and entertainment ventures. When he died, his business was split between the parties. A dispute arose and the claimants brought proceedings against P, M's brother. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the claim, held that P had not, among other things, been in breach of contract, nor had he acted negligently. 

Costs – Employment tribunal. The employee's claims were struck out and the tribunal judge ordered that he should pay the whole of the employer's costs of the proceedings, to be assessed by the county court. The employee appealed, submitting that the judge had taken into account the substantial bill of costs incurred by the employer's in-house solicitor. The Employment Appeal Tribunal, in dismissing the employee's appeal, held, inter alia, that a receiving party could claim costs where he was legally represented by a qualified employee and that the definition within rule 38(3) of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2004 had not placed any artificial restriction on such a claim. 

Proceeds of crime – Civil recovery of proceeds of unlawful conduct. The claimant National Crime Agency sought a civil recovery order, under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, over eight properties, the proceeds of rental income, and English and Luxembourg bank accounts. The Queen's Bench Division held that, with the exception of one property, the assets were recoverable, as they had been acquired through unlawful conduct, namely, drug dealing, money laundering or VAT fraud. 

Mental health – Human rights. Court of Session: Allowing a reclaiming motion in judicial review proceedings by a patient who was detained indefinitely in the State Hospital, challenging a decision to implement a comprehensive ban on smoking there, the court held that the Lord Ordinary had erred in holding that the respondents did not have the power to implement the prohibition on smoking under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, and in holding that art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights was engaged, or, if it was, that there had been disproportionate interference with the petitioner's rights. 

European Union – Environment. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of point (k) of the second paragraph of art 2 and art 3(3) of Directive (EC) 2009/28 of the European Parliament and of the Council (on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources). The request had been made in proceedings between Ålands Vindkraft AB (AV) and the Swedish Energy Agency concerning the latter's refusal to authorise, for the purposes of the award of electricity certificates, a wind farm in Finland operated by AV. 

European Union – Employment. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that art 7(1) of Directive (EC) 2003/88 of the European Parliament and of the Council (concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time) should be interpreted as precluding national legislation and practice under which a worker whose remuneration consisted of a basic salary and commission, the amount of which was fixed by reference to the contracts entered into by the employer as a result of sales achieved by that worker, was entitled, in respect of his paid annual leave, to remuneration composed exclusively of his basic salary. 

Practice – Service out of the jurisdiction. The claimant was granted permission to serve its contractual claim against the defendant out of the jurisdiction. The defendant sought to set aside the order on the ground that it had never entered into any contracts with the claimant. The Commercial Court, in allowing the application, held that the claimant had failed to show the better argument that it had been a contracting party. Accordingly, the order for service out of the jurisdiction had to be set aside.