Latest Cases

European Union – Trade Marks. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Laboratorios Ern SA (Laboratorios) against the decision of the Fourth Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) concerning opposition proceedings between Laboratorios and michelle menard GmbH — Berlin cosmetics regarding the application by the latter company for registration of word mark 'Lenah. C' as a Community trade mark. 

Bankruptcy – Petition. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the claimant's appeal against the grant of a bankruptcy order, held, among other things, that the registrar had been entitled for find that the claimant had been personally served with the petition of bankruptcy, as required by r 6.14 of the Insolvency Rules 1986 and as articulated in authority, notwithstanding that the process server had, in the presence of the claimant, handed it to a third party who had accompanied the claimant and who had thrown it in the bin. The claimant had been aware that the document was a petition seeking a bankruptcy order against him and the registrar had not made erroneous or unjustified findings of fact. 

Immigration – Leave to remain – Right to family life. Court of Session: Granting a judicial review petition by an Indian citizen, challenging the refusal of his application for leave to remain in the UK as the spouse of a British citizen, the court held that the respondent had not shown by her refusal letter that proper consideration had been given to the whole circumstances of the case, either within the Immigration Rules or outside of them. 

Costs – Order for costs. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal against an order as to costs made against the appellant in circumstances where he had beaten the offer to settle for '£18,500 net of [Compensation Recovery Unit]' that had been made to him by the respondent pursuant to CPR Pt 36. The offer had been a valid one under Pt 36, the recorder had been entitled to wait to assess costs until after the Compensation Recovery Unit had reviewed the appellant's certificate of recoverable benefits and, on the facts, the recorder had erred in concluding that the appellant had not beaten the offer. 

European Union – Freedom of establishment. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling deciding, among other things, that art 49 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be interpreted as not precluding a member state's tax regime, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, under which, in the event of transfer by a resident company to a non-resident company within the same group of a permanent establishment situated in another member state, the losses previously deducted in respect of the establishment transferred were reincorporated into the taxable profit of the transferring company where, under a double taxation convention, the income of such a permanent establishment was exempt from tax in the member state in which the company to which that establishment belonged had its seat. 

Evidence – Admissibility. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the claimant tenants' appeal concerning the applicability of the 'without prejudice' privilege to certain discussions that had taken place between the second tenant and the defendant landlord's solicitor. The entirety of the discussions at the first interview and thereafter in correspondence, and at the second interview were properly to be regarded as having been protected by without prejudice privilege, which had not been waived. 

Croft – Resumption of croft or part of croft by landlord – Competency of application to Land Court. Court of Session: In a special case stated by the Scottish Land Court, which had granted an application for authority for resumption of land forming part of a common grazing, rejecting the respondent's contention that the application was incompetent, the court held that that an owner of land over which there was a right of common grazing in favour of crofting tenants was a 'landlord' for the purposes of s 20 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, the meaning of 'landlord' where it appeared in s 20 was provided by the definition in s 61 of the Act, and having regard to that definition the Land Court did not err in holding that the reference to 'landlord' in s 20 applied to all owners of common grazing land and, in particular, the applicant. 

Consumer law – Defective products – Negligence – Duty of care. Court of Session: Sustaining the defenders' plea to the relevancy and granting decree of dismissal in an action in which the pursuers, whose clubhouse was extensively damaged when an electric golf trolley which was left overnight in a locker room caught fire sought reparation from the importers and suppliers of the trolley, the court held that 

Negligence – Duty of care. The Queen's Bench Division held that the claimant patient succeeded in his claim in negligence against the defendant NHS Trust who had employed the surgeon who had performed an operation on him. The court decided that defendant had not established that, absent incontinence, the claimant would have had a colostomy. 

Trespass to the person – Battery. The Queen's Bench Division dismissed the claimant's application for damages and declaratory relief against the defendant Metropolitan Police Commissioner for battery, negligence and breach of his right to life, under art 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (art 2), brought as a result of being shot by an officer. The claimant had been shot in lawful self-defence, the police had not owed him a duty of care and art 2 had not been violated by the shooting or the planning and conduct of the operation.