Latest Cases

Social Security – Benefit. The Administrative Court held that the failure to exempt at least individual family carers from the benefit cap on some who received carer's allowance, under Pt 8A of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, SI 2006/213, was unlawful because it amounted to indirect discrimination which was not objectively justifiable. However, the Regulations were not unlawful as disproportionate or unreasonable. 

Immigration – Detention. The Administrative Court dismissed the claimant Libyan national's application for judicial review of his immigration detention for 21 months. There had, at all times, been a substantial risk that the claimant would abscond and that he would re-offend if released, and there had been a sufficient prospect of removal to warrant the claimant's continued detention. 

Local authority – Statutory powers. The Administrative Court, in allowing the appellant local authority's appeal by way of case stated, held that the correct approach to the statutory test on an appeal against a decision to change street names was whether, according the local authority appropriate respect for its reasoning and conclusions, that decision could properly be said to be wrong. In the circumstances, the judge not been entitled to make the decision he had. 

Copyright – Infringement. The Chancery Division considered a dispute about the exploitation of recordings of musicals. The court held that copyright in the recordings vested in the second defendant company, and that the first defendant company had known that it had been infringing copyright at the time of releasing certain recordings. 

Mental health – Court of Protection. The Court of Protection dismissed a mother's appeal against a judge's decision declaring that her daughter, who had autistic spectrum disorder, lacked capacity and that it was in her best interest to move to a supported living placement. The judge had been entitled, on the facts, to come to the decisions that he had and, in so doing, had not breached art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Nationality – British nationality. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the applicants' appeals against dismissal of their applications for judicial review in respect of the Secretary of State's decision to render null and void the grant to them of British citizenship. There was an implied limitation upon the powers of the Secretary of State to grant citizenship under s 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981. An applicant for naturalisation was not entitled to be naturalised if he had engaged in fraud to impersonate another of such seriousness and of such centrality to the application that had been made as wholly to undermine the statutory process. That implied limitation could not sensibly be read as concerned only with a narrow focus on how to identify the person who had applied for naturalisation simply by reference to whether they had indefinite leave to remain as an identifiable individual. 

Injunction – Interim. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, partially allowed the defendants' appeal against an interim injunction granted to the claimants in wide terms. The defendants' draft order had offered terms which adequately protected the claimant pending trial and the claimant's additions to the draft order were rejected. 

Arbitration – Award. The Commercial Court allowed the charterers' appeal in an arbitration concerning delay the failure of a vessel to meet certain speed and performance warranties. It held that, among other things, the arbitrator had made an error of law when considering the meaning of 'good weather' in the case and had failed to properly consider part of the vessel's journey. The case was remitted to the arbitrator. 

Patent – Infringement. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the claimant's appeal against revocation of its patent entitled 'Interactive special events video signal navigation system' concerning the ability of a television viewer to interact with his television set so as to cause it to display information. The judge had not taken too broad an approach in his construction of the claim. 

Personal Injury – Liability – Contributory negligence. Court of Session: In an action in which a pedestrian sought reparation for injuries sustained in a road traffic accident, having been struck by a van driven by the first defender as she was crossing a road from behind a bus, the court, after holding that the defender failed to take reasonable care as he approached the locus of the accident and that had he reduced his speed to one which the court considered reasonable in the circumstances then the accident would have been avoided, concluded that a 50-50 apportionment of liability between the pursuer and the defenders was appropriate.