Latest Cases

Tort – Wrongful interference with goods. The Commercial Court held that the claimant failed in his claim for damages in respect of alleged conversion by the creation of a lien, for the costs of storage of cargo into a warehouse where storage charges accrued. 

Building contract – Construction. The Technology and Construction Court answered questions on a number of important interpretation issues about the payment provisions of the JCT Standard Building Contract without Quantities 2011 as amended, and of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 as amended as well as the operation of the liquidated damages provisions of a contract between the parties in the context of the extension of time processes. 

Judicial review – Application for judicial review. The Administrative Court refused the claimant company permission to bring judicial review proceedings challenging reg 5 of the Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/197, on the ground that its application was, in the circumstances, premature. 

Practice – Family proceedings. The appellant father appealed against a factual finding made in private law proceedings in relation to his daughter. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that the judge's reasoning of his conclusions was such that the appeal had to be allowed and the findings of fact set aside. The matter would be remitted for fresh findings of fact to be made by another judge. 

Child – Care. The local authority had applied to remove a 16 year old girl and her brothers from the family home in circumstances where the girl had been the subject of a Child in Need plan and, subsequently, the girl and her parents had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism related offences. The Family Division refused to grant the order sought in relation to the boys as there was insufficient material at the relevant time on which to sanction their removal. The order would be granted in relation to the girl due to the continuing risk to her welfare of psychological and emotional harm from which she could not be protected if she remained in the home. 

Value added tax – Return. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (the tribunal) allowed the appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) (the FTT) by which the FTT had decided that a default surcharge levied at the rate of 2% on a net under-payment of VAT by the taxpayer company had been disproportionate. The tribunal set aside the FTT's decision on the basis that the FTT had erred in the approach it had taken to the calculation of the default surcharge. It re-made the decision by upholding the taxpayer's surcharge liability on the basis that the surcharge could not be regarded as going beyond the objectives of the default surcharge regime and consequently, was not disproportionate. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The Family Division made a parental order under s 54 of the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act 2008, despite the fact that it had been made outside the time limit in the Act and the parents were not living together. 

Extradition – Extradition order – Leave to appeal. High Court of Justiciary: Granting an application by an applicant who sought leave to appeal against a sheriff's decison ordering his extradition to Poland, the court first determined the appropriate test for the grant of leave to appeal in the absence of any statutory guidance, concluding that what was being looked for was an 'arguable' ground of appeal as that term was understood in the criminal appeal sifting process, and then, applying that test, held that there was an arguable ground of appeal as the offence was apparently a minor one, involving a small sum of money being borrowed by false pretence from a bank, and it was arguably disproportionate to extradite a person for such an offence 

Police – Powers. The Queen's Bench Division answered questions posed by an appeal by way of case stated concerning the arrest of the appellant, where the arresting officer had been mistakenly informed that the highway in question was public. The court held that, among other things, the arresting officer's mistake had not placed her outside of the execution of her duty. 

Criminal law – Sentence. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed an application by a serving prisoner that the process whereby a sentence could be reduced under the common law in return for assistance given to law enforcement authorities should be reconsidered to include assistance given following sentence, in accordance with the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The Court held that, among other things, there was no good reason to depart from the established principles.