Latest Cases

Arbitration – Award. The Commercial Court held in a challenge by the claimant to part of an arbitral award under s 67 and 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that the claimant had not lost its right to challenge the relevant parts of the award but that the challenge nevertheless failed. 

Insurance – Contract of insurance. The Commercial Court held that the claimant, acting on behalf of a Lloyd's syndicate, was entitled to avoid a contractors combined liability policy both for material non-disclosure and misrepresentation, by the defendant tunnelling constructor, and that it had validly avoided the policy. The defendant's counterclaim thus fell to be dismissed. 

Company – Compulsory winding up. The Secretary of State presented a petition, under s 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986, seeking an order that the respondent company be wound up on the basis that it would be expedient in the public interest. The Chancery Division, in allowing the application, held that misuse of insolvency legislation by the respondent's scheme demonstrated a lack of commercial probity, such that it was just and equitable to wind up the company. 

Adoption – Order. Two years after the applicant's adoption by the respondents, she was sent to Ghana to live with their extended family, where she was abused. The Family Division granted her applications to revoke the adoption order and change her name back to that of her biological mother in the highly exceptional and very particular circumstances. 

Practice – Civil litigation. The Technology and Construction Court following the approach in the case of CIP Properties (AIPT) Ltd v Galliford Try Infrastructure Ltd and others [2015] All ER (D) 86 (Mar) made decisions on the costs budget as submitted by the claimant in respect of an unexceptional contract case. 

Contempt of court – Committal. The claimants applied for an order for the committal of the defendant to prison, under CPR 71.8, for breach of a court order. The Chancery Division found the defendant in contempt in some respects and adjourned the committal application, with directions that the defendant depose specified matters and provide identified documents. 

Criminal law – Murder. The defendants were convicted of murder in the context of a feud between two Turkish drug gangs. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the second defendant's appeal against his sentence of detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, with a minimum term of 18 years custody, and the fourth defendant's appeals against conviction and his sentence of life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 33 years. 

Employment – Trade union. The Privy Council dismissed the appeal by ArcelorMittal Lisas Ltd (ArcelorMittal) against the decision of the Court of Appeal (Trinidad and Tobago) to uphold the judgment of the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago by which that court had granted the Steel Workers Union of Trinidad and Tobago a declaration that ArcelorMittal should be deemed to be the employer under labour only contracts of all those persons employed by so-called contractors and that the employer was bound to apply collective agreements entered into by the parties to those contract workers. 

Housing – Homeless person. The Queen's Bench Division of the Administrative Court allowed the claimant's application for judicial review of the revised Housing Allocations Policy of the London Borough of Ealing in circumstances where the claimant's application to be placed on that local authority's housing register had been rejected on the basis that she had not been resident in the borough for five years. The court decided that, among other things, the policy did not provide for the giving of reasonable preferences to prescribed categories of persons as required by s 166A of the Housing Act 1996 and was therefore unlawful. 

Compensation – Crime. The claimants sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's refusal of their claims for compensation for miscarriage of justice, under s 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. The Divisional Court, in dismissing the application, held that the Secretary of State's decision had not been unlawful on public law grounds.