Latest Cases

Judgment – Default judgment. The claimant brought a claim in restitution, contending that joint venture and partnership agreements had been entered into in respect of a development project, but that, having made his contribution to the project, he had not received any financial return from it. He sought various declarations from the court. Judgment in default was entered against the first defendant, who was party to the joint venture. The Chancery Division, allowing the first defendant's appeal, held that, taking account of his new grounds of appeal and amended draft defence, the court's discretion would be exercised afresh in the first defendant's favour because there was a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. 

Arbitration – Award. In the course of patent proceedings, an arbitrator made two awards. The first concerned matters relating to jurisdiction and the scope of the arbitration. The second was a judgment on contractual interpretation. The claimant appealed. The Commercial Court, in allowing the appeal, held that the second award had been affected by a serious irregularity, and that it was appropriate to grant relief. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The father applied for variation of a shared residence order concerning a seven-year-old boy, N. The Family Court held that N had suffered emotional harm both as a result of the ongoing hostility between his parents, and because of the way his mother had immersed him in her religious beliefs and practices as a Jehovah's Witness. As neither of the parents could be relied upon to meet N's emotional needs, the shared care order should not continue. Interim removal would be a proportionate response to N's need for protection and an interim care order would be made. 

Mental health – Judicial review – Human rights. Court of Session: Refusing a judicial review petition in which the petitioner, an inpatient in a psychiatric treatment facility operating a medium level of security, sought review of the Scottish Ministers' failure to draft and lay before the Scottish Parliament regulations allowing him to challenge the level of security under which he was detained, the court held that 

European Union – Intellectual property rights. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by Mr Ralf Schrader by which he sought to set aside the judgment of the General Court of the European Union in which the General Court had dismissed his action brought against the decision of the Board of Appeal of the Community Plant Variety Office, concerning Mr Schrader's application for annulment of the Community plant variety right granted for the plant variety 'LEMON SYMPHONY'. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The local authority issued care proceedings concerning a seven-year-old boy, N, who was the subject of a shared residence order. The issue for the Family Court was whether N should be removed from the care of his parents. It held that N had suffered and continued to suffer significant emotional harm. Persisting with the present shared care arrangement was not in his present welfare interests and placement with his father was inappropriate. Accordingly, the change required was that N be removed from the care of his parents and placed with experienced foster carers. 

Practice – Parties. The Queen's Bench Division considered whether it was permissible to change the name of a party after default judgment had been obtained and the procedure to be adopted when the party to be joined disputed the factual basis on which that party was being joined. The court held that the master had had jurisdiction to join the defendant and, in the circumstances, had been right to make the order that he had. 

Land registration – Rectification of register. The proceedings concerned a dispute as to whether or not a loan advanced by the claimant's predecessor (the bank) to the defendants in 2005 was secured on their property (the property). The issue was whether a charge, securing a previous loan to the defendants, who were made bankrupt, was effective to secure the 2005 loan. The Chancery Division held that the charge, on its terms, was so effective to secure the 2005 loan on the property. The terms of the mortgage conditions, which applied to the charge, were sufficiently wide and clear to include the 2005 loan. On the defendants' bankruptcy, their estate vested in the Official Receiver as trustee, subject to the bank's charge. It was further held that the bank had made a distinct mistake in issuing form e-DS1 to the Land Registry, acknowledging that the property was no longer charged, in circumstances where the 2004 loan had been redeemed. Accordingly, it was entitled to be re-registered as proprietor of the charge which secured the 2005 loan. 

Copyright – Ownership. A dispute arose as to the division of publishing or performing rights in a song written by the band The Fall, entitled 'Touch Sensitive'. The dispute centred on whether an agreement as to the distribution of the rights was to be regarded as valid. The claimants submitted that the agreement had been the result of improper pressure being placed on the second claimant songwriter. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court held that the agreement had not been obtained improperly and, in the circumstances, the claim would be dismissed. 

European Union – Jurisdiction. The Court of Justice of the European Union gave a preliminary ruling, deciding that art 23(2) of the Brussels I Regulation should be interpreted as meaning that the method of accepting the general terms and conditions of a contract for sale by 'click-wrapping', concluded by electronic means, which contained an agreement conferring jurisdiction, constituted a communication by electronic means which provided a durable record of the agreement, within the meaning of that provision, where that method made it possible to print and save the text of those terms and conditions before the conclusion of the contract.