Latest Cases

Practice – Civil litigation. The defendant Secretary of State sought the dismissal of the claimant's claim for judicial review on the basis of his failure to comply with a consent order, requiring the dismissal of the claim, if he failed to file amended grounds within 21 days. The claimant sought relief from sanctions and explained his failure to comply as due to his lack of funds. The Administrative Court held that the present was not an appropriate case for relief from sanctions and refused the claimant's application. It followed, applying the consent order, that the application for judicial review was to be dismissed. 

Criminal procedure/sentencing – Child pornography/ sexual offences against children. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal against conviction by an appellant who was charged with having indecent photographs of children in his possession, the court rejected a contention that the sheriff had not directed the jury adequately on the burden of proof applicable to the statutory defence raised, however it quashed the extended element of the sentence on a charge of causing a 13-year-old girl to participate in sexual activity, the sheriff having provided very little specific justification for the selection of an extended sentence. 

Elections – Election court. Four electors in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets (the Borough) brought a petition under the Representation of the People Act 1983, challenging the Mayoral Election in the Borough held on 22 May 2014. The Queen's Bench Division held that the majority of the allegations in the petition had been made out and that the election of the first respondent as Mayor of the Borough was avoided by such corrupt or illegal practices pursuant to s 159(1) of the 1983 Act and also to have been avoided on the ground of general corruption pursuant to s 164(1)(a) of the 1983 Act. 

Practice – Summary judgment. The claimants, wholly owned subsidiaries of Tesco group, brought a claim against the defendants seeking damages for alleged breaches of European and domestic competition law in respect of imposition of multilateral interchange fees. The defendants applied for strike out or summary judgment on basis of the principle of ex turpi causa. The Chancery Division, in dismissing the application, held that the case was unsuited to be dealt with by way of strike out or summary judgment where it involved difficult questions of law and where the facts might determine how those legal issues presented themselves for determination. 

Town and country planning – Conservation area. The claimant Parish Council of an enclave within the Green Belt applied to quash the aligned core strategies adopted by the defendants as part of their development plan. The Planning Court, in dismissing the application, held that the approach taken simply could not be impugned for errors of law. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The appellants appealed against a child arrangements order, which provided for a child, T, to move to live with her father and his partner and, thereafter, to have extensive contact with the appellants, with whom T and her mother had been living. The unusual feature of the case was that the variation of T's living arrangements provided for by the order were to take effect only upon the anticipated death of T's mother. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that the judge had wrongly conducted his analysis of T's best interests on the basis that there was a presumption in law in favour of a natural parent. On that basis alone, the appeal had to be allowed. 

Civil procedure – Right of audience – Court of Session: Refusing a single bill in which a company in litigation concerning its entitlement to repayment of VAT asked the court to exercise its discretion to grant permission for English counsel to appear and represent it before Inner House, the court held that its inherent power did not extend to the granting of rights of audience in the Court of Session. 

Asbestos dust – Mesothelioma. The widow and sole dependant of CS, the deceased, brought proceedings against the defendant company, which had employed him. She contended that CS had worked with asbestos while employed by the company, which had led to him developing fatal mesothelioma, which had proved fatal. The claimant had established that CS had been exposed to asbestos while in the employment of the company. A total award of £176,779.03 would be made. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. The judge refused the father's application for direct contact with his two daughters and made an order under s 91(14) of the Children Act 1989. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the father's appeal against the orders. It held, inter alia, that there was nothing in the chronology of the proceedings that would lead the court to criticise the way in which the legal system had handled the case. The orders that the judge had made as to contact and under s 91(14) of the Act had been open to him in accordance with the law and nothing said in argument had persuaded the court that he had erred in proceeding as he had. 

Sale of land – Condition. The Chancery Division considered the interpretation of a contract for the purchase of a property. The defendant sought to rescind the contract between the parties, on the ground that an event of default had occurred, as defined by the contract. The claimant submitted that, since a term in the contract was to be taken as meaning that time was of the essence, it was not possible for the rescission to occur. The court held that, on the true construction of the contract, time had been of the essence, and so the claimant was entitled to succeed.