Latest Cases

Practice – Damages. The proceedings arose out of a defamation action. The defendants were in breach of an unless order and were consequently debarred from defending the claim. Leave was given to enter judgment against those defendants. The claimant applied for aggravated damages. The Queen's Bench Division held that, in the circumstances, it was entirely appropriate that there should be an award of aggravated damages and, accordingly, awarded £70,000 by way of compensatory and aggravated damages. 

Contract – Construction. The defendant was a boxer. The first claimant was a boxing manager and promoter and the second claimants provided the first claimant's boxing promoting services. The claimants provided services to the defendant under various agreements. A commission agreed was 25% of gross receipts less specified deductions. The claimants alleged that the defendant owed them money and the defendant counterclaimed for money owed. The Queens' Bench Division held that the defendant owed the first claimant unpaid commission and the second claimant owed the defendant unpaid balance in respect of the fight. 

Extradition – Extradition order. The appellant appealed against orders for his extradition to Poland to serve sentences for driving while disqualified. The Administrative Court, in allowing the appeal, held that insufficient particulars had been given in the first European arrest warrant (EAW) to meet the relevant statutory requirements and, consequently, the appellant fell to be discharged in relation to that warrant. With respect to the second EAW, it was impossible to say that the appellant had left Poland deliberately to avoid the consequences of that sentence and it seemed disproportionate to require him to be extradited to face the consequences of the particular sentence in question. 

Medical practitioner – Professional conduct committee. The Fitness to Practise Panel (the FPP) of the respondent General Medical Council found that the appellant trainee doctor's fitness to practise was impaired by his misconduct and suspended his registration for a period of six months. The appellant appealed. The Administrative Court found that the FPP had fallen into no error in imposing the sanction. However, the overriding objective required the admission of fresh evidence concerning the practical consequences of suspending a trainee doctor's registration and the case was remitted for further consideration on the issue of sanction. 

Sentencing – Benefit fraud – Incapacity benefit. High Court of Justiciary: Allowing an appeal against sentence by an appellant who pled guilty to a charge of obtaining incapacity benefit of £13,000 to which he was not entitled and was sentenced to 5 months' imprisonment, the court having concluded that the sheriff's approach to the question of whether an alternative to custody could and should be considered and whether in fact such an alternative was realistically available was flawed, quashed the sentence of imprisonment and substituted a probation order for 12 months subject to the condition that the appellant would undertake 200 hours of unpaid work. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. Following the death of a child, the local authority made an application for a care and supervision in relation to the other child of the family. In the application, the local authority sought findings that the dead child had sustained non-accidental injuries at the hands of the father. The Family Division held that the threshold criteria under s 31 of the Children Act 1989 had been made out nevertheless the living child should be returned to the care of the mother with the possibility of making of a supervision order. 

Criminal law – Appeal. The defendants, who had been aged 15 and 17 at the time of the offence, were convicted of the murder of a 16-year-old boy. The killing had occurred in the context of gang rivalry in East London and the defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, dismissed the defendants' appeals against conviction and sentence. The court held, amongst other things, that the minimum term could not be regarded as excessive. 

Coroner – Inquest. The claimant senior coroner, with the fiat of the Attorney General, applied for an order to quash an inquisition into the death of the deceased and for an order that a fresh inquest be held. The claimant relied on fresh information, which might cast doubt upon his conclusion that the deceased intended to take his own life. The Divisional Court, in allowing the application, held that, as a result of the new facts and evidence, it was necessary and desirable in the interests of justice, under s 13(1) of the Coroners Act 1988, that another inquest should be held. 

Company – Compulsory winding up. The Privy Council, in dismissing an appeal by liquidators of a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, held that, although the Bermuda court had a power to make an order against persons subject to its personal jurisdiction in favour of foreign liquidators for production of information for the purpose of identifying and locating assets of the company, provided they had a similar right under the domestic law of the court which appointed them, the material which the liquidators sought in Bermuda would not be obtainable under the law of the Cayman Islands pursuant to which the winding up was being carried out there. 

European Union – Trade marks. Following earlier proceedings concerning the selling of counterfeit goods (see[2014] All ER (D) 236 (Oct)), the Chancery Division considered wording proposed by the claimants to deal with situations where a target website selling counterfeit goods changed its IP address. The court held that the wording proposed by the claimants would be accepted.