Latest Cases

Employment – 'Worker'. The employment tribunal found that, when the appellant was providing her services through a limited company for the purpose of selling Shiseido cosmetic products in a duty free outlet managed by the respondent, she was not an employee of the respondent for the purposes of s 83(2) of the Equality Act 2010. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the appeal, held that the existence of an employment relationship did not turn on whether the parties had entered into a formal contract, which would be recognised in domestic law as having constituted employment, but on whether it met the criteria which had been laid down by European law. Applying those criteria, the appellant was not an employee of the respondent. 

Telecommunications – Mobile telephone networks. The proceedings concerned the United Kingdom's maintenance in force of a restriction (the commercial use restriction) on the commercial use of a piece of telecommunications equipment known as a 'GSM gateway'. The claimants contended that the commercial use restriction amounted to a prohibition on the commercial use of GSM gateways and was in breach of European Union law. At first instance, the claim was dismissed, and the claimants appealed. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that the judge had not erred in dismissing the claim. 

European Union – Civil and commercial matters. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of arts 1, 22(2), 34(1) and 35(1) of Council Regulation (EC) 44/2001 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters). The request had been made in proceedings between flyLAL-Lithuanian Airlines AS (in liquidation), a company incorporated under Lithuanian law, and Starptautiskā lidosta Rīga VAS (a company incorporated under Latvian law) and another company, concerning a request for recognition and enforcement in Latvia of a judgment of a Lithuanian court ordering provisional or protective measures. 

Time – Extension of time. The applicant had applied for permission to extend the time for filing its respondent's notice to an appeal. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that the principles laid down in Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd ([2014] 2 All ER 430) as explained in Denton and others v TH White Ltd and another; Decadent Vapours Ltd v Bevan and others; Utilise TDS Ltd v Davies and others ([2014] All ER (D) 53 (Jul)) applied to applications for an extension of time. Applying those principles, the application was allowed. 

Solemn procedure – Defective representation. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal by an appellant who was convicted of murder, the court concluded that he should not have been granted leave to appeal on the grounds that he had suffered a miscarriage of justice as a result of defective representation and that he had been deprived of the opportunity to instruct senior counsel of his choice, and it made observations about the duty of an instructing solicitor to advise his client regarding his rights to representation and the choice of his defender, noting that, r B8.4.1(b) of the Law Society of Scotland Practice Rules 2011 was plainly inadequate. 

Criminal evidence and procedure – Rape – Distress. High Court of Justiciary: Refusing an appeal against a conviction for rape, the court held that the evidence of the complainer's distress was capable of supporting her account and that the trial judge gave adequate directions to the jury, both on the question of sufficiency of evidence and the significance of distress in that context. 

European Union – Commission. In the course of proceedings concerning the defendant airline's alleged involvement with a cartel, the European Commission made a decision. There was dispute as to whether a redacted version of the decision could be made available to the parties. The Chancery Division held that it would be appropriate to create a confidentiality ring between the parties, among whose members the decision could be shared, with the added safeguard that the claimants would be barred from using the decision to commence any further proceedings. 

European Union – Consumer protection. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 3(5) of, and points (b) and (c) of Annex A to, Directive (EC) 2003/54 of the European Parliament and of the Council (concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity), and art 3(3) of, and points (b) and (c) of Annex A to, Directive (EC) 2003/55 of the European Parliament and of the Council (concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas). The requests had been made in two sets of proceedings, respectively between Ms Schulz and Technische Werke Schussental GmbH und Co. KG (TWS) and between Mr Egbringhoff and Stadtwerke Ahaus GmbH (SA) concerning the use, by TWS and SA respectively, of allegedly unlawful clauses in consumer contracts covered by a universal supply obligation. 

Personal Injury: Quantum Case. Road traffic accident. The claimant was awarded £5,500 in general damages. She suffered a soft tissue injury to her cervical spine which exacerbated a pre-existing injury. The claimant suffered from severe pain down her neck, radiating to the elbow, for approximately one month. She had pins and needles for six weeks. She also suffered from travel anxiety. The claimant's soft tissue injury to her cervical spine resolved within two years post-accident. The claimant's fear of travel resolved within 12 months. 

Natural justice – Duty to act fairly. Proceedings for judicial review of the defendant local authority's council tax reduction scheme, on the basis that the consultation had been unfair, were dismissed at first instance and on appeal. The Supreme Court, in allowing the claimant's appeal, considered the scope of a public authority's duty to consult. It found that the authority's consultation had been unfair, as it had not referred to other ways of absorbing the shortfall in council tax and those other options had not been obvious. However, it would not be proportionate to order the authority to undertake a fresh consultation exercise.