Latest Cases

Family provision – Order. The Family Division ruled that the husband should make payments to his wife, including maintenance payments. The wife brought a judgment summons against him, submitting that he had failed to make the payments as required. The Family Division held that, the wife's case was made out, and a sentence of four weeks' imprisonment would be imposed, suspended for three months on condition that the husband paid the sum of £360,200 within that period. 

Value added tax – Exemptions. The claimant issued judicial review proceedings, concerning whether the exemption from VAT conferred by United Kingdom primary legislation in respect of the supply of regulated access services by Royal Mail, as a designated provider of universal postal services, was consistent with European Union law. The Administrative Court held that, following the judgment in R (on the application of TNT Post UK Ltd) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners: C-357/07 ([2009] All ER (D) 175 (Apr)), the UK had amended the relevant VAT legislation in a way that had been compatible with EU law and the current UK VAT exemption was likewise compatible with EU law. 

European Union – Income tax. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling that arts 52 and 56 of the treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) should be interpreted as precluding legislation of a member state which subjected winnings from games of chance obtained in casinos in other member states to income tax and exempted similar income from that tax if it was obtained from casinos in its national territory. 

Practice – Public procurement. The claimant brought proceedings against the defendant Cabinet Office, in respect of an unsuccessful bid concerning a public procurement project. The claimant sought early disclosure of specific documents relating to the tendering process. The Technology and Construction Court adjourned the application as being premature where it had been made before the defendant's grounds for seeking to lift a statutory suspension on the placing of the contract with the successful bidder had been spelled out and before the defendant had served its defence. 

Health and safety at work – Duty to employees. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, in allowing the defendant company's appeal, held that a fine of £100,000, given to the company following the death of one of its employees in an accident at work, had been too high and that the fine should have been £65,000. 

Family proceedings – Orders in family proceedings. In care proceedings concerning an eight-month-old child, the Family Court held that, in all the circumstances, the father had to be given parental responsibility for the child and that an interim care order would be continued so that the authority could pursue the plan with vigour. 

Prison – Prisoner. The claimant was a serving prisoner. He claims that was detained in degrading conditions, in that the sanitation system required him at times to urinate and defecate in a bucket in his cell. That treatment, he says, was in breach of art 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.The Queen's Bench Division held that the issue had been decided by the case of Grant v Ministry of Justice [2014] All ER (D) 152 (Dec) and the claimant's case was not distinguishable from that case. 

Immigration – Leave to remain. The claimant Kosovan national challenged the validity of the defendant Secretary of State's decisions to remove him, but only grant an out-of-country right of appeal, to refuse leave to remain and indefinite leave to remain, and not to apply para 395C of the Immigration Rules. The Administrative Court held that three of the claimant's grounds were without merit. His other ground was resolved by the Secretary of State's undertaking that, if a decision to remove was to be taken, the claim would not be certified as ill-founded so as to deprive the claimant of an in-country right of appeal. 

Damages – Breach of statutory duty. The Court of Appeal had allowed the claimant's appeal against the dismissal by the trial judge of his claims for damages against National Grid Electricity Transmission plc (NGET) in respect of the cause of his mesothelioma, on the basis that NGET had been in breach of its statutory obligations pursuant to reg 2(a) of the Asbestos Industry Regulations 1931, SI 1931/1140. However, the Court had upheld the judge's decision to dismiss the claim in respect of breach of statutory duty pursuant to s 47 of the Factories Act 1937. The Supreme Court dismissed both NGET's appeal and the claimant's cross-appeal against the Court's judgment. 

Local authority – Transport. The claimant adults with severe disabilities sought judicial review of the defendant local authority's decision to cease providing directly a transportation service for eligible adults living in its area to enable them to attend adult day centres. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the application, held that the authority had not breached its statutory duty, under s 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. Further, the consultation had been fair and the authority had complied with its public sector equality duty.