Latest Cases

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. Following the father's acquittal of grevious bodily harm of his youngest child, the local authority brought care proceedings in respect of the child and the three other children of the family. There was a fact finding hearing in which the Family Division found that he criteria under s 31 of the Children's Act 1989 had been in respect of all four children, and particularly so in respect of the youngest and oldest child. 

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. 

Education – Teacher. The claimant was employed by the defendant local authority as a teacher at a school before being released from teaching activities to carry out trade union activities. The authority suspended the claimant. The claimant issued proceedings, claiming that the school had exclusive power to suspend her. The Queen's Bench Division, in dismissing the claim, held that the claimant's contract of employment with the authority had been varied. Accordingly, the claimant fell within the scope of the authority's procedure, as she was within the category of all permanent authority employees and had not fallen within the exceptions which related to staff working in schools. 

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. 

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. 

Practice – Summary judgment. The appellant, G, acquired a loan from the respondent company, BMS. BMS brought proceedings when he defaulted on the loan. The deputy master awarded summary judgment to BMS. The Chancery Division dismissed G's appeal and refused permission for him to adduce further evidence. 

European Union – State aids. The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed the appeal brought by British Telecommunications plc (BT) against the judgment of the General Court of the European Union which had dismissed the actions brought by BT and by BT Pension Scheme Trustees Ltd for annulment of Commission Decision (EC) 2009/703 concerning the state aid implemented by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, declaring that the aid granted to BT by the UK authorities in the form of an exemption, granted to that company's pension fund, from the obligation to pay a contribution to a pension protection fund in respect of persons employed by BT before its privatisation constituted state aid which was incompatible with the common market. 

Tort – Harassment. The Queen's Bench Division granted interim injunctions in harassment to claimants who were all casework managers in the Independent Police Complaints Commission and had been the subject of allegations made largely on the internet by the two defendants. The court held, amongst other things, that the claimants were each likely to establish at trial that publication should not be allowed. 

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.