Latest Cases

Costs – Order for costs. The claimant company sought judicial review of the decision of the inspector appointed by the defendant Secretary of State, refusing it the costs of its successful appeal. The Administrative Court, in allowing the application, held that there was no clear explanation of why the inspector had felt that the material she had considered to have afforded a respectable basis for the local authority's stance had met the objective standard necessary to support the reasons for refusal. 

Insurance – Fraudulent insurance claim. In the course of a shipping claim, the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, considered whether the rule whereby a fraudulent claim deprived the insured of any right to recover anything applied also in the case of 'fraudulent devices', namely statements made recklessly or with knowledge of their untruth to support a claim that was honestly believed to be true. In dismissing the claimant owners' appeal, the court held that the rule was to be applied in such circumstances and that it was proportionate for it to do so. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. On a return date of a freezing order in relation to proceedings in Belgian proceedings, the Commercial Court held that the evidence established a clear and real risk of dissipation of assets in the absence of freezing order relief. The existence of accounts in the United Kingdom, and the inference that there were assets in England and Wales, justified an order for disclosure of assets under s 25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1925 extending to all the defendant's assets within England and Wales in support of the bank's claim in the Belgian proceedings. 

Immigration – Asylum seeker. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant Secretary of State's refusal to accept her further representations as fresh claims and not to treat her case on an exceptional basis. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the claim, held that the Secretary of State had been fully entitled to determine that there had been no fresh evidence which had disclosed a real possibility that the findings of the immigration judge might be undermined before a new immigration judge. Further, there had been no public law error refusing to grant the claimant exceptional leave. 

Telecommunications – Mobile telephone networks. The Privy Council allowed an appeal by an electricity provider against a decision of the Turks and Caicos Islands Court of Appeal, in which it had held that the appellant had required both a spectrum licence and a carrier licence for the operation of its meters on the 900MHz frequencies and that, since it had held neither of those licences, it had been operating unlawfully for lack of a licence. The Privy Council held that it had not required either licence. 

Criminal law – Sexual activity. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, on an application by the Attorney General, substituted a sentence of three years' imprisonment, in circumstances where the offender had been convicted of inciting his granddaughter, a child under the age of 13, to engage in sexual activity contrary to s 8(1) of the Sexual Offences Act, and had been given a community order. The court held that, in the circumstances, there were no exceptional factors which might have permitted the Recorder to justify a sentence outside the guideline range. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The appellant appealed the refusal of the Commercial Court to extend a freezing order granted on foot of arbitration proceedings. The Court of Appeal (Civil Division) dismissed the appeal on the basis that the evidence of 'risk of dissapation' fell short of what was required. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Revenue and Customs Commissioners (the Revenue) presented a creditor's petition to wind up a company, alleging unpaid VAT. The company's appeal to the First-Tier Tax Tribunal (FTT) against the assessment of VAT was pending. The court appointed a provisional liquidator of the company until the conclusion of the hearing of the petition and it made further orders. The company applied to discharge the earlier orders and terminate the provisional liquidation. The Companies Court, in dismissing the application, held that the court had had jurisdiction to appoint a provisional liquidator and that appointment would be ordered to continue, pending the effective hearing of the petition. 

Financial services – Financial Conduct Authority. The interested party brought a complaint against the claimant insurance broker for its failure to act when dealing with his notification of a claim under a directors and officers insurance policy. The claimant sought judicial review of the defendant Financial Ombudsman Service's decision that the interested party had been eligible to bring the complaint. The Administrative Court, in allowing the application, held that the interested party had not fallen within the definition of 'consumer'. Accordingly, as an issue of precedent fact, he had not fallen within the compulsory jurisdiction of the defendant. 

Fire – Damages. The proceedings concerned a dispute as to liability in respect of a fire which had occurred at the defendant's premises and spread to the claimant's premises. The claimant contended that the fire had started as a result of the self-combustion of linseed oil-soaked rags, which the defendant had disposed of in an unlidded metal tin within the spray booth enclosure at the defendant's premises. The Queen's Bench Division, in dismissing the claim, held that the fire had not started as alleged by the claimant, and accepted the defendant's case that the cause of the fire had been an electric fault.