Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2000

The rule against abuse of process in Henderson v Henderson is not an automatic bar whenever a claim could have been raised in earlier proceedings. The court…

A landlord is generally not liable in nuisance for acts of a tenant unless the landlord authorised the nuisance or was an occupier of the land from which it…

Whether a periodic tenancy arises depends on the parties’ intention inferred from what they agreed and all the surrounding circumstances. Periodic payment of…

On an appeal on a point of law from the Lands Tribunal, the Court of Appeal must respect the Tribunal’s fact-finding function and must not substitute its own…

A contractual prohibition on assignment does not prevent enforcement of security created before the prohibition existed. Where a floating charge validly covers…

For an insurer to avoid liability under Road Traffic Act 1988, section 152(1)(a), notice must concern the bringing of proceedings, rather than merely the…

Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, a product is defective where its safety falls below that which persons generally are entitled to expect, assessed in…

Fresh evidence will not normally justify reopening a concluded civil trial unless it could not have been obtained with reasonable diligence, is apparently…

Although the rule in Ladd v Marshall is applied less strictly in family appeals, an appellate court must impose principled limits on fresh evidence. It should…

In ancillary relief proceedings, housing needs must be balanced against each party’s reasonable entitlement to deploy matrimonial capital. The family home…

A judgment obtained in a defendant’s absence should be set aside where there is a real issue to be tried and a substantial argument on the merits. The court…

A statutory duty that leaves substantial discretion to a public authority will not ordinarily generate a parallel common law duty of care. Liability may arise…

Patent claims are construed purposively in the light of the specification as a whole and the Protocol on Interpretation of Article 69 of the EPC. A feature is…

A lawful immigration policy may be implemented even where removal interferes with family life under Article 8. The court reviewing an individual decision must…

An appeal under section 8(3) of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Act 1993 concerns the decision to make a deportation order, rather than merely a threshold…

A sole adoption application by a natural parent requires two separate questions: where the child should live, and which legal order should regulate that…

Practice directions supplement civil procedure rules but cannot amend, repeal or override statutory instruments unless that power has been conferred expressly.…

Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention is an exceptional qualification to the obligation of prompt return under Article 12. The risk must be grave, and the harm…

VAT exemption for insurance-related services depends on the nature of the service and the status of the supplier. The supplier need not perform the service…

For limitation in negligence, time begins when the claimant first suffers actual and relevant loss in respect of the pleaded damage, rather than merely…

For an incapacity policy, the insured need not prove that one medical condition was the sole cause of incapacity. It is sufficient to establish, on the balance…

Regulation 13(3) of the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996 concerns restrictions arising from a claimant's own physical or mental condition. It does not…

Apportionment under section 2(1) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 requires a just and equitable assessment of each person's responsibility for…

A person who participates in proceedings, although not formally a party to the relevant application, may become exposed to a costs order if the person opposes…

Recovery of overpaid mortgage-interest benefit through set-off is permissible only where the statutory conditions for recovery are satisfied and the claimant’s…

For a surviving spouse, reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is not confined to maintenance. The…

An employee may continue working after an employer unilaterally reduces contractual wages and claim the shortfall, unless the employee has affirmed the…

Permission to appeal may be granted where there is an arguable challenge to a material factual finding, especially where agreed medical evidence appears…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no prospect of success and there is no compelling reason for appellate intervention. A…

The statutory restriction in section 33(4) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 permits an appeal from the Special Commissioners only on a point of law arising in…

Section 33(4) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 permits an appeal from the Special Commissioners only on a point of law arising in connection with the…

Company directors do not, merely by holding office, owe fiduciary duties to individual shareholders or members. Such a duty may arise only where special facts…

A traffic regulation order may lawfully be made preventively where the authority considers it expedient to prevent the likelihood of danger arising. The…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, the court may permit a public-law claim to be amended where the substance of the challenge was commenced in time but the…

In a misrepresentation claim, damages are assessed at the date of the transaction and must restore the claimant to the position that would have existed without…

For judicial review of a planning decision, time ordinarily begins when the impugned resolution is passed, not when a later formal permission is granted or a…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success. An appellate court does not rehear factual disputes; review is limited to whether findings were…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of principle or practice or another compelling reason under Civil Procedure Rules 52.13. This is a…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the claimant has no real prospect of success. A merely arguable case, based on assumed facts or hypotheses, is…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, a party is generally treated as responsible for the acts and omissions of legal representatives when the court considers delay…

Vicarious liability for an employee’s assault depends on the nature and scope of the employee’s job viewed in general terms. The court should not dissect a…

For the purposes of a certificate of lawful existing use, Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 191 defines lawfulness by reference to whether planning…

A contractual provision is void for uncertainty only as a last resort. The court must first construe the document according to ordinary principles and identify…

A bilateral agreement between a water undertaker and a landowner may be varied or discharged by mutual agreement under ordinary contractual principles, even…

An appellate court is slow to interfere with first-instance findings of fact based substantially on witness credibility. That restraint does not relieve the…

An appellate court may adjourn a substantive appeal where an imminent decision of a higher court may affect the issues, provided the practical balance does not…

Removal of a person suffering mental illness may be directed under immigration powers even while detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983. The…

On an application for summary judgment, a breach-of-trust claim must be assessed according to the conduct actually pleaded. A trustee’s refusal to consider a…

For the purposes of the Business Expansion Scheme provisions, the attribution rule in section 291(8) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 applies…

Judicial review and habeas corpus are alternative procedures for challenging the legality of administrative detention. The availability of habeas corpus does…

Immigration powers and mental-health detention powers may operate in parallel where a person is both subject to removal and detained in hospital for treatment.…

Ignorance of entitlement does not automatically establish good cause for a late benefit claim. The relevant inquiry includes whether it was reasonable for the…

Under an FOT contract for imported goods, where delivery may take place at one of several ports or places in the country of destination, the seller must select…

Where persecution is inflicted by non-state actors, refugee protection depends on whether the home state provides the practical protection which the…

Where a contract makes payment conditional on an amount being recoverable from a third party, wording such as “can be recovered” does not mean that actual…

An occupier’s common duty of care does not require every possible precaution against a transient danger on an open beach. The relevant question is whether…

In ancillary relief, financial needs are only one factor within the statutory scheme. Where resources exceed the parties’ housing and income needs, equality is…

For limitation purposes, a claimant need not know that an act or omission was legally negligent or actionable. It is sufficient to know that a significant…

On an application for permission to appeal against findings of fact, the Court of Appeal does not rehear the evidence. Permission requires a real prospect that…

Proceedings do not come before a judge on paper merely because a judge reads correspondence and responds to it. The phrase in paragraph 19 of the Practice…

For the purposes of determining whether a squatter has acknowledged another person’s better title, the court may consider the circumstances surrounding a…

A written communication acknowledges a landowner’s title for limitation purposes when, construed in its surrounding circumstances, it recognises that the…

Misfeasance in public office requires more than an unlawful decision or maladministration. It involves an abuse of public power for an ulterior or…

A highway authority which constructs and controls a culvert is not strictly liable for every later flood merely because the culvert was originally substituted…

Where the conditions in section 47(2) of the Family Law Act 1996 are satisfied, the court must attach a power of arrest to an occupation order unless satisfied…

In care proceedings, assessment of future risk requires consideration of the nature of the risk, the likelihood of it materialising and the safeguards…

The court retains a discretion to reduce the period for which interest is awarded, including after the introduction of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. The…

A bus driver is not generally required to wait until every passenger has taken a seat before moving away. The duty is to take reasonable steps for passenger…

In child residence disputes, sustained parental co-operation and a period of calm may serve the child’s best interests more effectively than continued…

Whether a person is an employee depends on the substance of the whole relationship and the contemporaneous evidence, not informal labels such as director or…

A patentee seeking post-grant amendment must disclose the material facts relevant to the stated reason for amendment, but is not required to waive legal…

A document fee forming part of the total charge for credit cannot also form part of the amount of credit under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Financial…

Appellate proceedings should ordinarily bring litigation to an end at the earliest point consistent with justice. That principle has particular force in family…

An O'Brien defence to enforcement of a mortgage is parasitic on the wife's underlying equity against the husband and also depends on the creditor's notice. A…

Refugee status does not arise merely because military service exposes a person to a serious risk of death or attack. The Convention does not distinguish…

A patentee seeking post-grant amendment must disclose the material facts relevant to the stated reason for amendment, but is not required to waive legal…

A contractual term is a condition where the contract, read in its commercial and factual context, shows that precise compliance was intended to be essential.…

A solicitor retained to monitor a transaction and protect a client’s position must do more than passively rely on the lead solicitor. The retainer may require…

A solicitor’s monitoring role is governed by the scope of the retainer and may require active protection of the client’s interests. Where a transaction is…

Whether an introduction is the effective cause of a transaction is determined by examining the facts as a whole. In rival-agent cases, priority in time is…

An order for possession does not, without more, determine an associated claim for rent arrears or establish that a pending appeal has been dismissed. Where…

Whether a tenant occupies premises as their only or principal home is assessed at the date when the contractual tenancy ends. The court must make an objective…

A shared residence order under the Children Act 1989 is a practical order recording where a child lives. It does not require exceptional circumstances or an…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the first-instance judge may have applied the wrong legal question and might have reached a different conclusion if…

A trial judge must give reasons sufficient to show the parties why they have won or lost and to enable appellate scrutiny. There are no absolute requirements…

When construing a commercial agreement, the court must begin with the words the parties used and assume that they reflect a sensible commercial purpose. The…

Under the Trade Marks Act 1938, an invented word may contain a subtle allusion to the character or quality of the goods, but it must not be an obvious meaning…

Whether a settlement prevents a later claim against another wrongdoer depends on the objective meaning of the settlement agreement, read in its factual…

Self-defence does not justify a battery unless the defendant reasonably believes that serious injury or an attack is imminent and uses force that is a…

An obligation arising under an order made in family proceedings includes an obligation to pay costs. Such an obligation is therefore not a provable debt in…

An English court may refuse to recognise a foreign legislative act which is fundamentally exorbitant or contrary to clearly established principles of…

A guardian ad litem or litigation friend should be removed where, in conducting litigation, the guardian takes or proposes a course manifestly contrary to the…

A contractual variation is construed objectively in its commercial context. A letter issued during negotiations may constitute an offer of a variation, or…

When a court is asked to replace a jointly appointed expert, proportionality and case-management considerations must be balanced against the parties’ rights…

The statutory code governing secure tenancies has an ambulatory effect: a tenancy may become secure when the statutory landlord and tenant conditions are later…

An occupier’s responsibility for the escape of negligently caused fire extends to fire caused by a tenant, licensee or guest whose presence and ordinary…

Sections 115 and 175 of the Insolvency Act 1986 regulate priority. They do not give a liquidator an automatic right to recover litigation costs from company…

A contractual reference to succession to a business in products does not require the business to have reached commercialisation. The term must be construed in…

A possession warrant cannot be set aside merely because a tenant’s uninduced misunderstanding made the eviction seem unfair. The Aldwinckle principle requires…

In assessing contributory negligence, the court must compare the claimant’s conduct with the defendant’s conduct by reference to both relative causative…

Permission to appeal out of time is discretionary. Where permission has been granted and the matter remitted for a rehearing, the rehearing court must decide…

Retrospective legislation imposing a shorter time limit for VAT repayment claims did not authorise the Commissioners to recover administratively sums paid…

An appellate court should not order a retrial for procedural unfairness or irregularity where the litigation could only have one result on the merits. The…

On an appeal by case stated, the court may review errors of law but not findings of fact or valuation methodology unless the result is perverse, unsupported by…

When deciding whether to permit expert evidence, the court must assess its likely cogency, usefulness in resolving the issues, and cost in relation to the sums…

A promissory note is an independent contract. Liability on it attaches only to persons named on the instrument. State immunity concerns jurisdiction rather…

Compensatory damages must place the claimant in the position it would have occupied absent the wrong. The appropriate method depends on the circumstances and…

Open-market valuation of a non-assignable agricultural tenancy requires a hypothetical sale to a willing purchaser, with the tenancy’s restrictions continuing…

An educational authority must implement the special educational provision specified by a Special Educational Needs Tribunal. Where the Tribunal’s order…

Where a wife provides security for her husband's debts, a creditor is put on inquiry only if the transaction is not, on its face, to her financial advantage…

Whether state action constitutes prosecution or persecution depends on all the circumstances. The fact that conduct is unlawful, or that detention or…

An application to set aside a judgment made after a party’s non-attendance at trial may succeed under rule 39.3(5) only if the applicant satisfies all of the…

A bankrupt has no locus standi to challenge the judgment or order forming the basis of the bankruptcy. Any such challenge belongs to the trustee in bankruptcy.…

On a preliminary issue, the court must confine itself to breach of duty, negligence and causation. It should not determine the amount or full consequences of…

In a negligent misrepresentation claim, inducement is assessed by asking what the claimant would probably have done had the true position been disclosed. Where…

Persecution under the Refugee Convention requires a causal connection between feared harm and a Convention reason. For religion, that connection may arise from…

A mortgagee is not barred from pursuing a personal covenant claim merely because earlier possession proceedings did not include, or did not succeed on, a money…

Unregistered design right protects an original design that is not commonplace, even where the design is functional and not aesthetically attractive. The…

An amendment to pleadings does not introduce a new fraud claim merely because it alleges that facts amounted to a fraudulent scheme and that the defendant knew…

On a second appeal, permission requires both a reasonable prospect of success and a point of principle. Under Insolvency Act 1986, the court has a discretion…

On a second appeal in family proceedings, the Court of Appeal should entertain the matter only where it raises an important point of principle or practice, or…

Under Immigration Rules rule 364, deportation requires a fair assessment of the public interest and compassionate circumstances, taking account of all relevant…

A secure accommodation order under Children Act 1989, section 25, is a deprivation of liberty requiring justification under Article 5. The statutory scheme is…

In appeals concerning child residence or contact, the Court of Appeal must not substitute its own view merely because another outcome is possible. Intervention…

A writ of habeas corpus may issue against government authorities only where there is an arguable evidential basis that the person detained is in their custody…

In an application for permission to appeal, compliance with directions concerning appeal bundles is required before further consideration. A bundle lacking…

In international child-abduction cases involving a non-Convention country, the children’s welfare remains the dominant and paramount consideration. The court…

Where conjoined twins cannot both survive, a court may authorise separation which will inevitably end one twin’s life if this is necessary and proportionate to…

On an application for permission to appeal against a welfare-based contact decision, permission should be refused unless the appellant shows that the…

An adjudicator's decision under section 108 of the Housing Grant, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 is binding and ordinarily enforceable by summary…

Under rule 297(i)(e) of the Immigration Rules (HC 395), “sole responsibility” is a broad, fact-sensitive question. Legal responsibility is relevant but not…

A stateless person is not a refugee under article 1A(2) of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 merely because he is outside, and cannot…

In Children Act proceedings, a judge exercising a quasi-inquisitorial child-protection function cannot decide a variation application on the artificial footing…

An independent contractor which receives goods for shipment and retains them for storage may be a bailee, even though it acts as the carrier’s agent and is…

Directors must exercise the company’s powers for the company’s benefit. An arrangement made by an insolvent company which appropriates the proceeds of existing…

A conclusive-evidence clause in a design-and-build contract operates according to the contract as a whole. Where the contract requires the works to be carried…

An appellate court should respect a trial judge’s findings based on oral evidence, particularly where credibility is central. It may interfere where the…

In a contingency-fee agreement for grants consultancy, “grants” ordinarily means monetary awards by a public authority. It does not extend automatically to…

A reasonable non-separation agreement made after an insured casualty may define both the general average expenditure and the parties’ respective proportions…

Whether a later contractual instrument supersedes an existing provision depends on its particular purpose, scope and terms. General references to restructuring…

Patent claims must be construed in the context of the specification as a whole. The court should avoid both strict literalism and treating the claims as mere…

An application for permission to appeal made more than two years out of time will ordinarily fail where no satisfactory explanation for the delay is given.…

An enforcement notice may require the cessation of an unlawful planning use, but it cannot prohibit a use authorised by planning permission, including…

Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 imposes a free-standing duty on health authorities and local social services authorities to provide after-care…

A document referred to voluntarily in an affidavit, and subsequently produced for inspection under the applicable procedural rule, is not obtained on discovery…

Section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980 starts the alternative three-year period when the claimant first has both the statutory knowledge and a right to sue.…

A sale advertised as without reserve ordinarily gives rise to a collateral contract between the auctioneer and the highest bona fide bidder. The auctioneer…

Summary judgment under Civil Procedure Rules Part 24 is inappropriate where the defence raises non-frivolous issues of developing law that depend on disputed…

A patent claim must be construed according to its language, specification and the Protocol, not by expanding its scope to protect research which the patent…

A refusal of naturalisation on character grounds is an administrative decision. Where the decision-maker directs himself correctly, the court may intervene…

An employer breaches the implied obligation of trust and confidence by conduct objectively likely to destroy or seriously damage that relationship without…

For VAT purposes, the contractual recipient of a promise to provide funeral services may differ from the persons who ultimately receive those services. Where…

An individual’s contractual obligations generally bind his estate after death, subject to the assets in the personal representatives’ hands. Clear contractual…

A case must be properly pleaded, but a formal amendment may be unnecessary where the proposed point is a matter of legal construction and the opposing party…

In an asylum claim arising from civil war, exposure to the ordinary incidents of conflict does not ordinarily establish persecution for a Convention reason.…

Sentencing for contempt in family proceedings requires consideration of the seriousness of the breach, disapproval of disobedience and the need to secure…

In public-law child proceedings, a statutory duty to appoint a guardian ad litem and solicitor does not remove the Legal Aid Board’s discretion under the Legal…

The discretionary power to order costs against a non-party is broad. It is exercisable whenever, in all the circumstances, it is just to do so. Bad faith…

In civil proceedings, the standard of proof remains the balance of probabilities. The seriousness or inherent improbability of an allegation does not create a…

The principle that a complying letter of credit is treated as cash remains important. It does not require summary judgment where the issuing bank is materially…

On an application to adduce fresh evidence on appeal, the court must exercise its discretion in accordance with the overriding objective. The principles in…

A shipowner who has authorised a time charterer to collect bill of lading freight cannot require payment again merely because the freight was paid by an agreed…

For VAT purposes, a transfer is effected by corresponding credit and debit entries which change the legal and financial position of the parties. The transfer…

An adviser retained for the limited purpose of obtaining finance must respond accurately to relevant questions from the lender. That duty does not extend to…

A genuine mistake in a party’s name may be corrected after expiry of the limitation period where it causes no reasonable doubt about the intended party’s…

In a foreign-accident claim, the claimant must prove negligence before liability can be imposed on a tour operator for the conduct of its supplier. English law…

For limitation purposes, knowledge is assessed factually by reference to what the claimant knew and what knowledge he might reasonably have acquired. A firm…

Professional negligence is assessed by the court against the standard of competent professional practice. The Bolam approach is not automatically engaged…

Applications to admit fresh evidence after judgment should not be subject to a stricter test merely because they are made to the trial judge before the order…

Patent claims must receive a purposive construction which balances fair protection for the patentee with reasonable certainty for third parties. The claim is…

For an in-house solicitor’s costs, the conventional A + B method used for private practitioners remains appropriate unless it is reasonably plain that it…

For contribution under section 1 of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, the relevant question is whether the proposed contributor is liable in respect…

A claimant cannot obtain a proprietary interest in sale proceeds of land through an agreement with a chargee where the landowner was not a party to, and did…

A party should ordinarily advance its whole factual and legal case at trial. An appellate court will be slow to permit a new ground, or withdrawal of a…

A regular firefighter remains within the statutory pension scheme only while his appointment terms require, or permit, him to be required to engage in…

A rent-review mechanism must be applied by reference to the premises as they stood at the initial valuation date. Later additions must be adjusted under the…

A trust expressed as advancing education is charitable only if its educational purpose promotes public benefit in the legal sense. Education that begins from…

Loss of the chance of repeat business may be recoverable for breach of contract where that loss was reasonably foreseeable as liable to result from the breach.…

A settlement extinguishes claims against other concurrent tortfeasors only where it provides full satisfaction for the same damage and the settlement, properly…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975, a former spouse must first show objectively that the deceased’s disposition failed to make…

The court may strike out proceedings where continuing litigation fraud creates an unacceptable risk of an unsafe judgment or prevents the court from doing…

Where existing Court of Justice jurisprudence does not clearly determine whether Article 141 permits equal-pay comparisons between employees of different…

In family proceedings involving alleged non-accidental injury, the civil standard of proof remains the balance of probabilities for both the occurrence of…

A payment made by or on behalf of a borrower cannot be unilaterally appropriated by the lender to discharge another person’s debt. The lender must prove the…

In a challenge to a compulsory purchase order, the reviewing court is not required to investigate alleged illegality or non-compliance with environmental…

Convention estoppel requires a shared assumption that is mutually communicated by words or conduct and on which the parties regulate their dealings. Continuing…

An enforcement notice under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is valid if, read as a whole, it enables the recipient to identify the alleged breach and…

Under section 27(2)(c) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, the court has a discretion to grant an unqualified person rights of audience. The discretion…

The discretion to admit evidence served late is wide, but must be exercised consistently with the overriding objective in Part 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules.…

A marine insurance clause providing that cover was subject to survey including valuation by independent qualified surveyor created a condition precedent to the…

When assessing prospective earnings loss, the court must allow for contingencies affecting the particular claimant’s likely working life. A foreseeable risk of…

A charterparty’s seaworthiness provisions must be construed together and against the commercial background. Where a due-diligence clause applies before and at…

When a fixed-term assured tenancy ends, the statutory periodic tenancy arising under the Housing Act 1988 has the same rental periods as those for which rent…

In an unfair dismissal claim, the reason for dismissal is the set of facts or beliefs causing the employer to dismiss, not merely the label used in pleadings.…

Where a contract incorporates Condition 5(3) of the Law Society's General Conditions of Sale, implied grants and reservations are determined through the…

An instalment order ordinarily stays execution only while its terms are observed. Default in payment makes the balance of the judgment debt immediately…

Community legislation adopted in response to political events may be valid where it also pursues a genuine Treaty objective. A concurrent foreign-policy…

Summary judgment may determine a disputed issue of reliance where contemporaneous documents make the claimant’s alleged reliance untenable and establish that…

A patent claim must be construed as a whole, balancing fair protection for the patentee with reasonable certainty for third parties. The claims define the…

A garden-leave provision suspending an employee from work does not terminate the employment contract. A contractual restriction applying during the term of the…

A main contractor or occupier does not ordinarily owe a sub-contractor’s employee a duty to check that the employee is trained to use ordinary building…

A Swiss-type claim for using a known medicine is patentable only where the novelty lies in a genuinely new therapeutic purpose. A change in dosage or…

Restrictive employment covenants must be framed by reference to the legitimate protection required from the particular employee. A standard-form restraint…

In exercising case-management powers concerning confidential information, the court must identify the issues requiring determination and consider whether a…

A seriously arguable claim of misuse of confidential information or breach of fiduciary loyalty may support proprietary relief. The information need not…

On an application under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, a local planning authority may consider the practical effect of granting…

A contractual prohibition on assignment must be construed according to the language of the particular contract and its commercial context. Linden Gardens Trust…

Where an adult lacks capacity to consent to medical treatment, the court must decide whether the proposed treatment is in the patient’s best interests. The…

An unlawful-means conspiracy is actionable where loss results from unlawful action taken under a combination or agreement intended to injure the claimant.…

A court should not strike out a claim which was sealed within the limitation period solely because its commencement documents contain technical procedural…

Deportation of an EU national requires a genuine and sufficiently serious threat to a fundamental interest of society. Even where that threshold is met…

Where a taxing statute provides a relief and imposes express limits, the taxpayer may generally use the relief in the manner most advantageous to it. A further…

English law applies the real danger test to allegations of apparent or unconscious bias against arbitrators, as it does to judges and other decision-makers.…

An implied undertaking restricting the use of documents disclosed in court proceedings arises from the court process. It does not arise merely because police…

For the purpose of Mental Health Act 1983, an approved social worker consulting the person appearing to be the patient’s nearest relative need not conduct a…

Restitutionary liability and damages for loss are distinct remedies. A recipient of misappropriated money who becomes a constructive trustee must account for…

Future loss must be assessed by evaluating risks, rather than by treating future events as historical facts established on the balance of probabilities and…

Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, a participant in a dangerous sport may still be entitled to reasonable safety against an additional hazard created by…

A loan contract and the mortgage securing it are legally distinct transactions. Where a lender has performed its loan contract by transferring funds to…

An improvident transaction is not an unconscionable bargain merely because one party is elderly, poor, illiterate, inexperienced or badly advised. Equity…

Misfeasance in public office requires bad faith. Where the complaint concerns a failure to exercise a statutory power, bad faith may be established by actual…

In an occupational disease claim, causation is determined on the balance of probabilities from the evidence as a whole, including epidemiological studies…

Money borrowed for the sole purpose of providing security for costs may be held on a Quistclose -type trust. The trust does not necessarily end when the money…

A claimant seeking damages from a solicitor on a wasted-venture basis must prove affirmatively that proper advice would have caused withdrawal before exchange…

The Pointe Gourde principle requires compensation to exclude any increase in land value entirely attributable to the scheme underlying compulsory acquisition.…

Commercial agents who are entitled to mix sale proceeds with their own money ordinarily hold those proceeds as debtors, not trustees. The appointment of…

Under Article 13 of the Hague Convention, a child’s objection to return is distinct from the grave-risk defence. The court must determine whether the child…

Negligence requires a causal connection between the breach of duty and the claimant’s injury or loss. It is insufficient that the breach merely provided an…

An appellate court should rarely interfere with factual findings based on oral evidence. It may do so where the trial judge failed properly to use the…

Article 25 of the Warsaw Convention requires proof of both recklessness and actual knowledge, at the time of the relevant act or omission, that the type of…

For the purposes of Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 171B(4)(b), “that breach” refers to the underlying physical development or other planning-control…

Judicial review of a planning permission must be brought with the greatest possible urgency. Under Supreme Court Act 1981, section 31(6), the court may refuse…

Inordinate and inexcusable delay does not, by itself, justify striking out an action for want of prosecution. Under the second limb of Birkett v James, the…

Where insurance cover depends on the purpose of a journey, the court must identify its primary purpose or essential character, considering the journey as a…

In a maritime collision, a vessel shaping to pass another at a close but apparently safe distance may be required to continue using radar and a practicable…

For contribution under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, the parties must be liable in respect of the same damage, not merely loss measured by…

Whether a nearest relative unreasonably withholds agreement to compulsory admission is assessed objectively: the question is what a reasonable parent might do…

An order suspending committal for contempt may lawfully be suspended for as long as the contemnor complies with a precisely defined order of indefinite…

A houseboat remains a chattel unless it has become part of the land by annexation. The question is determined objectively by the degree and object of…

An appellate court should respect a trial judge’s assessment of fact where the judge has addressed the evidential difficulties rationally and the conclusion…

Under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, the court must assess all the circumstances and balance the prejudice to the claimant against the prejudice to the…

The common-law power to arrest to prevent an apprehended breach of the peace is exceptional where the person’s conduct is lawful but provocative. Arrest is…

A contractual power to resume part of an agricultural holding for any non-agricultural purpose is not limited by purposes achievable under a separate…

In an ordinary professional surveyor’s contract, damages are not generally recoverable for disappointment, annoyance or distress alone. They may be recovered…

Occupation of a storage room by a flat tenant is ordinarily presumed to be permissive where the room is not included in the lease. Exclusive use, possession of…

A public right of way extends over the full width identified by the relevant definitive map, subject only to a very narrow de minimis exception. Private…

On a combined application under the Civil Procedure Rules, the court should ordinarily consider first whether the statement of case discloses a legally…

Under Clause 52(1)(b) of the ICE Conditions, rates and prices in the Bill of Quantities must be used as the basis for valuing dissimilar varied work so far as…

Once a warrant of possession has been executed, the court’s power to stay or suspend execution under Housing Act 1985, section 85(2), is no longer available.…

When fixing the terms of a licence under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, the Copyright Tribunal must determine what is reasonable in the…

A finding that a child is likely to suffer significant harm does not automatically justify immediate removal, a care order, adoption, or permanent separation…

Where parties have agreed an English exclusive jurisdiction clause, the court should ordinarily restrain foreign proceedings brought in breach of that…

Under a time charter, detention includes a physical or geographical constraint preventing the vessel from performing the service required by the charter. A…

Section 44A of the Planning (Listed Buildings & Conservation) Act 1990 permits a local planning authority to seek an injunction in the County Court to restrain…

The duties under regulation 4 of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 arise where a manual handling operation presents a real risk of injury. A…

Under section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971, liability for damage caused by an animal of a non-dangerous species requires an unusual characteristic, known to…

The tort of procuring a breach of contract requires more than an act which contributes to the breach. The defendant must know of the contract, intend to…

For income-support purposes, a claimant’s beneficial share in jointly owned property must be valued at its current market value. The starting point is…

Corporation tax charged on a company’s post-liquidation profits, including income which the taxing legislation requires it to bring into account although not…

A solicitor cannot treat any date chosen for convenience as a natural break justifying an interim statute bill. Without agreement, the bill must relate to a…

Whether an object is a building for planning purposes is a question of fact and degree. Relevant considerations include its size, permanence and degree of…

On an appeal by way of rehearing, a European patent must be considered in the form resulting from a final amendment by the European Patent Office where that…

In an asylum appeal, additional country material justifies interference with an immigration tribunal’s decision only where it could materially affect the…

A Pensions Ombudsman must determine disputes according to law and within the case presented by the parties. Dishonest assistance must be assessed by…

Mandatory renovation grants required by the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 must be approved where the relevant works are necessary to comply with…

A judge is not disqualified from sitting merely because he previously dealt with interlocutory applications in the same litigation and expressed adverse views…

A claimant with concurrent claims against more than one obligor cannot recover more than the total loss. A payment made by a joint tortfeasor in compensation…

A stay of proceedings prevents the parties from taking procedural steps, but it does not suspend time running for service of a summons unless the order…

A statutory duty to provide information does not automatically support a private claim by every person who suffers loss from its breach. The intended…

Damages for breach of a statutory duty to disclose that a council house is a designated defective dwelling are assessed on ordinary compensatory principles.…

Whether loss is “indirect or consequential” for an exclusion clause depends on the clause’s language, contractual context and the surrounding facts. The…

A final judgment may be set aside where material perjury attributable to the successful party procured the judgment. Perjury is material where it entirely…

Section 25(1) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 does not give the court a general or residual discretion to alter the terms…

In a professional-negligence claim, the court must distinguish causation from the assessment of loss. Causation is determined on the balance of probabilities.…

Whether work falls within a repairing covenant is a question of fact and degree. The court must consider the particular building, the lease, the building’s…

Qualified privilege protecting a person’s reply to an attack may extend to an authorised agent’s publication on the principal’s behalf. A solicitor is not…

Procedural rules governing applications for continued detention of suspected drug-trafficking cash should be applied according to their function and substance.…

Equitable claims may be barred by laches where substantial delay is accompanied by knowledge of the claimant’s rights and circumstances making enforcement…

A court order must be obeyed while it remains in force. Acts lawfully performed under that order do not become unlawful retrospectively when the order is later…

Under the Hague Rules, a claimant must prove its case on the balance of probabilities. It cannot succeed merely because its explanation is the least improbable…

In an application under section 42 of the Supreme Court Act 1981, the Attorney General is entitled to rely initially on the ordinary assumption that solicitors…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, an application to strike out for delay or non-compliance requires a broad assessment of justice under the overriding…

A stay pending an application for permission to appeal to the House of Lords requires very exceptional circumstances. Such circumstances may exist where…

Under Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, unfitness is assessed cumulatively by reference to the director’s complained-of conduct and actual…

On an appeal concerned with factual findings, the Court of Appeal must reconsider the evidence while recognising the trial judge’s substantial advantage in…

A confirming bank that discounts a deferred-payment letter of credit without negotiable-instrument protection remains subject to any defence available against…

Termination of a distribution agreement does not, without more, convert fees collected under continuing customer licences from contractual receipts into trust…

The requirement that an employment tribunal hear an originating application in public is mandatory. A hearing held behind a coded door in an area marked…

Whether an activity amounts to trading is ordinarily a question of fact and degree. Subject matter, frequency, organisation and the acceptance of risk for…

A local government ombudsman investigating maladministration is not required to apply the legal principles governing judicial review or unlawfulness.…

The supplied extract does not contain the Court of Appeal’s final reasoning or operative order. It records the trial judge’s approach in a…

Permission to withdraw an admission is a matter of judicial discretion. The court must consider all the circumstances and balance the prejudice to each party…

In family proceedings, a clinician who has treated a child must not ordinarily be used as a forensic expert on the same allegations. Therapeutic and forensic…

Therapeutic and forensic expert roles in family proceedings must remain distinct. A clinician who has treated a child, conducted therapeutic interviews…

Under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, a local housing authority need not decide intentional homelessness in every case. Where it can rationally determine the…

A public authority may maintain an employment-screening list without specific statutory authority where the activity falls within the Crown’s ordinary legal…

A person acting in self-defence must use force which is reasonable in the circumstances as honestly believed. The law recognises the anguish and urgency of an…

A surety claiming subrogation rights outside a compulsory liquidation is not, without more, a person aggrieved entitled to invoke section 168(5) of the…

Under the ISDA Loss provisions, losses said to arise from hedging transactions are recoverable only where they result from terminating, liquidating, obtaining…

Permission to appeal out of time requires consideration of the length and reasons for delay, the prospects of success and any prejudice to the respondent. A…

On an appeal from factual findings, the Court of Appeal must recognise the trial judge’s advantage in seeing and hearing witnesses. It may intervene where the…

Insurance policy terms should be construed as a composite exercise, having regard to wording, context and commercial consequences. Commercial reasonableness…

When judgment has been reserved, the parties and their professional advisers must inform the court immediately of any development that may make delivery…

By a majority, the Court of Appeal held that exemplary damages were unavailable for misfeasance in public office because the tort was not one for which such…

Under section 29(3)(c) of the Mental Health Act 1983, the question whether a nearest relative unreasonably objects to an application for admission for…

For an unregistered foreign company, the court may exercise the winding-up jurisdiction where three core requirements are satisfied: a sufficient connection…

A professional consultant giving a collateral warranty must exercise proper professional skill and care in relation to the development and in performing…

Whether a valuation mechanism is an essential contractual term depends on construction of the particular agreement in its linguistic and commercial context.…

An obligation to maintain complete books and records for audit purposes may extend beyond documents physically held by the contracting party. In an accounting…

A tenancy by estoppel cannot arise merely because a party represents that statutory protection will be treated as applying. The underlying agreement must first…

Under section 11 of the Trade Marks Act 1938, the objection is between the applicant and the public. It requires a hypothetical assessment of any normal and…

The rules of a long-established social club should be construed practically and purposively, having regard to their overall scheme. Where membership is…

For VAT purposes, the court must identify each supply, its supplier, its recipient and the consideration received for it. Delivery arranged through a carrier…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules, applications to strike out for procedural default are governed by the overriding objective and the need to do justice, rather…

Under section 33 of the Family Law Act 1996, significant harm must be attributable to the respondent’s conduct by reference to its effect, not the respondent’s…

For an occupation order under section 33 of the Family Law Act 1996, significant harm must be attributable to the respondent’s conduct. The court focuses on…

An action may exceptionally be struck out for want of prosecution before expiry of the applicable limitation period. The court must consider whether dismissal…

For the purposes of a safe-third-country certificate, the Secretary of State may treat a country as complying with the Refugee Convention where its law…

In an European Convention on Human Rights Article 3 removal case, judicial review remains supervisory. The court must subject the decision to rigorous and…

Under a stabilised mortgage scheme, the borrower remains liable to pay at the selected payment rate throughout the mortgage term unless the borrower exercises…

In a negligent valuation claim, loss accrues when the lender is financially worse off than it would have been had the valuation been correct. The comparison is…

For Article 5(1) of the Brussels Convention, the relevant obligation is the contractual obligation forming the basis of the claim. Where the claim is for…

A bank cannot combine a customer’s credit balance with debit balances where it knows that the credit balance is held beneficially for a third party. A trust…

Under the standard Norwegian Saleform, an indemnity for claims made against a vessel covers claims whose exposure stems from pre-delivery events, whether or…

Primary legislation is not cut down by subordinate legislation made under a different enabling power unless Parliament has clearly authorised that result. A…

A contractual provision requiring interest to accrue daily, but to be debited and compounded in accordance with the bank’s current practice, does not…

An asylum decision-maker must assess eligibility under the Geneva Convention 1951 through an administrative evaluation. The civil balance of probabilities does…

A housing-benefit review board may determine whether an award of income support on which a claim depends was obtained by fraud. A person is not “on income…

A replacement-vehicle hire agreement is regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 unless it satisfies the relevant exemption. Under paragraph 3(1)(a)(i) of…

A county court may direct that proceedings pending in one district be heard in another district where the same judge is assigned to both courts. Failure to…

Under section 33(4) of the Immigration Act 1971, as amended by paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 2 to the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, an appeal is treated as…

Committal under section 92 of the County Courts Act 1984 is a penal process attracting basic procedural rights. An alleged contemnor must receive adequate…

A claim should not be struck out where liability depends on a serious, live factual dispute requiring oral evidence. The summary judgment jurisdiction is…

Abandonment of a previous planning use is determined objectively. The owner’s intention is relevant, but it is one factor among all the circumstances and is…

Where a claimant fails to beat a payment into court, the usual consequence is that the claimant pays the defendant’s costs from the relevant date, normally 21…

An administrator’s statutory power to recover company property does not confer a consequential claim for damages in conversion where the administrator’s only…