Court of Appeal (Civil Division) judgments, 2016

Final consent orders for financial provision can be varied or set aside through different routes; no single test governs every route. Where an order remains…

A notification condition requiring notice as soon as possible after an event likely to give rise to a claim is assessed by reference to the event when it…

In construing an indemnity given on an intra-group transfer of a business, the court must begin with the language used. Commercial context may inform meaning…

Where a person who lacks capacity is confined in private accommodation under a private care regime, the State’s Article 5(1) responsibility is not excluded…

An appellate court deciding whether to discharge or overturn a committal order must determine whether the lower court was wrong. It should not conduct a fresh…

On an appeal from a specialist police disciplinary appeal tribunal, the court must identify a proper evidential and legal basis before interfering with the…

Judgments Regulation 44/2001 Article 5(3) is a narrow exception to the basic rule that a defendant is sued where domiciled. It requires a particularly close…

Where contractual and tortious duties overlap, recoverability is governed by the contractual remoteness test. Damage must be of a kind which a reasonable…

On a statutory appeal against a VAT assessment, the tribunal has an appellate role as to the assessment but a supervisory role when reviewing HMRC’s discretion…

A patent claim defining a starting dose by reference to a specified patch is not thereby limited to patches having that patch’s structure or composition.…

The EU-law principle of equivalence does not require a Member State to extend its most favourable procedural rules to every EU-derived tax claim. It is…

For an interlocutory injunction against industrial action, the applicant must first show a serious issue to be tried. Where EU free-movement rights are invoked…

Where a tribunal finds that the decision challenged in judicial review is unlawful, it may assess a later fresh decision to the same effect when deciding…

In a conversion claim, expert evidence is not legally indispensable to prove diminution in value. A court may assess loss from admissible factual or non-expert…

Judicial review of a specialist tribunal’s fact-finding decision is not an opportunity for an appellate tribunal to substitute its own assessment of the…

Where an appeal fails on all substantial points and produces only a trivial increase in damages, the respondent may properly be regarded as the successful…

In construing a commercial mortgage-backed securitisation formula, “the related per annum interest rate due on such Loan” meant the ordinary annual interest…

A contractual term which permits one party to file an arbitration claim against the other ordinarily carries the implied agreement of the latter to submit to…

Jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility under Brussels II revised depends on the child’s habitual residence when the court is seised. Where that…

Applications for permission to appeal in patent cases are governed by the ordinary procedural criteria. Technical complexity, and the fact that the trial judge…

Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, section 2 applies only to an executory contract for a future sale or other disposition of an interest in…

Section 320 of the Companies Act 1985 is not engaged merely because a director obtains an economic or financial advantage. An “interest in property” requires a…

For VAT purposes, the nature of a supply is determined by its economic reality from the customer’s standpoint. A payment for voucher redemption may cover more…

Under Article 22(1) of Brussels I, proceedings by a co-owner seeking sale of jointly owned immovable property have as their object rights in rem. The court…

Paragraph S-EC.1.4 of the Immigration Rules does not impose a threshold which must be met before a tribunal may consider an Article 8 claim. Refusal contrary…

Article 3(3) of the Rome Convention is a limited exception to the fundamental principle that contracting parties may choose the applicable law. It must…

Whether force used in self-defence or defence of another was reasonable requires a realistic evaluation of the whole rapidly developing incident. The court…

On appeal, assessment of competing expert evidence is ordinarily for the trial judge. Intervention is justified where the judge misunderstood the evidence or…

An outline application that expressly reserves all reserved matters remains an application in which scale is for later approval. Indicative drawings do not…

Planning permission for a continuing use does not, merely because it leaves flexibility about the number or siting of activities, override a tree preservation…

For a late amendment after limitation has expired, the Limitation Act 1980, section 35 and CPR rule 17.4 require the court to ask whether the amendment adds a…

An appellate court should not decide an important legal question that is unnecessary to dispose of an appeal. Where police physically remove a licensee, a…

A representation in an investment document may be actionable by a recipient outside its original audience where the maker actively invites that recipient, or…

For the purposes of Article 27 of the Judgments Regulation, proceedings must have the same factual and legal basis and seek the same relief. Common issues are…

A planning condition must be construed objectively, by reference to its natural and ordinary meaning, the permission as a whole, its purpose, related…

A trustee whose possession of trust property began in breach of duty ceases to be in continuing breach when a court authorises that possession to protect the…

Exclusive occupation does not invariably create a tenancy. A tenancy requires legal possession, including the right to exclude the owner. Whether an occupier…

Judicial review is generally refused where an effective statutory appeal remains available. This is particularly so where a fresh decision provides an…

In a points-based immigration application, a decision letter must give clear and intelligible reasons. It should identify the facts determinative of the…

Proceeding on the accepted basis that the High Court may, in an appropriate case, set aside a return order under the 1980 Hague Convention, the court held that…

For landfill tax under the Finance Act 1996, whether material is disposed of as waste is determined when it is deposited, when the statutory conditions must be…

In construing a bespoke financial instrument, the court must give effect to the language read as a whole, in its documentary, factual and commercial context. A…

A complete oral agreement for the acquisition of land may give rise to a common intention constructive trust despite the writing requirement in section 2(1) of…

Fresh evidence on appeal remains subject to the three cumulative Ladd v Marshall conditions. It is not automatically admissible because the relevant date for a…

An appellate court has a broad discretion to allow an appeal by consent without deciding the merits where there are good and sufficient reasons. The discretion…

In medical negligence, liability for a patient’s misunderstanding depends on an objective assessment of what the doctor said or did. A doctor is not liable…

For council tax purposes, an agreement granting an initial fixed term and providing that the tenancy then continues periodically may create one contractual…

For a limited liability partnership, the statutory derivative remedy in Chapter 1 of Part 11 of the Companies Act 2006 does not apply, but the common-law…

In private-law proceedings concerning a child, a court should not dispense with a fact-finding hearing merely because delay is severe. It must assess necessity…

Where a person faces imprisonment for breaching an order that is itself the subject of a pending application for permission to appeal, the court must consider…

An order determining costs in High Court proceedings which constitute a criminal cause or matter is itself a judgment in a criminal cause or matter. Section…

Under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988, seizure of a vehicle for suspected uninsured driving requires three cumulative conditions: a uniformed…

A claim for misuse of confidential information normally requires information with the necessary quality of confidence, an obligation of confidence, and…

Strike out and summary judgment serve different functions. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, strike out concerns whether the pleaded facts could support a…

Under regulation 13(3)(b) of the Housing Benefit Regulations 2006, the authority must make an objective, realistic and complete comparison between the…

For the direct recovery claim considered, section 151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 required a judgment for a liability required to be insured under section 145…

Obviousness is a single statutory question assessed by weighing all relevant circumstances. Obvious to try is not a substitute test, but one consideration…

At a planning inquiry, agreement between the developer and public authorities does not prevent an inspector from deciding an issue differently where third…

A registered trade mark confers primarily negative rights to prevent unauthorised use. Registration does not create a positive public-law right to use the mark…

For a freezing injunction over property registered to a third party, the court need only have good reason to suppose that the judgment debtor has an interest…

Under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, the competent landlord generally has authority to conduct proceedings and agree terms…

Under section 375(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986, the High Court may review, rescind or vary an insolvency order which it previously made, whether at first…

A contract for differences is not automatically a wager. An interest-rate swap entered for a genuine commercial hedging purpose is not a wager merely because…

EU law requires equivalent treatment of domestic and foreign dividends. Where domestic dividends are exempt and foreign dividends are taxed under an imputation…

Adulthood is not an automatic boundary in assessing risk or private-life circumstances in an asylum appeal. The decision-maker must consider the evidence in…

A contractual costs undertaking is construed according to the natural and ordinary meaning of its words, read in their commercial context and against the…

HMRC’s discretion to cancel gross-payment registration under section 66(1) of the Finance Act 2004 is confined to considerations connected with the…

Plant and machinery providing services to a hereditament is generally rateable under Class 2 of the Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (England)…

A public-law claim based on a policy may involve the determination of civil rights under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, even where the…

The age of a development plan policy does not by itself make the policy out of date or diminish its statutory priority. Under section 38(6) of the Planning and…

Where a statutory period for bringing proceedings ends on a public holiday or another day when the relevant court office is closed throughout the day, the…

A court should not determine a defence based on alleged professional negligence where the allegation was neither pleaded nor clearly notified before the…

An event-of-default clause in a commercial loan note must be construed objectively, in its contractual and commercial context, without remaking the parties’…

A commercial litigation funder which funds proceedings for its own financial return will ordinarily be liable, under the court’s discretionary costs…

Legal professional privilege is a fundamental right. A bankrupt retains that right unless legislation removes it expressly or by necessary implication. General…

Where a family judge contemplates making serious adverse findings against a professional witness that fall outside the case advanced at the hearing, procedural…

A housing authority must take reasonable steps to inform itself about matters relevant to a homelessness decision and must act with due regard to the public…

A person challenging a citizenship deprivation order on the ground that it would cause statelessness bears the burden of proving that ground on the balance of…

In a claim for misrepresentation by omission in a property sale, a dispute may be inferred from persistent dissatisfaction, communications and the surrounding…

For VAT place-of-supply purposes, the specific Article 9(2) categories are mutually exclusive, but potentially overlapping characteristics may be compared to…

Where an amendment is assumed to introduce a new claim, it remains within the relevant limitation and procedural provisions if it arises from the same or…

The fixed recoverable costs regime governing personal injury claims which leave the relevant pre-action protocol ceases to apply when the claim is allocated to…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason supports permission. An…

Whether an existing judicial review claim may be amended to challenge a later decision is a fact-sensitive case management question governed by the overriding…

For an estate-agent commission agreement to be binding, the parties must agree the event that triggers entitlement to commission. A court cannot create a…

An appellate court will rarely interfere with a trial judge’s findings of primary fact. Intervention is confined to findings unsupported by evidence, based on…

Under section 20(1) of the Children Act 1989, the accommodation duty arises only when it appears to the local authority that a child in need requires…

For fixed costs in a public liability claim brought under the EL/PL Protocol, listing a case for a disposal hearing after judgment with damages to be assessed…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed challenge is arguable and might succeed, even though the court considers that success unlikely. The…

Under the Hague Rules, delivery of goods in a damaged condition establishes a sustainable cargo claim and places the legal burden on the carrier to establish…

Whether an intervention is a public-health function cannot be decided solely by asking whether it prevents illness. The statutory scheme must be read with the…

On an application for permission to appeal, a narrative account of events does not constitute a ground of appeal. The applicant must identify the findings or…

An EU-law defence to intellectual-property enforcement requires more than proof of an anti-competitive agreement or restriction. The defendant must show a…

Damages for defective or incomplete building work are assessed by the expectation measure. The claimant receives the reasonable cost of completion and…

An occupier must take reasonable care to make visitors reasonably safe, but does not guarantee their safety. For commonplace defects in paths, reasonable…

An application for relief from sanctions must be determined by the three-stage approach in Denton. The court assesses the seriousness and significance of the…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the applicant must show a real prospect of success on a necessary ground. Failure on that ground is…

Where security for costs is sought from a claimant resident in a non-Convention state, foreign residence satisfies the jurisdictional condition but does not…

Before making a placement order, the court must identify and evaluate every realistic placement option, including long-term foster care, and balance its…

Adoption is permissible only where it is necessary and proportionate to meet the overriding requirements of the child’s welfare. The court must assess the…

A patent claim must be justified across substantially its whole scope by a plausible technical contribution. Plausibility is a low threshold, but the…

A player who deliberately interferes with the conduct of a pure game of chance, materially changing the odds while the casino is unaware of the purpose, may be…

Where a credit institution is reorganised in its home Member State, measures taken by its resolution authority must be recognised elsewhere with the effect…

Where a claimant’s loss of a financial benefit depends on the hypothetical act of a third party, the claim is properly assessed as a loss of a chance. The…

A planning authority must give considerable importance and weight to preserving a listed building and its setting. Preservation means avoiding harm, which may…

A case-management judge may refuse an adjournment, or grant it on reasonable conditions, even where a party has received less than the prescribed notice of a…

Section 7(1) of the Party Wall Act 1996 places the obligation not to cause unnecessary inconvenience on the building owner. It concerns the manner and timing…

On a second appeal, permission is confined to cases raising an important point of principle or practice or presenting another compelling reason. The importance…

The requirement that an expert valuer be independent under contractual valuation machinery is a condition of appointment, not merely a requirement that the…

The construction of pension scheme rules begins with their natural and ordinary meaning, read in documentary, factual and commercial context. Tax requirements…

A contractual right to occupy property may be made conditional on performance of obligations to insure and maintain it. Language such as “provided that” can…

A Dublin return to another European state breaches article 3 only where substantial grounds establish a real risk of treatment attaining the minimum severity…

In an application to relocate children abroad, the child’s welfare is paramount. No presumption favours or opposes relocation, including where the applicant is…

In construing a pharmaceutical product claim, stated proportions ordinarily describe the composition of the finished product, not the quantities introduced…

In a possession claim against a person with no right to a second succession, long residence may engage Article 8 and form part of the proportionality…

When deciding whether a child may instruct a solicitor independently of the children’s guardian, the court must determine whether the child is able, having…

Where a commercial contract establishes a comprehensive compensatory regime for underdelivery and states that it is in full satisfaction of all claims in…

A voluntary payment is ordinarily irrecoverable where the payer knows it may exceed the sum due but consciously chooses not to ascertain the correct amount.…

In foreign criminal deportation cases, section 117C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and the relevant Immigration Rules form a complete code…

Where primary legislation makes continued detention mandatory, section 6(2)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998 prevents the detention from being unlawful under…

When determining whether a local planning authority can demonstrate a five-year housing land supply, a decision-maker is not bound by the apportionment of…

Frustration requires a supervening event that significantly changes the nature of outstanding contractual obligations, without default by the party relying on…

Costs in contempt proceedings remain a matter of judicial discretion. The general rule that the unsuccessful party pays does not make the party who obtains the…

A defendant may seek permission to serve a contribution notice alleging, conditionally, that a co-defendant is liable, even after that co-defendant has settled…

Lawfulness of immigration detention pending deportation is assessed by reference to a reasonable period and all the circumstances. Relevant considerations…

In an appeal alleging deception in an English-language test, generic evidence may discharge the Secretary of State’s initial evidential burden. The legal…

Where a member state provides partial VAT relief for total or partial non-payment, any excluded class must be justified and comply with EU proportionality…

Evidence must be relevant to a pleaded case and must not unfairly prejudice the opposing party. A positive case of fraud, dishonesty or bad faith must be…

Under EU law, a long-standing tax exemption does not create a protected expectation that it will continue or be withdrawn only after notice. The claimant must…

An appellate court reviewing a family welfare decision should assess the judgment in its full procedural and evidential context. A concise or ex tempore…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court need only decide whether a proposed ground is properly arguable. It does not resolve the…

Vicarious liability requires evidence that the employee was acting in the course of employment and a sufficient connection between employment and the wrongful…

A contractual bonus formula must be interpreted in its contractual and commercial context. Where the employer has explained that a performance measure will be…

In proceedings under the Children Act 1989 following a parent’s unilateral removal of a child within England and Wales, the child’s welfare remains the…

Where a foreign criminal cannot rely on the specific exceptions in the Immigration Rules, the Article 8 assessment must be conducted through the lens of those…

Where a possession order makes entitlement to possession conditional on fulfilment of a condition, Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r 83.2 requires permission before…

For special jurisdiction under Article 5(1)(b) of the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, where services are provided in several Member States, jurisdiction…

The Family Procedure Rules contain no power equivalent to civil summary judgment. The power to strike out a financial remedy application has limited reach and…

A contractual schedule specifying interim payments only until the contractual completion date does not confer a continuing entitlement after its final listed…

A pharmaceutical second-medical-use claim is insufficient if the patent does not make it plausible that the treatment will work across substantially all of its…

Where parties settle the substantive dispute but invite the court to decide costs, the court should not conduct a substitute trial. It should evaluate the…

On a successful challenge to the adoption of a local plan, section 113 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 permits mandatory directions requiring…

An occupier’s duty under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 first requires identification of a danger due to the state of the premises or to things done or…

In wardship proceedings, the child’s welfare remains the governing consideration when the court is asked to enforce, vary or revisit an earlier return order.…

At the permission stage of judicial review, the court decides whether the proposed challenge is arguable, not whether it will ultimately succeed. A policy…

An Employment Appeal Tribunal may substitute its own decision where, absent the employment tribunal’s error of law, only one lawful result was possible. It…

Where a property policy expressly makes reinstatement the basis of indemnity, an insured which is contractually bound to insure and replace the property may…

An unexercised contractual right to draw or crystallise benefits under a private pension is not a payment in the nature of income for the purposes of section…

A person claiming a proprietary interest in property against which a judgment creditor seeks a charging order is ordinarily entitled to have that interest…

Domestic legislation made to implement an EU directive must, so far as possible, be interpreted to achieve the directive’s purpose. The court may depart from…

An obligation to pay hire punctually under a standard-form time charterparty is an innominate term unless the contract clearly makes it a condition. An express…

On an application to reconsider an employment tribunal decision on the ground of fresh evidence, the decisive question is whether the material is capable of…

Quantifying beneficial interests is an overall evaluative exercise. Where the parties’ intended shares are unclear, the court must consider the whole course of…

In a child relocation appeal, welfare remains the paramount consideration. The judge must weigh all relevant factors and options, including the child’s…

Removal of a child under an interim care order requires evidence of an imminent or immediate risk to the child’s safety, including safety understood in its…

For charity relief from inheritance tax, the expression “held on trust for charitable purposes only” in section 23(6) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 requires…

A local planning authority must give reasons of sufficient particularity for the nature and importance of the issues before it. Where permission authorises…

In child-contact proceedings, a child’s alienation from a parent is distinct from the other parent’s implacable hostility to contact. Responsibility may rest…

The inherent jurisdiction cannot be used to require a local authority to care for or accommodate a child where the statutory scheme does not authorise that…

Extra-territorial jurisdiction under Article 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights is exceptional, but no additional high threshold applies once an…

On an application to revoke a deportation order before its prescribed term expires, the statutory test of undue harshness requires very compelling reasons…

For VAT, a permanent supply of goods or services for remuneration is generally an economic activity where the payment has a direct link with the supply. The…

A manufacturer’s duty in negligence does not necessarily continue after an end-user discovers that a safety device is defective. The effect of that discovery…

Under Brussels IIA, a court with jurisdiction over the substance of parental-responsibility proceedings cannot assume that jurisdiction merely because another…

A decision reversing a finely balanced rehabilitation plan must be based on well-established facts understood in their proper context and must explain why the…

Whether proceedings concern an individual contract of employment under Articles 18 and 20 of the Lugano Convention depends on the reality and substance of the…

The rules of an unincorporated association form a contract between its members and are construed according to ordinary principles of contractual…

A planning authority must determine an application in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. It must…

“Integration” for the purpose of section 117C(4)(c) of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and paragraph 399A of the Immigration Rules is a broad…

For judicial-conduct complaints, a continuing state of affairs under regulation 4(2) must consist of continuing misconduct by the particular judge complained…

A systemic challenge to an administrative process for asylum claims requires examination of the full run of cases. It succeeds only where unfairness is…

A judgment summons is a criminal proceeding. The debtor cannot be compelled to give evidence and must be informed of the rights to remain silent and to obtain…

In an application for summary return under the Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980, an Article 13(b) court should assess grave…

Tax relief under the manufactured overseas dividend regime must be construed purposively, by reference to the transaction viewed realistically and as a whole.…

The procedures for determining responsibility under the Dublin III Regulation coexist with rights under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.…

Guidance stating that it would be “very helpful” for planning authorities to consult Historic England and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on…

Short, clearly delimited student leave granted on an undertaking to depart constitutes precarious immigration status for section 117B(5) of the Nationality…

An exoneration clause in a will may relieve a lay trustee or executor from personal liability for loss caused by breach of the self-dealing rule, even where a…

In marine war-risk insurance, insured perils and exclusions must be construed together. A loss may have more than one proximate cause. Where one cause is…

Where no immigration appeal is pending, conditions attached by the First-tier Tribunal to immigration bail end when the person surrenders to an immigration…

Judicial review is not a substitute for a statutory appeal in asylum and human-rights cases. After a claim has failed and appeal rights are exhausted, fresh…

A court has inherent jurisdiction to permit publication of a judgment delivered in private family proceedings. For a judgment concerning a final care order…

The Environmental Liability Directive treats “damage” as a measurable deterioration in the existing condition of a natural resource or natural resource…

When a child has become securely attached and settled in a prospective adoptive home, a later viable placement within the natural family must be evaluated…

The injunction power under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 is ancillary to a separate substantive legal or equitable right. It cannot be used to make…

A visitor’s remote self-employment may amount to prohibited employment in the UK where the activity involves accepting commissions, undertaking work and…

In a divisible, dose-related disease such as asbestosis, a claimant need not show that the defendant’s exposure produced a separately measurable change in…

Under art 3.1 of the Athens Convention, a passenger claiming personal injury must prove that the injury occurred in the course of carriage and resulted from…

Where a local authority has been refused an emergency protection order and then applies for an interim care order, the applications remain procedurally…

A child’s consent is not a prerequisite to a secure accommodation order under section 25 of the Children Act 1989. The court must nevertheless give due regard…

When deciding an application under the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession, the Secretary of State must assess whether, on the circumstances existing at the…

A waiver of apparent bias is valid only where the party knows the material facts, understands the consequences, and has a fair opportunity to decide without…

A planning permission and its conditions must be construed objectively and as a whole. Extrinsic material has a limited role, but material expressly…

A planning committee’s decision is unlawful where an officer’s report significantly misleads members on a material matter. The seriousness of misleading advice…

Article 8 of Directive 80/987/EEC does not require full protection of occupational pension rights, but the majority provisionally considered that it requires…

Under a container bill of lading, agreed free time begins when the containers are discharged at the destination port. Demurrage then accrues as liquidated…

A carrier relying on the statutory defence to a civil penalty for carrying clandestine entrants must prove every element of the defence. If the defence…

Under the loan relationships code in Part IV, Chapter II of the Finance Act 1996, assigning the right to receive quantified future interest instalments creates…

Obviousness requires a fact-sensitive, multi-factorial assessment. Relevant matters include the motivation to address the problem, the available research…

Following a bona fide settlement, the settling defendant may claim contribution under section 1(4) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 without…

For the commercial-interests exemption in section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, commercial interests may include loss of income, profits…

In a financial remedy appeal, notional asset valuations used to calculate a settlement do not necessarily create a guaranteed lump-sum entitlement. Where the…

An oral agreement concerning beneficial interests in land may support a constructive trust or proprietary estoppel where its terms identify the parties’…

When determining the single meaning of an allegedly defamatory publication, the court must not prefer one possible meaning merely because it carries a stronger…

On a market investigation reference, the CMA may conclude that buyer power has not prevented, restricted or distorted competition even though the conduct has…

For the one-year limitation period under section 7(5)(a) of the Human Rights Act 1998, a prosecution will ordinarily be treated as one continuing act until…

An enforcement notice directed at an unauthorised material change of use may require the removal of associated works, even if those works would separately be…

An estoppel by convention requires an expressly shared assumption for which the party said to be estopped has assumed some responsibility. The claimant must…

For protection claims, the effect of a documentation problem depends on whether it merely prevents return or also creates an independent risk on return. HF…

Damages for deceit in the purchase of property are generally the price paid less the property’s market value when acquired, together with any recoverable…

Interconnected agreements forming a joint venture must be read together and in sequence, giving effect to detailed provisions governing the parties’ rights and…

The statutory conditions for costs protection in a litter-abatement complaint are assessed when the complaint is made. The reasonableness inquiry may include…

A Tier 2 sponsor licence is conditional upon rigorous compliance with the sponsor guidance. A sponsor must retain and produce clear documentary evidence that…

A defendant who drives a taxi with an open door while unbelted passengers are poised to leave is in breach of the duty of care. A desire to preserve the fare…

The majority held that a head teacher must disclose facts which have the potential to create an enhanced risk of harm to pupils, so that the governing body can…

Under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986, a court should not validate a disposition which pays a pre-liquidation unsecured creditor in full at the expense…

Where a document is directly alluded to in a witness statement, it is “mentioned” for the purposes of CPR r.31.14. The usual consequence is a qualified right…

Under Schedule 55 to the Finance Act 2009, HMRC may make a generic advance decision to impose daily late-filing penalties on all taxpayers who default for the…

A decision-maker who disagrees with a planning inspector must explain the disagreement fully and clearly. The governing standard remains whether the reasons…

In public regulatory settlement processes, equal treatment extends to substantial assurances and benefits that can in principle be given to all similarly…

Failure to prove that a defendant negligently caused an accident and loss does not, without more, establish that the claim was fraudulently manufactured. A…

In an asylum claim by a Pakistani Ahmadi, the decision-maker must use the country guidance in MN as a framework for assessing both risk on return and internal…

Life-sustaining treatment is lawful only if it is objectively in the child’s best interests. The assessment concerns the child’s welfare in its widest medical…

Under the York-Antwerp Rules 1974, Rule F requires a genuine choice between alternative courses of action. Ordinary operating costs incurred during ransom…

Without prejudice privilege may be displaced where the privileged occasion is itself abused by unambiguous impropriety. The exception is reserved for the…

At the permission stage, a proposed immigration ground is arguable where the Secretary of State may have applied the wrong version of published policy…

An asylum claimant cannot be denied refugee status merely because political conviction was not the determinative reason for pursuing a profession. An…

An employment tribunal’s power under Rule 70 to review a decision where necessary in the interests of justice is a principled discretion. It must give proper…

Whether accommodation is settled for intentional homelessness is a question of fact and degree. The decision-maker must consider all relevant circumstances…

Financial support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 must be determined through an individual, evidence-based assessment of the child’s needs. Rates…

The discretion to order costs against a non-party under section 51(3) is broad and must be exercised justly. Earlier decisions identify relevant considerations…

An appellate court should not grant permission where the proposed appeal is in substance an attempt to reopen factual findings on causation, unless the lower…

Under rule 52.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, requiring an appellant to secure a judgment debt is exceptional and requires a compelling reason. The power…

When deciding whether it is reasonable to expect a qualifying child to leave the United Kingdom, the tribunal may consider the wider public interest, including…

Suspension of a possession order under section 9 of the Housing Act 1988 is a fact-sensitive discretionary decision. The court must be persuaded by cogent…

For the balance-sheet test of insolvency under the Insolvency Act 1986, only present assets are valued. A contingent or prospective asset cannot cure a…

An applicant has an established presence for the relevant student immigration requirement only if the specified leave or entry clearance is current when the…

In a will dispute, suspicious circumstances place the burden of proving knowledge and approval on the person propounding the will. If no such circumstances…

A High Court may grant a website-blocking injunction against an innocent internet service provider where a third party uses its services to infringe registered…

An extra-statutory VAT concession must be construed in its statutory setting and given no wider effect than its language fairly bears. A right under the…

In a refinancing, the court must identify the legal and factual nature of the transaction when applying the ordinary but for test of causation. Where a new…

When deciding whether to authorise the export and posthumous use of gametes despite unmet consent formalities, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority…

Part 5A of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and the corresponding Immigration Rules form a complete code for determining whether deportation of…

In an immigration decision based on deception, the Secretary of State bears an initial evidential burden. Generic evidence explaining the detection process…

The possible effect of a planning permission on the viability of a neighbouring business may be a material planning consideration. Where the alleged effect is…

Applicants seeking without-notice freezing, property-preservation or search orders owe a duty of full and frank disclosure. An interlocutory appeal may…

An appellate court will rarely interfere with primary findings of fact made by a trial judge who heard the witnesses, particularly where the findings are…

A scheme of mutually enforceable restrictive covenants requires a defined area, a common vendor, reciprocal covenants, and knowledge by purchasers of the…

For paragraph 398(c) of the Immigration Rules, supplying a Class A drug is not automatically treated as causing serious harm, but the rule permits that…

There is no legal or factual presumption that family life under article 8 exists, or does not exist, between an adult child and the child’s parents or…

The sequential test for out-of-centre retail development does not recreate a separate requirement to demonstrate retail need. The references to need in the…

An employer’s non-delegable duty to take reasonable care for an employee’s safety may extend to transport arranged by third parties in the course of…

Appeal dismissed. A refusal to permit a counterclaim for want of merit, followed by dismissal of that counterclaim, can create cause-of-action estoppel even…

At the permission stage of a judicial review challenge to a criminal legal-aid capital contribution order, it was arguable that the assessing authority had to…

Section 56(5) of the Equality Act 2010 does not exclude a claim under section 55 where a work-placement provider allegedly discriminates against a student…

A protection or human rights claim is “clearly unfounded” only if it is bound to fail before a properly directed tribunal and cannot succeed on any legitimate…

An intra-EU application for the return of an allegedly abducted child should ordinarily be determined under the 1980 Hague Convention, as complemented by…

A protective costs order may be made where closed material prevents an individual accused of terrorism from assessing the merits of a challenge. The applicant…

A court may retrospectively extend the time for a jurisdiction challenge under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 11. The application is determined by the…

An employment tribunal has jurisdiction to determine equal pay complaints, and the Equality Act 2010 expressly provides routes by which the High Court may…

In a quasi-judicial planning decision, a minister must observe ordinary standards of fairness. A minister should not receive private oral representations from…

An appellate court admits fresh post-trial evidence only sparingly, applying the overriding objective and the need for finality. Evidence that merely repeats…

Where a foreign criminal satisfies every limb of Exception 1 in section 117C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the statutory scheme…

Under the pre-6 April 2015 appeal scheme, an overstayer was not entitled to demand a removal decision merely because removal had become unlikely or because a…

A contract may be inferred from conduct where the parties agreed sufficiently certain essentials, intended legal relations and provided consideration. The…

Under section 24(2) of the Acquisition of Land Act 1981, a compulsory purchase order is the single instrument made and then confirmed. Quashing it ordinarily…

A contractual term requiring variations to be written and signed does not, by itself, prevent the parties from later varying the contract orally or by conduct.…

The procedural obligation under article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights arises only where there is a credible suspicion of trafficking. It…

A court reviewing a regulator’s scientific and predictive assessments must respect its expertise and avoid substituting an inexpert view for a tenable expert…

A Secretary of State determining a planning appeal need not reproduce every detail of an inspector’s report. It is sufficient that the decision letter…

For Limitation Act 1980 section 21(1)(b), a trustee or fiduciary may be treated as having received and converted trust property where it is transferred to a…

A right to set aside a transaction as an unconscionable bargain arises when the bargain is made, on exchange of contracts, rather than only on completion. It…

A product falls within the functional limb of the medicinal-product definition only where its pharmacological properties have been scientifically established…

For permission to appeal, a document may count as a defence even if it is not formally headed or pleaded as one, provided its substance and avowed purpose…

EU law does not govern a deprivation of British citizenship where the case has no cross-border element. The common law nevertheless requires review of such a…

Where a civil claim turns substantially on disputed oral evidence, the judgment must address the essential issues, evaluate the principal challenges to…

A proposed ground seeking to reopen an issue already considered and rejected by appellate authority is unarguable. A challenge to a binding decision has no…

A clear trial judge’s finding that a party entered a transaction freely and without undue influence is difficult to challenge on an application for permission…

Permission to appeal may be granted where a proposed challenge identifies an arguable error of law in deciding whether an absent employee was assigned to a…

For the seven-year private-life route under paragraph 276ADE(iv) of the Immigration Rules, continuous residence must be assessed at the date of application.…

A litigant in person must have a proper opportunity to present evidence on central allegations such as fraud, backdating and undervalue. It is unfair to refuse…

A tribunal's reasons may be legally adequate even where a conclusion is expressed briskly or by generalised reference, provided the appellate tribunal…

In a breach of confidence claim, the full patent-style measure of lost profits and a user royalty is appropriate where each sale uses or embodies the…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission may be granted where the proposed ground presents serious grounds for arguing that the lower…

Article 6.2 does not create a blanket prohibition on disclosing an allegation underlying an acquittal. The question is whether the later disclosure, considered…

Where prospective special guardians are directly affected by a contact decision, procedural fairness requires that they have a fair opportunity to hear and…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission may be granted where the proposed appeal raises a respectable argument and has a sufficient…

A judgment must be read as a whole, in its context. Its reasons must explain the result to the parties and enable appellate scrutiny. An appellate court should…

In a road-traffic negligence claim, a driver is not required to anticipate every foolish act by a pedestrian. The relevant question is whether, in the…

Where specially agreed terms and printed standard conditions are subject to an inconsistency clause, the court approaches them objectively, without striving…

Case-management decisions on expert evidence attract appellate restraint. Under s13 of CAFA 2014 and Part 25, a further expert report should be ordered only…

A child arrangements appeal is not a rehearing. The child’s welfare is paramount under section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989, with regard to each relevant limb…

For the purpose of the Civil Procedure Rules rule 57.7, an interest in an estate is a procedural standing requirement. It is not confined to a legal…

Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires a decision-maker to establish whether a proposal accords with the development plan as a…

Apparent bias arises where a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts, would conclude that there was a real possibility that the tribunal…

A transferee of standard-essential patents may be practically bound by the transferor’s FRAND commitment even if it is not an ETSI member, particularly where…

Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, fairness is assessed in the round, having regard to all relevant matters. In substantial commercial lending, standard…

For stamp duty land tax, where an original land contract and a simultaneous sub-sale are completed together, section 45(3) disregards completion of the…

A claimant must prove the alleged accident and its circumstances on the balance of probabilities. A court is not required to choose between the claimant’s…

For a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years’ imprisonment, the proportionality assessment begins with the scales heavily weighted in favour of…

On an application for permission to appeal in financial-remedy enforcement proceedings, an outstanding application to vary periodical payments may need to be…

Use of land cannot establish a prescriptive right unless it continues for 20 years without force, secrecy or permission. Use is contentious, and therefore not…

In care and placement proceedings, a court cannot rule out a relative as a potential carer unless the available assessment evidence provides a sufficient and…

A registration of a series of trade marks is a registration of a bundle of separate marks under one reference number. Each mark must independently satisfy the…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no reasonably arguable basis for disturbing the decision below. In ancillary relief…

At the first stage of the Denton approach, the seriousness or significance of the particular breach must be assessed without treating unrelated defaults as…

Leave to commence or continue proceedings against a company protected by a liquidation stay requires a genuinely arguable claim. If that threshold is crossed…

A clear and unambiguous assurance by a public authority does not automatically create a legitimate expectation. The claimant must show that reliance would have…

Costs in Bar disciplinary proceedings are governed by the tribunal’s own costs rules, not the Civil Procedure Rules, which are neither directly applicable nor…

A contract for the sale of land may bind a purchaser who signs for himself and purports to sign for a co-purchaser without authority. The question is whether…

The Insolvency Rules 1986 did not permit liquidators to obtain detailed assessment of solicitors’ fees agreed and paid by administrators during an earlier…

Where a county court judge has heard an appeal, article 5 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2000 sends an appeal from every…

In a nuisance claim involving drainage, the alleged interference must be tied to the claimant’s actual easement. A right to use a common private drain does not…

A requirement under the Points Based Scheme that an applicant’s salary be at or above a specified minimum is a bright-line rule. Any shortfall means that the…

A referendum forming an integral part of a member state's process for deciding whether to withdraw from the European Union falls within its own constitutional…

For double tax credit relief under the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, the statutory hypotheses governing dividends from a UK subsidiary of an overseas…

A generic challenge to an administrative scheme succeeds only where unfairness inheres in the system itself. The court must examine the full run of cases, and…

Conversion of a chattel requires conduct amounting to a deprivation of possession inconsistent with the owner's rights; mere disturbance is trespass. The court…

Where a child complainant may be called in family proceedings, there is no presumption against oral evidence. The court must make a bespoke and recorded…

A proprietary-estoppel remedy must be a retrospective and proportionate response to the unconscionability arising when an assurance is not performed.…

Permission for a second appeal should be refused unless the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another compelling…

Constructive dismissal under Employment Rights Act 1996, section 95(1)(c), requires employer conduct amounting to a repudiatory breach, not merely unreasonable…

For the sixth exception in paragraph 89 of the National Planning Policy Framework, openness of the Green Belt is not confined to a comparison of development…

A duty of care for a negligent bank reference turns on the relationship between the information provider and the person who will rely on the reference…

A contractual condition requiring rating agencies to confirm that the appointment of a successor servicer will not cause an adverse rating event must be given…

Fraudulent misrepresentation must be pleaded in the clearest terms, with utmost specification and particularisation. The case advanced is determined from the…

Arranging an interview to collect material information from a prospective insurance customer may constitute arranging deals in investments under article 25 of…

A statutory power to impose a restriction as to residence on a person liable to immigration detention does not authorise a curfew. Residence and compulsory…

For the statutory effective date of termination under the Employment Rights Act 1996, a summary dismissal takes effect on the date of actual dismissal. The…

A compensation body’s liability is triggered when the conditions in article 6(1) of the Fourth Motor Insurance Directive, or regulations 11 and 12, are met. A…

A public transaction does not confer an advantage for state aid purposes where a comparable private economic operator could have entered into it on the same…

Permission to appeal from the Upper Tribunal requires a point of law and either an important unresolved point of principle or practice with a real prospect of…

An application to amend a statement of case is not an application for relief from sanctions merely because it seeks the court’s indulgence. The court may…

When deciding whether a person working under a contract personally to do work is an employee for discrimination law, the tribunal must examine the substance of…

Immigration detention pending removal must remain directed to removal and be maintained only for a reasonable period with reasonable diligence. The presumption…

In a foreign removal case under article 8, removal engages the Convention only where the treatment awaiting the applicant would flagrantly deny or nullify the…

The abuse-of-rights principle applies to a VAT scheme viewed as a whole. It requires both that the scheme produces a tax advantage contrary to the purpose of…

A renewed application for permission to appeal will fail where the proposed grounds disclose no arguable error in the decisions below. A point not raised…

Failure to meet the residence requirement in Immigration Rules rule 276ADE does not require leave to be granted outside the Rules under Article 8. Long…

In a second-appeal permission application, the court may take account of a materially different approach by the Upper Tribunal and the exceptionally severe…

In a contractual anti-avoidance clause, purpose ordinarily means the dominant purpose where a transaction has mixed aims; it need not be the sole purpose. A…

Under section 2 of the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, an occupier must take reasonable care in all the circumstances to make visitors reasonably safe.…

A national planning policy may be expressed in unqualified terms, provided its application respects statutory requirements and allows exceptions. The…

In an asylum appeal, a tribunal’s failure expressly to address supporting evidence is not necessarily an error of law. The question is whether the omission…

In settled judicial review proceedings, the costs order depends on what the litigation achieved as it unfolded, not solely on the formal relief claimed…

A shareholder cannot recover, as its own Convention loss, a loss sustained directly by a company which can itself claim as a victim. The corporate personality…

Where a gain on a mixed-use asset qualifies for both EIS relief and taper relief, EIS relief must first be applied to the overall gain on the real asset. Only…

An assignment of causes of action must be construed as a whole. Broad words do not necessarily transfer every claim connected with a fact mentioned in related…

Where an enforcement notice has been upheld after a proper assessment of Convention rights, a local planning authority may ordinarily implement it under…

Part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 applies to overseas employment only where the employment relationship has a sufficiently strong connection with Great Britain…

The Commons Registration Act 1965 established a definitive register of common land and rights of common. After the statutory cut-off, an unregistered right of…

In assessing development causing substantial harm to designated heritage assets, the decision-maker must apply the statutory duties protecting listed buildings…

A contractual requirement for signature may be waived by the party for whose benefit it was included. Clear and unequivocal conduct may then accept an offer…

Removal on the basis that a person may face poverty, destitution or inferior medical and social provision abroad will breach article 3 only in the very…

Permission to appeal is appropriate where the proposed grounds show a real prospect of success. An only or principal home finding is arguably defective if the…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed grounds disclose a real prospect of success. In an application under section 84(1) of the Law of…

An applicant cannot rely on retained profits of a company as personal earnings where the evidence shows that he was employed by the company and provides no…

An appeal should not be reopened merely because the appellate court acknowledges a limited error or because an unsuccessful party remains dissatisfied with the…

Whether an activity is a “game” for the purposes of the gaming exemption is primarily a question of fact and statutory context. The term has a wide meaning.…

A claimant seeking judicial review must give the court the full picture. The duty of candour may require the claimant to identify and explain the significance…

Where a public authority withdraws a challenged decision and the claimant has thereby obtained the maximum realistic judicial-review remedy, usually…

A development plan may comprise modules prepared at different times under different national policies. Its soundness must be assessed by reference to its true…

Retrospective legislation which deliberately alters the outcome of pending civil proceedings engages article 6, even where it applies generally rather than…

Following bankruptcy, claims vested in the trustee in bankruptcy and the bankrupt could no longer pursue them personally. An application under the Insolvency…

For a second appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice or a compelling reason. Grounds that merely challenge factual findings do…

Permission to appeal from the Upper Tribunal should be granted where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or another…

A contractual fee may become payable when repayment falls due, even if no repayment has occurred, where the agreement defines the triggering event…

An express non-exclusive jurisdiction clause, coupled with a forum non conveniens waiver, gives a strong prima facie basis for litigating in the chosen court.…

For negligence and breach of statutory duty claims for personal injury, a claimant must establish material physical injury. A physiological change that is…

A gratuitous unilateral offer may be amended before payment or acceptance. Once the offeror clearly communicates that a bonus is conditional on surrendering…

A renewed application for permission to appeal must satisfy the second appeals test. It is insufficient that the proposed appeal may raise arguable errors or…

A non-party costs order may be made before the underlying costs have been assessed. The order determines liability in principle; the amount and proportionality…

A statutory notice is construed objectively, in the context known to a reasonable recipient. Context may invalidate a document which appears valid in…

Under Trade Union & Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, the relevant purpose for detriment and the relevant reason for dismissal are the factors…

For obviousness, the relevant question is what the skilled person would do in the light of the state of the art. The inquiry is not confined to information…

On an application under Civil Procedure Rules r 39.3, the requirements of promptness, a good reason for non-attendance, and a reasonable prospect of success…

Strict liability under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 arises only where the workplace presents a real or material and foreseeable…

Where an examination is reasonably necessary for the proper conduct of a party’s defence, the court may require cooperation or stay or strike out the…

Agricultural and forestry buildings fall within an unqualified exception to inappropriate development in the Green Belt under paragraph 89 of the National…

Under transitional provisions for discretionary leave, an applicant previously granted leave before the relevant rule change is normally considered under the…

A claimant in a personal injury action must prove, on the balance of probabilities, the mechanism of the accident on which the alleged breach and causation…

For EU free-movement purposes, a benefit is labour-market related only where its sole or predominant function is to facilitate access to employment. A benefit…

The scope of an appeal against a tax closure notice is defined by the conclusions stated in the notice and the amendments required to give effect to them. The…

In determining whether deportation would have an unduly harsh effect on a qualifying child or partner, the tribunal must consider all the circumstances. These…

A court must construe a written contract by reference to its language in its documentary, factual and commercial context. It cannot use interpretation to…

A statutory right to claim directly against a liability insurer is essentially contractual where its content is substantially defined by the insurance…

In care proceedings, a relative seeking leave to apply for contact under section 34(3) of the Children Act 1989 is not excluded merely because contact has…

Permission for a second appeal is confined to cases involving an important point of principle or practice not previously determined by the Court of Appeal, or…

For regulation 9(3)(b) of the Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996, a restriction may arise where a traffic order…

For the purposes of section 32(1)(b) of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, a person concealed in a vehicle may simultaneously attempt to pass through and…

An unqualified contractual right to make internal non-structural alterations may include replacing the landlord’s fixtures or chattels within the building…

Where domestic dividends are exempt but foreign dividends are taxed under an imputation system, EU law requires equivalent treatment. If domestic companies…

Starting a detailed assessment of a solicitor’s bills does not produce a general waiver of legal professional privilege. Any implied waiver is confined to…

In foreign-criminal deportation cases, article 8 proportionality must be assessed through the comprehensive code in the Immigration Rules. Where the offender…

When designating a local authority under Children Act 1989, the court should make a rapid, robust and purely factual determination of the child’s ordinary…

A late application for permission to appeal is not a nullity merely because it omits the request for an extension of time and reasons required by the Tribunal…

When an interim privacy injunction is reconsidered after protected material has been widely disseminated, the court must make a fresh, fact-sensitive…

A challenge that a tribunal failed to give reasons is distinct from a challenge to the legal correctness or rationality of its decision. The question is…

A planning permission and its conditions must be read as a whole, including the reasons, from the standpoint of a reasonable reader. Clear wording receives its…

Under section 20(3) of the Equality Act 2010, reasonable adjustments may discharge the duty where they would objectively enable an employee to return to the…

A parent’s choice and registration of a child’s forename are acts of parental responsibility. A local authority caring for the child may therefore have power…

An aggregation clause is construed according to its precise language. A reference to similar acts or omissions in a series of related matters or transactions…

A claimant who obtains a judgment at least as advantageous as her own Part 36 offer is ordinarily entitled to all her post-expiry costs on the indemnity basis.…

Article 3 requires treatment to attain a minimum level of severity, assessed in all the circumstances. Humiliation inherent in legitimate detention does not…

In civil contempt proceedings, the applicant must prove the alleged breach to the criminal standard. An accused may remain silent, but an adverse inference may…

Whether a staff handbook provision forms part of an employment contract depends on the employment documents construed as a whole and on whether the particular…

Permission for a second appeal requires a real prospect of success or another compelling reason, together with the additional second-appeal requirement where…

Executive detention must be clearly justified. A detention warrant is construed restrictively, with ambiguity resolved in favour of liberty. Under paragraph…

A clearly drafted mutual exclusion of consequential loss in a commercial contract must be given its ordinary and natural meaning in its contractual context.…

A director’s duty to avoid conflicts of interest under the Companies Act 2006 covers diversion of a company opportunity, whether or not the company could have…

A recipient’s right to seek an extension of the term of periodical payments under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 is excluded only by an express direction to…

Loss in a lender’s professional-negligence claim is quantified in two stages. First, the court identifies transactional loss by comparing the lending outlay…

In a deportation case involving a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years, paragraphs 398 to 399A of the Immigration Rules form a complete code.…

In medical negligence, a conscientious clinical judgment made in an emergency is not immune from liability merely because the practitioner faced a genuine…

Compensation under Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 133, is confined to the statutory new-fact test. It does not require an applicant to prove general…

For certification under section 94 B of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, the question whether removal pending an appeal would cause serious…

For a second appeal, deportation cases are subject to the ordinary permission threshold. The fact that the Secretary of State lost below, or a bare dispute…

Under the Immigration Rules governing foreign-criminal deportation, the requirement for exceptional circumstances does not impose a freestanding exceptionality…

On an appeal against refusal of entry clearance, section 85A(2) of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2002 confines the tribunal to circumstances…

Family appeals are ordinarily conducted by way of review, not rehearing. A rehearing under rule 30.12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 is exceptional and…

In reviewing a certificate that an asylum claim is clearly unfounded, the court must examine the Secretary of State’s decision against the evidence available…

On a strike-out or summary-judgment application, the court may reject an alleged oral agreement where it is inconsistent with contemporaneous documents and…

A court deciding a child’s placement must assess the whole welfare picture. A parent’s improving mental health and positive prognosis do not prevent…

Under rule 6.15(2) of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the court must decide whether all the circumstances provide a good reason to validate steps which brought…

Section 120(7) of the Equality Act 2010 removes Employment Tribunal jurisdiction over a qualifications-body claim only where the challenged act is subject…

A low-value road traffic claim which properly enters the applicable protocol does not leave that process merely because its personal injury element has…

For a non-compete covenant, competition is assessed broadly and fact-sensitively. The court considers whether services are comparable or interchangeable…

A receiving-state court should not conduct a functional inquiry into whether an accredited Permanent Representative or diplomat has actually performed official…

In asylum cases, a duty to investigate disputed documents arises only in the limited circumstances identified in PJ (Sri Lanka). The reference to investigation…

A taxpayer challenging a discovery assessment under section 29 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 has no right to insist that the conduct/officer condition be…

A person accused of contempt has an absolute right to remain silent and to refuse to enter the witness box. Evidence previously obtained from that person under…

The Dublin II Regulation confers no individual right to challenge the allocation of responsibility for an asylum claim between Member States. That restriction…

A consent order is construed objectively, using the language of the order in its relevant context. A provision requiring a sum received under one paragraph to…

In exercising the costs discretion, the court must consider the conduct of all parties and any relevant settlement offer. A claimant who unreasonably fails to…

A contractual time limit for notifying a warranty claim is an exclusion clause. If, after ordinary linguistic, contextual, purposive and commercial analysis…

Detention under section 36(1)(a) of the UK Borders Act 2007 is not automatically unlawful after any fixed period. Its lawfulness depends on whether the period…

A court may reconsider dismissal for procedural non-compliance where personal circumstances materially affected the litigant’s ability to comply. Relief…

In a professional-negligence claim concerning a defect in acquired property, the normal date-of-purchase diminution-in-value measure is only a convenient…

A public decision-maker who rejects a planning inspector’s considered and reasoned recommendation must explain the disagreement. The reasons need not answer…

A professional disciplinary panel may proceed in a practitioner's absence once it is satisfied that all reasonable efforts have been made to serve notice. Its…

A landlord’s duty under section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 extends no further than the repairing obligation owed under the tenancy. A hazardous or…

On a second appeal, permission requires an important point of principle or practice, or another compelling reason. A renewed challenge that merely re-argues…

On a renewed application for permission to bring what is effectively a second appeal, permission may be granted where a proposed ground raises a point of…

Relief from forfeiture is discretionary. Its purpose is to protect the landlord’s reversion and secure performance of covenants, rather than punish the tenant.…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no possibility of success. A point not permitted to proceed in the Employment Appeal…

Under paragraph 49 of the National Planning Policy Framework, relevant policies “for the supply of housing” are policies affecting housing supply. They include…

A conditional sale agreement may require a party to use all reasonable endeavours to secure planning permission as soon as reasonably possible. That obligation…

Under Schedule 3 to the Immigration Act 1971, mandatory detention arising from a recommendation for deportation under paragraph 2(1) ends when the person is…

Under Chapter 6 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, the expression ‘benefit of the car’ has its ordinary meaning. A charge requires a real…

At the permission stage, the court should decide whether an arguable issue exists but should not undertake the detailed merits analysis reserved for the…

A court considering the early discharge of a person imprisoned for civil contempt must determine whether the contemnor has received sufficient punishment and…

A tribunal’s refusal to adjourn is a case-management decision. An unfortunate reference to authorities that are not directly relevant does not establish an…

A court assessing counsel’s fees on a summary basis may make a broad-brush assessment instead of ordering a detailed inquiry where the evidence permits a fair…

An entry-clearance decision based on an earlier finding of deception is subject to Wednesbury review, applying the ordinary civil standard of proof. Where a…

A person should ordinarily use a statutory tribunal remedy before seeking judicial review where that remedy is convenient and effective. A tribunal review may…

When relief is sought following breach of an unless order, seriousness and significance cannot be assessed by isolating the final period of default. The court…

In determining whether a trader ought to have known that a purchase was connected with VAT fraud, the tribunal must assess the totality of objectively…

Under the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement, the debt arising from early termination accrues on the Early Termination Date. The effective service of notice stating…

Changes to early-release provisions may concern the administration and execution of a sentence rather than increase the penalty for the purposes of Article 7…

An appellate court will ordinarily respect a family judge’s factual findings. A finding must nevertheless be set aside where the reasoning is seriously flawed…

A payment made on account of a damages claim after a defendant has offered to settle the whole claim under Part 36 ordinarily counts towards the offered sum.…

Permission for a second appeal requires both a reasonable prospect of success and an important point of practice or principle, or another compelling reason for…

A loan may be established without detailed contractual terms where the evidence shows an intention to lend and an obligation to repay. An appellate court…

An allegation that a claim is fraudulent does not exempt an applicant from the requirements for relief from sanctions. On an application to set aside a default…

Liability for private nuisance depends on the defendant’s legal relationship with the source property. A landlord who has parted with possession is generally…

Permission to appeal requires a reasonable prospect of successfully persuading the Court of Appeal on the proposed grounds. A claimant bears the burden of…

An appeal against refusal of an EEA residence card has no suspensive effect under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006. Regulation 29…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal merely challenges factual findings and the tribunal’s evaluation of disputed evidence, unless…

Where deportation is pursued against a foreign criminal sentenced to at least four years’ imprisonment, the tribunal must assess any Article 8 claim through…

In a damages claim alleging that wrongful conduct procured a biased tribunal and caused loss, causation must be proved as an actual fact. It is insufficient to…

A variation which replaces the educational institution, course or related study arrangements may vary the purpose of a student’s application, even though the…

The Crown is not bound by a statute unless expressly bound or bound by necessary implication. Necessary implication is a strict test. It is not established…

On a renewed application for permission to pursue what was treated as a second appeal, the court held that an arguable issue on the construction of the…

Under section 199(1) of the Housing Act 1996, normal residence means the place where a person actually resides. Interim accommodation may count towards local…

An "unless" order takes effect according to its terms unless successfully appealed or discharged by relief from the sanction. Once non-compliance has…

When deciding whether it would be unreasonable for a qualifying child to leave the United Kingdom under paragraph 276ADE(iv), the tribunal must assess the…

An appeal from an Employment Appeal Tribunal requires a properly formulated question of law. A judge need not set out the informed observer test in detail if…

For a fresh asylum claim under the Immigration Rules, the decision-maker must consider new and earlier material together and ask whether it gives an…

An application to extend time for an appeal is determined by the three-stage Mitchell/Denton approach. The court must assess the seriousness of the breach…

For security for costs under CPR rule 25.13(2)(c), the court need not find on the balance of probabilities that a company will be unable to pay. It must have a…

A loan agreement requiring repayment in one currency is not an exchange contract merely because the borrower must convert another currency to perform it. Nor…

A later letter does not retrospectively invalidate an earlier immigration decision where that decision correctly applied the test for determining whether…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real prospect of success. The Court of Appeal…

Permission to use disclosed material for a collateral purpose under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 31.22, requires special circumstances amounting to a…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance or encouragement of a right or benefit in property, reliance causing detriment, and unconscionability in denying the…

The EU education exemption must be interpreted strictly, but not restrictively. The expression ‘body governed by public law’ has the same meaning in the…

A failure to recognise that an asylum claimant is vulnerable may undermine a credibility assessment, but only where it could realistically affect the reasons…

Tax tribunals should adopt a firm approach to compliance with procedural rules, directions and orders. The starting point is compliance unless there is good…

The right of abode is determined by the specific statutory conditions in force. A general intention to remove historic sex discrimination does not permit a…

A stated policy end-date does not create an immutable legitimate expectation that a government scheme will remain unchanged until that date. The question is…

Rules 398 to 399A of the Immigration Rules form a complete code for assessing whether the deportation of a foreign criminal would breach article 8. Where rules…

A contractual discretion to allocate commission is governed by the contractual scheme creating it. Detailed provisions may constrain the discretion even where…

On a renewed application for permission to bring a second appeal, an arguable question whether a narrow immigration rule has been treated as exhaustive of the…

A mistake of fact may ground judicial review where it causes unfairness. The ordinary requirements are an existing factual mistake, an objectively verifiable…

A tribunal act that rejects or declines a notice of appeal is not necessarily a judicial decision. The court must examine the nature of the act. Where the…

Permission to appeal will be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason justifies an appeal. Changes to…

Relief from sanctions following non-attendance at a case management hearing is governed by Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.9, rather than the more stringent…

On an application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal will not reopen accepted factual findings unless they are strikingly wrong. It examines whether…

Child protection proceedings are conducted under a statutory default of privacy. The general presumption of open justice does not govern them. A court may…

The administration moratorium applies only to legal process against the company. A party may take essentially defensive steps in proceedings commenced by a…

An account of profits for patent infringement strips profits legally derived from use of the invention. It does not compensate the patentee or punish the…

Payment to a hawaladar under a commercial remittance arrangement does not itself create a resulting trust. A Quistclose-type trust requires terms preventing…

On a second appeal, permission may be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another compelling…

Permission to appeal may be refused where, on consideration of the papers, the court is clear that the application does not satisfy the applicable…

Permission for a second appeal requires more than a case with a real prospect of success. The applicant must also identify an important point of principle or…

Permission to appeal may be granted where the proposed grounds disclose an arguable case with a real prospect of success. The court may consider whether the…

A clause paramount in a bill of lading made after the shipment country has adopted the 1968 amendments is ordinarily construed by reference to the amended…

An insurer may be ordered to pay a claimant’s costs as a non-party where it determined, funded and controlled the defence predominantly for its own benefit…

Where a claimant in the fixed-costs regime for lower-value personal injury claims makes a successful Part 36 offer, the claimant receives fixed costs up to the…

An objector seeking judicial review of a planning permission must act with the greatest possible celerity. Where the statutory notification requirements were…

Permission to appeal in an immigration judicial review requires a properly arguable public law error or another compelling reason. Where family life was formed…

An appellate court should not second-guess a tribunal’s proportionality assessment. The relevant question is whether the tribunal made an error of law. A…

In assessing future loss of earnings or earning capacity, the Ogden Tables should be considered and used where possible and appropriate, but they are not…

Refusal or termination of direct parental contact is an exceptional outcome. It requires cogent welfare reasons and consideration of all reasonable means of…

Commercial pressure does not establish economic duress or support a related intimidation claim unless its practical effect is to compel the claimant’s will or…

In ancillary relief proceedings, need is flexible and may be assessed by reference to the parties’ marital standard of living. An equal division of capital is…

A power to prescribe evidence for determining eligibility for civil legal aid may include conditions concerning the age of that evidence. The power must…

An evidential flexibility policy must be construed objectively and given effect unless there is good reason to depart from it. A policy addressing missing…

In planning decisions, the prospect that occupants of a proposed development may later complain about noise or other effects from an existing business, with…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the Court of Appeal considers whether the first-instance discharge of a freezing injunction had any…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is some other…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the court may adjourn the decision where the lower hearing and judgment raise sufficient concerns about…

On a second appeal, permission should be granted only where the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or there is another…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s finding of fact where it rests on a proper evidential basis. The appeal court is concerned with…

In an immigration judicial review, the Secretary of State need not undertake a detailed Article 8 proportionality assessment where the applicant provides no…

On a renewed application in a second appeal, permission should be refused unless the proposed appeal raises an important point of principle or practice, or…

Once excise goods have been condemned by a court, or deemed duly condemned under Schedule 3 to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, the condemnation is…

Where retained contractual wording is ambiguous, a clause replaced by an agreed modification may assist construction if it shows what the parties did not…

An informal document does not create an express trust merely because it uses the word trust, and a trust can arise without that word. The court must determine…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, permission should be granted where an arguable failure to address a central issue in a complex damages claim…

An application for leave to remain outside Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules requires identification of compelling circumstances. The threshold is less…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, the relevant question was whether the proposed appeal was arguable. Serious reservations about the…

Where asbestos exposure is proved to have caused lung cancer overall, but science cannot show that any particular employer’s exposure actually contributed to…

An enforceable post-employment covenant ordinarily attracts an injunction because contracting parties should generally be held to their negative bargain. The…

Continued refugee status does not, by itself, prevent refoulement under Refugee Convention article 33(2), nor create an indefinite presumption that removal…

An arbitrator becomes functus officio only after finally determining the whole issue referred to him. Whether an award is final must be assessed by reading it…

Contact may remain professionally supervised indefinitely in the minority of family cases where the risks of unsupervised contact require it. Positive…

A written compromise embodied in a Tomlin order is interpreted objectively, according to what its words would mean to a reasonable reader with the parties’…

A broker’s entitlement to commission on a sale cannot ordinarily be implied into an agreement expressly concerned with charter management and commission on…

Permission to appeal against a discretionary case-management decision should be granted where there is a real prospect that the first appeal judge exceeded the…

Where judgment is given after 1 April 2013, general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, and for the other specified categories, attract a 10 per…

Immigration Rules made under the statutory scheme of the Immigration Act 1971 do not become ultra vires merely because they prescribe mandatory grounds for…

In a negligent-misstatement claim, related statements or impressions must be analysed separately where they may have had different effects on the decision…

A successful immigration appeal determines the application and period then before the tribunal. A finding that an adult child was a dependant for that limited…

Where an earlier application for leave to remain is alleged to have been received but lost by the Secretary of State, its existence and timing remain directly…

In care proceedings, the decision whether a child should give oral evidence requires the fact-specific balancing exercise in Re W (Children) [2010] UKSC 12.…

A judicial review application should be certified as totally without merit only where, after careful consideration, it is bound to fail. The test is distinct…

Where a court retrospectively validates alternative service, it must specify a period for acknowledging service, admitting the claim or filing a defence. Until…

When the Parole Board considers directing the early release of a recalled determinate-sentence prisoner under sections 255B or 255C of the Criminal Justice Act…

The retention and controlled use of a transgender person’s historical gender information may comply with article 8 where it serves legitimate…

An application for permission to appeal can be stayed pending determination of related appeals. This judgment records a procedural stay only and determines no…

On a second appeal, permission should be refused where the proposed grounds have no reasonable prospect of success and do not satisfy the additional…

Trade mark confusion is assessed globally, comparing the defendant’s actual use with notional and fair use of the registered mark. Similarity of goods or…

On an application for an interim injunction, the court must assess the likely consequences of granting or withholding relief on the particular facts. It must…

On an enforcement-notice appeal confined to ground (f), and with no ground (a) appeal, an inspector cannot determine the general planning merits of an…

Where a planning decision is unlawful, the court may withhold a quashing order only if satisfied that the decision-maker would necessarily have reached the…

Dishonest assistance must be assessed by reference to all the circumstances known to the alleged assistant, including the facts which that person genuinely…

In a needs-based financial remedy case, a court may provide for a future review of periodical payments when a known change occurs, but it cannot predict the…

A total failure of consideration depends on the contractual performance promised, not merely on whether work was carried out or materials supplied. Where the…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed ground has no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason justifies permission. A…

A notice of appeal in magistrates’ court proceedings may be corrected where the intended appellant is before the court but has been misnamed or misdescribed. A…

A costs order under Civil Procedure Rules r 44.2 must give real weight to the claimant’s overall success. A successful claimant does not act unreasonably…

For opposition to renewal of a business tenancy on the ground of the landlord’s own occupation, the landlord must establish both a genuine, firm and settled…

In judicial review of a planning permission, the court may refuse to quash a decision affected by a material misdirection only where it is inevitable that the…

For an adult child relying on Article 8 family life with parents, the claimant must show emotional ties that go beyond ordinary emotional ties. Where the…

In care proceedings, an agreed threshold document will usually permit the court to proceed directly to welfare analysis. Further investigation is required…

For loss-relief claims involving more than one year of assessment, the claim relates to the later, loss-making year and relief is given in relation to that…

Permission for a second appeal requires an important point of practice or principle, or another compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. A case that turns…

A solicitor’s undertaking to confirm execution of security by a named borrower is construed objectively in its documentary, factual and commercial context.…

Section 49 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001 allocates responsibility for nursing care by a registered nurse away from local authorities and to the NHS in…

Section 146 requires proof that the employer’s act or deliberate failure to act had the sole or main purpose of preventing or deterring trade union…

In foreign-criminal deportation cases, paragraphs 398–399A of the Immigration Rules HC 395 form a complete code for assessing Article 8 rights. A tribunal must…

When deciding whether to withdraw a regulatory intervention into a solicitor’s practice, the court must balance the risks of reinstatement against the…

For tacking purposes, a further advance requires payment of money on terms of repayment, or an agreed transaction having that legal effect. Keeping an existing…

On a second appeal, it is insufficient to show merely an arguable error of law. Permission requires an error raising an important point of principle or…

For an indeterminate-sentence prisoner, the common-law rationality duty does not require the Secretary of State to provide an optimal rehabilitation programme…

Testamentary capacity depends on whether the testator can understand the testamentary act, the relevant property and the claims upon the estate. Cognitive…

Common law fairness may require the Secretary of State to allow a Tier 4 student time to obtain a new sponsor where she withdraws the existing sponsor’s…

Where insurers have paid replacement-vehicle hire charges, the payment may be treated as payment by the insured. The insurer may pursue the insured’s claim by…

In a business sale, a seller seeking payment for work in progress must establish the contractual basis for any increase above figures agreed at completion. A…

Permission to appeal should be granted where a proposed ground is at least arguable. An arguable issue arose as to whether a bank statement dated 1 October…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 3.1(7) confers a broad power to vary or revoke an order, subject to principled limits reflecting finality, the…

On an application to admit fresh evidence on appeal, the court must consider whether it could have been obtained with reasonable diligence, whether it would…

Where a housing-benefit rule produces admitted discrimination under Article 14, the Secretary of State must show that the discriminatory provision has an…

Paragraph 21(4) of Schedule 1 to Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 sets necessary conditions for conduct to constitute an abuse of a…

A compromise of substantive relief does not settle proceedings where the parties have not agreed how costs are to be dealt with, unless the compromise…

Under article 23(b) of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, a court considering recognition of a parental-responsibility judgment must identify the…

An appeal court’s power under the Civil Procedure Rules is confined to the matter actually under appeal. Rule 52.10 is not a general power to grant interim…

Immigration Rules generally apply according to the rules in force when the decision is made, unless an express transitional provision provides otherwise. A…

A discriminatory denial of nationality at birth must be assessed against Convention law as it stood at the time. A later Strasbourg interpretation does not…

A published public-law policy must be applied according to its proper construction, but need not operate as a rigid checklist. Where the policy uses flexible…

A decree absolute made before the statutory six-week period has expired is void unless the period has been shortened on application. Where the validity of a…

Interim restraint of publication engaging Articles 8 and 10 is governed by sections 12(3) and 12(4) of the Human Rights Act 1998, not the American Cyanamid…

A non-party costs application invokes a statutory discretion within the existing proceedings. The overriding requirement is that the discretion be exercised…

A condition requiring an appellant to pay a judgment debt into court before pursuing an appeal is not itself a strike-out order. Non-compliance gives the…

For the second condition governing a discovery assessment under section 29(5) of the Taxes Management Act 1970, the hypothetical officer must be reasonably…

For enhanced protection against expulsion under article 28(3)(a) of the Citizens’ Directive (2004/38/EC), the ten-year residence period must in principle be…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal, an appellant must show a real prospect of overturning factual findings on which dependent legal grounds…

In care and placement proceedings, a judge need not recite every welfare-checklist factor or use a formal balance sheet. The judgment must, however, show a…

On a renewed application for permission to appeal in financial remedy proceedings, it was arguable that the assessment of a claimed special contribution had…

Judicial immunity protects members of a police disciplinary panel from discrimination claims challenging the panel’s conduct in exercising its judicial…

Where goods are to be manufactured or acquired only if a contingency occurs, their absence at the date of contracting does not prevent a sale agreement. A…

A person whose right to reside derives from EU free-movement law does not require leave under the Immigration Act 1971. A residence permit or card evidences an…

On an application under the Arbitration Act 1996 section 67, the court’s relief is discretionary. The court may confirm, vary or set aside an award, but may…

The education exemption from VAT depends on both the nature of the educational service and the status of its supplier. A private provider must be recognised by…

For a statutory border-examination power, the relevant purpose is the true and dominant purpose of the stop. Police may rely on Security Service intelligence…

A judge is not automatically disqualified from hearing a case merely because of previous professional experience in the same general field, or because another…

A defendant’s Part 36 offer expressed as a sum “net of CRU” and made without regard to liability for recoverable benefits is compared with the judgment award…

Earlier receipt of British passports does not remove the Secretary of State’s obligation to give cogent reasons before refusing a later passport. A challenge…

Under Connecticut law, contractual interest is simple unless clear words provide for compounding. Language providing that interest accrues, is charged daily or…

Without prejudice privilege applies where, viewed objectively and in the round, both parties realised or should have realised that their discussions were…

Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008 creates a judicial monitoring, rather than adversarial, procedure for approval of third-party tax-information notices. It…

Where an applicant seeks an EEA residence card, the legal burden of proving that an otherwise valid marriage is a marriage of convenience lies throughout on…

A witness statement served for an earlier procedural purpose does not become available for use at trial merely because it was previously served. Where the…

A Union citizen does not acquire a right of permanent residence merely because an earlier five-year period might have qualified. Under Directive 2004/38/EC…

In assessing breach of a duty of care, the court must evaluate the risk in context. Relevant considerations include the likelihood and seriousness of…

An administrative mistake, even a serious misstatement, does not amount to illegality without more. A misstatement about an immigration review cannot by itself…

A challenge to the existence or width of a public highway is a merits issue, not a jurisdictional objection. A party seeking permission to appeal cannot recast…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no realistic prospect of success. The Court of Appeal may reject new factual points raised…

Under the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998, a party cannot refer the same or substantially the same dispute to a second…