High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2003

For VAT purposes, the contractual analysis is the starting point but does not necessarily determine the identity or character of a supply. The court must apply…

An estate management scheme is not generally affected by a disposition of the landlord’s interest unless the scheme expressly provides otherwise. A provision…

An insolvency adviser’s duty is defined by the scope of the engagement and requires reasonable skill and care in the advice actually undertaken. Where a…

Under paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 3 to the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, a notice of claim which extends to property not properly included requires amendment…

A court may refuse to entertain an interim application where, viewed in the context of the litigation as a whole, it would add cost or delay without…

A solicitor’s duty depends on the scope of the retainer and the particular circumstances, not merely on usual professional practice. Where solicitors know that…

An option agreement is construed according to its commercial purpose and clear express terms. Where the agreement extends the exercise period until a specified…

Payments made for restrictive covenants may be chargeable under section 313 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 where the undertaking has a real…

A commercial association is not a partnership merely because its members co-operate in common activities and share profits. The decisive question is whether…

In determining who makes a taxable supply, the court must identify the relevant supply and analyse the contractual relationship between the parties. Where…

VAT exemptions for services connected with international air transport must be construed strictly. An exemption for services meeting the direct needs of…

An assessed customs, excise-duty or VAT liability may constitute an enforceable petition debt despite a pending appeal. The court may consider the prospects of…

The Pensions Ombudsman’s jurisdiction is confined to maladministration in the management or administration of a pension scheme. It does not extend to…

For partnership liability under section 10 of the Partnership Act 1890, the relevant question is whether the wrongful conduct is sufficiently connected with…

A tenant’s right to buy does not automatically prevail over a landlord’s claim for possession. The right to buy remains exercisable through a sequence of…

A solicitor’s duty of confidence covers both information supplied by the client and conclusions drawn from that information. A solicitor instructed under one…

A costs order made against a company in liquidation for its participation in civil litigation takes priority over the general expenses of the liquidation. The…

For an invalidity challenge under section 5(4)(a) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, the challenger must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that use of the…

Where a client commissions a freelance designer to create a logo for payment, the designer is ordinarily the first legal owner under Copyright, Designs and…

An arbitrator’s assessment of comparable transactions in a rent review is ordinarily a matter of valuation judgment. Different valuation methods, including…

Section 12 of the Arbitration Act 1996 may extend a contractual time limit for commencing arbitral proceedings even where the parties dispute whether time was…

For the purposes of Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 73(2), the relevant prescribed accounting period is ordinarily the period to which the VAT repayment or…

For VAT attribution, Value Added Tax Act 1994, section 19(4) requires a proper attribution of the consideration, but prescribes no single valuation method.…

In determining whether a director is unfit, the court must make a broad value judgment under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The…

Costs protection for an assisted person or funded client restricts enforceable liability to pay costs. It does not prevent the opposing party from obtaining an…

A court may revoke an order under CPR 3.1(7) in exceptional circumstances, but the power must not become a back-door appeal. A challenge based on fresh…

A double taxation agreement does not automatically become wholly part of domestic law when implemented under Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988, section…

A Member State may impose a reasonable time limit on late claims to deduct input VAT. The power may arise under Article 18(3) of the Sixth VAT Directive, which…

For Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, “business” is construed broadly and contextually. A corporate body may occupy premises for business purposes…

A foreign company may be the subject of a creditors’ scheme under section 425 of the Companies Act 1985. The foreign-company winding-up requirements are…

On an application to stay a winding-up petition, the court must consider all the circumstances relevant to whether winding up is just and equitable. Deadlock…

A landlord may refuse consent to an assignment only for reasons connected with the landlord-and-tenant relationship concerning the subject matter of the lease.…

For VAT purposes, a transaction comprising education, examination services and accompanying study materials must be characterised by reference to its essential…

Annulment of a bankruptcy order under section 282 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is discretionary, even where the order ought not to have been made. The court must…

An application to rescind a winding-up order must be made within the period prescribed by the Insolvency Rules 1986, unless the court exercises its…

Permission to amend a pleading at a late stage requires a careful assessment of justice to the parties and to other litigants. The applicant bears a heavy…

Damages for breach of confidence are assessed by reference to losses sufficiently consequential upon and foreseeable from the breach. The but for test alone…

An assessment under section 73(1) of the Value Added Tax Act 1994 is made to best judgment where the Commissioners make a genuine and honest attempt to assess…

On an appeal from the Trade Marks Registry, the court should respect the specialist tribunal’s assessment and intervene only for a distinct and material error…

In determining an uncertain registered-land boundary, the court must assess the conveyancing documents and plans as a whole, giving appropriate weight to…

Joint tortfeasance requires more than an agreement or corporate association. The claimant must plead facts from which a common design to commit the particular…

On an application for security for costs, the court has a complete discretion. It must balance the injustice to a claimant whose proper claim may be stifled…

A contractual right of pre-emption over land remains effective after the owner contracts to sell to a third party. It is discharged only when that sale is…

In an unfair-prejudice share purchase, the court will normally seek a clean break and a single valuation date close to the actual sale. A valuation should…

Repeated litigation may constitute an abuse of process even where the parties to the later proceedings were not parties to the earlier proceedings. The court…

The statutory power to rectify the register of company charges is confined to omissions or misstatements in particulars entered on the register, or in a…

For voting at a creditors’ meeting concerning an individual voluntary arrangement, a creditor’s written proxy may itself constitute written notice of the…

Similar fact evidence in civil proceedings may be admitted where it is logically probative of an issue, provided its admission is not oppressive or unfair and…

In assessing damages for negligence, the court may award judgment in a foreign currency. The appropriate currency is the one that most truly expresses the…

A tribunal reviewing a Customs and Excise restoration decision may make findings of fact, but it cannot substitute its own restoration order. The statutory…

Where a motor manufacturer offers insurance with a vehicle sale, the insurance-related promise may constitute a separate supply for VAT purposes. Nevertheless…

A director’s duties to a company continue whether or not it is technically insolvent. Where the company is in financial difficulty and creditors are at risk…

Under Patents Act 1977, a threat exists where a communication would convey to a reasonable recipient that patent infringement proceedings will be brought…

A resulting trust is presumed where property is acquired in one person’s name but another provides some or all of the purchase money. The presumption may be…

A resulting trust is presumed where property is acquired in one person’s name but another provides purchase money. The presumption is one of fact and its…

In construing a contractual price-adjustment formula, the court must identify the meaning conveyed by the agreement against its admissible factual matrix. A…

For summary judgment, a defendant must show a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and must provide the factual basis for any asserted defence. The…

A head-tenant and landlord cannot contract out of the common-law rule that a subtenancy ends when the head-tenancy is determined in accordance with its terms.…

The discretionary power to require security for a liquidator’s costs under Insolvency Rules 1986, rule 4.120(3), is principally merits-based. It operates as an…

A preliminary determination of rights should identify the legally protected information or work with sufficient precision to permit the remaining breach or…

Summary judgment is available only where the defence has no real prospect of success and there is no compelling reason for trial. A possibility supported by…

In construing a rent review clause, the court ordinarily assumes that the premises are valued as they actually exist, unless the lease clearly alters that…

A professional adviser must identify and raise a reasonably available tax-saving structure where the client’s circumstances make it relevant. Failure to advise…

Where an appeal produces mixed success and the sums in issue are modest, the court may make no order as to the costs of the appeal. The court should also…

A contractual obligation to procure adherence to a settlement agreement may apply to companies entering the relevant corporate structure after the agreement…

In construing a patent claim expressed in Swiss form, the expression “for the treatment of” means “suitable for” that treatment. A claim to the use of an…

In a claim for repayment of overpaid VAT, the Commissioners bear the legal burden of establishing unjust enrichment. There is no presumption that tax was…

In sanctioning a scheme of arrangement and confirming a reduction of capital, the court must be satisfied that the statutory procedure has been followed, the…

Fiscal motive does not prevent a transaction from being trading where, viewed commercially, it is genuinely a trading transaction. But a transaction whose…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires a reasonably arguable claim within the relevant jurisdictional gateway and England must be the…

Proprietary estoppel requires an expectation, encouragement and detrimental reliance, assessed in the round. The claimant’s expectation marks the maximum…

The court’s discretionary power to rectify a company’s register is not available as of right. A person affected by rectification must show a legitimate…

A solicitor’s duty of confidentiality continues after the retainer ends. It prohibits both disclosure and misuse of confidential information, subject to…

Disqualification proceedings are civil proceedings with potentially grave consequences, and the Secretary of State must present the case against a director…

A claim in restitution for money paid under a mistake of law may be brought against a Revenue authority. The fact that the payment was made as tax does not…

A claim in restitution for money paid under a mistake of law may be brought in respect of tax payments. The fact that tax was payable under domestic law when…

The High Court’s power to vary or revoke an earlier order under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 3.1(7) does not provide a substitute for an appeal. A party…

Interest under the Judgments Act 1838 is not ordinarily payable on costs payable from a fund held on trust for the parties. Such a liability is not an…

For the input-tax exclusion applicable to cars let on hire, the question is whether the consideration is less than the amount that would have been payable in a…

For partial revocation of a trade mark for non-use, the specification should be reduced to a fair description of the goods for which genuine use has been…

A contract induced by fraud is ordinarily voidable, not void. The recipient owns money paid under it unless and until the representee rescinds. Rescission may…

Permission for a further appeal under the Arbitration Act 1996 should be granted only where the statutory requirement of general importance or another special…

Proceedings may be brought against unnamed defendants identified by description. The description must be sufficiently certain to distinguish those included…

On an appeal based on allegedly new evidence, the evidence must be genuinely material to the issues decided below. Evidence which could not affect the relevant…

For an investment company, expenditure may qualify as expenses of management even where it is capital in nature. The relevant distinction is between…

For the purposes of section 48(5)(b) of the Arbitration Act 1996, a contract relating to land is confined to a contract for the creation or transfer of an…

Under CPR r.39.3(5), an applicant seeking to set aside a judgment given in their absence must satisfy all three requirements: promptness, a good reason for…

Pre-action disclosure may be ordered where the parties may well become parties to proceedings, the documents would fall within standard disclosure, and…

A professional valuer is judged primarily by the standard of reasonable skill and care in the valuation process. However, where the complaint concerns the…

For a beer tie to infringe Article 81, both Delimitis conditions must be satisfied. It must be difficult for actual or potential competitors to enter, or…

A contractual novation may be inferred where it is necessary to give business efficacy and a lawful explanation to the parties’ conduct. The parties need not…

A common form grant of administration remains valid while probate proceedings concerning the will are pending. Commencing a probate action does not revoke the…

An appellate court must respect the broad discretion entrusted to a first-instance judge in a balancing exercise. An appeal succeeds only where the judge…

Article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights applies only where the proceedings determine civil rights or obligations. An application by charity…

Where a national court has referred questions on genuine use of a trade mark to the Court of Justice, an intervening ruling permits withdrawal only of…

For purposes of Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, section 30(1)(f), demolition, reconstruction and substantial construction are questions of fact and degree. The…

Under the Copyright Act 1956, reimbursement of expenses for a photographic shoot does not necessarily constitute payment for the photographs under section…

Passing off depends on the threatened conduct in its market context. A shared reputation in a mark does not prevent protection where the mark identifies a…

An auditor conducting a substantive audit must obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are complete and accurate. The procedures required…

A freezing order should not be extended where the claimant cannot show a credible risk that the defendant will dissipate assets or cannot adequately support…

Registration of a trade mark gives the proprietor exclusive rights to prevent specified infringing acts. It does not confer a positive entitlement to use the…

A solicitor retained to secure overage payments must use reasonable endeavours to devise and incorporate an effective security mechanism before contracts are…

A communication marked subject to contract ordinarily prevents a binding contract from arising, including in music licensing for compilation albums. The phrase…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, a defendant need not be named if the description used is sufficiently certain to identify both those within it and those…

Material non-disclosure on an urgent without-notice application does not automatically require the resulting order to be discharged. The court must assess all…

An applicant seeking a freezing order without notice must make full, fair and accurate disclosure of every material fact. It must make proper inquiries…

An appeal from a trade mark registration decision under section 3 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 will ordinarily proceed by way of review. A rehearing remains…

Under the School Sites Act 1841, reverter depends on whether the land has ceased to be used for the purpose identified in the conveyance. A school may breach…

Section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 does not prevent recovery of service-charge expenditure where tenants have paid sums on account, the actual…

Where Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 23, applies to notices under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, service by registered or recorded delivery is…

Patent claims are not invalid for ambiguity where the skilled person can understand the relevant expressions and the practical limits of the claims, even…

An interlocutory injunction may be granted against an unidentified defendant where the defendant is known to exist, the order clearly defines the prohibited…

Where determination of a domestic tax dispute requires interpretation of European Union law, the national court may refer the necessary questions to the Court…

Security for costs is not automatic merely because a claimant satisfies one of the conditions in CPR 25.1.3(1). The court must identify the relevant ground…

For the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986, section 216, the similarity of company names is assessed objectively. The relevant question is whether the names are…

Directors selling company assets to a controlling shareholder must obtain the best price reasonably obtainable and exercise their powers bona fide for the…

For the purposes of the statutory time bar, a judgment may constitute evidence of facts even though it is also evidence of the law. Its existence, contents and…

Relief from sanctions is discretionary and must be assessed against the factors in CPR 3.9. The court should consider the interests of the administration of…

The power in art 13B(b) of the VAT Sixth Directive (77/388/EEC) permitting Member States to apply further exclusions from the exemption for lettings of…

The forfeiture rule applies to all forms of unlawful killing, including manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility or provocation. Relief under the…

Information is not confidential merely because it is unpublished. The court must assess its quality, the surrounding circumstances and the conduct of the…

Patent claims must be construed purposively in the context of the specification, while giving effect to every integer which the skilled reader would understand…

A secret payment by a person acting as an agent for a party dealing with the agent’s principal is a bribe and secret commission. The principal need prove…

Equity protects confidential information where the information has the necessary quality of confidentiality, was imparted in circumstances importing an…

On an appeal from the Special Commissioners on a point of law, the High Court may interfere with findings of fact only where they could not reasonably be…

Where an amendment is sought after expiry of the limitation period, the court must ask whether it adds or substitutes a new cause of action. If it does…

An appeal from a detailed costs assessment is not a rehearing. The appellate court should intervene where the costs judge was wrong, including through an error…

The PAYE code may be determined provisionally using information available to the Inspector. The Inspector may take account of a future entitlement which will…

For the purposes of Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, section 77 must be construed by applying its language in context, without importing a general…

Misappropriated money transferred into a company’s account becomes an asset of that company, even if it remains there only briefly. The company holds it on…

Summary judgment and strike-out applications, including applications based on alleged abuse of process, require a high degree of confidence that the claim or…

A market franchise confers an exclusive right to hold markets within the relevant limits and protects the owner against a rival market within 6⅔ miles. A…

A variation of a contract for the sale of land must satisfy Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, section 2, but the document need not explain…

Under Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the test under section 8 is whether the person’s conduct in relation to the company makes him unfit to be…

A claim may be struck out as an abuse of process where it seeks to raise matters that formed part of, or could reasonably have been raised in, earlier…

A defendant who follows the procedure for disputing jurisdiction does not submit to the court unless subsequent conduct is wholly unequivocal and explicable…

For service out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must show a good arguable case that a gateway in the Civil Procedure Rules applies. The claimant must also…

An assessment of costs begun after the Civil Procedure Rules came into force is governed procedurally by the CPR, even where the underlying work predates the…

Under CPR Rule 19.6, a representative claim may proceed where the claimant and represented persons have a common interest, a common grievance and relief that…

A bonus issue may be irregular where the shares in respect of which bonus shares are allotted are not fully paid, or where required shareholder authority is…

Executive directors who participate in a plan for a competing business must protect their company while they remain in office. Where they know that a former…

A shareholder’s ability to acquire bona vacantia property at a substantial discount may constitute a valuable contribution to its acquisition, even where…

For VAT purposes, an annexe is not established merely because a new building is associated with an existing building. It is a supplementary structure, such as…

A lender relying on a negligent valuation must prove actual reliance in the relevant sense. It is insufficient to show merely that the loan would not have been…

A distribution made in excess of available distributable profits is unlawful only to the extent of the deficiency, rather than in its entirety. A director may…

For VAT purposes, contractual arrangements do not conclusively determine the nature or recipient of a supply. The court must examine the whole transaction and…

A gift is valid only if the donor understands its general nature and effect. The required degree of understanding depends on the transaction. Where a gift…

For inheritance tax business-property relief, the question whether a business consists wholly or mainly of making or holding investments requires a qualitative…

Where an asset sale agreement transfers the benefit and burden of a contract, the purchaser may assume liability for obligations arising after the contract has…

An appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman lies only on a point of law. The court should not reargue facts or subject the Ombudsman’s determination to minute…

A partnership owns its business name and goodwill as partnership assets. Individual partners do not own those assets merely because they helped create the…

An option to repurchase land is an interest in land which may arise when the agreement granting it is made. Later events which determine when the option…

A statutory demand is a formal precursor to bankruptcy proceedings, not “legal proceedings” for the purposes of section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996. The…

Time stipulated in a will for exercising an option is not necessarily of the essence. The question is one of construction. Where the will specifies no…

The usual rule that costs follow the event remains subject to the court’s discretion. Where preliminary issues form only part of a complex, interlinked…

Litigation privilege protects communications created for the dominant purpose of obtaining evidence or preparing pending litigation. It is the client’s…

On a disqualification appeal, the appellate court should not disturb primary factual findings, particularly findings based on oral evidence. It may…

Documents containing information relevant to the receipt or non-receipt of electronic communications may fall within standard disclosure. This includes…

For corporation tax purposes, a company’s purchase of its own shares is an actual disposal by the shareholder where it occurs under a contract of sale, even…

The court has jurisdiction under Council Regulation 1346/2000 to open insolvency proceedings against a corporate debtor incorporated outside the Community…

The rule in Hastings-Bass applies only where trustees fail to perform their fiduciary duty in exercising a discretion. A decision cannot be impugned merely…

On an appeal from the Patent Office concerning patent validity, the appellate court should give great weight to the first-instance decision, particularly on…

An expert appointed as an arbitrator must act as an arbitrator, not merely as an expert. Where the arbitrator intends to decide a specific matter that has not…

Relief from sanctions under CPR r.3.9 requires a methodical assessment of all relevant circumstances, including each applicable factor in the rule and the…

CPR 25.1(1)(l) permits an order securing a specified fund only where there is an actual, identifiable fund over which the relevant party has legal title…

Tariff classification depends primarily on the goods’ objective characteristics, considered against the wording of the relevant Combined Nomenclature headings…

Permission to amend pleadings should be granted where the proposed case has reasonable grounds and a real, more than fanciful, prospect of success. Delay is…

Where capital land is disposed of through successive supplies during the adjustment period, the proper application of regulation 115(3) of the Value Added Tax…

At the strike-out or summary judgment stage, the court must not conduct a pre-trial trial or assess disputed evidence. A claim should proceed where it is more…

Where a United Kingdom subsidiary paid advance corporation tax contrary to the freedom of establishment, compensation or restitution is assessed at the…

For VAT purposes, the identity of the supplier of a service depends primarily on the contractual relationship between the parties arranging the service, not on…

In assessing damages for negligent property valuation, the usual comparison between the property as described and its value in the condition that should have…

A break right expressed to be personal to the original tenant, and excluding successors in title and assigns, is ordinarily lost when the original tenant…