High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2011

For the tort of inducing breach of contract, active persuasion is not essential. Entering into an inconsistent contract may amount to sufficient causative…

In a planning-obligation agreement, references to the “Owners” were construed contextually and included successors in title. Where owners were jointly and…

Directors appointing administrators with immediate effect under paragraph 22 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 do not have to give the company a…

A claim should not be struck out for delay merely as a disciplinary sanction. The applicant must show serious prejudice or that a fair trial is no longer…

A contractual indemnity may be accepted by conduct where signature is requested only as evidence of consent. Collateral negotiations do not reject the offer…

Pre-emption provisions concerning shares must be construed according to their language, read in context. A reference to an interest in shares ordinarily means…

An expert determination is binding where the expert answers the question entrusted to him honestly and in good faith, even if his substantive conclusion is…

For an out-of-court appointment of an administrator to a partnership, the notice requirements in paragraph 26 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 must be…

An equity arising from proprietary estoppel is property capable of vesting in a trustee in bankruptcy. The equity may arise before the promisor’s death where…

At the convening stage of a creditors’ scheme, the court assesses class composition by reference to creditors’ rights, not their commercial interests or…

Where shareholders alter articles so that shares are transferred or forfeited for the benefit of a particular shareholder group, the equitable principle…

A domicile of choice is acquired only where residence in a territory is accompanied by a freely formed intention to reside there indefinitely. The domicile of…

Assets held by a charitable company are not held on a separate charitable trust merely because they are applied to charitable objects or described as permanent…

A contractual break condition requiring payment by a specified date may be satisfied by cheque where the parties’ course of dealing establishes an implied…

In a hybrid occupational pension scheme with a single fund, regulation 13 of the Occupational Pensions Scheme (Winding-up) Regulations 1996 modifies section 73…

In a share valuation following an unfair-prejudice purchase order, the court must value the profitable businesses and assets realistically at the specified…

Applications to amend pleadings before trial should generally be permitted so that the real dispute can be adjudicated, unless the resulting prejudice cannot…

An income payments order under section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 may be made even where the sums recovered are unlikely to produce a distribution to…

On a summary possession claim, the court should not shut out a defendant where the evidence raises an arguable case that a tenancy exists, unless the evidence…

On an application to set aside a statutory demand, security must be valued on the basis of its immediate forced-sale value. A creditor is not entitled to rely…

Under Finance Act 2004, a pension scheme’s assets may be “used to provide” a benefit indirectly. Reciprocal loans between schemes can therefore constitute…

For a contract for the sale of an interest in land to satisfy section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, every expressly agreed term…

A valuer’s duty is to exercise the care and skill of a reasonably competent valuer. Whether a valuation is negligent depends on the facts of the particular…

A confiscation order may be enforced as a deemed civil judgment debt through the ordinary enforcement procedures available in the High Court or county court.…

Failure to deliver a notice of intention to appoint administrators to a company’s registered office does not necessarily invalidate the appointment. The…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where the pleaded case raises real disputes of fact, credibility or knowledge that require disclosure and cross-examination.…

A properly executed will, prepared by a solicitor and read to a capable testator, ordinarily attracts a very strong inference that it records the testator’s…

Without-notice injunctions are exceptional, but may be granted against persons unknown where immediate intervention is justified by a genuine and credible risk…

Where a freezing order permits legal and living expenses, the court may defer access to a specified asset if other assets are available and their ownership or…

Delay in seeking relief will not necessarily bar proceedings where there remains a practical benefit to be obtained. The court must assess the explanation for…

Applications to discharge a worldwide freezing order and an order permitting service out of the jurisdiction should be assessed by reference to material…

Commercial contractual wording must be interpreted objectively, in its contractual and commercial context. Where two constructions are possible, the court may…

On an appeal from a trade mark decision, a tribunal may find that an earlier registered mark had no distinctive character at the legally relevant date. That…

Construction of a contract is res judicata once finally determined, so a party cannot use estoppel by convention to prevent reliance on the construction…

Where a company in administration has a separately funded costs reserve, administrators must use that reserve for proper administration costs before using the…

Contractual construction is a unitary exercise focused primarily on the language used, read with relevant background and commercial purpose. Clear language…

Permission for a derivative claim requires a staged assessment. The application must first disclose a prima facie case. If it passes that threshold, the court…

The corporate veil cannot generally be pierced to impose contractual liability on a person controlling a company. The established cases concern equitable…

A previous expert determination may be relevant evidence, but its persuasive weight depends on the circumstances in which it was made and the material…

An expert determination clause covering any dispute may nevertheless exclude issues which only a court can determine. Rectification falls outside such a clause…

A party may enforce obligations represented as genuine and enforceable where the counterparty knowingly participated in creating documents intended to induce…

Where a claimant alleges an oral agreement, the court may test the alleged agreement against subsequent conduct, but should focus on conduct that unambiguously…

A lease of a flat does not automatically include the sub-soil beneath it. The ordinary presumption that ownership of land extends upwards and downwards applies…

Section 91(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 gives the court jurisdiction to direct a sale at the request of a person interested in the equity of redemption.…

A landlord may demand insurance rent under a lease only for sums already paid in insuring the premises, where the lease refers to sums expended on insurance. A…

Permission to bring company director disqualification proceedings after the statutory two-year period is not governed by a limitation rule. Expiry removes the…

For a spouse’s claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants Act) 1975, reasonable financial provision is assessed by a value judgment under…

In directors’ disqualification proceedings, the statutory question is whether specified conduct falls below the standards of probity and competence required of…

A fiduciary’s receipt of money in breach of duty ordinarily gives rise to a personal equitable claim and an account, rather than a proprietary claim. A…

Where a lender’s advance discharges an earlier security affecting an interest which was not effectively charged to the new lender, subrogation may prevent the…

A contractual licence may be terminated for persistent breach where the licensee fails to remedy it after valid notice. Persistence may consist of continuing…

A claim to legal professional privilege must be established with sufficient particularity to enable the opposing party to decide whether to challenge it. The…

The court has an unfettered discretion whether to sanction a scheme of arrangement. It must consider statutory compliance, fair representation and bona fide…

Copyright protects the author’s intellectual creation in the selection or arrangement of data, not the effort involved in discovering the data itself. A list…

Damages for trespass may be assessed by reference to a hypothetical negotiation for permission to use the claimant’s land. The measure is the price that…

A freezing order is an exceptional remedy. The applicant must show a good arguable case, evidence from which it is reasonable to infer that the defendant has…

Under section 1(1) of the Variation of Trust Act 1958, the court supplies an infant’s consent only where the proposed variation confers a real benefit. It does…

Where contractual expert determination is available, the court may stay related proceedings under its jurisdiction as reflected in CPR 3.1(2)(f). It should ask…

When property is disclaimed in bankruptcy, a vesting order under Insolvency Act 1986 s 320 is discretionary. The court should preserve third-party interests so…

Relief from sanctions requires the court to consider all the circumstances, including the administration of justice, the promptness and explanation of the…

Where a company files a notice of intention to appoint an administrator, the interim moratorium under Schedule B1 takes effect even though a winding-up…

Where contractual language contains a clear mistake, the court may correct it as part of ordinary contextual interpretation if it is also clear what correction…

In complex commercial litigation, costs should ordinarily be determined by a broad evaluative assessment rather than a finely subdivided issue-by-issue…

Permission to appeal an arbitral award under Arbitration Act 1996, section 69, requires a genuine question of law which was fairly and squarely before the…

On an interim jurisdiction application, the party invoking a special jurisdiction under the Judgments Regulation must establish a good arguable case. This…

On summary judgment, the court may determine a short point of law where the evidence is sufficient and the parties have had a proper opportunity to address it.…

An injunction under Article 8(3) of the Information Society Directive and section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 is a final injunction. It…

Summary judgment should be granted only where the claim or defence has no realistic prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for a trial.…

Under section 57(1) of the Trustee Act 1925, the court may confer a power to sell trust property despite an express restriction in the trust instrument…

A claim for damages for breach of competition law may proceed against a subsidiary alleged to form part of the same economic undertaking as an infringing…

A court cannot imply a term into an order merely because it would make the order fairer, more convenient or commercially effective. The implication must…

An unexplained abandonment of an otherwise proper application does not, without more, justify indemnity costs. The conduct must go beyond the norm and be…

Although costs ordinarily follow the event, the court may adopt a different order in a will challenge. Relevant considerations include whether the…

An order granting permission to amend pleadings does not necessarily compel the party obtaining permission to proceed with the amendment. Whether service is…

For passing off purposes, a foreign business must establish UK goodwill rather than reputation alone. Customers in the United Kingdom, or business with…

An agreement to settle litigation is not concluded where the parties remain only broadly or roughly agreed, essential financial terms require further…

In an execution-only spread-betting relationship, general market information, commentary and the exchange of views do not become personal investment advice…

An administration order must satisfy the statutory threshold conditions when the court makes the order. That is distinct from deciding when the order takes…

A beneficial joint tenancy may be severed by an unambiguous written notice showing a present desire to sever. The notice is unilateral and takes effect when…

A fiduciary duty owed by a solicitor in relation to a property sale does not make the solicitor a trustee of the property. A secret commission received through…

Adverse possession requires both factual possession and an intention to possess. Factual possession requires an appropriate degree of exclusive physical…

Under Regulation 47(7)(b) of the Public Contract Regulations 2006, time runs from when the claimant knew or ought reasonably to have known facts clearly…

Failure to give a prescribed notice in an out-of-court administration appointment does not necessarily make the appointment a nullity. Once the prescribed…

Relief for unfair prejudice under Part 30 of the Companies Act 2006 must be tailored to the facts and must fairly remedy the prejudice. Where company assets…

Partnership goodwill is not necessarily owned equally by all partners, or by every partner. Its ownership depends on the agreement governing the partnership…

A claimant who discontinues proceedings cannot ordinarily relitigate substantially the same dispute by issuing a fresh claim. Under CPR r. 38.7, permission is…

In construing complex commercial instruments, the court must give effect to their objective meaning in context. It may correct an obvious drafting mistake by…

Permission to continue a derivative claim under Part 11 of the Companies Act 2006 does not depend on satisfying a fixed merits threshold. The court must make a…

A fiduciary’s bribe or secret commission is not ordinarily held on constructive trust for the beneficiary merely because it was obtained through the…

A will that contains a regular attestation clause and the signatures of the testator and witnesses attracts a strong presumption of due execution. The…

An agreement to provide security creates a present equitable security only where, objectively construed, it is expressed to create an immediate security…

An agent who acts for more than one principal must disclose the nature and extent of any commission or other interest to each principal, unless one principal…

A managing director’s implied authority to conduct the company’s ordinary commercial business does not extend to suspending the chairman where the articles…

For interim relief under section 381 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court need not finally establish market abuse. It is sufficient to…

Where a winding-up petition is presented in breach of an interim moratorium under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, the petition is not thereby a…

A periodic tenancy may arise by implication where the parties’ conduct shows an intention to create a landlord and tenant relationship and substantial periodic…

An offer to purchase shares does not automatically make continued unfair-prejudice proceedings an abuse of process. The court must decide whether, in all the…

An application notice under CPR Part 23 cannot be used to obtain final and substantive relief, including declaratory relief, unless the rules specifically…

The character of a contractual dispute-resolution clause depends on the agreement construed as a whole. A clause providing for binding resolution of an…

Under CPR 25.13(2)(g), the relevant question is whether the claimant has taken steps concerning assets that would make a costs order difficult to enforce. The…

The High Court has jurisdiction to order solicitors to disclose a client’s confidential contact details where this is just and convenient to make a court order…

A solicitor’s retainer for conveyancing does not generally include advice on commercial value or price. However, information discovered while carrying out the…

An applicant seeking leave to act during a period of director disqualification must satisfy the court that the protective and deterrent purposes of the…

Section 38 of the Partnership Act 1890 preserves partners’ authority and obligations only so far as necessary to wind up a dissolved partnership or complete…

On a petition under Companies Act 2006, conduct must be both prejudicial and unfair. A sole director’s sale of company assets to himself may amount to unfair…

Where a company claims that its director caused it to submit fraudulent VAT returns, the claimant must prove that the relevant transactions were not genuine. A…

In construing complex commercial instruments, the court must identify the meaning conveyed to the reasonable audience in light of reasonably available…

Claims for misuse of confidential information require proof of extraction, retention or use, assessed on the balance of probabilities. Suspicion, speculation…

A transaction may be at an undervalue even where the recipient gives some consideration. The court must identify consideration given at the time of the…

For the purposes of Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, section 30(1)(g), intention has its ordinary meaning. The landlord must have a genuine, firm and settled…

A bank must clarify a client’s instruction where its meaning is unclear. The bank’s failure to do so may breach its contractual and tortious duties, even where…

A contractual time stipulation is construed in the context of the contract as a whole. A short period for simultaneous performance of several obligations will…

In assessing disputed evidence, the court must evaluate credibility holistically. Demeanour is only one consideration. Contemporary documents, admitted or…

A contractual requirement to pay a deposit in a land sale is ordinarily a fundamental term because the deposit is earnest for performance. Failure to pay by an…

A party who has made an express concession in carefully structured, phased litigation cannot readily withdraw it at a later stage. The party seeking to resile…

Disclosure will not be ordered merely to help a potential party decide which side of an adversarial application to support. Where the information is…

An appeal from a trade mark opposition decision is a review, not a rehearing. Intervention requires a distinct and material error of principle or a conclusion…

A transfer of property by executors of an insolvent estate is prima facie void under section 284 of the Insolvency Act 1986, as modified for deceased estates…

Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 permits an injunction against an internet service provider where it has actual knowledge of one or…

A mortgage created by deed and expressed to be a legal mortgage remains a charge by way of legal mortgage for the purposes of the Law of Property Act 1925…

Cause of action estoppel does not prevent a later claim concerning further breaches or later-charged sums merely because an earlier judgment included an…

In determining the price payable for shares ordered to be purchased following unfair prejudice, the court must reach a figure that is fair on the facts. It has…

A charge over future-acquired property may be a fixed charge where the chargor cannot realise the property without the chargee’s consent or release. The…

Under Article 23 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, a party invoking an exclusive jurisdiction agreement must establish a good arguable case that…

Trade mark infringement based on likelihood of confusion requires a global assessment through the eyes of the average consumer. The court must compare the…

Payment under a standby letter of credit may discharge the underlying debtor’s liability where the contractual documents and the parties’ intentions show that…

For private international law purposes, legitimacy is a status which may be recognised by English courts when conferred by the law of the relevant parental…

The privilege against self-incrimination does not generally prevent receivers from using information to pursue proper investigations with third parties where…

In valuing shares ordered to be purchased in an unfair-prejudice petition, fair value may be the value of the holding to the company’s co-owner rather than its…

An employer may owe a common-law duty of care when organising recreational activities for employees, even where the employees are not acting in the course of…

A contemnor has an unqualified and continuing right to apply to purge contempt and seek release during the sentence. The court must reconsider whether…

Automatic termination of an ISDA derivative agreement may constitute an early-redemption event in a structured investment, even where termination follows the…

The court has a discretion whether to hand down a reserved judgment after the parties settle. That discretion requires the court to balance the parties’…

A limited partner’s statutory right to inspect partnership books and examine the state and prospects of the business is not confined to summary financial…

Members of a limited liability partnership do not owe general fiduciary duties to one another merely because they are members. Any fiduciary obligation depends…

On a strike-out application, a claim should be removed only where it is clear that it cannot succeed and a trial would add nothing material. For the first…

A payment by a company to a shareholder is not necessarily a distribution. The court must characterise the payment by reference to its substance and the rights…

A domicile of choice requires both residence in the country concerned and an intention to reside there permanently or indefinitely. A domicile of origin is…

Where an administration order is appropriate, the principal question may be the identity of the administrators. The court must seek justice between all…

Interim financial relief under section 5 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 requires convincing evidence of immediate financial…

Under a lending arrangement providing for tiered contributions, a defined contribution by the lender means the sum actually advanced by that lender. It cannot…

Expert evidence is admissible only where it is properly admissible and will genuinely assist the court in resolving issues in the proceedings. The applicant…

A late attempt to introduce a new cause of action will be permitted only where justice requires it, having regard to all litigants. The amending party bears a…

Legal professional privilege is founded on confidentiality, and loss of confidentiality may be limited to particular persons and purposes. Disclosure of…

For trade mark infringement, aural identity is assessed strictly, but minor differences may be disregarded where they would go unnoticed by the average…

Section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978 has two interlinked parts. The sender must prove that the document was properly addressed, prepaid and posted. Once…

Whether a trade mark displayed on one component of a composite product is used in relation to the product as a whole or to another component depends on the…

In a follow-on competition damages action, documents obtained from the European Commission’s file may be ordered to be disclosed under domestic rules where no…

Contempt in the face of the court requires a direct and cogent connection with ongoing court proceedings. It is a summary power, to be used cautiously, and…

When statutory notice requirements for an insurance business transfer cannot be followed strictly, the court may waive them if alternative arrangements…

Permission for a derivative claim must be refused where the court is satisfied that no director acting in accordance with Companies Act 2006, section 172…

On an application for default judgment, the claimant is entitled to judgment for relief supported by its pleaded statement of case, provided the pleaded facts…

A fundamental failure to satisfy a statutory prerequisite for the appointment or continuation of an administrator cannot be waived as a formal defect under…

Challenges to an arbitral award under sections 68 and 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 are subject to strict statutory limits. A tenant seeking to disregard an…

Members of an unincorporated association are prima facie not personally liable for contracts made in the association’s affairs. Liability depends on the…

A service-charge demand under a lease must identify a sum payable by reference to expenses actually incurred, although it need not separately state the…

Arrangements constituting a collective investment scheme are assessed objectively by reference to what was agreed and understood between the operator and…

In litigation under Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, the court may direct an early trial of a modified preliminary issue concerning the landlord’s…

A plan attached to a conveyance for identification purposes normally yields to a sufficiently precise verbal description. Where the verbal description merely…

Testamentary capacity depends on whether the testator understood the act and its effects, the property disposed of, and the claims deserving consideration. A…

A purported out-of-court appointment of administrators is invalid where the directors’ meeting was not properly convened because a director was not given…

A winding-up application should be restrained where the alleged debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. However, a dispute about the precise amount…

For registration under the original class c definition of a town or village green, qualifying use had to be predominantly by inhabitants of a single locality.…

In deciding whether to permit amendment of a challenge to a creditors’ voluntary arrangement, the court must assess the application fairly and pragmatically…

Damages for negligent advice are intended to compensate actual loss, not provide a windfall. Although damages are generally assessed at the date of breach, the…

Legal professional privilege depends on the nature and purpose of the relevant communication. A sole retainer does not become joint merely because another…

Compensation under a cross-undertaking in damages requires the claimant to prove loss and establish but-for causation. The injunction need not be the sole…

On an application for security for costs, the court must be satisfied that there is reason to believe the claimant will be unable to pay an adverse costs order…

On an application under regulation 16 of the The Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007, the court has a residual discretion to approve a…

In an insurance business transfer scheme, the court may waive individual notification of an entire class of existing policyholders where, in the specific…

A trustee of shares must not use voting or shareholder powers to procure an unjustified diminution in the value of the beneficiary’s interest. An allotment of…

Copyright subsists in a logo where its design reflects more than negligible effort or relevant skill. Deliberate and continuing breaches of contractual…

Section 38(5)(d) of the Housing Act 1988 includes interests belonging to the Crown, including interests managed by the Crown Estate Commissioners. On a…

The court may join a person as a defendant where an issue involving that person is closely connected with the matters in dispute and joinder is desirable for…

A solicitor is not negligent merely because a different view of litigation prospects might later appear preferable. Liability requires advice, acts or…

A transfer value under a money purchase pension scheme must be calculated by reference to the benefits accrued under the scheme rules, followed by calculation…

An application to set aside a statutory demand is a summary process. The court considers the evidence available but does not make binding findings of fact or…

An unpaid vendor’s lien ordinarily arises by operation of law on exchange of contracts. It is not excluded merely because the transaction contemplates a later…

The court may order disclosure of a company’s books and papers under sections 112 and 155 of the Insolvency Act 1986 only where the order is sufficiently…

For an administration order, the court must be satisfied that the company is, or is likely to become, unable to pay its debts and that the order is reasonably…

Costs in an unfair prejudice petition are governed by the ordinary statutory and procedural discretion. There are no special costs principles merely because…

An oral licensee of a Community trade mark may bring infringement proceedings with the proprietor’s consent, since the formalities applicable to national marks…

Goodwill may be divided between businesses operated by separate companies where the facts show distinct activities, markets and commercial identities. An…

Gym membership agreements providing for payment by monthly subscriptions do not provide credit merely because membership is for a fixed term. The question…

Where an interim injunction is granted on the balance of convenience and the merits remain unresolved, costs will ordinarily be reserved or made in the cause.…

The court’s power to remove liquidators for cause shown is exercised by reference to the real, substantial and honest interests of the liquidation and the…

A person may incur personal liability for procuring a company’s breach of contract despite having no formal role in its governance, where the person controls…

On an application to use documents disclosed under compulsion for proposed committal proceedings, the court has discretion over who should be joined or…

The ordinary courts have no jurisdiction to determine whether a person is entitled to sit and vote in either House of Parliament, including where entitlement…

For Condition B of regulation 2(3) of the Overseas Pension Schemes Regulations 2006, a system for approving, recognising or registering pension schemes need…

A preference may arise when a company voluntarily grants security which improves a creditor’s position in an insolvent liquidation. The relevant decision is…

An administration order under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 may be made only in respect of a statutory “company”. The expression does not extend to an…

Under section 9(a) of the Wills Act 1837, a testator may sign personally or direct another person to sign on the testator’s behalf. Where the testator directs…

An application to rescind a company winding-up order engages two separate discretionary questions. The court must first decide whether to extend the strict…

Case-management directions should not authorise substantial expenditure before a pending appellate decision where that decision may determine whether the…

A freezing injunction may be granted after judgment to protect the administration of justice and enforcement of an existing costs liability, including against…

Information sought under the Civil Procedure Rules must be relevant to an issue for determination. In an open-market rental valuation, the court considers…

On an application for summary judgment, a defendant has no real prospect of defending a claim where its case is better than merely arguable. The court may…

A conventional freezing order restricts disposal of assets but does not create a security interest in them. The same distinction applies to money paid into an…

An application challenging an insolvency supervisor’s rejection of a proof of debt is not confined to the material available to the supervisor. The court may…

For a solvent foreign company, the expression liable to be wound up in Companies Act 2006 scheme legislation identifies a category of company capable of…

In disqualification proceedings, the applicant must state the grounds of alleged unfitness and the essential supporting facts with sufficient clarity for the…

A contract for the sale of a partly converted building may require the seller to achieve practical completion and remedy agreed snagging items before…

A company’s directors are jointly and severally liable under Companies Act 1985, section 341(2), to indemnify the company for loss resulting from loans made in…

A company’s assets may be transferred only by a properly authorised act of the company. Informal factional groups and their leaders acquire no legal authority…

A proprietary estoppel claim requires proof of an assurance of a proprietary interest, reasonable reliance and detriment resulting from that reliance. The…

When important evidence emerges late in a trial, lateness alone should not lead to its exclusion. The trial judge must weigh all relevant circumstances under…

Where a possession order follows a trial at which a party did not attend, an application to set it aside is governed by CPR 39.3. The court considers…

Permission for survey evidence should be refused at an interim stage only where it is sufficiently clear that the survey will produce evidence that is…

An appeal from a trade mark opposition decision is by way of review, not rehearing. The appellate court should intervene only for an error of law, serious…

The effect of a settlement agreement is determined objectively, by asking what a reasonable person with the relevant background knowledge would have understood…

A constructive trust requires an agreement, arrangement or understanding giving rise to a beneficial interest. Separate ownership of assets, divided sale…

Costs are determined by the overall result, the issues on which each party succeeded or failed, and the conduct that caused costs to be incurred. A party who…

The Insolvency Regulation does not permit a court in one Member State to treat orders made by a court in another Member State as nullities. An order remains…

Section 18 of the Competition Act 1998 states the basic prohibition against abuse of a dominant position. The examples in section 18(2) are not rigid legal…

A contract must be construed as a whole. Where a specific provision addresses a subject expressly, it prevails over a general provision which would otherwise…

Default judgment is not a determination on the merits. The court need not resolve a pleaded question of law where the claim discloses a cause of action that is…

An employer’s discretion to award discretionary pension increases is constrained by the implied obligation of good faith, but that obligation does not require…

In tax recovery proceedings, the court may determine whether a taxpayer was legally entitled to include a relief claim in a return. The statutory tribunal…

A court may construe a document to correct an obvious omission where the omitted wording and the required correction are sufficiently clear. Rectification is…

Declaratory relief must be assessed separately for each declaration. The court should consider justice to the claimant and defendant, whether the declaration…

In exercising its costs discretion, the court should identify the overall winner but must consider whether the successful party lost a sufficiently distinct…

A non-party costs order is governed by the overall justice of the case. The jurisdiction is exceptional in the sense that it falls outside the ordinary case…

A hearing falling within the categories in Practice Direction 39A para 1.5 is not automatically private. It must be listed as private, or the judge must order…

Recognition of a foreign main insolvency proceeding under the Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 does not create a notional English insolvency or…

A court hearing an appeal from a director-disqualification order has jurisdiction to stay the order pending appeal and, where appropriate, prevent its…

A second claim repeating an earlier claim struck out for procedural default or delay is not automatically an abuse of process. The court must identify the type…

Under a contractual provision transferring title to works only once full payment has been made, the buyer must have funded the relevant works in full. It is…

A receivership order may override rights of privacy and arbitration confidentiality where disclosure or use of information is reasonably considered expedient…

On an appeal on a point of law from a pensions ombudsman’s decision, the court examines whether the employer’s decision-making was legally defective or…

A contract may arise from correspondence even though some terms remain to be agreed, provided the parties objectively intended to be bound and the agreement is…

Paragraph 105 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 permits an act by a majority of the directors, but it does not dispense with the company’s ordinary…

The court may order a person who has given disclosure pursuant to a freezing or ancillary disclosure order to attend for cross-examination where this is just…

A consent order is subject to the ordinary requirements governing enforcement by committal. The court nevertheless has a broad power to dispense with service…

In a registered-land boundary dispute, title plans ordinarily show only general boundaries. The court should begin with the language of the conveyance, using a…

A person who has assumed the duties and real influence of a director may be a de facto director for the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986 section 212. Once a…

An agreement in principle does not become contractually binding where essential matters remain unresolved and the parties objectively intend to record the…

Contractual language is construed objectively in its commercial and documentary context. The court may correct a detectable linguistic error where the parties’…

A beneficial interest in a company share may be established by an express oral declaration of trust where the evidence shows, on the balance of probabilities…

A contractual condition suspending payment obligations during a counterparty’s continuing bankruptcy or insolvency does not offend the anti-deprivation…

A scheme of arrangement may form an integral part of a wider restructuring and the court may consider benefits arising from the restructuring when deciding…

A court may determine competing title claims between the parties without making a declaration effective against the whole world. Where the evidence does not…

An interim payment may be ordered after an account has been directed only where the evidence shows that the account is bound to result in payment to the…

A freezing order may support the collection of a tax debt which has been assessed and is presently in existence, even though payment is deferred by statute.…

A perpetual injunction may restrain the improper disclosure of confidential information where the evidence establishes a well-founded risk of disclosure…

The power under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 to revoke or vary an order is not an alternative appeal route. Once a court has finally disposed of a claim or…

For an interim mandatory injunction, the court must identify the course carrying the least risk of injustice if the order later proves wrong. A mandatory order…

A conditional order requiring security for costs may be made under CPR r.24.6 where a claim has some prospect of success but is improbable to succeed. The…

An application for non-party disclosure under CPR Part 31.17 requires consideration of three matters: whether the documents may well assist the applicant or…

Under Companies Act 2006, s 994, unfair prejudice may arise where a shareholder conducts the company’s affairs contrary to the agreed basis on which the…

An intermediary who seeks payment from a company must establish that the company contracted with it, or that an authorised agent contracted on the company’s…

A very late application to amend pleadings requires a careful balance between the strength of the proposed case, the interests of all parties, and disruption…

Land burdened by a right of sole vesture or sole pasturage may constitute a “common” for the purposes of section 193 of the Law of Property Act 1925, even…

Permission to amend a pleading may be refused where the proposed case has no real prospect of success. The court applies a test of reality, not probability…

Orders made in foreign insolvency proceedings fall outside the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 where the statutory scheme was not intended…

A contractual right to assign banking facilities to a financial institution or other entity investing in loans is not restricted by an implied requirement that…

Charity trustees must administer each trust asset consistently with the purposes for which it was acquired and must preserve a proper separation between the…

Rectification may correct a professionally drafted commercial agreement where convincing proof establishes that the parties had a continuing common intention…

A pension scheme’s general amendment power must be exercised in the form required by the trust deed. A general change to normal retirement age cannot…

Part 36 is a self-contained procedural code. An offer must be a genuine settlement proposal containing a concession of significant value. A request for total…

The addition of LDPE to a polymer matrix otherwise consisting of pure HDPE would generally be expected to increase deltamethrin migration, with higher…

An expert is not automatically disqualified because, during preliminary discussions about acting, the expert received confidential or privileged information…

Contractual indemnities covering costs and expenses caused by breach may extend to reasonable expenditure incurred to avoid the later imposition of interest…

Summary judgment should be granted only where the claim has no realistic prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for a trial. The court…

An appellate court should interfere with a tribunal’s discretionary costs order only for an error of principle or where the decision falls outside the generous…

For limitation purposes, actionable damage may arise before completion of a land sale. An innocent co-owner suffers actual loss when an unauthorised contract…

A solicitor’s duty is primarily contractual, and its scope depends on the retainer and the circumstances known to the solicitor. The duty may extend to warning…

Contractual severance of an unenforceable restraint requires strict application of the blue-pencil test. The offending wording must be capable of excision…

Section 72 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 is a derogation from the privilege against self-incrimination and must be construed strictly and purposively. The…

Dishonest assistance requires assistance in a fraudulent breach of trust and a dishonest state of mind. Dishonesty is assessed objectively by ordinary…

A contractual condition requiring a seller to provide documents correcting a defect in title may be waived unilaterally by the buyer where, construed in the…

A solicitor’s duty in the disclosure process extends to carrying out or personally supervising redactions made before inspection. A solicitor may continue to…

Comparative advertising is unlawful where, viewed as a whole and by reference to its intended audience, it gives a misleading impression or fails objectively…

When proceedings are transferred from the High Court to the Patents County Court after the new procedural regime takes effect, that regime generally applies…

The award of costs on the indemnity basis is a matter of judicial discretion. The court must apply established guidance, but should not impose rigid rules.…

When costs are payable, the court may order a payment on account where the proposed sum is unlikely to exceed the minimum amount likely to be recovered on…

Directors may honestly believe that a risky transaction benefits a company, so commercial misjudgment does not by itself establish breach of fiduciary duty or…

A wasted costs order requires proof that a legal representative acted improperly, unreasonably or negligently, that the conduct caused identifiable wasted…

The grant of negative declaratory relief is discretionary. There are no special jurisdictional thresholds. The principal consideration is whether the…

An equitable charge may arise where a debtor agrees that a debt will be paid from a specific fund coming to him. The agreement must impose an obligation to pay…

Under Part 7 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, sanction of an insurance business transfer scheme remains a real judicial discretion, even where…

Recognition of a foreign main insolvency proceeding does not require every related arbitration to remain stayed. The court applies the domestic insolvency stay…

A registered mark with descriptive elements may acquire distinctive character through extensive and intensive use. Validity is assessed by an overall appraisal…

Justice should ordinarily be administered in public. Confidentiality and the protection of Part 36 procedures may justify private hearings, but practical risks…

Where an ex parte order directly affects another person’s interests, the party obtaining it must promptly disclose the judgment and relevant materials…

On an application to remove officeholders, the starting position is that the application costs are not payable as an expense of the liquidation under…

Costs following a successful appeal should reflect the issues on which the parties succeeded and the extent to which late amendments affected the litigation. A…

A bankruptcy court should go behind a liability order only in exceptional circumstances, such as fraud, collusion or a miscarriage of justice. A properly…

In construing a detailed commercial finance agreement, the court must read the relevant provision in the context of the agreement as a whole and consider the…

An imperfect voluntary transfer of shares does not transfer the donor’s beneficial interest merely because the donor intended an immediate gift. Equity may…

A court may retrospectively dispense with personal service of a mandatory order before enforcing it for contempt, but the discretion is wide and should be…

The court may rectify a company’s share register where entries record transfers that were never made. A person registered as shareholder may be required to…

In disputes between co-owners, equitable accounting depends on the parties’ common intention and is fact-sensitive. The court must first determine the parties’…

A will is invalid where the testator signs a different will from the one intended, because the signature does not give effect to the document signed. The error…

An easement to erect and use new access structures at an uncertain future date is subject to the rule against perpetuities. Describing such rights as ancillary…

In a written commercial agreement, a success fee for a project “introduced” by a consultant ordinarily requires the consultant personally to be the effective…

A court has no jurisdiction to make an order depriving a party of substantive costs rights merely because a judgment debt remains unpaid, absent a proper…

For the purposes of paragraph 31 of Schedule 1 to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the critical question is whether the promotion…

A contractual break clause may confer an unfettered right to terminate if its language and commercial context support that construction. The court will not…

A contract of insurance need not provide for payment of money. An obligation to repair or replace equipment may constitute insurance where performance provides…

A contractual break notice must be construed objectively, in its commercial context, by asking how a reasonable recipient would understand it. An immaterial…

For service-out purposes, a claimant establishes a real issue to be tried where the claim has a realistic prospect of success. The court should avoid…

The construction of a deed granting a right of way is a unitary exercise. The court must read the words used with the relevant background circumstances…

An enforcement authority may rely on suspected fraud when seeking interim freezing relief, even where fraud is not part of the cause of action. The suspicion…

In construing an historic conveyance, the description of land must be read with the conveyancing history, plans and surrounding circumstances. A plan expressed…

A name and arms clause must be construed according to its particular wording and the scheme of the instrument. Where the clause links assumption of a surname…

Trade mark infringement requires a global assessment of the overall impression created by the competing marks, viewed through the eyes of the average consumer…

Under Land Registration Act 2002, section 86(5), the relevant date for determining whether a bankruptcy restriction protects the trustee’s title is the date of…

In construing pension scheme rules, the court must give effect to each operative provision where the wording permits. A provision averaging fluctuating…

On an appeal from a trade mark revocation decision, the court should intervene only for an error of principle, a clearly wrong conclusion, or an unreasonable…

For an individual voluntary arrangement, material irregularity under section 262(1)(b) of the Insolvency Act 1986 extends beyond defects in voting to…

Assets within the scope of English secondary insolvency proceedings are ordinarily distributed under English insolvency law. The duty of co-operation between…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance that is clear enough in context, reasonable reliance, and substantial detriment causally connected with that…

A registered right of common relating to one register unit does not confer rights over another unit merely because the register entry refers to that other…

On an application to set aside a statutory demand, the court must decide whether the alleged dispute about the debt has substantial grounds. It need not accept…

Successful parties generally recover their costs, but the court may make separate provision for costs caused by an abandoned or unsuccessful issue. Indemnity…