High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2015

A minor’s capacity to deal with an interest in foreign immovable property is governed by the lex situs. Where the property is situated abroad, the English…

For a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants Act 1975, the deceased must have been domiciled in England and Wales at death. Domicile…

An intention to use land for the benefit of a community does not, without more, create a charitable trust. The court must identify a legally recognisable and…

Without prejudice privilege does not protect communications used as a cloak for blackmail or other unambiguous impropriety. The threshold for admitting such…

Where the court has orally indicated the terms of an order, the order should be drawn up and sealed in those terms. A later application concerning alleged…

Costs ordinarily follow the event, but the basis of assessment must reflect the conduct and circumstances of each matter. Indemnity costs require unreasonable…

In probate proceedings, the ordinary rule that costs follow the event remains applicable unless the circumstances justify a different order. Costs may be paid…

A contractual parking licence intended as an interim arrangement will ordinarily terminate when the agreed permanent parking arrangement should have taken…

Deliberately understating a claim’s value on issue, paying a lower court fee to stop limitation running, and intending from the outset to amend to the true…

For the purposes of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, credit requires a contractual obligation to pay money and a contractual deferral of that obligation for a…

Articles of association are construed as commercial documents, using ordinary contractual principles and their public character. Background facts are…

An earlier judgment cannot be set aside merely because a party later identifies new evidence, better arguments, legal errors, or evidence which opposing…

For a bulk transfer of occupational pension rights without members’ consent, the actuarial comparison required by regulation 12 of the Occupational Pension…

At a bankruptcy petition hearing, the court has a broad statutory discretion to adjourn, stay or dismiss proceedings. An adjournment may be granted where…

A person who controls property under managerial authority acts unlawfully if that authority is used to appropriate the property for personal benefit. Article…

The court may sanction a scheme of arrangement where the statutory requirements have been met, the class was fairly represented, the statutory majority acted…

Client money held under CASS 5 is impressed with the statutory trust upon receipt. Inadequate segregation or records do not invalidate the trust or restrict…

Permission under CPR rule 31.22(1)(b) to use disclosed documents for a collateral purpose requires special circumstances constituting a cogent reason. Where…

A creditor proving in the liquidation of a guarantor need not deduct payments received from co-sureties while less than the full debt has been recovered from…

Costs following determination of discrete issues in a staged trial remain subject to the court’s discretion. The general rule is that the unsuccessful party…

A marketing authorisation may qualify as an initial authorisation under Article 10 of the Directive 2001/83/EC where the competent authority had the required…

On an application for summary judgment, a limitation defence should not succeed where the claimant has a real prospect of proving that the relevant statutory…

A solicitor’s advice is adequate where it clearly explains a material defect in proposed security and advises the client not to proceed. The solicitor need not…

Applications under rules 4.218E and 39 of the applicable procedural rules should ordinarily be served on the floating-charge creditor, who is entitled to be…

Where each side has succeeded on one aspect of an appeal, costs should ordinarily follow the event in relation to each successful or unsuccessful matter. On…

An application for pre-action disclosure under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 33(2), and CPR 31.16 can be granted only while the relevant proceedings have not…

A floating charge is characterised by its terms as created. The later crystallisation of an earlier floating charge does not retrospectively prevent a…

On an application to sanction an insurance business transfer scheme, the court must decide whether the scheme is fair in all the circumstances. It need not be…

On an appeal from the Registrar of Trade Marks, an appellate court should interfere with a nuanced trade-mark assessment only for a distinct and material error…

An unfair prejudice petition cannot ordinarily be used by a shareholder who has contracted to sell the shares to complain of conduct occurring after the…

In proceedings for infringement of an intellectual property right, the court may require the infringer to disclose information identifying persons involved in…

Rights to use sporting and recreational facilities may constitute easements where they accommodate identified dominant land and the grant shows an intention to…

For Regulation 19 of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Benefits, Membership and Contributions) Regulations 2007, “business efficiency” means an operative…

Where companies in administration are unable to pay their debts and it is just and equitable to wind them up, the court may use the statutory machinery to…

A freezing injunction may be continued where there is a good arguable case, evidence of past dissipation and a sufficiently proximate risk that assets will be…

The forfeiture rule applies to benefits or rights which arise, become enforceable, or accrue directly because of the deceased’s death or the offender’s…

Registration of a distinctive domain name may itself constitute passing off where registration represents to persons consulting the register that the…

In construing pension scheme rules, the court applies ordinary principles of contractual interpretation. Earlier executed scheme documents may be used as…

A commercial agreement must be construed as a whole. Where its opening particulars identify a limited company by its registered name and company number…

On the transfer of GLA roads, “the highway” in article 2(1)(a) of the GLA Roads and Side Roads (Transfer of Property etc) Order 2000 is not confined to the…

A common intention constructive trust requires an agreement, arrangement or understanding that the property is to be shared beneficially, followed by…

The High Court may transfer to the Competition Appeal Tribunal proceedings, or parts of proceedings, concerning an infringement issue or a claim within section…

Overreaching requires a conveyance of the legal estate to a purchaser, made by the trustees of land, with the purchase money paid to or applied at the…

For the purposes of Leasehold Reform Act 1967 Part 1, a structurally attached house is not excluded from enfranchisement merely because a boundary wall is…

Section 311 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 requires insolvency-court permission for proceedings for a recovery order and for further detention of cash. It…

Expert evidence is admissible only where it draws on recognised expertise governed by recognised standards and is reasonably required to resolve the…

On a further application to set aside a statutory demand, a debtor will ordinarily be prevented from re-arguing a point already decided against him, including…

For the purposes of section 895 of the Companies Act 2006, “arrangement” has a broad meaning. A takeover scheme may qualify even where the company’s principal…

Relief under section 25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 requires the applicant to satisfy both limbs of the statutory test. The court must be…

In a professional-negligence claim involving loss of a commercial negotiating opportunity, the claimant must prove that, without the breach, it would probably…

In trust and estate litigation, a personal representative is generally entitled to an indemnity from the estate for costs properly incurred. That entitlement…

Section 25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 permits interim relief in support of foreign proceedings, but the jurisdiction remains ancillary…

Litigation privilege depends on the dominant purpose for which a communication was created. The assessment is objective in the sense that the court determines…

Under section 28 of the Patents Act 1977, the Comptroller’s power to revoke a conditional restoration order remains available until exercised. Once revocation…

Relief from sanctions is discretionary and appellate intervention is justified only where the lower court was wrong, procedurally irregular, or outside the…

A qualifying floating charge is validly executed if the company document was signed by the required authorised signatories at the time of signature. Later…

Where a will appears to comply with the statutory formalities and contains an attestation clause, strong evidence is required to displace the presumption of…

Delay alone, however inordinate and inexcusable, does not establish abuse of process. Abuse may arise where a claimant commences or continues proceedings…

In construing a will, the court must identify the testator’s intention from the words used in their documentary and factual context. Where the statutory…

On an application for an interim injunction, the court must apply the American Cyanamid principles without conducting a mini-trial. The serious-issue threshold…

Relief under Insolvency Act 1986, section 423, requires an undervalue transaction, entered into for the purpose of putting assets beyond the reach of, or…

Access to statements of case is governed by the strong principle of open justice. Under CPR 5.4C, editing may be ordered only where necessary and proportionate…

The court may sanction a scheme affecting foreign creditors where the contractual rights are governed by English law and the scheme will be recognised in the…

Fraud and dishonesty allegations require specific and properly supported pleading. The court must assess both the form of the plea and the substance of the…

A court may stay proceedings as a discretionary case-management measure where parallel foreign proceedings exist, but the discretion must be exercised on the…

Directors owe fiduciary duties to the company, not ordinarily to its shareholders. A fiduciary duty to shareholders arises only where the facts establish a…

Summary judgment on a discrete issue is appropriate only where the claimant has no real prospect of success and the court can confidently conclude that the…

A petition under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 requires proof that the complaint concerns the company’s affairs, causes prejudice to the petitioner as…

On an assessment of costs on the standard basis, separately represented parties may recover costs of separate representation only to the extent that those…

Where a will contains a meaningless or ambiguous clause because necessary words have been omitted, the court may use construction to supply the obvious…

An English insolvency court should ordinarily assist a foreign insolvency court which has made a request under Insolvency Act 1986, section 426, although the…

An application to set aside an order made in a party’s absence must be made promptly. The court has no discretion under CPR 39.3(5) to overlook that…

On a first possession hearing, the court should make an order only where the defendant has failed to show a realistically arguable defence. Mere tolerance of…

A freezing order is not security for a claim and ordinarily permits reasonable living and legal expenses. An applicant seeking access to frozen assets must…

A winding-up petition should be restrained where the debt is disputed on substantial grounds or the debtor has a genuine and substantial cross-claim exceeding…

On a strike-out or summary-judgment application, the defendant must establish that the claim has no realistic prospect of success and that no other reason…

In construing a freezing order, words such as trading business and day-to-day expenditure should ordinarily bear their natural and predictable meaning. The…

For security for costs based on a claimant’s residence outside the United Kingdom or a Convention state, objective justification requires a likelihood of…

On an application for summary judgment, a claimant relying on negligent information must show both loss and that the loss falls within the scope of the…

Legal advice privilege extends beyond communications that expressly request or provide legal advice. It covers confidential communications forming part of the…

On a summary judgment application concerning the construction of a will, the court may decide a short point of construction where the evidence is sufficient…

A proprietary estoppel requires an assurance or encouragement concerning rights over property, reasonable reliance, detriment and unconscionability. The…

An oral agreement is not void for uncertainty merely because it refers to “certain allegations” or similar language. The surrounding documents and…

A defendant who has submitted to the jurisdiction by conduct cannot later raise a jurisdiction objection merely because another forum has become tactically…

Repeated attempts to litigate matters already finally determined constitute an abuse of process and may be struck out as totally without merit. A civil…

A court may hear proceedings in private and permit anonymity where this is strictly necessary to protect confidential information, having regard to open…

Where a person fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement imposed under the Companies Act in connection with an investigation, the court…

Where inter-related applications are determined together, the court may treat them as a single application for costs purposes while identifying separately the…

A court order is interpreted objectively, in its documentary and factual context. The court considers the natural and ordinary meaning of the words, the order…

On an appeal concerning possession and disposal of a deceased person’s body, the court may reconsider the available record and determine the matter afresh…

A vesting order following disclaimer of property by a trustee in bankruptcy is discretionary. Where standing arises because the applicant occupied a dwelling…

Where solicitors commence English proceedings without authority, any later ratification of that act is governed by English law. Ratification requires a…

In an administration in bankruptcy of a deceased person’s insolvent estate, provable debts are both identified and quantified at the date of death.…

A post-termination restraint is enforceable where, construed objectively, it protects legitimate interests in trade secrets or confidential information and…

For disclosure purposes, a party’s control of documents may arise from physical possession, a legal right to possession or inspection, or a sufficiently…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the respondent’s case has no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for trial. The court must…

A contractual option period may end on the occurrence of a specified event where time is of the essence. Rectification for unilateral mistake requires…

Discontinuance does not prevent the court from determining a pending application to revise a costs budget. Budgeting future costs remains meaningful even if…

A pension scheme amendment must be construed as a whole and in the context existing when it was made. The court should prefer a reasonable and practical…

Permission to amend a statement of case to introduce a new claim requires the proposed claim to have a real prospect of success, meaning more than a merely…

A freezing order requires more than a good arguable case. The claimant must also establish a real risk that a judgment will remain unsatisfied because of…

Contempt requires proof that the person knew of the order and knowingly failed to do what it required. An intention to breach, or an understanding that the…

An order for security for costs under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 must be exercised consistently with the non-discrimination principle in Nasser v United Bank…

For the inheritance-tax exclusion for foreign property, the relevant question is when the particular property was settled. A later disposition adding property…

Summary judgment requires the court to conclude that the opposing party has no realistic prospect of success and that no compelling reason requires a trial.…

When a superior court remits costs for reconsideration after setting aside earlier costs orders, the first-instance court must exercise its discretion afresh.…

The power to impose conditions on the continuation of an appeal is exceptional. Under CPR Rule 52.9, the court must first identify a compelling reason and then…

A Norwich Pharmacal order is substantive relief requiring proceedings against the person from whom disclosure is sought. It is not merely ancillary to…

Under Companies Act 2006, conduct of a subsidiary may constitute conduct of the holding company’s affairs where the companies operate as complementary parts of…

Part 36 is a highly prescriptive and self-contained code. An offer must satisfy its mandatory requirements; the court cannot add an analogous provision merely…

An order may be varied under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.1(7), but the discretion is principled and normally requires a material change of…

For the 42-day period governing a trustee’s notice claiming after-acquired property, “knowledge” requires actual knowledge that the property was acquired by…

A registered charge may be transferred beneficially before registration of the transferee. A person entitled to be registered as charge proprietor may exercise…

Restoration of a dissolved company under the Companies Act 2006 retrospectively treats the company as having continued in existence. Where the Crown has…

Disclosure of documents obtained from a competition authority’s file requires a case-by-case balancing exercise. The court must weigh the claimant’s interest…

A dissolved company formerly in administration may be restored at a creditor’s request to permit credible investigation into potential recoveries. Restoration…

A commercial joint venture does not, merely because it is described as a joint venture or is conducted through a jointly owned company, give rise to fiduciary…

Under a securitisation agreement, receipts should be classified as principal or interest by reference to their source and commercial function in the underlying…

Likelihood of confusion is assessed globally, considering the marks, goods, presentation and the average consumer’s imperfect recollection. Cava and champagne…

Use of a pharmaceutical brand name by a parallel importer is trade mark use where consumers would perceive it as identifying the undertaking responsible for…

Where a claimant discontinues proceedings containing allegations of fraud, the court will generally order the claimant to pay the defendant’s costs on the…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance, reliance and detriment, followed by unconscionability in denying the expected benefit. A promise by one of several…

Under regulation 16 of the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007, the court may approve completion of a proposed cross-border merger while…

An insolvency costs order may cover costs incurred by successive office-holders where the successor liquidators assume responsibility for the predecessor’s…

A claim may be abusive where a claimant starts substantially similar proceedings after earlier proceedings were struck out, although the court should consider…

Ownership of chattels found in a bankrupt’s home is determined primarily by the evidence identifying the true owner. Any presumption arising from occupation or…

For jurisdiction challenges based on the Lugano Convention or the Judgments Regulation, the court must distinguish factual jurisdictional disputes from issues…

Section 236(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 confers a freestanding power to require a person outside the jurisdiction to provide an account of dealings with a…

A written lease may be rectified where strong evidence establishes that it fails to record the parties’ common intention. The ordinary civil standard applies…

On an application for permission to forfeit a lease of a company in administration, the court must first ask whether forfeiture would impede the purpose of the…

A tenant’s repairing covenant may justify removing part of demised premises only where the proposed work is an objectively reasonable method of repair. A more…

A Norwich Pharmacal order is an exceptional remedy, available only where disclosure is necessary to enable the claimant to enforce legal rights. A claim for…

A director’s duty to consider creditors’ interests remains subjective where the company is insolvent. The question is whether the director honestly believed…

Under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, disqualification is discretionary and does not require the company to have become…

Passport and travel-document restraints may be granted as ancillary relief to a freezing order where necessary to make the order and its disclosure obligations…

The court may authorise an administrator to distribute to unsecured, non-preferential creditors where the distribution advances the purpose of the…

Permission to issue a writ of possession may be set aside where material information about a pending appeal or potential appeal was not before the court and it…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 35.1, expert evidence must be assessed against each pleaded issue unless that issue has been excluded from the case.…

An applicant seeking to restrain completion of a mortgagee’s sale must provide an arguable basis for intervention supported by credible evidence. A court…

Rectification for common mistake requires convincing evidence of a continuing common intention, an outward expression of accord, continuation of that intention…

An internal arrangement between departments of the same bank is not a “transaction” for the purposes of an indemnity covering the cost of unwinding funding…

A transaction is characterised by its legal effect, not by the parties’ description of it. An arrangement under which properties were treated as company…

Market abuse under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is assessed objectively. No particular state of mind is required to establish the prohibited…

Under section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986, the court retains discretion whether winding up is just and equitable. Illegality is not required. Winding up…

Under regulation 16 of the Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007, satisfaction of the formal conditions does not require approval. The court…

The court may extend the time for filing an appellant’s notice for a specified period, but the power does not permit a general or indefinite extension. The…

Under Data Protection Act 1998, the subject-access right does not provide a general route to obtain documents for use in litigation. The court may treat…

On an application for provisional liquidators, the court must be satisfied that a winding-up petition has been presented and that a winding-up order is likely…

Section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 does not ordinarily authorise an order requiring a person outside the territorial jurisdiction to provide information or…

Mortgage instalments deferred by agreement do not constitute arrears where the parties objectively agreed that the unpaid interest would be added to the…

Contractual interpretation requires an iterative assessment of the language, the contractual scheme and the commercial consequences. Where a clause expressly…

Releases in insolvency agreements require clear words before they will be construed as surrendering significant rights, particularly rights not connected with…

Insolvency Rules 1986, rule 2.88 creates a complete code for post-administration interest on proved debts. The equitable approach in Bower v Marris does not…

For the purposes of the statutory trust arising on intervention, a solicitor’s “practice” means the activities carried out by the solicitor or authorised body…

An issues-based costs order should be made only where justice and the circumstances of the particular case require departure from the general rule that costs…

Under Senior Courts Act 1981, statutory interest is compensatory, not punitive. The court has a wide discretion to select a fair rate of simple interest. In…

In insolvency proceedings, disclosure is not treated as a routine application under the ordinary civil procedure rules. The court must consider the nature and…

A share transfer obtained by fraud, or signed without knowledge of its contents, may be set aside. A director must comply with fiduciary obligations and the…

A defaulting fiduciary must account for assets and benefits received or receivable where there is a sufficient causal connection with the breach. The fiduciary…

The United Kingdom courts have no jurisdiction to determine the validity of an EU regulation or claims concerning the non-contractual liability of the European…

When sanctioning an insurance business transfer scheme, the court must decide whether the scheme is fair as a whole between the interests of all affected…

A committal application for breach of an order requiring disclosure must be determined with particular care. The applicant bears the burden of proving contempt…

A professional adviser is not negligent merely because litigation later fails, or because the adviser gives a view within the range of competent professional…

A compulsory-retirement notice under an LLP agreement must comply precisely with the agreed notice period. A notice giving more than the specified period is…

Under CPR rule 3.12, whether costs budgeting is automatically excluded depends on what the claim form itself states. Later schedules or documents cannot be…

A company generally cannot assert legal professional privilege against its shareholders for legal advice obtained in administering the company’s affairs and…

Recusal is assessed by asking whether a reasonably minded observer would conclude that there is a real possibility of bias. A judge’s personal dispute with a…

Applications to adjourn a trial, or to set aside a strike-out for non-attendance, require careful evaluation of the evidence and the overriding objective.…

The English court may sanction a scheme for a foreign company without an English centre of main interests, establishment or substantial assets. The company…

Questions in a seller’s property information form should be interpreted as an ordinary lay seller would understand them. Questions about notices…

A statement of future intention may amount to a representation of present fact where it implies that the maker presently intends to perform it. Fraudulent…

On an application for an interim injunction, the court applies the American Cyanamid sequence: a serious issue to be tried, adequacy of damages, and, if…

A party seeking release from a negotiated undertaking given to the court must show good cause. Usually this requires a significant change of circumstances or…

A party cannot use fresh proceedings or an application to re-litigate causes of action or issues already decided, or matters which could and should have been…

The court may order a party to attend for cross-examination where that attendance is necessary for a fair trial. The existence of a foreign royal or…

Under the Land Registration Act 2002, an agreement for a lease protected by a notice on the register retains priority over a later registered charge where the…

In construing a poorly drafted will, the court may use extrinsic evidence where the statutory conditions for admitting it are met. The residuary estate…

A trustee in bankruptcy does not generally owe the bankrupt a separate common-law duty of care in negligence. The statutory regime is comprehensive. Where the…

A claim should not be struck out as an abuse of process merely because the likely damages are modest compared with the costs of litigation. The court must…

A contractual cut-off date may confer a right to terminate without extinguishing continuing obligations unless the agreement clearly gives it that effect. A…

An oral agreement concerning land may exceptionally support proprietary estoppel or a constructive trust despite non-compliance with section 2 of the Law of…

A recipient of money misappropriated from a company may be personally liable in restitution, even where the payment was made by an authorised bank transfer and…

On an appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman limited to a point of law, the High Court must not entertain factual challenges disguised as legal appeals. Under the…

A chattel placed on land remains a chattel where its annexation is slight and its purpose is to display or enjoy the object rather than permanently improve the…

The Patents Court’s statutory and procedural jurisdiction is not confined to claims which must be started there under CPR 63.2. It may hear or receive other…

The court retains common-law jurisdiction to permit a double derivative claim; sections 260 to 264 of the Companies Act 2006 do not remove it. The claimant…

A contractual indemnity procedure is governed by the agreement’s objective meaning and commercial context. A party seeking payment of partnership liabilities…

A pension-scheme amendment power protecting benefits accrued for members may protect the final-salary link. The phrase “benefits accrued due” ordinarily refers…

Where interim relief is granted before proceedings have begun, the court should direct that a claim be commenced. Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, this…

An indemnity costs order requires conduct which is unreasonable to a high degree or a case which is sufficiently out of the norm. Even where an application…

Permission to adduce survey evidence in a passing-off claim should be granted only where the evidence is likely to have real value and that value justifies the…

Exclusive jurisdiction under Article 24 of the Recast Regulation is determined primarily by the nature and basis of the claim, rather than by contractual or…

For the statutory effect of section 36C of the Companies Act 1985 to be excluded, there must be a clear agreement that the contract will not take effect as one…

When sanctioning an insurance-business transfer, the court exercises an independent discretion. Regulatory approval and an independent expert’s report are…

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 permits a donor to structure a lasting power of attorney so that two named attorneys act jointly for specified important…

A negotiation marked subject to contract does not ordinarily create a binding contract or a proprietary estoppel, particularly where approval of the final work…

Where a contract for an LLP role contains inconsistent employment and membership provisions, the court must construe the agreement as a whole and identify the…

A solicitor is generally required to investigate only matters expressly or impliedly within the client’s instructions. However, information actually acquired…

The court may suspend automatic discharge from bankruptcy until a bankrupt fulfils a specified condition, including full compliance with reasonable requests…

Where a claimant’s settlement offer has been withdrawn, it no longer attracts the automatic costs consequences of Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 36. The court…

Oral family arrangements concerning separate business ventures must be established on the evidence relating to the particular venture. The court will not infer…

A winding-up petition should be restrained where the alleged debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. A contractual retainer is not contingent on…

An arrangement approved under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 is a variation rather than a resettlement where the existing trust continues in substance.…

A consent order made under section 15 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 prevents a former spouse from applying in that…

Relief from an unless-order sanction requires the court to apply the three-stage approach in Denton v TH White Ltd: assess seriousness and significance…

On a summary judgment application, a defendant must provide evidence showing a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. The evidential standard is…

The court’s inherent jurisdiction to supervise trusts permits directions for the distribution of trust property on particular bases where that course is just…

Contractual language must be construed objectively by asking what a reasonable person with the relevant background would have understood. Business common sense…

Permission to continue a statutory derivative claim requires more than a merely arguable case. The court must form a provisional view of the claim’s strength…

An express trust of land may be established by objectively construed words and conduct, even where the trust instrument does not complete its intended method…

Claims alleging fraud, dishonesty and unlawful interference must identify a properly particularised cause of action and the factual basis for each defendant’s…

The power under CPR 3.1(7) to vary or revoke an order is discretionary and is not confined by rigid conditions. The court should not normally allow a review…

For the purposes of section 1(4) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, a collateral defence is one on which the defendant in the main action would…

Cross-examination ordered to police a freezing order is primarily supervisory. Its purpose is to investigate and clarify asset disclosure, rather than…

In complex litigation involving a claim and counterclaim, the court may treat them as separate claims for costs purposes where they arise from different facts…

A claim to have compulsory-purchase compensation assessed by the Lands Tribunal is an action to recover a sum recoverable by virtue of an enactment. The…

A party may be barred from making a second application which substantially re-runs an earlier unsuccessful application. The court must assess the application…

Insolvency proceedings based on an undisputed debt amount to an abuse of process only where the petitioner does not genuinely seek the insolvency relief, but…

A statutory demand may be set aside under rule 6.5(4)(d) of the Insolvency Rules 1986 where allowing it to found bankruptcy proceedings would be unjust. That…

A tenancy granted by a fully mutual housing co-operative may contain contractual restrictions on termination which prevent it operating as an ordinary periodic…

Relief from a sanction under CPR rule 3.9 requires a structured assessment of the seriousness and significance of the breach, the reason for it, and all the…

Under s3(1)(c) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, a geographical name must remain available where it is capable of designating the geographical origin of the…

Privilege claims must be supported by sufficiently specific evidence. An affidavit is generally conclusive unless the court is reasonably certain that the…

When exercising the jurisdiction under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37, to restrain a person subject to a freezing order from leaving the jurisdiction, the…

Liability for historic mis-selling does not ordinarily fall within liabilities attaching to transferred insurance policies. That expression naturally refers to…

For the purposes of disqualification under Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the court must decide whether the director’s conduct, assessed on the…

A contract is formed objectively by considering the parties’ communications and conduct as a whole. A response which rejects material terms, insists on…

A binding settlement is determined objectively from the parties’ words and conduct. The absence of a comprehensive signed document is not decisive unless the…

The court has no jurisdiction to charge client money with a trustee in bankruptcy’s costs of preserving files or reconciling a solicitor’s client accounts…

A failure to serve costs proceedings in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules may, in an appropriate case, be overcome by estoppel by convention. The…

A contractual capital-disqualification clause must be interpreted in its commercial and regulatory context. A one-off stress test in which contingent…

A foreign company may be served in England under CPR r 6.9(2) only where it carries on activities, or has a fixed place of business, in the jurisdiction. The…

For the purpose of Insolvency Act 1986 s. 283A(3), a trustee makes an application when the application notice and proper fee are delivered to the court within…

A mortgage charge may secure later lending where its incorporated conditions define the secured debt broadly enough to include money owed under any offer and…

A solicitor’s cause of action for recovery or assessment of costs arises when the work is done. Delivery of a compliant bill under sections 69 and 70 of the…

Section 320 of the Companies Act 1985 does not apply merely because pension-scheme beneficiaries have personal rights to require a trustee to administer the…

For summary judgment, the question is whether the defendant’s case has a real prospect of success, not whether it is merely improbable. The court may conclude…

Damages for misuse of private information are not confined to distress. They may also compensate the loss of privacy, autonomy and dignity inherent in a…

A voluntary settlement may be rescinded for equitable mistake where the settlor made a distinct and causative mistake of sufficient gravity, assessed by…

A liquidator’s usual position does not prevent personal liability where the retainer expressly imposes it. The court must give effect to clear contractual…

The jurisdiction under section 1 of the Variation of Trusts Act 1958 is not confined to trusts governed by English law. Where a trust has substantial foreign…

An employer with a discretionary power to determine an early-retirement policy is not subject to an implied requirement to give members a specified period of…

For section 3(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, a slogan is not subject to a stricter distinctiveness test merely because it is promotional. The relevant…

Interlocutory injunctions should ordinarily be approached under the American Cyanamid framework. The applicant need show a serious question to be tried, not an…

The court may revise an earlier judgment to correct a clear factual or legal error where jurisdiction exists, but correction remains discretionary. The…

Early Neutral Evaluation may form part of the judicial function in civil proceedings. A judge may express provisional views on specified hypotheses or on the…

An employer’s proposal to alter the pension consequences of a pay award may be implemented by individual contractual agreement, provided the process does not…

A commercial contract is not ordinarily subject to an implied right to terminate merely because one party honestly loses trust and confidence in the other.…

The High Court is bound by a House of Lords decision defining the tort of malicious prosecution as generally confined to criminal proceedings and special…

An employer’s offensive or forthright management style does not necessarily amount to a repudiatory breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. The…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance or representation, reliance and detriment. These elements are not separate compartments: the court must assess the…

An exemption for insolvency proceedings must be construed according to the statutory language used. Where an instrument refers specifically to administrators…

Where jointly owned property is charged to secure one co-owner’s debt, the other co-owner may obtain an equity of exoneration. The inquiry is whether the…

An intervention into a solicitor’s practice may continue where the original statutory grounds were supported by the information available when the intervention…

Under the 1992 ISDA Master Agreement, a non-defaulting party determining Loss must act rationally and in good faith. It need not satisfy an objective…

Beneficial ownership ordinarily follows legal ownership, but that presumption may be displaced by proof of an expressly agreed common intention to share…

A bankruptcy petition is presented when it is delivered to the court for filing, rather than when it is later sealed or endorsed. Jurisdiction may therefore…

Sentencing for civil contempt is directed at the contempt of court and the rule of law. Where compliance can no longer be secured, the penalty is punitive…

A judgment obtained by fraud may be set aside where the claimant shows conscious and deliberate dishonesty which was material and causative of the judgment.…

Composite marks must be compared as wholes, with likelihood of confusion assessed globally. An element may retain an independent distinctive role only where…

In allocating conduct of a complex pension-scheme appeal, the court should adopt a principled and efficient division of responsibility, taking account of…

Knowledge and approval of a will is determined by asking whether the testator understood its contents and effect. The court should generally adopt a…

A statutory demand is not necessarily invalid merely because a debtor’s cross-claim would reduce the debt below the bankruptcy level of £750. The statutory…

When deciding whether to set aside a regular default judgment under CPR 13.3, the court must consider promptness together with all the circumstances of the…

Permission to make a substantial amendment shortly before trial depends on a fair balance between the history and explanation for the delay, the prejudice to…

On an application to annul a bankruptcy order because the petition debt was disputed, the court should apply substantially the same threshold as on an…

A foreign company may obtain sanction of a scheme of arrangement where it has a sufficient connection with England. English governing law of the compromised…

A website-blocking order under section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 requires proof that the defendants are service providers, that the…

When authorising an on-site inspection under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Over the Counter Derivatives, Central Counterparties and Trade…

An illegality defence involving alleged competition-law infringements should not be determined summarily where difficult and developing legal questions depend…

An unless order requiring a full and complete response to each request for information must be complied with according to its terms. A response which is…

A reference to the CJEU must be necessary to enable the national court to give judgment. It is not enough that a reference would be desirable, convenient…

A restrictive covenant must be construed according to its clear words where the wording provides a sufficient basis for interpretation. Where permitted uses…

A bare assignment of a cause of action for nominal consideration will generally offend the public policy against maintenance and champerty. The question is…

A claimant who transfers shares under an oral agreement may recover the agreed consideration where the agreement is established on the evidence, even if the…

A non-party may apply under CPR rule 40.9 only where the judgment or order is capable, prima facie, of materially and adversely affecting an interest…

Recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding cannot continue after the proceeding has been terminated merely because obligations under its reorganisation…

A party seeking, shortly before trial, to amend its pleaded case or introduce substantial new evidence bears a heavy burden. The court considers the proposed…

A person claiming access to privileged trust or estate documents must ordinarily establish at least a prima facie case that they possess the beneficiary status…

An appellate court reviewing strike-out or summary judgment must distinguish legal conclusions from case-management discretion. A claim should be struck out…

An order dismissing an application to set aside a statutory demand under rule 6.5(1) of the Insolvency Rules 1986 need not contain the statement required by…

A contractual power to modify loan-note rights may permit postponement of redemption and subordination to later indebtedness, provided the changes remain…

A contract may be implied from the parties’ conduct where this is necessary to give business reality to their arrangements and to create enforceable…

Under the Armed Forces Pension Scheme, a person with a subsisting marriage is prevented from marrying the deceased member for the purposes of Rule E.2(3)(b)…

Undertakings offered in support of an application are not necessarily irrevocable orders where the court declines the application and has not accepted the…

A scheme of arrangement under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 may compromise claims made by a customer in the capacity of creditor, including contingent…

An enforceable building scheme requires a defined area and reciprocal obligations between purchasers. The area must be defined when the scheme crystallises…

Registration of a Community Trade Mark confers a negative right to exclude others, not a positive right to use the mark. It does not provide a defence to a…

A company authorised to conduct insurance and reinsurance business may fall outside the statutory definition of a UK insurer where, in practice and in…

Statements of case must plead the material facts necessary to formulate the cause of action or defence. They should be concise, logically ordered, and free…

Summary judgment is appropriate where a claim or defence has no realistic prospect of success, but the court must avoid conducting a mini-trial and should…

Costs orders should achieve broad justice between the parties while remaining practical and proportionate. The court should identify the successful party in…

The court has jurisdiction under Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007, regulation 16, to approve a cross-border merger by a conditional order.…

For jurisdiction under the Brussels Convention, domicile is determined by residence in the alleged country together with the nature and circumstances of that…

The legal character of an informal transaction depends on its substance, not the labels used by the parties. Money provided for a specific purpose may remain…

A confidential European Commission decision may be disclosed in national proceedings where access is necessary for the parties and the court, provided that…

A solicitor’s undertaking to confirm execution of an original, validly executed security may require the solicitor to hold security genuinely executed by the…

An attempted appointment of an administrator by directors is a nullity where the directors’ meeting is inquorate under the company’s constitution. The…

For the purposes of IR12, a reduction in pension benefits following foreclosure is lifted only to the extent that the scheme trustees recover money from the…

An exclusive jurisdiction clause must be construed broadly and commercially, by reference to the parties’ agreements and the transaction as a whole. Where an…

Where a contract contains an arbitration agreement, the mandatory stay under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996 applies to legal proceedings brought to…

An extended civil restraint order may apply to claims or applications in different proceedings and against different parties where the subject matter has a…

Rectification of a deed of variation is available where convincing evidence establishes that the document fails to give effect to the parties’ specific common…

Interim non-disclosure relief may be granted where private information has been accessed without permission and there is a real risk of threatened publication.…

An administration may satisfy the statutory purpose of rescuing a company as a going concern where it preserves the business while disputed liabilities and…

Arbitral confidentiality is a substantive obligation, but it is not absolute. A party may disclose confidential arbitral material where reasonably necessary to…

A solicitor’s duty is defined by the retainer and the standard of the reasonably competent practitioner. Where a transaction carries an unusual solvency risk…

The court may remove trustees and appoint replacements where their continuation is likely to prejudice the proper administration of the trust or the welfare of…

A pension-scheme trustee may amend scheme rules to address a deficit where the amendment remains within the scope and purposes of the amendment power. The…

For an application under section 18 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court should not finally determine whether an arbitration agreement exists. The…

Contractual arrangements must be construed as a whole and in their commercial context. Bespoke terms agreed between contracting parties may prevail over…

A retrospective administration order cannot be made merely to validate a defective transition into liquidation. The court must be satisfied that the order is…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success. A claimant seeking damages based on hypothetical decisions must prove, on the balance of…

A company director breaches fiduciary duty where he causes the company to deal with a competing business operated by closely connected persons in circumstances…

On an application under section 282(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986, the court must identify the grounds existing when the bankruptcy order was made, decide…

An employer’s implied contractual duty of trust and confidence may be breached by a package of measures viewed cumulatively. Pension-related agreements…

An application for security for costs requires the applicant to establish both a condition in CPR 25.13(2) and that, having regard to all the circumstances, it…

A court will not imply into a carefully negotiated commercial agreement a positive duty to obtain the best price merely because one party has power to procure…

The power to give consequential directions after restoring a dissolved company is wide, but it must be exercised consistently with the statutory purpose of…

Confidentiality does not, by itself, prevent disclosure or inspection of a relevant document. Where inspection may expose a party to foreign criminal…

Orders for disclosure and inspection are governed by the law of the forum. The possibility that compliance may expose a party to prosecution under foreign law…

A lender seeking security from a surety must make appropriate preliminary checks where the transaction is not financially advantageous to the surety and the…

A fiduciary who controls a principal’s money must account for dealings with it and establish that those dealings were proper and justified. A senior employee…

In charity proceedings, regular worshippers and contributors with a longstanding connection to a local charitable church may be persons interested in the…

A proposed amendment must have a real prospect of success. Where an amendment made after expiry of an arguable limitation period introduces a new cause of…

An annulment under section 282(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 may be appropriate where new material, even if produced by the petitioning creditor, materially…

An English court may make a declaration determining the status under English law of funds held under an English-law trust, even where related proceedings are…

Proceedings concerning the membership or trusteeship of an incorporated charity may constitute charity proceedings where they engage the court’s charity or…

A word which is descriptive or laudatory of animal food lacks inherent distinctive character. It may nevertheless acquire a slender distinctive character…

An injunction for trade mark infringement should ordinarily be granted in general terms, although the court may impose specific terms where the circumstances…

A claim may be an abuse of process where it re-litigates matters already decided, even if the parties are not precisely identical. The court must make a broad…

On successful completion of an individual voluntary arrangement, a completion certificate releasing the debtor from all debts subject to the arrangement brings…

A declaration of legal rights should state the rights declared. Practical observations intended to guide reasonable conduct should not be converted into a…

A request by a non-member to inspect or copy a company’s register of members must comply strictly with the mandatory information requirements in Companies Act…

The Law Society has power under paragraph 16 of Part II of Schedule 1 to the Solicitors Act 1974 to destroy old and redundant intervention documents where…

An undertaking in damages given on the appointment of a provisional liquidator does not automatically terminate when a winding-up order is later made. The…

UK unregistered design right protects the identified shape or configuration of an article or part of an article, not general design ideas. Infringement…

In a partnership dispute, a partner who elects to keep the agreement alive may affirm the contract and lose the right to rely on earlier conduct as a…

Permission to amend pleadings is determined by the overriding objective and requires a fact-sensitive assessment. Relevant considerations include the…

The ordinary costs rule applies to hostile probate litigation: the unsuccessful party should pay the successful party’s costs. A party’s initial refusal to…

A Quistclose trust arises only where, objectively construed, the parties intended that transferred money would not be at the recipient’s free disposal, but…

An appeal does not operate as a stay unless the appeal or lower court orders otherwise. The applicant bears the burden of providing full, frank and clear…

Interest on a foreign-currency judgment is discretionary under Administration of Justice Act 1970, section 44 A. The court should apply a compensatory…

A contractual compromise is construed by applying ordinary principles of construction to its wording and context. A settlement may cover claims of which the…

An unsigned commercial agreement may become binding where the parties objectively agreed its terms and their conduct waived a subject to contract…

A contractual right to inspect and copy documents may be specifically enforced where damages are inadequate and the obligation can be expressed in an effective…

For each company in a corporate group, centre of main interests (COMI) must be assessed separately. The registered-office presumption may be rebutted only by a…

Restitution for unlawfully levied corporation tax includes compound interest as a matter of substantive law, whether or not the relevant accounting period…

A joint venture is not a term of art. Whether one exists depends on the facts and circumstances of the particular case. A contract may be formed by conduct…

For proprietary estoppel to bind several trustees, a representation by one trustee must be made with the authority of the others, or arise from their knowing…

A writ of possession may be extended where coordinated and connected protests continue to threaten disruption of premises and the existing writ has not been…

A signature placed on a deed by a signature-writing machine may bind the signatory where the machine was operated by an authorised agent. Authority to sign is…

A court exercising jurisdiction under Insolvency Act 1986, section 375(1), may review, vary or rescind an order made by it on appeal. The jurisdiction is…

A person alleged to have breached a court order must be proved to have acted in wilful breach. The court must be sure of the breach to the criminal standard.…

The court’s power under CPR rule 38.4(1) to set aside a notice of discontinuance is a broad discretion governed by the overriding objective. Abuse of process…

Under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, a tenant may reassign a lease to an earlier tenant. The earlier tenant becomes bound again by the tenant…

Section 44 of the Arbitration Act 1996 gives the court a broad jurisdiction to grant interim measures in support of arbitration. The court must ask first…

An exclusive jurisdiction clause covering proceedings “in connection with” a settlement deed is construed broadly and purposively. The substance of the…

A leading international auction house must exercise the skill and care reasonably expected of specialists in that field. Its duty includes a proper examination…

An LLP member’s “share” is not an abstract ownership interest. It is the totality of the contractual and statutory rights and obligations attached to…

Infringement under Article 9(1)(b) requires a global assessment of all relevant factors, viewed qualitatively from the perspective of the average consumer. The…

Members of a limited liability partnership have an unqualified contractual right to inspect the LLP’s books and records where the governing deed so provides.…

Service of a claim form by an unauthorised method may be validated under CPR 6.15 only where there is a good reason and the court considers it appropriate to…

In a professional-negligence claim involving tax advice, the claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities that it would have taken the relevant course…