High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2016

Copyright in architectural drawings may subsist despite the drawings being based partly on an existing building or earlier survey material, provided sufficient…

An application notice may be amended before determination. The power arises under CPR rule 3.1(2)(m), which permits the court to take steps for case management…

The grant of an Arrow declaration is discretionary and depends on a pragmatic, multifactorial assessment. Relevant considerations include justice to the…

Exclusive jurisdiction under art 24(2) of the Recast Judgments Regulation extends to proceedings substantially concerned with the validity of an English…

Specific disclosure may be ordered where the documents are, or have been, within a party’s control and are relevant to pleaded issues, or there is at least a…

In a non-advisory commercial relationship, a bank does not ordinarily owe a wider duty to explain an interest-rate derivative merely because it has provided…

Where an energy supplier is unable to pay its debts within the meaning of its supply licence and the Insolvency Act 1986, the licensing authority may revoke…

A beneficiary may bring a personal claim against an executor de son tort for an account and inventory, without suing as personal representative or on behalf of…

A bankrupt who has been divested of an interest in property ordinarily has no standing to appeal a judgment concerning that property. A general allegation of…

A contractual transfer-fee clause may apply to a transfer of temporary workers between employment businesses under TUPE, provided its wording covers that…

A claimant alleging contractual representations or misrepresentations must prove both the representation and material reliance upon it. A rough estimate does…

Anonymity for adult offenders who committed grave crimes as children is an exceptional remedy. It requires absolute necessity, convincing evidence of serious…

A champertous funding arrangement, even if established, does not provide a defence to the underlying claim. For limitation purposes, the claimant must have the…

In construing a conveyance and an attached plan, the court must consider the conveyance, the objective circumstances known at the date of the transaction, the…

A witness’s duty of confidentiality is not waived merely because confidential matters are pleaded or will be relevant at trial. Litigation may require…

A will is valid for testamentary-capacity purposes where the testator can understand the nature and effect of making a will, the extent of the estate, and the…

For the purposes of directors’ duties and insolvency remedies, the factual position governs whether a person is a director, regardless of the company’s formal…

Expert opinion evidence is inadmissible where it addresses the legal meaning of contractual or statutory language which the court must construe. The question…

For the purposes of overriding interests, actual occupation requires physical presence with sufficient permanence and continuity. Its assessment depends on the…

An administrator may deal with trust property held by a company where that is necessary or expedient for managing the company’s affairs, but the property is…

Legal advice privilege protects confidential communications between a client and a lawyer made for the purpose of giving or obtaining legal advice. In a…

A customary marriage celebrated abroad is void under English law where, at the time of the ceremony, either party is domiciled in England and Wales and remains…

A trade mark threats letter must be construed by asking what a reasonable recipient, possessing the relevant surrounding circumstances, would understand it to…

When deciding whether to convene a creditors’ meeting for a scheme of arrangement, creditors with different contractual terms may form one class where the…

On a reference under the Patents Act 1977, the question is whether the dispute would be more properly determined by the High Court, not merely whether the…

Late evidence in registry proceedings should be assessed by balancing its materiality, the burden and prejudice to the opposing party, and the fairness of…

An assignment of copyright expressed to vest the entire copyright in the assignee for its full term may implicitly preclude the assignor from exercising a…

A person’s capacity to enter an individual voluntary arrangement is decision-specific and time-specific. The question is whether the person could understand…

A religious trust may be charitable even where its beliefs appear eccentric, delusional or unorthodox. The court must avoid value judgments between religions…

Relief from forfeiture may exceptionally be available for a contractual licence where the rights have substantial possessory characteristics. The jurisdiction…

A loss-relief claim made outside a tax return may be a claim under Schedule 1A to the Taxes Management Act 1970. Notice of an intention to enquire requires no…

Unfair prejudice is assessed objectively by reference to the effect of conduct on the petitioner as a member. The petitioner must establish both unfairness and…

A trustee must respect the separate legal personality of companies in which a trust holds shares. Corporate assets cannot be treated as trust assets merely…

Withdrawal of an interlocutory application does not give the applicant an unrestricted right to bring the same application again. A renewed application may…

A claim may be summarily dismissed where allegations of fraud are inadequately particularised and the available evidence gives them no real prospect of…

When varying a trust, the court may approve a change to the appointment of trustees where the arrangement, viewed as a whole, benefits minor and unborn…

A trustee in bankruptcy cannot pursue an application under sections 23 or 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 after the bankrupt spouse has died. Those…

An indemnity clause must be construed by identifying the natural meaning of its words in their documentary, factual and commercial context. An indemnity…

A Norwich Pharmacal order may be granted where there is a sufficiently arguable case of wrongdoing, the information is needed to identify or sue the ultimate…

The SE Regulation does not require companies forming a European company by merger to be actively trading. A dormant or shell company may participate where it…

Company articles are determined by the resolutions properly passed by the members, not by an inaccurate copy filed at Companies House. Registration records the…

Where an appeal costs dispute is modest, the court may summarily assess costs to achieve a proportionate and expeditious resolution. A party ordered to pay…

For summary judgment purposes, a claim may be determined where it turns on a short point of law and the court has the necessary evidence and adequate…

Keyword bidding is use of the searched trade mark, distinct from the consequences of the resulting advertisement. Infringement depends on whether the…

On an application based on limitation, strike out may be appropriate before disclosure or a defence where the relevant facts are sufficiently clear and the…

Parties permitted to rely on expert evidence must co-operate in defining its scope and methodology before reports are exchanged. This is particularly important…

For a company’s deed, execution requires both due execution under Companies Act 2006, section 44, and delivery as a deed under section 46. Delivery does not…

A managing director’s ordinary authority to manage a company does not ordinarily include authority to dispose of its business or fundamentally change its…

A debtor who fails effectively to transfer assets in satisfaction of a contractual or deed-based contribution remains liable to pay the underlying debt.…

Loss of a guaranteed annuity right following the replacement of an insurance-backed pension arrangement must be attributed to the person or persons who…

On a public-interest winding-up petition, the court must decide for itself, on the totality of the evidence, whether winding up is just and equitable. It must…

Under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the court applies the ordinary civil standard of proof. Serious allegations do not create a…

In an application concerning unpaid interim costs, the court may stay enforcement where circumstances have materially changed since the order was made. A…

A committal application for breach of disclosure and freezing orders may be heard in the respondent’s absence where the respondent had proper notice…

A party claiming privilege must identify the documents or clearly defined classes of documents withheld and explain the legal basis for the claim. A general…

Where material irregularity in the approval of an individual voluntary arrangement is established, the court ordinarily exercises its powers to grant relief.…

A claim for wrongful dismissal is not automatically excluded from an unfair-prejudice petition. In a quasi-partnership, the petitioner’s employment…

A consent order concerning reserved costs must be construed in its surrounding circumstances. Where the parties compromise the costs consequences of an…

When administrators seek the court’s approval of a particularly momentous compromise within their powers, the court examines whether they genuinely consider it…

To join a proposed defendant, the court must be satisfied that the pleaded case is sufficiently arguable, applying a test akin to summary judgment. Where…

A transaction does not become a genuine cross-border merger merely because a dormant EEA company is included to bring an otherwise domestic reorganisation…

An unpaid vendor’s lien is an equitable charge created by operation of law. It secures the unpaid purchase price and has priority over the purchaser’s legal…

For the purpose of deciding whether creditors have requisitioned a removal meeting with the required support, a liquidator must apply a low threshold. Claims…

Financial inability to provide security for costs will not ordinarily constitute a good reason for failing to comply with an unless order requiring that…

The Companies Court should restrain presentation of a winding-up petition where the alleged debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. It should also…

Where parties have used reciprocal false or inflated invoices to shift value between related companies, the court must distinguish authorised cross-invoicing…

Marshalling may apply to an agricultural charge created under the Agricultural Credits Act 1928. The equity operates between creditors and does not depend on…

A person authorises copyright infringement where, having authority to do so, they grant or purport to grant permission for the infringing act. Mere enablement…

Joinder in company restoration proceedings is an exceptional and limited remedy. A third party may be joined where the restoration order would or might…

On an application for security for costs under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the court must first ask whether there is reason to believe that the claimant will…

Testamentary capacity is assessed by asking whether the testator understood the nature and effect of the will, the extent of the property, and the claims upon…

A sentence for contempt of court serves both punitive and coercive purposes. The court may impose imprisonment, suspend all or part of a custodial sentence, or…

A contractual term permitting a timeshare exchange operator to use deposited rights for commercial purposes is not unfair merely because the operator may rent…

Where trustees seek the court’s blessing for a momentous decision within their powers, the court does not substitute its own judgment for that of the trustees.…

Rectification of a pension-scheme deed requires convincing objective evidence that the employer and trustees shared a continuing intention, held when the deed…

An occupancy arrangement at a fairground is a tenancy only where it grants exclusive possession for a sufficiently certain term and is intended to create that…

Relief from sanctions should be refused where a serious and unjustified delay in seeking to introduce important evidence would inevitably require a fixed trial…

Undue influence is concerned with improper influence, not with rescuing a party from an improvident bargain. Actual undue influence requires influence obtained…

The court may order specific disclosure by reference to the issues raised on the pleadings, before those issues have been determined. Documents may remain…

A court considering an application to reopen summary orders made in a party’s absence should consider factors comparable to those under CPR 39.3, including the…

For limitation purposes, a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman concerning legal rights must, so far as possible, be treated by analogy with court proceedings.…

A court may stay proceedings against an individual pending arbitration involving a company where the disputes overlap, but the discretion must be exercised…

Fraud requires proof of a false representation made knowingly or recklessly, an intention that it be relied upon, actual reliance and loss. Serious allegations…

Delay alone does not amount to abuse of process. Abuse may arise where delay is combined with a further factor, such as an intention not to conclude…

An application to rescind a winding-up order requires standing, promptness and exceptional circumstances. A contributory or creditor may apply, but the…

Statutory interest payable from an insolvency surplus under Rule 2.88(7) of the Insolvency Rules 1986 is not “yearly interest” for the purposes of section 874…

A notice to quit must be given by the person in whom the legal reversion is vested. An equitable owner, or a purchaser entitled to registration during the…

A trust declared in contemplation of a conveyance may take effect simultaneously with the transfer of the legal estate. The transferee then acquires only the…

Information may retain confidentiality even where its ingredients or components are publicly known, or where reverse engineering is theoretically possible. The…

A solicitor conducting litigation for a supposed client ordinarily gives an implied warranty of authority. Liability for breach is strict, but the opposing…

A landlord may reasonably require information and investigation relevant to the landlord-and-tenant relationship before consenting to an assignment. This may…

Where a UK imputation system taxes dividends from foreign subsidiaries, EU law requires a credit by reference to the foreign nominal tax rate where the…

A partner’s or LLP member’s profit share is not inherently immune from the equitable forfeiture principle. Where profit share can be identified as a reward for…

Under the ISDA Master Agreement, the contractual Default Rate is confined to the price of actual or hypothetical borrowing of the relevant amount for the…

Permission to amend a defence should be refused only where the proposed amendment has no real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. Whether a claimant…

A professional valuer is not negligent merely because another valuation would have produced a different figure. The claimant must first show that the valuation…

An agent’s warranty of authority ordinarily concerns authority to act for the identified principal. It does not ordinarily extend to guaranteeing the…

Expert evidence is admissible only where it concerns recognised expertise capable of assisting the court and the witness has sufficient knowledge and…

Trustees may seek Beddoe relief to implement an existing possession order and realise trust property where the proposed course is supported by clear practical…

A solicitor who provides a certificate of title to a lender without being retained by that lender may owe a duty limited to exercising reasonable skill and…

When exercising the power under Insolvency Act 1986, s.236, the court must balance the administrator’s or liquidator’s reasonable requirements against the need…

Security for costs should reflect the reasonable and proportionate costs likely to be recoverable on a standard assessment, rather than the amount a defendant…

A litigant may receive assistance from a McKenzie Friend where assistance is reasonably required, having regard to the litigant’s abilities, the technical…

Contempt proceedings may proceed in the alleged contemnor’s absence where the court is satisfied that he was properly served, had sufficient notice, understood…

The court has a broad discretion whether to restore a claim adjourned or stayed indefinitely. Restoration is not available as of right. The applicant must…

A litigant in person may be subject to costs management where substantial recoverable costs are likely, even though the default rules exempt litigants in…

Bankruptcy is a collective remedy exercised for the benefit of the creditor class, not merely a debt-collection mechanism for the petitioning creditor. Where…

When an affected creditor seeks permission to continue proceedings stayed under a modified stay imposed pursuant to the Model Law, the creditor bears the…

Service of a claim against a dissolved partnership requires careful identification of the persons or address permitted by the Civil Procedure Rules. Where the…

Bribery by an agent entitles the principal to rescind the contract with the briber, but does not generally permit rescission of separate contracts made with…

In civil contempt proceedings, the applicant must satisfy the court to the criminal standard that the respondent intentionally committed an act amounting to…

A contract for the sale of business assets must ordinarily be construed from its language, read as a whole, in its factual and commercial context. Subjective…

For voting on an individual voluntary arrangement, a claim is liquidated only where it is a pre-ascertained liability under the agreement giving rise to it…

For a transaction at an undervalue under Insolvency Act 1986, the liquidators must first establish the payment and the absence, on the available evidence, of…

Costs in a claim for relief against forfeiture are not necessarily a condition of granting relief. The court may determine them separately under CPR 44.2. The…

A judge is not ordinarily required to recuse himself merely because he has made adverse findings in an earlier judgment or draft judgment in the same…

An undertaking not to dispose of or distribute estate assets prohibits transferring those assets to a third party to hold on trust, even where the beneficial…

Interest on a non-provable claim is determined by the creditor’s actual contractual or other rights, including rights accruing after administration when the…

In a scheme of arrangement, the court may summon a meeting of only some members or creditors with whom the scheme is proposed where the others voluntarily…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance of sufficient clarity, reasonable reliance and substantial detriment. These matters are not watertight compartments.…

A will prepared by, and substantially benefiting, a carer requires particularly convincing evidence that the testator knew and approved its contents. Capacity…

A compromise agreement must be construed objectively, by reference to its language, contractual context, commercial purpose and the background known to both…

Contractual restrictive covenants must be construed from the language chosen by the parties, read in its commercial context. Later developments may be relevant…

A will must be construed as a whole, giving its words their natural meaning in their documentary and factual context. Clear wording cannot be displaced by the…

For court-fee purposes, a claim for damages remains a claim to recover money even where damages are to be assessed through an inquiry. An account of profits is…

On an application for default judgment, the court must accept the pleaded facts as true and decide what remedy those facts establish as a matter of law. A…

In exceptional circumstances, the court may determine an issue in continued section 994 proceedings where that determination is necessary to give effective…

Vicarious liability may arise in an agency relationship where the wrongful conduct is sufficiently closely connected with the class of acts which the agent was…

A restraint order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 may extend to money paid into court where the statutory conditions are met. Delay does not itself bar an…

Article 101 TFEU has territorial limits. A cartel formed outside the EU may infringe Article 101 if implemented within the EU, applying the approach in…

The court may appoint concurrent administrators where the statutory jurisdictional requirements are satisfied and the appointment serves the creditors’…

Costs on an unsuccessful appeal against a bankruptcy order are not automatically expenses of the bankruptcy or provable debts. The court may order the…

Rectification of pension scheme documentation may be granted summarily where the court has carefully examined the evidence, the claim has no realistic prospect…

Where a corporate claimant’s authority to commence proceedings is challenged, the issue ordinarily concerns whether the court’s process was properly invoked…

A statutory duty to provide after-care under Mental Health Act 1983, section 117, does not automatically create a private claim in tort. That principle does…

Eligibility for special class status under regulation R2 of the National Health Service Pension Scheme Regulations 1995 depends on the objective meaning of…

For an interim proprietary injunction, the claimant need show only a serious question to be tried and that the balance of risk of injustice favours relief. A…

A beneficiary’s right to an accounting is distinct from an automatic right to every trust document or every category of information. The court’s supervisory…

On an application to extend time for filing a Defence, the court must apply the same, or analogous, principles as on an application for relief from sanctions.…

Without prejudice privilege is lost only in the clearest case of abuse of a privileged occasion. The court must make a qualitative evaluation of whether the…

A court supervising a compensation scheme need not scrutinise every settlement individually. It is sufficient to establish appropriate procedures, including…

A break clause requiring vacant possession must be complied with precisely. Vacant possession requires the property to be empty of people and chattels, and the…

Costs budgeting under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 is concerned with base costs where the prescribed Precedent H budget expressly excludes success fees and…

The Duomatic principle may validate corporate acts informally approved or acquiesced in by the persons entitled to exercise the company’s voting rights.…

Confidentiality alone does not justify a private hearing. The court must assess the nature and importance of the information, the likely damage from…

Harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 requires persistent conduct of a seriously oppressive nature targeted at an individual and causing…

An injunction enforced by committal must state clearly and unambiguously what the respondent must or must not do. That requirement applies even where the…

On a summary judgment application, a claimant must show a realistic prospect of success. The court must not conduct a mini-trial, but may decide a short point…

An administration application by a partnership must be made with the authority required by the partnership’s constitution and the applicable insolvency…

On an interlocutory application resolved by agreement, the fact that a respondent accedes to relief is only a useful starting point in assessing costs. It does…

Interest may be recovered as damages for a tortious wrong where the claimant pleads and proves an actual interest loss. The loss may include compound interest…

Under section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986, liability depends on loss caused by the continuation of trading after the relevant date. Establishing that…

Section 188 of the Law of Property Act 1925 gives the court a flexible, case-by-case jurisdiction to achieve practical justice between co-owners of chattels…

In representative proceedings, a judgment or order is binding on all represented persons and may be enforced against a non-party represented person with the…

On an application to strike out or obtain summary judgment, the court should determine a short legal or construction point where the evidence is sufficient…

Where costs are ordered subject to detailed assessment, the court should ordinarily order a reasonable payment on account unless there is good reason not to do…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, maintenance is not confined to income payments or to applicants lacking money. In…

Where a trustee in bankruptcy applies for sale of a bankrupt’s home after the statutory period, exceptional circumstances may displace the presumption…

Standard disclosure is not an automatic default under CPR 31.5(7). The court must select the order that best serves the overriding objective and limits…

Under section 1 of the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, the court may approve a trust variation for persons unable to consent, unborn persons and future members…

At an interlocutory stage, a defence based on proprietary estoppel should not be struck out merely because the alleged security interest failed to comply with…

A claim falls within the costs management regime where the relevant claim documents do not state a value exceeding the applicable threshold. The court must…

Permission to appeal requires either a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. The first limb is not a probability test, but it excludes…

Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006 tests a distribution against specified financial items in the relevant accounts. A solvency statement for a capital reduction…

The First-tier Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to approve a third-party notice under Schedule 36 to the Finance Act 2008, determine its scope and enforce…

An appeal from a trade mark opposition decision is ordinarily a review, not a rehearing. The appellant must show a distinct and material error of principle or…

Interveners in appeals concerning intellectual property decisions do not ordinarily recover their costs. The court should balance encouraging legitimate…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 31.14, a party ordinarily has an entitlement to inspect a document directly mentioned in a statement of case and materially…

A common-law offer is rejected when the offeree makes a counter-offer, even where the counter-offer is made under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 36. The…

An oral agreement to promote land may be legally binding, but agreement on commercial essentials does not necessarily create an immediately binding contract.…

Trustees may rely on properly obtained advice from independent investment advisers, but they must exercise their own judgment, formulate a suitable strategy…

A successful party is not automatically subject to an issue-based reduction in costs merely because some pleaded issues were abandoned, unresolved or…

When sanctioning a scheme of arrangement under Companies Act 2006 Part 26, the court must verify statutory compliance, proper constitution of the class, fair…

An appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman under Pension Schemes Act 1993 is confined to points of law. Findings of fact may be disturbed only where no material…

Under CPR rule 13.3, a default judgment may be set aside where the applicant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim or where there is some…

Statutory payments for the transfer of rights to flowing water may represent consideration for both the transfer and continuing maintenance obligations. Their…

A disposition avoided by Insolvency Act 1986, s. 284 may give rise to proprietary and personal remedies under the general law. Where shares are wrongfully…

A colour mark must identify a single sign with sufficient clarity, precision, uniformity and objectivity to define the scope of protection. The visual…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance that is sufficiently clear in its factual context, reasonable reliance on that assurance, and detriment resulting…

A limited partnership has no legal personality and cannot hold a legal estate in land. Where a partnership has more than four partners, the legal owners cannot…

A declaration may be granted although the relevant future events have not occurred, provided they are sufficiently likely to occur within a reasonable…

A regular attestation clause gives rise to a presumption of due execution, although the strength of that presumption varies with the circumstances. Suspicious…

Summary disposal is inappropriate where the outcome depends on inferences from a complex historical record, disclosure or cross-examination. A claim should…

A release given to one of several joint contractors ordinarily discharges the claim against the others. A reservation of rights will not be implied merely…

Permission to join a party and amend pleadings should be refused where the proposed claim would not survive strike-out or summary judgment. Where the proposed…

Recusal is required where the circumstances would lead a fair-minded and informed observer to conclude that there is a real possibility of judicial bias. The…

An informal agreement that parties will share a company equally can establish a beneficial ownership interest, even where the registered shareholding presents…

Under Variation of Trust Act 1958, s 1(1), a variation may be approved for a minor where it secures a clear financial advantage and is more beneficial than the…

A solicitor’s warranty of authority in litigation is narrow. It ordinarily warrants that the solicitor has a client who authorised the proceedings, not that…

For service under CPR 6.33, the relevant question is whether the objective conditions for service are satisfied. The state of mind of the solicitor completing…

Applications to extend time for serving a claim form under CPR 7.6(2) involve a broad discretion, but it must be exercised consistently with the overriding…

Copyright infringement requires more than similarity between software products, particularly where the similar features are unoriginal, functional, derived…

A contract must be construed objectively by reference to the meaning conveyed to a reasonable person with the relevant background knowledge available at the…

Where substantive issues have fallen away or been settled but costs remain unresolved, the court has discretion to determine costs without directing a trial.…

The High Court has an equitable jurisdiction to grant relief from forfeiture following peaceable re-entry for non-payment of rent, without a fixed statutory…

An administration application requires proof, on the balance of probabilities, that the company is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts and that…

Late amendments should be allowed where they are materially prompted by an opponent’s late disclosure of documents that ought to have been disclosed earlier…

On an application under Companies Act 2006, Part 26, the court may convene a creditors’ meeting where the proposed scheme and the surrounding circumstances…

A fresh claim is an abuse where it seeks to determine an issue that arises in existing proceedings and could be dealt with there, particularly where the fresh…

A statement of case may be struck out where its prolixity, lack of coherence or insufficient particularity makes it impossible in practice to plead to and…

Where an application to sell a home depends on the outcome of pending appeals concerning beneficial ownership, the court may defer the sale until those appeals…

Testamentary capacity requires the testator to understand the nature and effect of making a will, the extent of the property disposed of, and the claims of…

Cash-flow insolvency is assessed flexibly and by reference to the reasonably near future. An endemic shortage of working capital may establish insolvency even…

Summary judgment is appropriate for a short point of law or construction only where the court has the evidence necessary for proper determination and there is…

Rectification of an executed pension scheme deed may be determined summarily where cogent documentary evidence establishes that the employer and trustee shared…

For summary judgment and service-out purposes, a claimant must show a realistic, sufficiently arguable case. The court may decide a legal or construction issue…

There is an established overlap between CPR 3.4 and Part 24. Although CPR 3.4 ordinarily concerns the statement of case, it may be used where the pleaded claim…

Company articles may be amended informally by unanimous assent under the Re Duomatic Ltd principle. Where assent is inferred from conduct, the conduct must…

Where an interim injunction would restrain journalistic material engaging freedom of expression, Human Rights Act 1998, section 12 and Cream Holdings v…

At an interlocutory stage, a fact-sensitive proprietary and knowing-receipt claim should proceed where it is arguable and cannot be shown to be bound to fail.…

In large-scale electronic disclosure, predictive coding may be ordered where it offers a reasonable and proportionate means of identifying documents for…

A company whose shares are listed on an exchange, or traded through a system requiring fully paid securities, represents to potential acquirers that its shares…

A settlement offer involving the release of registered charges may constitute a contract for the disposition of an interest in land. It is therefore subject to…

A foreign foundation’s separate legal personality and beneficial ownership are determined by the law under which it was established. The law governing…

An English exclusive jurisdiction clause in a solicitor’s retainer ordinarily requires the English court to restrain proceedings brought elsewhere in breach of…

In assessing patent validity, plausibility is a threshold requirement. The disclosure must provide a credible reason for supposing that the invention works…

Payments into employee benefit trusts representing employment earnings attract income tax and national insurance contributions when the earnings are paid into…

A landlord’s express right to build must be exercised reasonably where it coexists with the tenant’s covenant for quiet enjoyment and the implied covenant not…

A lease will not ordinarily be construed as prohibiting a landlord’s alteration of adjoining premises merely because a plan identifies an existing building by…

An express declaration of trust in a transfer is ordinarily conclusive of the beneficial ownership stated, unless rectified, rescinded or varied by subsequent…

A trustee in bankruptcy does not acquire a bankrupt’s legal professional privilege merely because privileged documents enter the estate. The Crescent Farm…

A claimant who settles a privacy or breach of confidence claim by accepting payment into court may generally expect permission to make a statement in open…

Certification as a European Enforcement Order is available only within the confined scheme of Regulation (EC) No 805/2004. A claim may be uncontested because…

A notification injunction may be granted under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37, where the claimant establishes a substantive right threatened by disposal or…

Under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court has an absolute discretion whether to sanction an insurance business transfer scheme.…

Recognition of foreign main proceedings under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 is mandatory where the statutory conditions are met. A company’s…

In interpreting complex securitisation documents, the court must read the relevant language in its documentary, factual and commercial context, considering the…

Applications to amend pleadings should be determined by balancing the applicant’s prejudice against prejudice to the opposing party and other court users, with…

Where a contract identifies a party as being “of” a particular address and incorporates statutory service provisions, the address may be contractually…

On strike out, the court must be satisfied that a claim is bound to fail. Where construction or implication of contractual terms depends on a disputed factual…

A non-party costs order is exceptional only in the sense that it falls outside the ordinary run of litigation. The governing question is whether, in all the…

Where joint settlors seek to set aside a settlement for mistake, the equitable rules governing a unilateral transaction apply where the other beneficiaries…

Equitable rescission for mistake may be granted in respect of a severable part of a voluntary transaction. Where the original property has been transferred to…

A company director may be committed for contempt where the company breaches an injunction and the director, knowing of the order, wilfully fails to take…

On an application under Charities Act 2011, section 78(5)(b), the court’s role in reviewing a momentous decision by interim charity managers is limited. It…

Security for costs is discretionary. Where a claimant company, despite reasonable requests, deliberately withholds information about its ability to meet an…

A domestic court must follow binding English authority on the compatibility with Article 10 of a statutory scheme allowing recovery of CFA success fees and ATE…

Where a bankruptcy petition is founded on domestic council tax liability orders, a substantive challenge to liability belongs before the Valuation Tribunal.…

A registered trade mark description which embraces an unknown number of signs is not thereby converted into a series of trade marks. The statutory provisions…

An injunction restraining presentation of a winding-up petition is not justified where the alleged debt is not disputed on substantial grounds. Under a…

A freezing order requires a good arguable case, a real risk that the defendant will dissipate assets otherwise than in the ordinary course of business so as to…

A conveyancer who holds purchase money on trust must not release it before genuine completion. The standard under section 61 of the Trustee Act 1925 is the…

Specific performance may be granted where the claimant arguably breached related contractual obligations, provided those breaches do not make enforcement…

A Pallant v Morgan equity may arise from a pre-acquisition arrangement or understanding even where negotiations are expressly or impliedly subject to contract.…

Trade mark consent requires actual consent, demonstrated unequivocally by the proprietor’s renunciation of its exclusive rights. A merely implied contractual…

Costs should generally follow the event, but the court retains a broad discretion to make an order reflecting the parties’ relative success and all the…

Whether mistake permits rescission depends on consideration, not merely on whether the transaction arose from an agreement or was executed under seal. Where a…

Property used by a partnership does not become partnership property merely because it appears in partnership accounts, or because partnership funds are used…

In construing tradeable financial instruments, the contractual language has paramount importance. Commercial consequences may be evaluated, but hindsight and…

Articles of association are construed as contractual documents, read in their statutory and commercial context. Where articles provide that all members shall…

For service of a claim form under rule 6.7(1)(b) of the Civil Procedure Rules, the defendant’s solicitor must have notified the claimant in writing that the…

The pensions exemption in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Collective Investment Schemes) Order 2001 may cover pooling and investment undertaken as…

Where proceedings concern a matter within an arbitration agreement, the court must stay them under Arbitration Act 1996, section 9, unless the agreement is…

An interim injunction requires more than an arguable underlying claim. The court must assess whether granting or withholding relief is more likely to produce a…

An unless order may enforce payment of interlocutory costs where non-payment is serious and substantial. The court should consider the explanation for default…

A specialist tax solicitor is not negligent merely because a statutory construction later proves incorrect, provided the construction was tenable and could…

For costs purposes, an appeal is ordinarily treated as separate proceedings from the trial or substantive claim. Where an appellate costs order covers discrete…

A charge is a sham only where the parties share an intention to create rights different from those appearing on the document and to give third parties a false…

An account of profits is compensatory rather than penal. The proprietor receives profits properly attributable to the infringement, and must accept the…

Where costs budgets have been filed and exchanged, the court will generally make a costs management order unless satisfied that the litigation can be conducted…

Under a subordinated loan agreement, a repayment condition requiring the borrower to be solvent at the time of, and immediately after, payment is assessed by…

A beneficiary’s entitlement to information from trustees is governed by the court’s supervisory jurisdiction and the terms of the trust. Where a beneficiary…

On an appeal from a specialist trade mark tribunal, the court should review for a distinct and material error of principle and show real, but not excessive…

Copyright in broadcasts and films protects the broadcaster’s or producer’s investment. Whether a part is substantial is assessed quantitatively and…

Private nuisance is assessed objectively by balancing the claimant’s reasonable enjoyment of land against the defendant’s reasonable use of its land. The…

A contract for the sale of land is not unenforceable merely because its structure or related agreements are alleged to have been designed to avoid stamp duty.…

An inferred partnership requires an agreement, express or implied, that the parties will carry on business in common with a view to profit. An agreement to…

Under the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995, a tenant’s guarantor cannot become the assignee of the tenancy on an assignment by that tenant where the…

Permission to make a very late amendment is discretionary and governed by the overriding objective. The applicant must show a real prospect of success, provide…

Section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 may apply where contractual or articles-based rights are used to remove a shareholder from management and trigger a…

An application to withdraw an intervention is concerned with whether the intervention should continue, not with reopening the original decision or finally…

Surrender of a lease by operation of law requires unequivocal conduct by both parties, objectively assessed, which is inconsistent with continuation of the…

Abuse of process in a subsequent patent infringement claim requires a broad, merits-based assessment of whether the defendant has been unfairly oppressed or…

A local authority collecting water charges is not necessarily acting as the water undertaker’s agent. The court must construe the agreement in its documentary…

A written notice exercising a contractual power of appointment may also impliedly exercise a power to remove existing office-holders where the document, read…

A misrepresentation must be assessed according to the meaning reasonably conveyed to the representee. An honestly held mistake does not become fraud merely…

A writ of possession which has been executed may be set aside only in exceptional circumstances, including where the underlying possession order is set aside…

Where a claimant succeeds in a modest-value claim, the disparity between the claim’s value and the costs incurred does not, by itself, justify departing from…

A director who is conflicted because he is acting for both a company and a connected beneficiary must properly consider the company’s interests and obtain…

A fiduciary who receives money derived from a breach of fiduciary duty holds it on constructive trust and must account for benefits obtained from it. In…

The constitution of an unincorporated association governs the allocation of decision-making powers. Where it gives an executive committee power to manage…

A pension scheme amendment power requiring a deed is not exercised merely by announcing a proposed alteration. An announcement may identify the date from which…

Standard disclosure may be ordered where issues central to a claim fall outside an earlier regulatory investigation or related proceedings. Disclosure from a…

Where a solicitor has previously accepted that fees for work in an insolvency matter will be paid only from recoveries, that understanding may form part of the…

A liquidator’s decision to commence proceedings is ordinarily a commercial decision for the liquidator. The liquidator must act in the best interests of the…

Trustees exercising fiduciary powers may partially release or restrict those powers to facilitate a variation of trust under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958…

A provisional redress assessment under an agreed regulatory scheme does not create a presently enforceable debt or asset where no offer has been made or…

The court has an inherent jurisdiction to determine who should have the power and duty to arrange for the disposal of a deceased person's body. It may select…

In managing interlocutory applications, the court may extend time for compliance where a short extension is proportionate, while taking account of delay and…

The suitability of a claim for transfer to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court depends on the prescribed factors considered together. The parties’…

The court has jurisdiction to grant a website-blocking injunction against an internet service provider which is not itself infringing a trade mark. The…

Permission to amend proceedings challenging an individual voluntary arrangement under Insolvency Act 1986 is construed in the context of the application, the…

An application to extend time for challenging a liquidator’s decision on a proof of debt is governed by a fact-sensitive assessment of the seriousness and…

For the purposes of the definition of “transfer credits” in the Pension Schemes Act 1993, “earner” bears its general statutory meaning. It does not require the…

Suspension of automatic discharge from bankruptcy requires proof that the bankrupt failed to comply with statutory obligations. Compliance is judged by whether…

A person who receives private information for one purpose must not use it for another without authority. Sending confidential material to a newspaper to test…

Where a claimant alleges that assets held through a foreign wealth-planning structure formed part of a deceased person’s English estate, the court determines…

The court has power to transfer an existing case into or out of the Shorter Trials Scheme. That power arises both from the overriding objective and the general…

Predictive coding may be used for electronic disclosure where it is suitable for the particular case and consistent with the overriding objective. The court…

Where an unless order debars a respondent from defending, the sanction takes effect automatically upon material non-compliance. That does not necessarily…

Applications to amend pleadings are discretionary and must be assessed under the overriding objective. A very late amendment requires a strong explanation, a…

A defendant does not submit to jurisdiction merely by filing an acknowledgment of service stating an intention to challenge jurisdiction, or by taking…

Requests for further information under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 18 must be concise and confined to information reasonably necessary and proportionate…

Sentencing for contempt serves punitive and coercive purposes. The court must assess prejudice, culpability, intention, mitigation, cooperation and the…

Preferential promotion by a dominant undertaking of its own product in a related, non-dominated market may constitute an abuse if it has a reasonably likely…

A worldwide freezing order may be continued against trustees under the Chabra jurisdiction where there is a real risk that the principal defendant can exercise…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court must be satisfied by sufficiently reliable evidence that the proposed process can properly proceed. Complex or novel…

In a deceit claim, the representor must have made a false representation knowingly, without belief in its truth, or recklessly. Mere negligence is…

Wrongful trading is concerned with whether there was no reasonable prospect of avoiding insolvent liquidation, not merely whether the company was insolvent or…

On a summary judgment application, the court must decide whether the claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success without conducting a…

The court may appoint trustees under its inherent jurisdiction even where no formal administration claim is made. Alternatively, section 41 of the Trustee Act…

In contempt proceedings, liability must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. For alleged false evidence, the applicant must prove that the statement was untrue…

Late applications to amend pleadings or obtain relief from sanctions require a rigorous assessment under the overriding objective. The applicant must explain…

A solicitor acting for a company may also assume a limited responsibility to shareholders or other parties involved in the transaction. The existence of a…

On an application for default judgment, the court must assume pleaded facts are true but must independently decide what legal relief those facts support. A…

Costs remain discretionary, even where one party succeeds overall. The court may reflect success on distinct issues by ordering payment of a proportion of the…

For limitation purposes, deliberate concealment of a breach of duty requires deliberate wrongdoing: an intentional act or omission which the defendant knew to…

Challenges to a future tax charge should ordinarily be brought through the statutory appeal machinery created by Parliament. Where a charge under Part 8C of…

Where a bankruptcy order is made without jurisdiction because the debtor’s centre of main interests was outside England and Wales, the court must annul the…

An appellate court should not permit a respondent to advance an alternative ground for upholding the decision below without the required respondent’s notice…

An application for pre-action disclosure under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 31.16, requires satisfaction of the rule’s jurisdictional conditions and then a…

A claim may satisfy the definition of a Financial List claim without being transferred automatically. On a contested transfer application, the court must apply…

A solicitor’s conveyancing retainer includes advising on title matters that may foreseeably restrict the use or enjoyment of retained land and calculating…

In a property sale, inaccurate replies to pre-contract enquiries may amount to actionable misrepresentations where they give a false impression about…

The FID regime was a separate and self-contained legislative code. Where FIDs had been matched with foreign profits which had borne underlying tax above the UK…

Committal for breach of an order requires proof beyond reasonable doubt of each essential element of the alleged contempt. The applicant must identify each…

Personal service of a bankruptcy petition requires delivery to the debtor or, where he refuses it, notice of its contents and leaving it with or near him. The…

A product shape may be unusual without having inherent distinctive character. Unusualness is necessary but not sufficient; the relevant public must perceive…

Recognition of a sign and association with an applicant’s goods are insufficient to establish acquired distinctive character. The applicant must show that a…

Whether a hearing is a trial for CPR 39.3 depends on its context, purpose and the procedural steps leading to it, rather than the formal label or originating…

When approving an insurance business transfer scheme, the court must assess whether implementation creates a real, rather than fanciful, risk to policyholders’…

Amendments to pleadings should generally be allowed where they raise issues that overlap with the existing case and can conveniently be determined at trial…

An enclosure award may confer rights of way on adjoining owners while imposing repair obligations on only some users. Unless displaced by cogent evidence, the…

Where a claimant seeks an extension of time for service which would effectively extend a limitation period, it must provide a good and sufficiently detailed…

Recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding under the Model Law and the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 is ordinarily mandatory when the statutory…

A funding agreement must be construed in its contractual and commercial context. An advance by a secondary obligor may indicate an expectation of recourse, but…

A freezing order prevents dissipation of assets but does not create security for the claimant’s debt. In bankruptcy proceedings, an adjournment to permit…

In exercising case-management powers, the court must further the overriding objective by dealing with proceedings justly and at proportionate cost. That…

A beneficiary of an unadministered estate has no proprietary interest in any particular estate asset and cannot ordinarily sue personally for wrongs allegedly…

Section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986 makes post-petition dispositions void unless validated by the court. The validation discretion is at large, but must…