High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2018

On an application for an interim injunction enforcing post-termination restraints, the court must assess the practical effect of the order and calibrate…

On an appeal from a trade mark revocation decision, a specification must ordinarily be construed according to the natural and ordinary meaning of its words…

The clean-hands doctrine requires a sufficiently close and immediate relationship between the alleged misconduct and the equitable relief sought. Whether that…

A Norwich Pharmacal order is available where there is a good arguable case of wrongdoing, a need for information to enable lawful redress, and a respondent…

For limitation purposes, a claim form stops time only for a cause of action whose nature is stated in the form. A concise statement need not name the cause of…

An application under Insolvency Act 1986, section 303, requires a bankrupt to show that the trustee’s act, omission or decision was made in bad faith…

On an appeal from a trade mark opposition, the appellate court should rarely disturb primary factual findings or multifactorial evaluations. Intervention…

A contempt finding requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the order was breached. Contempt is generally a strict liability offence: the contemnor need…

Section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 confers an unfettered discretion. The court must consider all the circumstances and balance the prejudice to the claimant…

A limited civil restraint order may be made only where the party has made at least two applications which are totally without merit in the proceedings in which…

An oral lease for a term exceeding three years is void as a legal estate and cannot support a claim to a ten-year lease. However, a periodic tenancy may be…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s findings of fact, including evaluative findings, unless there is an identifiable error or the…

A trustee in bankruptcy cannot apply for a vesting order merely because he seeks to have disclaimed property vested in him. The applicant must already claim a…

A freezing injunction requires solid evidence of a real risk that the defendant will dissipate assets or deal with them so as to make enforcement more…

When sanctioning an insurance business transfer scheme under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court exercises a real discretion and must decide…

Applications to join related claims for a single trial should be determined by balancing the convenience and saving of court resources against the costs, delay…

Although the successful party will ordinarily recover its costs, the court may make a different order where discrete issues were unsuccessfully pursued and…

A second claim may constitute an abuse of process even where the earlier proceedings ended by compromise without a determination on the merits. The court must…

A claim is not an abuse of process merely because the claimant prefers to sue multiple defendants in one jurisdiction, or because a jurisdiction challenge…

On an application under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, the court may substitute a personal representative where continued office would…

For the purposes of collective enfranchisement, premises may be a “flat” even though they are not yet fit for habitation. The question is whether an…

Pre-action disclosure is an unusual remedy. The court must first decide whether there is a real prospect that disclosure would fairly dispose of anticipated…

In a serious committal application, the respondent should have a proper opportunity to obtain legal representation and legal aid. Where a late application for…

When a court considers a challenge to a warrant and relevant material is protected by public interest immunity (PII), the material may be deployed through a…

A contractual restriction on bankruptcy enforcement must be construed according to the natural and ordinary meaning of the words used, read in their…

An oral statement creates a trust only where it provides clear evidence of an intention to create one. Words indicating that property is intended ultimately to…

A party serving a notice to complete must be ready, willing and able to complete, but need not have every administrative document prepared. The party must have…

At the second stage of a cross-border merger, the court may treat an earlier regulation 6 order as satisfying the jurisdictional requirement in regulation…

For GMP conversion under sections 24A to 24H of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, the actuarial equivalent may be calculated by comparing the actuarial equivalents…

Whether a payment towards a property purchase is a loan or satisfaction of an existing debt depends on the parties’ agreement, assessed from the…

A claimant seeking urgent without-notice relief must make full and fair disclosure of facts material to the application, including facts undermining the…

Where expert material is intended to provide contextual narrative rather than opinion evidence, cross-examination should not be ordered merely to explore the…

In patent case-management proceedings, the court may require a claimant to narrow the claims said to be independently valid before providing a product and…

An application for an injunction under section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 may be made by a copyright owner or an exclusive licensee. An…

A loan agreement must be construed as a whole. A repayment figure expressed in sterling may require payment of the corresponding amount in euros at the…

Permission to make collateral use of documents disclosed in English proceedings requires special circumstances constituting cogent reasons. The court must…

The exemption for tools and equipment under section 283(2)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986 is fact-sensitive. The bankrupt bears the burden of proving that each…

Permission under rule 18.35 of the Insolvency Rules (England and Wales) 2016 involves two distinct questions. First, the bankrupt must show that, leaving the…

A party cannot avoid compliance with an order by asserting a practical or legal difficulty which the evidence does not establish. A minor party may be bound by…

A registrar’s power to extend a time limit under rule 77 of the Trade Marks Rules 2008 ends when final proceedings have been determined, subject only to the…

A mandatory order which requires an act but fixes no time for compliance cannot ordinarily support a committal application for breach. The court should first…

In a claim to set aside a gift for presumed undue influence, a parent-child relationship does not automatically establish the necessary relationship of trust…

Permission to appeal should be granted where there is a realistic possibility of success, rather than a fanciful prospect. The permission stage is not a…

A rent deposit deed may secure liabilities extending beyond the tenant’s obligations under the lease where its wording and commercial context show that…

Under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, persistent unfair discrimination between creditors may establish unfitness even without…

Orders requiring delivery up, imaging or inspection of electronic material may be treated as search-order relief where their practical effect is similarly…

A court may reconsider an oral decision before the resulting order has been sealed where, having regard to the overriding objective and all the circumstances…

For an interim mandatory injunction, the court applies the American Cyanamid principles and may also require a high degree of assurance that the claimant will…

At an early stage of a proposed Part VII transfer, the court may give limited procedural assistance without expressing a provisional view on whether the scheme…

A trustee holding contractual rights on trust has standing to enforce them for the full beneficial interest. An irrevocable contractual service-of-process…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires three cumulative conditions: a serious issue to be tried on the merits, a good arguable case…

On an application under CPR 3.4(2)(a), a statement of case should be struck out only where the claim or defence, or the relevant part, is bound to fail. The…

A document is not a will merely because it appoints someone to arrange a funeral. It must contain a revocable testamentary disposition of property and be made…

Where a company’s bank account is unfrozen after presentation of a winding-up petition, its directors must preserve the company’s money for rateable…

Unfair prejudice under Companies Act 2006 is assessed against the company’s articles, agreements and the equitable understandings arising from the parties’…

An assignee of a contractual right generally takes it subject to equities affecting the assignor. An exception may arise where the assignee enquires of the…

Market practice cannot determine the objective standard of honesty. The court applies the standards of ordinary honest and reasonable people. Evidence of…

A tenancy agreement must be construed objectively, as a whole and in context. Poor drafting may justify greater caution before giving the words their ordinary…

A claim based on unconscionable receipt is founded on the defendant’s actual receipt of property. Where PAYE and national insurance are paid directly to HMRC…

When a bankruptcy order was properly made but is later rescinded because the underlying liability is removed, costs are considered under separate regimes. The…

A testamentary gift may be treated as vested or contingent only after construing the will as a whole. Where a prior estate is to determine on one of several…

A partnership may be dissolved even where the parties have not agreed every consequential accounting matter. Assets not shown to have been allocated on…

The court has a broad discretion to determine costs, subject to the Civil Procedure Rules. The unsuccessful party normally pays the successful party’s costs…

The court may sanction a scheme of arrangement where the statutory requirements are satisfied, the classes were properly constituted and represented, the…

Permission under CPR 31.22 to use documents disclosed in civil proceedings for another purpose is governed by the interests of justice. The applicant must show…

In construing a transfer, the court must read the document as a whole and seek, where possible, to avoid inconsistency between its provisions and the…

The dissolution of a company does not, while restoration remains legally possible, terminate legal professional privilege in documents formerly belonging to…

On an application to sanction a scheme of arrangement, the court must consider: whether the statutory requirements have been met; whether the class was fairly…

A vesting order under Companies Act 2006, section 1017(2)(a), requires the applicant to be entitled to the disclaimed property, not merely to claim an interest…

Retrospective service by alternative means does not ordinarily deprive a defendant of a right to defend where the defendant filed a defence before the service…

Land held for allotment purposes ceases to have that designated status when the Secretary of State consents under Allotments Act 1925 to its release for other…

The appointment of a special advocate in a non-statutory case is exceptional, never automatic, and a remedy of last resort. It is justified only where it is…

Under CPR 19.7(7), the court has a broad discretion to direct that a representative judgment or order is not binding on represented persons. The discretion…

A rent suspension clause requiring destruction or damage during the tenancy may be engaged where that initial damage creates a real risk of further damage…

A statutory tribunal has only the jurisdiction conferred by its enabling legislation. The Copyright Tribunal’s jurisdiction under sections 124 and 126 of the…

Non-party disclosure under CPR 31.17 requires both a real likelihood that the documents will support the applicant’s case or adversely affect another party’s…

On an application to continue or re-grant ex parte freezing and receiver orders, the applicant must provide full and frank disclosure of material facts and…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court determines creditor classes and any clear jurisdictional obstacle. It does not decide the scheme’s…

A court cannot compel a claimant to give an undertaking as a condition of a final damages award where the claimant is legally entitled to damages. If the…

An entire agreement clause does not exclude liability for misrepresentation merely because the contract contains detailed provisions governing particular…

Under Articles 29 and 30 of the Recast Brussels Regulation, proceedings concerning the same design and infringement issue may be related even where the parties…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court must identify the appropriate comparator and compare creditors’ rights in the scheme and no-scheme…

To set aside a statutory demand, the debtor must show a genuine triable issue. An arguable assertion is insufficient where the contemporaneous evidence and…

Where a defendant knowingly declines to attend trial, the court may strike out its defence and counterclaim under CPR r.39.3(1)(c). The discretion should be…

Sections 423 to 425 of the Insolvency Act 1986 may provide relief for a victim of an undervalue transaction even where related claims have already been…

Where a claimant positively pleads the terms of a tenancy, the burden lies on the claimant to prove those terms. A defendant alleging that the tenancy was…

An assignment of a cause of action does not automatically remove the assignor as a party to existing proceedings or discharge liabilities arising from…

Section 112(1)(d) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 gives the court a broad ancillary jurisdiction when sanctioning a Part VII scheme. An order…

Undue influence may be established through actual influence or an evidential presumption. The routes differ evidentially, but the legal concept is the same.…

Benefits under contracted-out occupational pension schemes are pay for the purposes of Article 157 TFEU, even where guaranteed minimum pensions arise from…

Indemnity costs require conduct that is unreasonable to a high degree and takes the case out of the norm. A weak claim alone is insufficient, but a hopeless…

Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 permits an insurance business transfer scheme to use more than one transferee and different legally…

Costs ordinarily follow the event, but the court may depart from that rule where conduct, failed issues or exaggerated claims justify it. Issue-based orders…

Applications to amend unfair-prejudice petitions must identify a properly particularised case with a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. A…

Legal advice privilege for a corporate client depends on whether the relevant individual was authorised to seek or receive legal advice on the client’s behalf.…

The court’s power to restrain an administrator from enforcing legal rights is exceptional. The rule in Ex parte James is directed principally to preventing an…

On an appeal concerning the position of a property boundary, an appellate court should exercise caution before differing from a trial judge’s finding of…

On an appeal concerning costs, the appellate court should interfere only where the decision was wrong, unjust because of serious procedural or other…

For an amendment to add a new cause of action after limitation has expired, the claimant must show that it arises from the same or substantially the same facts…

Setting aside a legal mortgage for undue influence does not necessarily defeat an equitable charge over the beneficial interest of another joint owner. Notice…

Copyright infringement by making a work available online continues only while the work is made available to the public. Sending a link to a limited…

Permission to amend a statement of case is discretionary. The court must consider the overriding objective, the nature and clarity of the proposed amendment…

On discontinuance, standard costs remain the norm. Indemnity costs may nevertheless be ordered where the paying party’s conduct, or the circumstances as a…

Permission to continue a derivative claim should not be refused under section 263(2) of the Companies Act 2006 merely because the company may be insolvent or…

A witness statement may contain only evidence which the witness would be permitted to give orally and which falls within the witness’s competence. A non-expert…

At an interlocutory jurisdiction stage, the court should assess whether the claim has a plausible evidential basis, rather than demand trial-level evidence.…

A trial is not unfair merely because a first-instance judge adopts robust case management, intervenes frequently, or expresses irritation. The decisive…

A claim under Insolvency Act 1986, section 238, requires the alleged transaction to be properly identified and the value given and received to be addressed.…

A court may correct or modify a judgment after it has been handed down but before the order has been drawn up and sealed, where an error or omission has…

A notice to complete under the Standard Commercial Property Conditions is valid if, when served, the party serving it is ready, able and willing to complete.…

For an execution-only spread-betting service, the appropriateness assessment concerns whether the client has the knowledge and experience needed to understand…

Permission to amend a statement of case may be mandatory when the order’s wording and procedural context require service of the amended pleading in the…

Whether proceedings should remain in the shorter trial scheme depends on the particular case. The court should assess the real issues, the extent of…

A claimant alleging loss from a cartel must prove both an infringement and actionable harm caused by it. In a cartel case, actionable harm may consist of a…

A knowing-receipt claim requires the claimant’s property to have been transferred to the defendant in breach of trust or fiduciary duty. Earlier breaches which…

Costs of proceedings at different stages should be assessed separately where the issues, relative success and financial significance differ. After an appeal…

An appellate court should interfere with findings of fact only where a critical finding is unsupported by the evidence or plainly wrong. Case-management…

Where statutory conditions for an enforcement injunction are satisfied, the court does not ordinarily exercise the equitable discretion associated with…

Inspection of redacted documents under CPR 31.19(5) is ordinarily a last resort. The court should first assess the evidence supporting the claimed right to…

For committal for breach of a mandatory order, the applicant must establish the order’s precise requirements, the defendant’s failure to comply, and the…

In determining costs of an application subsequently compromised, the court must identify the party who substantially obtained the relief sought, viewed against…

On an appeal from a costs order, the appellate court should intervene only for an error of principle, failure to consider a material matter, consideration of…

Contractual requirements in a company’s articles which exist solely for the benefit of a particular shareholder or investor may be waived by that beneficiary.…

An income payments order made under section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 can continue after the bankruptcy is discharged. Future payments under the order are…

Where an interim application is compromised save as to costs, the court may determine costs by assessing the likely result had the application proceeded…

Where a party has obtained an order for costs subject to detailed assessment, the court retains jurisdiction to order a payment on account even after the order…

On an urgent ex parte application, a freezing order may be granted where the evidence establishes a real risk of dissipation. The court must make appropriate…

Permission to amend late pleadings is a discretionary case-management decision governed by the overriding objective. The court must balance injustice to the…

Disclosure issues in complex passing off litigation should be defined with sufficient clarity for document reviewers and limited to what is necessary to deal…

In determining arrangements for the disposal of a deceased person’s body, the court’s overriding consideration is respectful and decent disposal without…

In assessing equitable interest against a defaulting trustee liable to restore capital to a trust fund, the court should generally use a rate reflecting the…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where a probate claim raises credible and materially disputed evidence about testamentary capacity. The court must not…

Exercise of Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery does not automatically carry forward every consequence of the abolished common-law remedy of distress. The…

A final quia timet injunction requires a strong probability that, without restraint, the defendant will infringe the claimant’s rights. The anticipated harm…

The court may grant website-blocking orders to prevent large-scale infringement of intellectual property rights where the order is proportionate. The…

Interim springboard relief requires more than a serious issue to be tried. The court must assess the evidence of misuse, the likely unfair competitive…

A concluded contract for an introduction fee may arise from discussions and conduct even where negotiations for the associated land sale were expressed to be…

Beneficiaries of an unadministered estate have no choate beneficial interest in particular estate assets. Their entitlement is to due administration of the…

Where parties compromise accounts and inquiries, the court should ordinarily determine costs if doing so is proportionate. A broad-brush assessment should…

Section 57 of the Trustee Act 1925 permits the court to confer a trustee power where the statutory conditions are met and the proposed transaction is…

A contract may be binding before formal documents are executed where the parties’ words and conduct objectively show an intention to create legal relations and…

Liability for dishonest assistance requires assistance in a primary breach of duty and conduct that is dishonest by the objective standards of ordinary decent…

In a Part 8 claim, the court may require points of claim and defence to determine an issue falling within the claim, even where the Part 8 rules do not…

For section 994, exclusion of a minority director from management may be justified by his own misconduct, including an actual or potential conflict of interest…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the defence has no real prospect of success. Contractual construction requires an objective assessment of the language…

For the exemption in s.641(2B) of the Companies Act 2006, the court considers the scheme sanctioned under Part 26 and the statutory definition of “scheme”. A…

Interim injunctions may be granted against persons unknown where the claimant cannot identify an amorphous group of potential wrongdoers and the prohibited…

Property owned by one partner before a partnership begins does not become partnership property merely because it is used for the partnership business or…

On an application to set aside a court-ordered transfer to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, the issue is redetermined on the parties’ evidence and…

Under regulation 3(2) of the National Health Service (Injury Benefits) Regulations 1995, the “course of employment” gateway requires both a temporal connection…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the claimant has no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for trial. The court assesses…

Funds delegated to a maintained school remain the local authority’s property until spent. The governing body and any person who substantively decides how those…

For recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings, a company’s centre of main interests is determined by a comprehensive assessment of where it regularly…

An unpaid former office-holder may have standing as a creditor to apply for an administration order, provided the evidence establishes a sufficient claim to…

Payments made after presentation of a winding-up petition may be void under section 127 of the Insolvency Act 1986 even where the recipient acted in good faith…

Unpaid fees arising from a barrister’s express non-contractual, honorarium arrangement are not property vesting in the trustee in bankruptcy under the…

Expedition is justified where there is real, objectively viewed urgency. The court should consider whether the applicant has shown good reason, whether…

A claimant must prove the alleged wrong, causation and loss on the balance of probabilities. Serious allegations require cogent evidence, although the civil…

A person should be joined as a party where there is an issue involving that person and an existing party which is connected with the matters in dispute, and…

For the purposes of director disqualification, the court must assess each director’s conduct as a whole, cumulatively and in context. A director may delegate…

Permission for a bankrupt to bring proceedings under section 304 of the Insolvency Act 1986 requires more than a potentially arguable complaint. The court must…

An illegal purpose does not automatically bar recovery of property or money held by a participant in the wrongdoing. The court must consider whether refusing…

In construing an order made to resolve an estate dispute, the court must give its words their natural and ordinary meaning in context, having regard to the…

The court has wide powers to control a bankruptcy and may appoint or replace trustees where that is just, convenient and beneficial to creditors. The automatic…

Section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 is construed broadly and commercially. Relief may be granted to a majority shareholder where reserved matters prevent it…

Commercial co-venturers do not ordinarily owe fiduciary duties. A limited fiduciary duty may nevertheless arise where one party controls a third-party…

Where a sole-trader business is transferred to a company, the transfer may include the tangible property and beneficial copyright interests used in that…

A general or extended civil restraint order requires proof of persistent claims or applications that are totally without merit. The greater interference caused…

Summary judgment requires the court to decide whether the claim has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and whether there is another compelling…

Where an alleged agency relationship is governed by the Rome Convention, an implied choice of law requires a real choice shown with sufficient clarity. Without…

Employment status and copyright ownership depend on the parties’ true relationship and the substance of the arrangements, not merely contractual labels or the…

In proceedings for an order for sale following a charging order, the court may determine the extent of the judgment debtor’s beneficial interest within the…

A claim should be struck out where, assuming the pleaded facts in the claimant’s favour, it is bound to fail in law. The court may allow a novel claim to…

The court may make an administration order where the statutory conditions are satisfied and the order is reasonably likely to achieve a better result for…

An unfair prejudice petition under Companies Act 2006, section 994, must concern conduct of the company’s affairs that is both prejudicial and unfairly so. A…

The power to order a preliminary issue should be exercised sparingly and with realistic regard to the likely effect on the litigation. A preliminary issue is…

When sanctioning a scheme of arrangement, the court must first ensure statutory compliance, then assess whether the class was fairly represented, and finally…

An overarching contract of employment requires sufficiently concrete mutual obligations during periods when no work is performed. The ability to refuse…

Costs management requires the court to approve each disputed budget phase at a figure within the range of reasonable and proportionate costs. The exercise is…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, an infant child’s claim is for reasonable financial provision for maintenance.…

A party who has not contributed to an opponent’s defective service is not generally required by CPR 1.3 or the overriding objective to identify and correct…

Under CPR 13.3, a defendant seeking to set aside a regularly entered default judgment must show either a real prospect of successfully defending the claim or…

On an application to strike out a claim seeking to set aside a judgment allegedly procured by fraud, the relevant question is whether there is a real danger…

When sanctioning a scheme of arrangement, the court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements have been met, that the class was fairly represented and…

Permission under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 38.7, to bring a fresh claim after discontinuance depends on the circumstances viewed in the round. The…

On an application to discharge, set aside, vary or stay a worldwide freezing order after the return-date stage, the applicant bears the burden of proving the…

The construction of a family trust deed follows the ordinary contextual approach used for contracts and wills. Where provisions are irreconcilable, the deed…

A limitation on personal representatives serving a lease-extension notice applies only where they rely on the special right conferred by section 39(3A) of the…

Trade mark infringement must be assessed in the precise context in which the sign is used. An abbreviation may be capable of conveying a descriptive meaning in…

In patent case management, trial dates are fixed by balancing readiness, the parties’ interests, counsel availability, commercial certainty and listing…

A lease provision referring to premises not underlet at a peppercorn or ground rent applied to any underletting in the chain, not merely an underletting…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, maintenance is directed to meeting the applicant’s ordinary living expenses. It is not a…

The ordinary and proper course of business exception to a freezing order is fact-sensitive and cumulative. A payment must be both in the ordinary course of the…

A claimant seeking recovery of money must establish the legal basis on which the defendant is said to hold it. A party’s entitlement to a share of profits…

The court may extend a website-blocking order for a further sporting season where the evidence shows that the order has effectively prevented access to…

A winding-up order may be made under section 123(1)(e) of the Insolvency Act 1986 where the court is satisfied that the company cannot pay its debts as they…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 39.3, an absent party must satisfy all three mandatory conditions for setting aside a judgment: prompt application, good…

Teaching-hospital endowments vested in a Board of Governors under the National Health Service Act 1946 were not thereby held on trust for the Crown. Crown…

Unfair prejudice under Companies Act 2006, section 994, must be assessed judicially and on rational, principled grounds. The court must consider the parties’…

The court may appoint an additional administrator after an administration has begun, including on an interim basis, but only in accordance with the conditions…

Section 136 of the Law of Property Act 1925 requires strict compliance for a legal assignment of debts, including an assignment in writing under the assignor’s…

A person under police investigation ordinarily has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the fact of the investigation. A search under warrant does not…

An oral agreement to transfer shares in a company owning property may be enforceable where the evidence establishes certainty, completeness and an intention to…

The court may extend a website-blocking order for a further period where the evidence demonstrates that the existing order has been effective, proportionate…

An appellate court should be slow to interfere with a first-instance case-management decision, and permission to appeal ordinarily requires a realistic…

For an interim injunction restraining disclosure in alleged breach of a contractual non-disclosure obligation, the court must ordinarily be satisfied that the…

Where a group litigation test claim has been decided but an appeal or permission application remains outstanding, proceedings on the related claims have not…

A party should not obtain the practical effect of a stay by postponing consequential account-taking when no stay has been sought and the relevant information…

The court may use its power under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 to set a deadline for administration expense claims and authorise…

Where a contract provides a time-limited mechanism for disputing a calculation, the agreed timetable must be construed and applied objectively. Later…

Interest on claims concerning preferences or transactions at an undervalue is awarded, if at all, under section 35A of the Senior Courts Act 1981. It does not…

Disclosure in competition damages claims must balance relevance and proportionality. The Damages Directive does not impose an inflexible requirement that…

A declaration of trust must be interpreted as a whole. Where it declares that properties are held for a company or contributing subsidiary, and requires the…

On an application for strike-out or summary judgment, the court should decide a short point of law or construction where the evidence is sufficient and the…

Participation in professional sport does not, without more, create an agreement to be bound by the governing body’s rules or an arbitration agreement with…

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

An administrator should normally investigate and seek to realise a company’s viable or arguably viable cause of action. A proposed assignee bears no general…

In commercial litigation involving interrelated issues and mixed success, the court should ordinarily identify the overall winner and start from the rule that…

Where a party reasonably and urgently needs information to formulate its own response to a regulatory charge, an order for information may extend beyond…

A receiving party represented by solicitors is presumed liable to those solicitors for their costs, unless an express or implied agreement establishes that the…

In bankruptcy proceedings founded on an unpaid judgment debt, a debtor cannot ordinarily avoid adjudication by advancing a fresh cross-claim arising from the…

A bankruptcy order is discretionary and is not automatic merely because a liability order and statutory demand remain in force. The court should refuse the…

Where serious allegations of fraud, conspiracy or dishonesty are abandoned without explanation, indemnity costs are likely to be just, because the defendants…

Appeals from trade mark proceedings are subject to the ordinary principles governing appeals under CPR Part 52. Fresh evidence is admitted only exceptionally.…

A committal application may be struck out as an abuse where pursuing a merely technical contempt would be pointless and disproportionate. The public interest…

A company is not a quasi-partnership merely because it is a successful family business. Equitable constraints on legal shareholder rights require a mutual…

On an appeal by way of review, the court may interfere with a discretionary decision only for an error of principle, failure to consider a relevant matter…

A general commercial arrangement or joint enterprise does not itself create a cause of action or secondary liability. Agency requires authority to affect the…

A civil restraint order is an order of the court and, absent express exclusion, breach may be enforced through the ordinary contempt jurisdiction under the…

For scheme-class purposes, the relevant comparison is the position creditors would face if the scheme failed. Where insolvency would accelerate debts to a…

When deciding whether to join a new party, the court should focus on enabling persons whose rights may be affected to be heard and on the Overriding Objective.…

A contractual obligation to provide information does not necessarily create an obligation to account. Where the obligation is qualified by reasonable…

A director must exercise powers in good faith for the company’s interests and must not use them to advance personal interests at the company’s expense. A…

An appellate court will not overturn a trial judgment merely because it does not address every submission or analyse evidence at the level of detail preferred…

Genuine use requires real commercial exploitation directed to creating or preserving a market, assessed globally by reference to the goods, market, scale…

Acceptance of a Part 36 offer within the relevant period gives rise to the costs consequences specified by Part 36. The deemed costs order under rule 44.9…

Sentencing for contempt must serve the distinct purposes of punishment for disobedience and securing future compliance. A prior criminal sentence for…

For a scheme of arrangement, class constitution depends on the rights being released or varied and the rights conferred by the scheme, rather than on differing…

For an application to set aside a statutory demand, the applicant must show a real prospect of successfully establishing that the debt is below the bankruptcy…

An application for pre-action disclosure requires a two-stage analysis. The court must first decide whether the jurisdictional conditions in Civil Procedure…

Rectification for common mistake corrects the recording of a transaction; it does not relieve a party from a bad bargain or its commercial consequences. The…

For the purposes of Companies Act 2006, shares transmitted to personal representatives by operation of law may confer standing under section 994(2). An order…

Joinder in Court of Protection proceedings is not a right arising merely from a person’s family relationship, evidence, or separate financial interest. The…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where the outcome depends on a serious dispute of fact, particularly where witness credibility and cross-examination may be…

Company funds may be used under an undertaking resembling a freezing-order exemption only where the expenditure is in the ordinary and proper course of the…

Sanction of a scheme under Companies Act 2006 Part 26 requires a structured three-stage inquiry: compliance with the statutory requirements, including properly…

A director who conceals fraud from his company breaches the fiduciary duty of loyalty. The company may recover loss caused by the concealment, including an…

A later judge should not readily depart from an earlier interim case-management decision which has been acted upon and treated as governing the litigation.…

A director’s duty to act in the best interests of an insolvent or doubtfully solvent company is treated as a duty to act in the interests of creditors as a…

Works annexed to the riverbed under a statutory licence are ordinarily fixtures. The general law distinguishing fixtures from chattels applies, and the licence…

A binding contract arises only where the parties objectively intended to be bound on agreed terms, including any terms they regarded as conditions of…

An external-eyes-only confidentiality regime is exceptional. It should not ordinarily permit one party to exclude all its representatives from relevant parts…

For permission to appeal to be granted, the applicant must show a real prospect of overcoming binding authority or establish another compelling reason for an…

In a final salary occupational pension scheme, closure to future accrual normally ends members’ pensionable service even where a final salary link is…

Disclosure must be conducted with due care and in accordance with the applicable disclosure test. Where potentially disclosable material has been deleted, the…

Under Article 26 of the Council Regulation (EC) No 2157/2001, the court scrutinises only the legality of the merger concerning completion of the merger and…

Under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, unfitness is assessed teleologically and is not confined to the matters listed in Schedule…

A bankruptcy petition is a class remedy. The court must assess the interests of creditors as a class, rather than treat the petitioning creditor as…

A proprietary estoppel claim requires an assurance or representation, reasonable reliance and detriment caused by that reliance. The doctrine is not a general…

A search and seizure order is exceptional relief. It requires a strong prima facie case of a civil cause of action, a serious danger to the applicant, clear…

On an application to strike out a pleading alleging dishonesty, the claimant must plead the facts, matters and circumstances said to support an inference of…

A court of enforcement retains limited inherent jurisdiction to decide whether a document purporting to be a European Enforcement Order is genuinely an EEO. It…

An entire agreement clause may exclude statutory misrepresentation even if it does not use a conventional formula. The question is one of construction…

Where frozen funds are subject to competing proprietary claims and there is a shortfall, the court may require disclosure explaining payments made from the…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance of sufficient clarity, reasonable reliance and detriment caused by that reliance. These matters should be assessed…

Where an English bankruptcy order was made without jurisdiction because the debtor’s centre of main interests was outside England and Wales, the order should…

A freezing order made under section 25 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 may be continued where there is a good arguable case, a real risk of…

A company director must maintain effective oversight of trust money administered through the company’s business. Delegation does not remove the duty to…

A company voluntary arrangement has contractual effect, and its terms are interpreted by ordinary contractual principles. A condition precedent referring to…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case within a jurisdictional gateway, and England…

Section 1096 of the Companies Act 2006, as applied to limited liability partnerships, gives the court power to rectify the register where restoration was…

The High Court has concurrent jurisdiction over claims that may be issued in more than one Division. A claimant’s choice of Division is relevant, but it does…

Security for costs requires a two-stage inquiry. The claimant must first satisfy the entry requirement, namely a reason to believe that it cannot pay an…

In managed multi-party litigation, a bespoke costs-management regime may be created under the court’s case-management powers. The standard costs-management…

In costs budgeting, proportionality is assessed by reference to the claim’s financial value and its wider significance, but legal novelty, public importance…

The slip rule permits correction of an accidental error or omission so that an order reflects the court’s actual intention. The size or financial significance…

A freezing order made after judgment should not be reviewed as if it were a fresh application. The court may vary or discharge it where circumstances have…

A right of way may be extinguished by permanent abandonment inferred from the parties’ conveyancing arrangements; abandonment need not consist of mere…

On an application to annul a bankruptcy order, the court must consider the grounds existing when the order was made, whether the order ought not to have been…

A tax settlement is governed by ordinary contractual principles. The court construes the parties’ communications objectively, in their relevant context, and…

An agreement is construed objectively from its language and commercial context. Subsequent conduct may assist, but cannot replace the contractual documents.…

For an administration order, the applicant must show a real prospect that a statutory purpose will be achieved. This is a lower threshold than proof on the…

When summary judgment is entered in the absence of a party, the court has an unfettered power under the practice direction to CPR 24 to set it aside or vary…

A preliminary issue should be ordered only with caution. The proposed issue should ordinarily be decisive or potentially decisive, concern a question suitable…

Where a prior judgment has identified contractual promises but ambiguity remains about their scope, the court conducting the consequential inquiry may construe…

The court may confer a missing or restricted trustee power under section 57(1) of the Trustee Act 1925 where the proposed transaction is part of the management…

In determining beneficial ownership of property acquired during a marriage, the court must consider the parties’ actual intentions in their domestic context…

On an application for an interim injunction, the court must consider whether there is a serious issue to be tried, whether damages would be an adequate remedy…

In a dispute between unmarried cohabitants, property rights are determined by property law rather than by a broad discretion to redistribute assets after…

Summary judgment may be given on distinct issues in a fraud claim where the contemporaneous documents establish that the defence has no real prospect of…

Wills are interpreted contextually, by identifying the testator’s intention from the natural and ordinary meaning of the words, the document’s purpose and…

In an unfair-prejudice petition, the court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements are met before granting relief. A procedural rule deeming…

Permission to amend pleadings may be refused even where the proposed case is arguable and sufficiently clear. The court must consider the timing of the…

Permission to appeal on justiciability and forum conveniens may be granted where the issues have a real prospect of success, even if related issues are pending…

A lawful-means conspiracy claim must identify a combination, an unlawful object and resulting damage. The object is assessed subjectively by reference to the…

A contractual good-leaver/bad-leaver regime is construed according to its wording and purpose. An employee may be a leaver when employment ends even if a…

The court’s power to replace a litigation friend must be exercised by reference to the protected party’s interests and the conduct of the particular…

A person may be a de facto director where he assumes a role sufficient to impose fiduciary duties and acts as a governing nerve centre of the company. Formal…

A break clause must be construed by identifying the objective meaning of the language used in its documentary, factual and commercial context. A…

Appointment of a substituted personal representative under Administration of Justice Act 1985, section 50, transfers the deceased’s estate-related powers from…

In sanctioning a ring-fencing transfer scheme, the court’s discretion under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is genuine and unfettered. The court must…

Contractual notice provisions must be complied with where they govern a unilateral right to terminate. Substantial compliance, actual knowledge, or the absence…

Permission for a statutory derivative claim involves a structured assessment under Companies Act 2006. At an inter-parties hearing, the court may treat the…

A defendant debarred from defending has no absolute right to cross-examine or make submissions. Subject to any earlier order, the trial judge retains a…

A presumption of undue influence may arise where a transaction is seriously disadvantageous and inexplicable, and the claimant was vulnerable to influence…

A High Court judge should not generally reconsider a judgment merely because a party says that it is wrong. The proper course is to seek permission to appeal.…

For adverse possession of registered land under the pre-2003 regime, the claimant must prove both factual possession and an intention to possess. Factual…

When assessing whether beneficial interests in jointly owned property have changed, the court must consider the parties’ whole course of dealing. That includes…

Permission to examine a discharged foreign representative under paragraph 29(2)(c) of Schedule 2 to the Cross Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 primarily…

An order under CPR Part 18 may be made only in relation to a matter currently in dispute. It cannot be used to discover possible additional defendants or…

The ordinary rule that costs follow the event is only a starting point. In insolvency-related directions proceedings, the court may order costs to be paid from…

In construing an easement, the court must identify the parties’ objective intention from the words of the conveyance, read in their factual and commercial…

Permission to appeal an arbitration award under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires the court to be satisfied that the proposed point is obviously…

Rectification requires convincing proof, assessed on the balance of probabilities, that the parties shared a continuing intention which was outwardly…

A final injunction is an equitable remedy and its terms depend on the circumstances. Once an injunction is justified in principle, intellectual property cases…

For the purposes of Companies Act 2006, separate schemes forming part of a wider commercial restructuring should not be treated as one composite scheme merely…

A contractual settlement may confer an enforceable benefit on non-parties where, on proper construction, the parties intended those persons to be able to…

In a probate claim, the propounder must prove due execution and testamentary capacity. Where a duly executed will appears rational, capacity is presumed unless…

Where a claimant fails to obtain a judgment more advantageous than a valid defendant’s Part 36 offer, the ordinary costs consequences generally follow. The…

A judgment debt may be enforceable and no longer disputed, yet a winding-up petition may still be inappropriate where the company has a bona fide cross-claim…

Expedition is a discretionary case-management decision. The court must balance the need for prompt determination against the overriding objective and the…

The construction of a deed of easement requires a unitary assessment of the words used, the surrounding circumstances and the commercial common sense of the…

A pension scheme’s power to grant or augment benefits may validate increases in pensions in payment even where the increases are not recorded in the scheme…

For a domicile of choice, residence must be combined with an intention to reside permanently or indefinitely. The court determines that intention objectively…

Where a charity’s internal governance has broken down and there are no properly appointed trustees able to manage its affairs, the High Court may direct the…

The court’s supervisory jurisdiction over trusts permits it to determine for itself whether trustees should disclose trust information to beneficiaries. A…

Permission to amend a petition should be granted where the proposed allegations are properly pleadable and their plausibility or quantum depends on evidence…

Informal shareholder consent can authorise, waive or ratify conduct only where it is given with full knowledge of the relevant facts. Consent obtained by…

A person may be both a de facto and a shadow director, and status depends on what the person actually did in the context of the company’s corporate governance.…

Relief under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 should not generally preserve a moratorium merely to facilitate a possible appeal once a foreign…

Third-party disclosure under CPR 31.17 requires a flexible assessment of necessity in the circumstances of the particular case. The possible availability of…

A barrister instructed in litigation does not automatically owe the same general duty as a litigation solicitor to advise clients on funding. A co-extensive…

An administrator must select and pursue the statutory objective in Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule B1, paragraph 3 through an honest and rational commercial…

A costs management order should be made only where it can usefully assist the just and proportionate conduct of the litigation. Where the great majority of…

A document may be incorporated into a will by reference where it existed when the will was executed, the will referred to it as an existing document, and the…

Under paragraph 71 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, the court may authorise an administrator to sell property free of security where that disposal is…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975, reasonable financial provision for a cohabitee or dependant is provision for maintenance…

A search order requires more than a serious case to be tried. The applicant must establish a strong prima facie case, serious damage avoided by the order…

An unincorporated association’s constitution is construed as a contract. Election provisions must be given their natural and ordinary meaning in their…

For the purposes of section 1(3) of the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, the Court of Protection determines whether a proposed variation benefits a person who…

An appeal court may treat a strike-out application as including summary judgment only where the procedural safeguards and fairness requirements of the summary…

Equity may remedy the defective execution of a power where the donees intended to exercise the power and made an attempted exercise which failed through a…

Contractual rights are determined by the natural and ordinary meaning of the agreement read in its documentary, factual and commercial context. A specific…

On an appeal from a winding-up order, the appellate court ordinarily reviews the decision below. It allows an appeal only where the decision was wrong, or…

A lease of a horizontally divided building does not include the subsoil merely because the freeholder owned it or because the demise includes the cellar and…

A court retains discretion to hand down judgment after the parties have reached a settlement, even where they jointly request that judgment not be given. The…

Fraudulent misrepresentation requires a false representation, knowledge of falsity or recklessness, an intention that it be relied on, actual reliance and…

Rectification of a pension scheme deed requires convincing evidence establishing the factors supporting the remedy. The court need not recite each element…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires a good arguable case within a jurisdictional gateway, a serious issue to be tried with a real…

Interim relief affecting access to charitable premises must be proportionate to the charity’s purposes and the conduct said to justify it. Charity trustees may…

Protection of journalistic sources may extend to information which would identify a source by deduction. It is not absolute: disclosure may be ordered where…

A director assessing solvency must consider all liabilities, including contingent and prospective liabilities, and the assets or arrangements actually…

False imprisonment liability does not arise merely because a person gives mistaken information to the police which leads to an arrest. The claimant must show…

A disposition of a company’s property made after the commencement of a court winding-up is void under Insolvency Act 1986, section 127, unless the court orders…

Summary judgment should be granted only where the opposing case has no realistic prospect of success. The court must avoid a mini-trial, while considering the…

A request for further information serves case management by identifying the material facts relied upon at trial. It should define the factual basis of the…

A sole shareholder’s failure to record a decision in the company’s minute book does not, without more, invalidate that decision where the articles do not make…

Directors who exploit their company’s intellectual property, corporate opportunity or business position for personal profit may hold the resulting proceeds on…

Cause of action estoppel bars a direct challenge to the existence or enforceability of a cause of action already determined, including where the earlier result…

An administrator’s remuneration does not necessarily breach statutory expense priorities merely because it is paid from a company bank account. The relevant…

Whether an oral agreement creates contractual obligations is assessed objectively, by reference to the words and conduct of the parties in context. Subsequent…

Under CPR 6.15, retrospective validation of defective service requires good reason. The inquiry is fact-sensitive and holistic. Receipt of the claim form and…

Expert evidence should generally be admitted where it contains genuine expertise, even if parts also address matters for the court or express an ultimate…

A fully paid shareholder may be a contributory for the purposes of the Insolvency Rules 1986. That statutory standing does not, by itself, entitle the…

In complex interpleader proceedings, the court must ensure that anyone with a possible interest in the fund is properly represented and bound by the outcome.…

An ancillary asset-disclosure order supporting a freezing order must be strictly construed and confined to information necessary to police the injunction. The…

On an application under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, the overriding consideration is whether the estate is being properly…

The court’s discretion to sanction a ring-fencing transfer scheme under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 is genuine and unfettered. It must assess…

Under the School Sites Act 1841, the statutory reverter and power of sale must be interpreted together, using a broad and practical approach. A school site may…

For competition claims spanning several countries, the applicable law depends on the governing instrument and period. Under Rome II, the law is generally that…

For a contractual voting exclusion referring to a person who controls an issuer, control is not confined to share ownership. However, it must involve influence…

A trustee in bankruptcy’s duties are primarily owed to the creditors and the bankruptcy estate. Loss suffered by the estate must be pursued through Insolvency…

On taking an account between executors and beneficiaries, the executor need initially establish only that the sum was spent and that it was spent in the fair…

An informal agreement to share beneficial ownership of property may give rise to a common intention constructive trust where the claimant proves detrimental…

The label attached to an occupation agreement is not decisive. The court must construe the agreement in its documentary, factual and commercial context and…

Interest on a foreign-currency judgment debt under section 44A of the Administration of Justice Act 1970 is determined by the compensatory principle. The court…

A company voluntary arrangement (“CVA”) has contractual effect, but its statutory hypothesis does not make ordinary contractual doctrines applicable without…

A restrictive covenant may bind successors in title in equity where it is negative, protects identifiable retained land, and the successor had notice. The…

For the purposes of rectification under Schedule 4 to the Land Registration Act 2002, the registration of title pursuant to a court order that was valid on its…

A very late application to amend pleadings must identify the new factual allegations with sufficient particularity to give the opposing party fair notice of…

For security for costs, satisfaction of a gateway does not automatically require an order. The court must consider whether security is justified in the…

CPR 6.15 may be used for an application notice as well as a claim form. It is available where service out of the jurisdiction is permitted without prior…

In an administration, the court must assess the statutory purpose by reference to the administration as a whole. It is not required to consider each asset in…

For an interim injunction, the court must first identify a serious issue to be tried, then assess the adequacy of damages and, if necessary, the balance of…

An obligation to maintain a boundary fence can constitute a fencing easement which runs with the land. Such an easement may be created by express grant in a…

Proprietary estoppel may arise where assurances, considered in their full context, convey a sufficiently clear expectation of receiving a viable farming…

Failure to comply with a mandatory appellate procedural requirement is a serious breach, but it does not automatically require an appeal or application to be…

Where an interlocutory injunction would effectively determine a discrete issue, the applicant must show a stronger prospect of success than a merely seriously…

A lawful eviction and the publication of the fact of eviction do not remove all privacy protection from events occurring in the home. The court must assess…

Where parties give a consent undertaking expressed to continue “pending final determination” of an application, “final” ordinarily adds more than the…

The High Court has an inherent jurisdiction to direct a party to provide a saliva sample for DNA testing where parentage is in issue and the statutory scheme…

An appeal from a master is ordinarily a review, not a rehearing. New points should generally be excluded, particularly where they require further factual…

A winding-up petition should be restrained where the debtor establishes, with evidence, a genuine and serious cross-claim exceeding the petition debt. The…

Section 68 of the Patents Act 1977 imposes a costs sanction for failing to register an exclusive licence within six months. The sanction applies to costs…

A dispute falls within an English jurisdiction clause where it genuinely concerns rights and directions arising under an agreement governed by that clause…

In construing undertakings given to the court in a consent order, the court identifies the objective meaning of the language used in its contractual and…

A failure to notify the holder of a qualifying floating charge does not invalidate a members’ special resolution to wind up a company voluntarily. The charge…

A covenant restricting premises to residential purposes must be construed in the context of the particular lease. Short-term hotel accommodation is distinct…

A creditor may apply for an administration order even where its debt is disputed, provided it has a good arguable case sufficient to establish standing.…

Unfitness for director disqualification is assessed from the director’s conduct as a whole. Serious failures to perform the duties of office may establish…

A counterclaiming defendant may make a claimant’s Part 36 offer where the offer settles the counterclaim and takes the claim into account. An offer does not…

An easement cannot be established by inference where the evidence does not prove the relevant conveyance, its date and terms, or the rights allegedly created…

A building scheme requires a sufficiently identified area of land and an intention that purchasers accept mutually enforceable covenants. That intention is…

Sentencing for contempt of court serves punitive and, where possible, coercive functions. Where the contempt is complete and cannot be purged, the coercive…

A loss carry-back claim must be included in the tax return for the year in which the loss arose, even if it was first made elsewhere. HMRC may enquire into…

A trade mark specification must identify goods and services with sufficient clarity and precision to define the protection sought. Whether failure to satisfy…

A court may revisit a staged enforcement order where circumstances materially change and the arrangement no longer adequately balances the judgment creditor’s…

A notice of severance of a beneficial joint tenancy may be rectified, even though it is a unilateral instrument, where it fails to record the maker’s specific…

The power under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.1(7), should not ordinarily be used to reopen or vary a final order determining substantive litigation. A…

Where a company is cash-flow and balance-sheet insolvent, continued trading is inappropriate. Administration may be unavailable where no funding exists to…

In construing a unilateral trust instrument, the court must focus on the instrument’s wording. External material concerning the settlor’s intentions…

Contractual construction is a unitary exercise focused on the language used in its documentary, factual and commercial context. Commercial common sense may…

Whether an individual has ceased to reside in England is a multi-factorial, fact-dependent evaluation of the quality of the person’s absence. A distinct break…

For the purposes of the business tenancy provisions, an individual carries on a business only where the activity amounts to a trade, profession or employment.…

A tenancy is an agricultural holding only where, viewing the letting as a whole, its substantial purpose is agricultural. Past farming use, the landlord’s…

An obligation to use reasonable endeavours is a positive contractual obligation. Its content depends on the language of the contract and the facts. The court…

Where a lease covenant requires the management company’s written consent before a pet may be kept, an implied obligation may require a reasonable…

A break notice under a lease must be given by the person identified in the lease as entitled to exercise the option. An equitable assignee of a registered…

Where substantive proceedings are compromised, there is no default rule that costs should be subject to no order. The court must assess all the circumstances…

A pension scheme amendment power protecting the rights of members ordinarily protects rights accrued through past service, including the final-salary link, but…

The court may order pre-trial disclosure to support protection of confidential information, identify recipients, and preserve the effectiveness of relief at…

In deciding whether to transfer proceedings between High Court Divisions, the court must exercise its discretion in accordance with the overriding objective.…

When deciding whether prolonged inactivity justifies striking out a claim for want of prosecution, the court must consider all the relevant circumstances.…

A contractual security document must be construed with related agreements as a whole. Tax credits directed into an account controlled by a separate group…

After discontinuing a claim, a claimant must obtain permission under CPR rule 38.7 before issuing another claim against the same defendant arising from the…

Contempt involving false or forged evidence does not require proof that the court was actually misled or acted upon it. It is sufficient that deployment was…

Section 16 of the Pensions Act 2004 does not require proof of dishonesty. The word knowingly concerns knowledge of the facts making conduct a misuse or…

Permission to appeal should be granted where the proposed ground has a real prospect of success. The court should avoid determining the merits finally where…

A bank selling an interest-rate derivative does not assume an advisory duty merely because it explains products, discusses market conditions, or negotiates…

Whether an inflation index has “become inappropriate” under a pension rule is an objective question for the court unless the rule expressly gives the decision…

In a dispute concerning family businesses operated as partnerships and a quasi-partnership company, the court held that assets acquired with business funds may…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance sufficiently clear in context, reliance and detriment causally connected to that assurance. A present intention to…

The rule in Antony Gibbs & Sons v La Société Industrielle et Commerciale des Métaux remains binding: an English-law debt is not discharged or varied by a…

A deed declaring a trust over interests in several properties may constitute one transaction at an undervalue where it effects one overall disposition.…

A contractual commitment by two trustees to pay commission can bind all trustees where the trust instrument authorises decisions by a majority and does not…

A personal representative must administer an estate diligently and reasonably. After the executor’s year, continued delay requires proper justification. A will…

A descriptive word cannot remain registered for services merely because it has been extensively used within a family of composite marks. The proprietor must…

A person who has been adjudicated bankrupt generally cannot exercise personal rights formerly belonging to the bankrupt estate where those rights have vested…

Bribery and secret-commission rules apply only where the recipient occupies a relationship engaging the law’s fiduciary rationale. An introducing intermediary…

Permission to bring an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 after the six-month limit is discretionary and must be…

For the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986, section 238(4)(b), the comparison is between the consideration provided by the company and the consideration received…

On a late strike-out application, the court must identify the jurisdiction relied on and give the respondent a fair opportunity to meet it. An application…

A company transaction may be both a preference and a transaction at an undervalue. The court must identify when the decision to confer the benefit was made…

A licensee with an enforceable right to protect confidential information may seek an injunction independently of any co-licensee. Breach of confidence is not…

An administration order may be made where the company is insolvent and administration is reasonably likely to achieve a better outcome for creditors than…