High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2020

Under CPR PD 51U, an Issue for Disclosure is not confined to an issue pleaded in the statements of case. It is sufficient that the issue is a key issue which…

When deciding whether to permit amendments introducing dishonesty or fraud, the court considers whether the primary facts pleaded make dishonesty more likely…

Permission to amend pleadings shortly before trial is discretionary. The court must balance injustice to the applicant against prejudice to the opposing party…

An appeal from a trade mark opposition decision is ordinarily a review, not a rehearing. The appellate court should respect an experienced tribunal’s…

At a scheme-convening hearing, the court does not determine the merits or fairness of the proposed scheme. It considers whether there are obvious…

Foreign insolvency proceedings may be recognised under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 even where they concern connected companies and may…

Contempt is established objectively where a defendant knows of the order and knows the acts or omissions in question, even if the defendant misunderstands the…

A common intention constructive trust may arise over a fluctuating portfolio of properties where the parties expressly agreed, or objectively demonstrated…

Permission to serve a foreign defendant under the necessary or proper party gateway requires a real issue between the claimant and an anchor defendant which it…

A payment by a company to its shareholder is characterised by its substance, not its description. Where the company had no express or implied obligation to…

In possession proceedings brought by a local authority, a breach of the public sector equality duty under Equality Act 2010, s 149, at an early stage may be…

Where a contractual termination process requires valuation and sale of business assets as a going concern, the valuation date is determined by the commercial…

For the purposes of the unfair-prejudice jurisdiction, the court may consider both the company’s legal rules and equitable considerations arising from the…

Abuse of process is determined by a broad, merits-based assessment of all the circumstances. A person who was not a party to earlier proceedings is not…

In a directors’ disqualification claim, misconduct may consist of serious incompetence or a serious failure to have regard to the professional and regulatory…

In an unfair-prejudice buy-out, the court has a wide discretion to determine a fair price in all the circumstances. A valuation based on a willing buyer and…

A contractual restriction preventing a grantor from dealing with rights during an exclusive option period is breached by granting a competing option over the…

An alleged failure to pay the subscription price for shares issued as fully paid gives rise, subject to any defence, to a simple contractual debt under…

An order for public examination under section 133 of the Insolvency Act 1986 requires a demonstrated need connected with the office-holder’s statutory…

A challenge to an arbitral award for serious irregularity under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires an irregularity within the statutory categories…

On an appeal concerning security for costs, the court may assess the discretion globally once one or more gateways under Rule 25.13 are established. The…

Where the special administration objectives of an investment bank have been sufficiently achieved, the special administrator may apply to end the…

Permission for private contempt proceedings based on allegedly false statements depends on whether pursuing them is in the public interest. The court must…

Where proceedings have ended, the court may order the claimant to pay the defendants’ reasonable costs, even if related proceedings are intended or have been…

When sanctioning a scheme of arrangement, the court must ensure that creditors have been properly consulted on sufficient information and that the statutory…

A restructuring plan may satisfy condition B in section 901A(3) of the Companies Act 2006 even though the company will cease trading. Mitigation is not…

Administrators conducting a company sale process ordinarily do not assume personal responsibility in tort to prospective bidders merely by providing…

A common intention constructive trust requires proof of an actual common intention that the claimant should have a beneficial interest, together with…

Where interlocutory costs have been reserved, the later costs judge should consider the subsequent course of the litigation and the overall justice of the…

A person’s acceptance of appointment as trustee is a unilateral act capable of being set aside for undue influence. The appointment process does not take…

A claim form must bear the court’s original seal before it can be served. Electronic filing under PD51O may make the date of issue retrospective to the date of…

Contractual obligations to consent to refinancing must be construed in the documentary, factual and commercial context of the agreement. A reference to the…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court should address jurisdiction, creditor classification, class composition, voting arrangements and any obvious…

When a contractual cap refers to a prevailing commercial rate without identifying the relevant market, the court should identify the market or comparator that…

An applicant seeking administration orders must establish creditor status, insolvency, and a real prospect that administration will achieve one or more…

Beneficial ownership is ordinarily determined from the conveyancing documents. An express declaration of trust satisfying Law of Property Act 1925, section…

On a contested interim application, costs will ordinarily follow the event, but the court must exercise its discretion under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r 44.2…

At the pleading stage, strike-out, permission to amend and summary-judgment applications may turn on whether the proposed case has a realistic prospect of…

Negative declaratory relief is discretionary and should be granted cautiously. The court must identify a real and present dispute, consider whether the…

When determining an interim payment following judgment against company directors or office-holders, the court may take account of incurred and anticipated…

A freezing injunction preserves assets against dissipation; it does not give the claimant a proprietary interest, security, or priority over other creditors.…

Summary judgment may determine a short point of legal or documentary construction where the court has the evidence necessary for proper determination and the…

In deciding costs after an unsuccessful joinder application, the court must assess the substance of the outcome rather than treat the party resisting joinder…

On a summary assessment of costs, the court may adopt a broad-brush approach, but it must still consider the individual elements of the receiving party’s…

The court may sanction a Part VII insurance business transfer scheme where the statutory requirements are met and the scheme is fair as a whole. It must…

A charge resulting from the withdrawal of VAT relief remains a measure of internal taxation. Its selective application does not convert it into a customs duty…

Costs do not automatically follow the event merely because an application is dismissed. The court must assess the parties’ substantive success, the issues on…

A bank selling an interest rate hedging product ordinarily owes no advisory duty to explain its nature, effect or suitability. Such a duty arises only in…

For the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986 ss 271 and 284 and rule 10.29 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, the relevant question is whether the…

Where a statutory appeal under section 69 of the Arbitration Act 1996 is subject to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the rules are modified only to the extent…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court examines jurisdiction, the existence of a compromise or arrangement, class composition, creditor…

A petition under Companies Act 2006, sections 994–996, requires conduct of the company’s affairs which is both prejudicial and unfair, with a causal link…

Sentencing for contempt requires assessment of culpability and harm, followed by consideration of aggravating and mitigating factors. A fine must be imposed if…

In a Category 2 application under Public Trustee v Cooper, the court’s approval of a momentous trustee decision is discretionary. The court must be satisfied…

A claim for damages against the State for breach of EU State aid rules is subject to the Francovich State Liability Conditions. The claimant must plead facts…

A valid common-law gift requires the donor’s subjective intention to give, sufficient certainty as to the property and recipient, acceptance by the donee, and…

An injunction restraining presentation of a winding-up petition may be granted where the company disputes the petition debt in good faith and on substantial…

Permission to appeal a possession and money judgment should be refused where the first-instance judge properly applied the three-stage test in Denton v TH…

Where a court order fixes a deadline for witness statements and provides that late evidence requires permission, the restriction constitutes a sanction for…

Contractual construction is a unitary and iterative exercise. The court considers the language used, the agreement as a whole, the relevant factual and…

Permission for a private litigant to bring contempt proceedings based on a knowingly false statement depends ultimately on the public interest. A strong prima…

An applicant seeking a quia timet injunction must establish an imminent danger of very substantial damage. A mandatory interim injunction may require a high…

In assessing whether a failure to announce a change in a director’s scheme-related election was material, the court asks whether there was a real risk that the…

An order under paragraph 71 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 is discretionary. The court must be satisfied both that the proposed sale is likely to…

A trustee that makes an inadequate statutory transfer payment remains liable to make good the shortfall where the cash equivalent was wrongly calculated by…

Expert evidence is admissible only where it concerns a recognised expertise relevant to an issue arising on the statements of case and the proposed expert has…

On a scheme sanction application, the court must scrutinise the arrangement independently. Statutory approval and the absence of objection do not determine…

Costs following a partially successful strike-out application are determined by considering the issues and events separately, rather than treating the result…

For the purposes of paragraph 16 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, enforceability of a floating charge is assessed objectively. The court may consider…

A contractual dispute-resolution clause requiring notice and mediation should ordinarily be upheld. However, a stay may be refused where the existing notice…

A winding-up petition may proceed on an extant liability order unless the company establishes fraud, collusion, mistake or a miscarriage of justice. A…

In construing a trust instrument, the court must ascertain the objective meaning of the words used in their documentary and factual context. The same approach…

An application to extend time for payment under an interim costs order requires evidence addressing the applicant’s financial position and explaining the…

In deciding whether to adjourn a trial, the court must identify the possible consequences of delay and assess the risk of prejudice to the due administration…

An administrator’s appointment in breach of paragraph 16 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 is void. There are consequently no insolvency proceedings…

In a proprietary estoppel claim, the court must assess assurance, reliance, detriment and unconscionability in the round. The remedy must satisfy the equity…

An injunction prohibiting any steps to seek the removal of directors extends to formal procedural acts that initiate or advance the removal process. It covers…

An unfair-prejudice petition should not ordinarily be summarily determined where the issues depend on disputed evidence, contractual interpretation and the…

An implied solicitor-client retainer requires objectively demonstrated agreement to enter into that relationship. It is not inferred merely because solicitors…

An unwritten agreement for the disposition of an interest in land is void under Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, s 2. It cannot support…

For security for costs, a company in liquidation gives rise to reason to believe that it cannot meet an adverse costs order, unless credible evidence shows…

A claimant authorised to pursue a derivative action for the benefit of a company will ordinarily be entitled to an indemnity from the company for reasonably…

A person may be a de facto director where, viewed objectively and in the round, he assumes responsibility for the company’s governance and performs functions…

A Crown disclaimer of property vested as bona vacantia on a company’s dissolution does not extinguish third-party proprietary rights, including a mortgagee’s…

Consequential loss cannot be recovered where the claimant’s own failure to satisfy planning conditions and statutory party-wall requirements meant that the…

An interim charging order may carry an implied undertaking in damages where it restrains dealing with property and may cause loss. The undertaking does not…

Indemnity costs may be ordered against either a claimant or a defendant where the conduct of proceedings is outside ordinary and reasonable conduct and…

A winding-up petition must be dismissed where the alleged debt is disputed on grounds that appear substantial. Where a contractual decision-maker is required…

For Case B under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, land must be required for the permitted non-agricultural use when the notice expires or within a…

Permission is required before a shareholder may continue an ordinary derivative claim, and comparable common-law principles govern double derivative claims. At…

The statutory objectives of administration form a hierarchy, but the appropriate objective may change as circumstances develop. Objective C may properly be…

Without prejudice negotiations are generally inadmissible in their entirety. Recognised exceptions include communications relevant to whether the negotiations…

A charitable trust may take effect immediately even where the particular application of its property is postponed until a future event. The question is one of…

For package holidays performed abroad, the organiser’s contractual obligation to exercise reasonable skill and care is governed by English law. Local safety…

Under Administration of Justice Act 1982, a will may be rectified where it fails to give effect to the testator’s intention because of a clerical error or a…

A company may be an employer for fraud compensation purposes even where it has no employees under contracts of service, provided it has one or more directors…

For an amendment to be permitted, the proposed case must be properly arguable and have a real prospect of success. Whether arrangements constitute a collective…

On an application to sanction a scheme under Companies Act 2006 Part 26, the court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements have been met, the class…

Company directors’ powers cannot be used to fund substantial personal expenditure over a prolonged period. The company’s ability to afford the expenditure at…

Under section 140B of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, any remedy for an unfair credit relationship must be proportionate to the nature and degree of the…

A trustee in bankruptcy may continue the bankrupt’s business only so far as necessary for its beneficial winding up, including realising work in progress, book…

A director who knowingly permits a disqualified person to act as a shadow director breaches the duties to promote the company’s success and to exercise…

A director’s duty to promote a company’s success may require objective assessment where there is no evidence that the director actually considered the…

The court may extend an administration beyond the statutory one-year period where there is good reason to do so. The discretion must be exercised judicially…

Insolvency Act 1986 section 246ZD permits an office-holder to assign an office-holder right of action together with its proceeds. The assignment may be…

Registration of an EU collective mark does not create a separate legal test for distinctiveness or confusion. EU collective marks remain subject to the…

A director defending a liquidator’s claim for payments from a company must provide a satisfactory explanation, supported where appropriate by contemporaneous…

A fresh website-blocking injunction may be granted under section 97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 where evidence shows that the respondents’…

In an unfair prejudice petition, allegations must identify conduct of the company’s affairs, unfairness and prejudice, with a sufficient causal link between…

Where a will is alleged to be forged, the party propounding it bears the ultimate burden of proving valid execution, including execution by the testator. The…

In determining the composition of classes for a scheme under Companies Act 2006 Part 26, the court must compare creditors’ existing and proposed rights and ask…

Summary judgment may determine a declaration where the underlying facts or matters are sufficiently established and there is no real prospect of a successful…

An answer stating only that a party is not entitled to provide information is a non-answer. It cannot comply with an order requiring a complete and sufficient…

In a claim under Law of Property Act 1925, the established costs practice has survived the CPR as a flexible guideline. The court may require the claimant to…

On an application to restrain a mortgagee’s power of sale, the court must first identify a serious question to be tried concerning the mortgagor’s rights. The…

A winding-up petition may be resisted by a cross-claim even where the petition debt is admitted or substantially undisputed. The respondent must establish, on…

A conventional escrow or stakeholder arrangement does not create a trust merely because money is held pending an arbitral award. Clear words are required to…

Where a judgment has been obtained by fraud, it may be set aside if the dishonest evidence, statement, concealment or other conduct was an operative cause of…

A break clause must be construed according to the language of the lease and its commercial context. Where the premises are defined to include fixtures…

In disqualification proceedings, the Official Receiver is ordinarily confined to the allegations and essential facts set out in the report required by rule…

On an application under paragraph 74 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, the applicant must show unfair harm caused by the administrator’s refusal to…

A compromise may be binding where the parties reach agreement orally and subsequent correspondence records its terms. A proposed Tomlin order or acknowledgment…

The court’s discretion under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 116, is a single inquiry: whether special circumstances make it necessary or expedient to appoint…

The court has a broad discretion on costs. An order requiring one defendant to pay costs incurred by a claimant in proceedings against another defendant may be…

Under section 17 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the court has an unfettered discretion to grant a disqualified person leave to act as a…

Proceedings may be transferred to the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court where the parties’ means, the complexity of the issues and the likely trial length…

Sentencing for civil contempt requires assessment of the contemnor’s culpability and the harm caused, intended or likely to be caused. The court must then…

The insolvency review jurisdiction is distinct from the appellate jurisdiction. Although broad in wording, it is exercised sparingly and only in special or…

Approval of a distribution plan under the special administration regime requires the court to be satisfied that the statutory conditions and notification…

A property joint venture may constitute a partnership even where the parties use the label “joint venture”, the arrangement is partly oral, the venture is a…

On an application for interim proprietary relief, the claimant must show a serious issue to be tried concerning the alleged beneficial ownership. If that…

The court has a broad discretion when sentencing for civil contempt. The court must assess culpability and harm, together with relevant aggravating and…

In an application by office-holders for directions concerning remuneration, expenses and common costs, the court declined to grant declarations without a…

A debit balance in a director’s loan account is capable of evidencing money received by the director. Once receipt of company money is established, the…

Failure by directors to give a qualifying floating charge holder the notice required by paragraph 26(1) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 does not…

Payments made by a company director cannot be retrospectively characterised as dividends unless a dividend was actually declared. A dividend must also comply…

Where a petitioning creditor establishes an undisputed bankruptcy debt and the statutory requirements are satisfied, the creditor is prima facie entitled to a…

On an interlocutory injunction application, the court must select the course carrying the least risk of injustice if its decision later proves wrong. Mandatory…

On an application for strike out or summary judgment, the court must assess whether the claim has a realistic prospect of success without conducting a…

For a scheme of arrangement, creditor classes are formed by reference to legal rights, both before and after the proposed scheme. Creditors may remain in one…

For a restrictive covenant entered into before 1926, annexation of its benefit depends on the intention shown by the conveyance, construed in its factual…

Contempt for breach of a prohibitory order requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the order was properly served, clear and unambiguous, deliberately…

On an appeal from findings after a trial involving documentary and oral evidence, an appellate court should not interfere with factual conclusions merely…

A disposition of a registered freehold estate which is ineffective at law for want of registration creates an equitable interest, but not an estate contract…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds disclose no real prospect of success and no other compelling reason for an appeal. A party’s…

An out-of-court appointment of administrators by directors is not invalid merely because the directors may have exercised the statutory power for an improper…

Conduct may be unfairly prejudicial under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 where directors remove substantial company assets without authority, in breach…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2, costs remain discretionary, but the general rule is that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party. In removal…

When appointing a substitute professional executor, the court must assess the candidates in the round and choose the person best suited to administer the…

Transactions may be treated as a single arrangement, or as separate transactions, where business assets are transferred or made available to another entity at…

For Case B(b)(ii) of the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, an order approved by both Houses of Parliament means an order approved through the affirmative…

In an application for an interim injunction requiring continuing supply of fungible goods, the court should apply the staged approach in American Cyanamid Co…

In deciding whether to sanction a scheme of arrangement, the court must first verify statutory compliance, then consider the meeting’s composition and good…

Service-charge covenants must be construed as a whole. Where the obligation is expressed as payment for specified services, or as a proportion of costs…

A limited civil restraint order may be made where the threshold in Practice Direction 3C is met by repeated applications dismissed as totally without merit.…

Litigation privilege protects communications made for the sole or dominant purpose of conducting adversarial litigation. The fact that litigation is…

A committal applicant must prove breach beyond reasonable doubt. The respondent must know the order and the facts making the conduct a breach. Deliberate…

Formal admissions may be withdrawn only with the court’s permission, exercised justly having regard to all the circumstances. Relevant factors include the…

Under standard disclosure, documents must materially affect a party’s case or support another party’s case. Earlier expert reports prepared for different…

A local authority acquiring land for community facilities with public funding may hold the land beneficially for its statutory purposes, even where the project…

A decision of the Land Registry may be protected from collateral attack in later proceedings where allowing the claim would be manifestly unfair or would bring…

At a restructuring-plan convening hearing, the court determines jurisdiction, class composition, notice and meeting arrangements. It does not decide the plan’s…

A qualifying floating charge holder applying for an administration order under paragraph 35 of Schedule B1 must show both that it could appoint an…

Where a regular default judgment is challenged and the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim, setting aside remains discretionary.…

Permission to amend a statement of case is determined by weighing all relevant circumstances under the overriding objective. The court balances the applicant’s…

A foreign judgment must be understood by examining its reasons as well as its operative order. Under Articles 29 and 30 of the Brussels Regulation, a court…

The court may grant declaratory relief where there is a real and present dispute about a legal right, even though the relevant obligation depends on a future…

An administrator may obtain an order under paragraph 71 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 to sell property free from security where the sale is likely…

The iniquity exception to legal professional privilege extends beyond crime and fraudulent misrepresentation to dishonest or bad-faith conduct, sharp practice…

A de facto director is identified objectively by what the person actually did, viewed in context and in the round. There is no single decisive test.…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court does not assess the scheme’s merits or fairness. It considers proposed class composition and…

A winding-up petition may be presented by a person with a debt claim, including claims for loans, expense reimbursement, salary or quantum meruit. A claim for…

The Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction may be used where the applicant establishes a good arguable case that a legally recognised wrong has occurred, even though…

The rule in Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v Newman Industries Ltd (No 2) is a narrow rule of company law. It bars a shareholder’s claim for diminution in share…

The court will not sanction a scheme under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006 unless creditors have received sufficient, accurate and timely information to make…

Charity trustees may control access to charitable property and may seek an injunction to restrain trespass. Their powers are not absolute. They must exercise…

A joint venture constructive trust requires an arrangement or understanding concerning joint ownership of property, together with circumstances making it…

Damages awarded in substitution for specific performance are ordinarily assessed at the hearing date, rather than automatically at the date of breach. That…

A search order may be made against a non-party who holds, or may hold, evidence relevant to proceedings, including a person in a position analogous to a…

The existence of criminal restraint orders does not, without more, eliminate the risk of dissipation or prevent the grant or continuation of a worldwide…

On an application to set aside a valid default judgment, the defendant must first show a real prospect of successfully defending the claim or some other good…

For scheme class composition, the court must focus on creditors’ legal rights, rather than commercial interests. The relevant comparison is between rights…

A worldwide freezing order may be granted where there is a good arguable case for recognition of a foreign bankruptcy and a real risk of dissipation.…

Rectification of a pension deed requires convincing proof, on the balance of probabilities, of the relevant party’s subjective intention and of an error in the…

Under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006, a recognition application must be served in accordance with Schedule 2. Where service cannot be made at the…

For trade mark confusion, the court must assess the overall impression of the marks globally through the eyes of the average consumer, considering the…

A sole director may apply to court for an administration order under paragraph 12(1)(b) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, even where the company’s…

The court has a broad discretion on costs. The general rule is that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party, but all the circumstances, including…

Applications by administrators for directions under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 should be approached by analogy with applications by…

Where every creditor class approves a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the court may apply the established principles governing the…

A party alleging breach of a confidential settlement agreement must prove the particular breach on the evidence. Contractual obligations are construed…

Permission to bring misfeasance proceedings under paragraph 75 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 requires a reasonably meritorious cause of action and…

The court supervising an administration has an unfettered power under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to direct that a creditor-requested decision procedure to…

A judgment obtained without proper service should ordinarily be set aside where the defect caused prejudice and the respondent has an arguable defence. A…

A contractual right to terminate a land sale agreement for non-payment may be exercised where the contract, read as a whole, makes punctual payment essential…

A partnership may exist before incorporation where parties carry on, or have commenced, a business in common with a view to profit. Incorporating a company…

A party cannot rescind a contract for fraudulent misrepresentation unless a relevant representation was made and relied upon. Even if representations had been…

Under CPR 38.6, discontinuance normally makes the claimant liable for the defendant’s costs. The claimant bears the burden of showing a good reason to depart…

Joinder under CPR 19.2(2) is discretionary and requires one of the statutory conditions to be satisfied. The court may join a non-party even where its…

A director cannot bind a company to a transaction outside his actual or apparent authority where the counterparty knows, or ought to know, of the lack of…

A tax return cannot be rectified in equity to circumvent a statutory regime governing tax assessments, amendments and appeals. Even if an electronic document…

A registered proprietor of a legal charge remains entitled to bring possession proceedings unless an effective transfer of the relevant legal or equitable…

When sanctioning an insurance business transfer scheme, the court must exercise its discretion under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by considering…

A dominant undertaking’s price increase does not, without more, establish abuse by limiting the market under competition legislation. The statutory concept of…

A company occupying premises for business purposes may hold a tenancy protected by Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Re-entry without a court order…

Section 57 of the Trustee Act 1925 permits the court to confer general administrative powers on trustees. An application need not relate to a particular…

Under the Presumption of Death Act 2013, a declaration may be made where the court is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a missing person has died.…

The slip rule permits correction only where an order fails to give effect to the court’s actual intention because of a genuine accidental error or omission. It…

In contempt proceedings, the applicant must prove each alleged breach to the criminal standard. A failure to comply with an order may constitute a breach…

Where parish property held on charitable trust by churchwardens and overseers transferred to a parish council under the Local Government Act 1894, the council…

A person is not a de facto director merely because their name appears on a premises licence, they are described as an owner or boss, or they advertise a…

At an interlocutory stage, a court may draw reasonable inferences when assessing whether there is a good arguable case, particularly where strong evidence…

A court may make a financial conditions order affecting an application under the slip rule. Such an order is not confined to wholly exceptional circumstances.…

On an application for summary judgment seeking declaratory relief, the CPR Part 24 test concerns the defendant’s prospect of disputing the facts or matters…

On an application to sanction a scheme of arrangement, the court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements and any convening order have been complied…

When exercising its unfettered discretion under Part VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court must assess whether the proposed transfer…

Section 382 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 confers a flexible remedial jurisdiction. A restitution order need not replicate common-law damages…

In a probate claim, testamentary capacity and due execution permit an inference that the testator knew and approved the will, but suspicious circumstances…

The statutory stay on proceedings against a company in compulsory liquidation extends beyond ordinary court claims. It includes quasi-judicial proceedings…

On an application to sanction a scheme, the court must first verify statutory and procedural compliance, including the convening order, class constitution, the…

When sanctioning a scheme of arrangement, the court must ensure compliance with the statutory requirements, proper class constitution, fair representation…

A restriction to use land or an access way for agricultural land only permits activities which are genuinely incidental or ancillary to agriculture. It does…

At the pre-trial stage, confidentiality may properly prevail over open justice where disclosure of information supplied in litigation would make little…

Documents obtained through a search order remain subject to strict controls on use and dissemination. Persons who obtain the benefit of the order, particularly…

Passing off requires goodwill, a misrepresentation and damage. Goodwill generated by trading under a name and get-up belongs to the trading entity where the…

At the convening stage for a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the court determines jurisdiction, statutory threshold conditions…

On an appeal from a specialist trade mark tribunal, the appellate court should not substitute its own evaluation unless the decision involves a material error…

For a claim in damages arising from the wrongful payment of an insolvent company’s money, the discharge of corresponding liabilities does not necessarily…

On an interlocutory application, a proposed claim may proceed only where it has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. The court must avoid…

An unfair-prejudice petition requires conduct of the company’s affairs, or an act or omission of the company, which prejudices the petitioner’s interests as a…

Applications concerning disclosure and late evidence are governed by reasonableness, proportionality and the overriding objective. Under the Disclosure Pilot…

Company property held by solicitors must ordinarily be delivered to an office-holder under Insolvency Act 1986, section 234, without the office-holder having…

A guarantee connected with an authorised guarantee agreement is not contrary to the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 merely because the guarantor’s…

Personal representatives must ascertain and pay the deceased’s debts and liabilities before distributing the estate. Where potential creditors are…

A challenge to an arbitral award under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996 requires more than an arguable procedural imperfection. The applicant must show…

On an application involving alleged misuse of trade secrets, a claimant may establish a serious issue to be tried through broadly expressed technical evidence…

In a single-name property case, the claimant must first establish that the parties had a shared intention that the claimant should have any beneficial…

An injunction enforcing contractual obligations must identify conduct sufficiently clearly to guide future compliance, while remaining tied to breaches…

Where a winding-up petition relies on an unadmitted debt falling within an arbitration agreement, the insolvency court should not conduct a summary judgment…

In determining a company’s centre of main interests, the court must conduct a principled inquiry into the evidence. The registered-office presumption cannot be…

A mortgage broker may be an agent, and agency is not confined to authority to conclude a contract. Whether the relationship is fiduciary depends on the…

In an unfair-prejudice share purchase, the court must determine a fair value that remedies the prejudice and reflects all the circumstances. The normal…

On a winding-up petition, the court must determine whether the alleged debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds. The procedure is not a substitute for…

For limitation purposes, a fact is relevant to a claimant’s right of action only if the cause of action is incomplete without it. Evidence which merely…

Minerals reservations are construed objectively in their contractual and factual context. The words “mines and minerals” do not automatically include every…

Damages for breach of contract seek to place the claimant in the financial position it would have occupied had the contract been performed. Causation requires…

Res judicata and Henderson v Henderson abuse of process are distinct doctrines. A later company claim is not necessarily barred merely because related…

An application for further factual particulars may be premature where the claimant alleges covert collusion and faces substantial information asymmetry. The…

An incomplete transfer or gift of shares may take effect in equity where the intention to make an immediate gift is established and it would be unconscionable…

When a court directs a preliminary issue for trial, the parties must confine their evidence and submissions to the issue actually identified. An argument that…

In a claim for an account of trust property or equitable compensation, an earlier valuation date is not justified merely because the property has fallen in…

A company director remains subject to statutory and fiduciary duties when acting as a nominee or following another person’s instructions. Company assets must…

When exercising the discretion to amend or dismiss a bankruptcy petition following a failure to disclose security, the court must consider relevant…

Where a party unsuccessfully applies for a stay under Regulation (EC) No. 1215/2012, the normal rule is that costs follow the event. The court may reserve…

On a transfer of land, mines and minerals may be retained either as a corporeal fee-simple stratum by exception, or as an incorporeal profit à prendre by…

For limitation purposes under Limitation Act 1980, a concealed fact is relevant to the claimant’s right of action only if the cause of action is incomplete…

Fortification of a cross-undertaking in damages may be ordered where the applicant shows an informed and realistic estimate of potential loss, a sufficient…

Where a party has succeeded at trial, the court may make a costs order and order a payment on account without waiting for an appeal against an earlier…

Under the Third Party (Rights against Insurers) Act 1930, a third party obtains the insured’s contractual rights against the insurer only once the insured’s…

Costs ordinarily follow the event, but the court retains a discretion as to liability, the paying party and the basis of assessment. A party who unsuccessfully…

Security for costs should not be calculated on an indemnity-costs basis merely because such an order is possible. The court must assess whether there is a…

Discharge of administrators is ordinarily the normal consequence of an administration ending. The court should not postpone discharge indefinitely merely…

A will is construed by identifying the meaning of its words in their natural and ordinary sense, read in the context of the document, its purpose and the facts…

In competition proceedings, disclosure must be proportionate but may address the information asymmetry inherent in allegations of covert collusion. A company’s…

A partnership may arise from an oral agreement where the parties objectively or subjectively intend a binding contractual relationship and the statutory…

Equitable interest following breaches of trust should ordinarily reflect the cost of borrowing. Compound interest remains discretionary, but a claimant must…

On an application for an interim injunction in a passing-off claim, the court applied the structured approach in American Cyanamid v Ethicon [1975] AC 396. The…

At the first stage of the Spiliada test, the court must identify the forum with which the dispute has the most real and substantial connection. Practical…

A trustee’s duty to get in or protect a trust asset is governed by ordinary prudence, assessed in the circumstances known to the trustee. The duty is not…

Imprisonment for civil contempt is a last resort. The court must consider whether custody is necessary, the shortest appropriate term, and whether imprisonment…

An administrator’s statutory objectives define the overall goal of the administration. They do not require every exercise of an administrator’s powers to be…

A party seeking to avoid or reduce liability under a written compromise must establish the alleged subsequent agreement, variation, waiver or estoppel on the…

Under paragraph 71 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, the court may authorise administrators to sell property subject to security as if it were not…

Applications to strike out or summarily determine a claim depend on the pleaded case, not on matters that might emerge through disclosure. A claim alleging…

Apparent bias is assessed objectively by asking whether a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered all relevant circumstances, would conclude that…

An application to set aside judgment entered for non-compliance with an unless order must comply with the procedural requirements governing applications…

A stakeholder application under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 86 is an in personam claim affecting the respondents’ rights. A respondent who wishes to…

Costs ordinarily follow overall success. Success on an individual issue does not justify an issue-based costs order unless an objective consideration, grounded…

A court may debarr a claimant from continuing proceedings for failing to pay an order requiring repayment of an overturned judgment sum. The application…

A stranger cannot unilaterally appoint himself trustee merely by relying on contractual wording that gives an appointed or assuming trustee the rights and…

Contempt of court must be proved to the criminal standard. For disobedience of an order, the applicant must prove knowledge of the order, conduct amounting to…

At a convening hearing under Companies Act 2006 Part 26, the court determines class and jurisdictional issues, not the scheme’s merits, fairness or the…

Where an order directs a party to transfer property and separately requires steps to minimise tax, the transfer obligation is not conditional on those tax…

A sports governing body exercising contractual regulatory powers must act within the hierarchy of applicable rules and observe procedural fairness. Specific…

Section 283A of the Insolvency Act 1986 applies only to an interest comprised in the bankrupt’s estate. A partner’s interest in partnership property is…

A statement of case must identify, concisely and coherently, facts which disclose an identifiable cause of action and the remedies sought. A litigant in person…

A damages-based agreement for general civil litigation is not rendered unenforceable merely because it requires the client to pay the representative’s costs…

A clearly drafted contractual option permitting partial withdrawal from a service programme is ordinarily effective according to its terms. It is not confined…

A professional may owe a duty of care where the relationship is akin to that of adviser and client or quasi-client, and reliance on the information provided is…

For the purposes of the connected-person condition in a preference claim, the relevant act may be identified as the repayment itself rather than the wider…

A director must avoid a direct or indirect interest which conflicts, or possibly may conflict, with the company’s interests. This includes exploiting…

An express agreement between the parties to treat companies as jointly owned may make the registered shareholder a trustee of the shares for the other party…

A general civil restraint order may be made where a party has persistently issued claims or applications which are totally without merit and an extended order…

When trustees seek the court’s blessing for a momentous decision within their powers, the court does not substitute its judgment for theirs. It must be…

A power in a company’s articles permitting the board to appoint directors may allow an appointment to take effect on a future date. However, the meaning of…

On an appeal involving disputed signatures, a court may resort to the burden of proof only after an unsuccessful examination and evaluation of the evidence.…

Permission to appeal is discretionary. Although the court has a broad and flexible power to grant declaratory relief, there should generally be a real and…

In an appeal against the admission of a proof of debt for voting purposes, the court may order the chair or convenor personally to pay costs only in special…

In a probate claim, the ordinary balance of probabilities remains the applicable standard when forgery is alleged. The seriousness and inherent improbability…

A judgment or order generally takes effect when given or made, whether or not it has yet been sealed, subject to any later date specified by the court.…

After limitation has expired, substitution of a defendant is permitted only where the statutory and procedural conditions for a necessary substitution are met.…

For an ill-health pension under the Fireman’s Pension Scheme Order 1992, a notional retirement pension capped by actual average pensionable pay is calculated…

A communication qualifies as a DISP complaint only if, objectively assessed, it contains every element of the FCA Handbook definition, including…

Under section 9A of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, the court must make a disqualification order where the statutory competition-law…

Contractual interpretation is a unitary and iterative exercise. The court must assess the language in the context of the agreement, its drafting quality…

Permission to amend shortly before trial should be granted only where the amendment can be accommodated without serious complication or significant encumbrance…

A civil restraint order may be imposed where a party has persistently issued claims or applications that are totally without merit. An application is totally…

An injunction to restrain infringement of an EU trade mark must ordinarily be granted. Under Article 130(1) of the Regulation, refusal requires a strictly…

Disclosure must be fair, proportionate and reasonable. In claims concerning investment advice, a claimant’s financial sophistication and appetite for risk may…

On the transfer of registered land for valuable consideration, section 29 of the Land Registration Act 2002 generally postpones unprotected interests to the…

A trust for a private members’ club may be valid even though its purposes are not exclusively charitable, where the members have enforceable contractual rights…

A court may change its mind before a judgment is perfected by order, but the power must be exercised judicially and consistently with the overriding objective.…

Article 25(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001/544 covers arrangements intended to encourage or assist…

The Payment Services Regulations 2017 create a statutory trust over relevant funds received by an authorised payment institution. The conclusion follows from…

A highway authority may recover possession from trespassers who occupy part of a highway, even though the public can still pass. A licensee may also claim…

Contempt of court is serious because deliberate breach harms the authority of the court and the rule of law, independently of the precise commercial loss…

When deciding the acceptable form of security for costs, the court applies the same broad, discretionary approach as when deciding whether security should be…

A contingent preference claim may fall within a company voluntary arrangement even where the office-holder who can pursue it has not yet been appointed. The…

A constructive trust may arise where property is transferred gratuitously to a person on the express basis that it will be held for others. The trust arises…

The court’s sanction of a scheme of arrangement involves a three-stage inquiry: compliance with the statutory requirements; fair representation of the relevant…

A possession claim subject to the coronavirus possession-proceedings stay must remain stayed during the period prescribed by the applicable practice direction…

On an appeal from a trade mark opposition decision, an appellate court reviews the decision rather than conducting a rehearing. It should show restraint…

On a summary judgment application, the court must decide a short legal point where appropriate, but should not resolve substantial factual disputes or conduct…

An application for security for costs under CPR 25.13 requires a two-stage assessment. The applicant must first establish a reason to believe that the claimant…

Where a claimant makes a Part 36 offer and obtains judgment at least as advantageous as the offer, the court must generally apply the specified consequences…

Standing to apply for restoration under Companies Act 2006, s 1029 is fact-sensitive. The statutory categories and the residual category of a person appearing…

A protected party must have a litigation friend. The prescribed procedure for appointment without a court order must be followed, although the court may…

In construing a litigation-funding agreement, provisions disregarding or adding back reductions in recoveries are read in their contractual and commercial…

The court may vary its own case-management order where there has been a material change of circumstances. In deciding whether a Part 8 claim should be heard by…

Rectification of pension-scheme rules is available where the parties had a continuing subjective intention as to the benefits, but the instrument mistakenly…

For Limitation Act 1980 section 32(1)(b), the relevant facts are the facts necessary to plead and establish the cause of action, rather than merely evidential…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where the issue depends on disputed factual matrix evidence, the construction of an informal agreement, or evidence likely to…

A payment default under a settlement agreement may entitle a creditor to pursue the original judgment debt where the agreement uses cumulative language and…

For the statutory “no worse off” principle, the relevant comparison is between the tenant’s position under the proposed market rent-only tenancy and that of a…

Summary judgment may be granted where the defence has no realistic prospect of success and no compelling reason requires a trial. The court must avoid a…

An option must be exercised strictly in accordance with its terms, construed objectively in the context of the instrument as a whole. A notice addressed to…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic prospect of success or another compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. Contractual notification requirements…

In deciding whether to restrain advertisement of a winding-up petition, the court may take account of insolvency legislation which has been introduced but is…

A judgment in personam does not bind a stranger to the proceedings or prove, against that stranger, a fact which is fundamental to a later claim. This applies…

Where a contractual drafting mistake has been established, the court must identify the correction that objectively reflects the nature of that mistake. A…

A deed may be delivered unconditionally by sending the other party a scanned signature page on an identified document, unless the surrounding circumstances…

The court’s power to join a party under CPR r 19.2 is discretionary. The applicant must first satisfy one of the independent threshold conditions in r…

Non-party disclosure under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 31.17 requires satisfaction of three conditions: relevance, necessity and the exercise of…

Permission to bring criminal committal proceedings requires at least a prima facie case and a sufficient public interest in pursuing the application. The…

Under CPR rule 25.13(2)(g), security for costs may be ordered only where the claimant has already taken steps in relation to assets which would make…

In criminal contempt proceedings, the grounds must identify the alleged conduct with sufficient clarity and specificity to enable the respondent to understand…

On summary judgment, the court asks whether the claim or defence has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. It must avoid a mini-trial, while…

A court-settled charitable constitution must be construed as a whole, having regard to its natural and ordinary meaning, syntax, context and background.…

Legal advice privilege requires a confidential communication between solicitor and client for the purpose of giving or obtaining legal advice. The…

Where a regulator requires an auditor to produce documents, the auditor’s entitlement to withhold material for legal professional privilege depends on the…

In unfair-prejudice proceedings, company funds must not be used to finance the controlling members’ defence of the petition or to confer an unfair litigation…

A bankruptcy petition is an abuse of process where it is pursued for a purpose alien to the class remedy, or where a collateral purpose is likely to prejudice…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court does not determine the merits or fairness of the proposed scheme. It should, however, identify any jurisdictional…

Costs in a challenge to a company voluntary arrangement are governed by the ordinary rules in CPR 44.2. The challenge is adversarial litigation between…

A contractual provision may be given a corrective construction where it is clear from the document and its context that something has gone wrong with the…

Preparatory acts fall within Article 10 only where there is a risk that the marked means will later be used in relation to goods or services in a way that…

A generic pleading may properly invoke section 32 of the Limitation Act 1980 where it identifies common facts, concealment and delayed discovery. The…

Section 10 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 protects information capable of identifying a journalistic source, including unpublished material. A source’s…

Section 236(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986 does not have extraterritorial effect as a matter of domestic law. That conclusion follows the binding interpretation…

A flagrant and prolonged failure to comply with an asset-disclosure obligation in a freezing order may constitute contempt at the upper end of seriousness and…

A winding-up petition should not be used to determine a debt which is bona fide disputed on substantial grounds. The Companies Court is not the appropriate…

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…

Freezing orders require a good arguable case, a real risk of dissipation and a conclusion that relief is just and convenient. Dishonesty alone is insufficient…

When deciding whether to grant relief controlling or managing its own processes, the court may take account of a likely change in the law relevant to the…

A public right of way cannot be established merely because a route was physically available or likely to have been attractive as a short cut. The claimant must…

An arbitral tribunal must give each party a reasonable opportunity to address a point likely to affect the decision. If it proposes departing from the usual…

Indemnity costs are exceptional and require conduct or circumstances taking the case out of the norm. A claim may justify indemnity costs where it was…

For the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986, s 245, post-liquidation legal work confers relevant value only where it was properly undertaken with the liquidators’…

A final order fixing the valuation date of shares should be varied only on proper grounds, having regard to the strong public interest in finality and the…

Under CPR 52.3, an application for permission to appeal to the lower court should ordinarily be made at the hearing at which the decision is given. Where a…

During an administration, administrators remain responsible for managing the company as a whole, subject to the statutory purposes, approved proposals and…

Under paragraph 98(2)(c) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, the court may specify when an administrator’s discharge from liability takes effect…

An interim springboard injunction is restorative, not punitive. The applicant must identify the unlawful competitive advantage, the resulting harm, and the…

A contract may be corrected by construction only where the language contains a clear mistake and it is clear what correction a reasonable person would…

Under section 24 of the Arbitration Act 1996, an arbitrator expressly nominated by the parties is not disqualified merely because he has prior knowledge of the…

A company may challenge an extra-judicial administration appointment through its directors where the appointment’s lawfulness is itself in issue. Only the…

The forfeiture rule may apply to a manslaughter killing involving diminished responsibility where the killing was deliberate, intentional and unlawful. Before…

On an application under CPR 3.4(2)(a), a claim may be struck out where, assuming the pleaded facts to be true, it is bound to fail. A limitation issue will…

Costs for a hearing lasting no more than one day should generally be summarily assessed unless there is good reason for detailed assessment. Substantial…

The court has jurisdiction under CPR 19.9(4) to grant conditional permission to pursue a common-law derivative claim even where the claimant presently lacks…

In deciding costs applications, the court should ordinarily make a payment on account where costs are payable subject to detailed assessment. Permission to…

A claimant may recover as damages the reasonable costs foreseeably incurred in responding to loss caused by a solicitor’s breach, including litigation against…

Permission to serve a foreign defendant out of the jurisdiction under the necessary or proper party gateway requires a real issue to be tried against the…

An interim restraint application under section 12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 is a discrete exercise requiring a provisional assessment of the likely outcome…

A fraudulent misrepresentation claim succeeds where a false statement materially contributes to the decision to contract, even if it is not the sole or…

On an interim payment of costs, the court should estimate likely recovery while allowing an appropriate margin for error. Interest on costs may be awarded at…

Under section 12 of the Human Rights Act 1998, interim restraint of journalistic publication ordinarily requires the applicant to show that success at trial is…

For the purposes of Regulation (EC) No. 1215/2012, claims seeking enforcement of a contract and declarations that the same contract is invalid may involve the…

In determining whether charges amounted to overcharging in a fraud claim, the court may assess whether they were excessive or unreasonable in the general…

The court’s discretion to stay bankruptcy-petition proceedings in favour of an individual voluntary arrangement is broad, but must be exercised by reference to…

For the purposes of enfranchisement under the Places of Worship (Enfranchisement) Act 1920, “trust” is not confined to a trust in the strict legal sense. It…

Where the requirements for a preference under Insolvency Act 1986, section 340 are established, restoration is the norm, reflecting the statutory policy of…

A will is invalid where the testator’s testamentary capacity is impaired by an affective disorder or by insane delusions which influence the disposition.…

A first-instance court should revisit a judgment only in exceptional circumstances and in accordance with the overriding objective. Fresh evidence must be…

For partial revocation of pharmaceutical trade mark specifications, the court must identify a fair category by considering therapeutic indication and the…

For a scheme meeting, class constitution depends on members’ rights, not merely their commercial interests. The relevant comparison is between the rights…

Once proceedings have begun, CPR 31.16 cannot support an order for pre-action disclosure. A Norwich Pharmacal order is a distinct, exceptional remedy and does…

A joint tenancy is not severed by a written notice unless the notice is effectively served in accordance with the statutory requirements. Where registered post…

A substantial property transaction between a company and companies connected with its directors requires the approval prescribed by the Companies Act 2006…

A landlord’s certificate under a service-charge provision may be conclusive as to the amount of costs incurred, subject to the stated exceptions, without being…

Initial disclosure under paragraph 5 of CPR Practice Direction 51U is confined to key documents relied on in a pleaded case and documents necessary to enable…

When deciding whether to try a limitation preliminary issue across related claims, the court should balance the additional value of a determination against the…

The appointment of a new trustee is effected by the appointor’s act. The appointee may disclaim the office, with retrospective effect, but acceptance is not a…

A contractual promise to hold future receivables on trust may take effect in equity where the property is sufficiently identifiable and the agreement is given…

A statutory claim for repayment of money paid under an unenforceable agreement is subject to the six-year limitation period in section 9 of the Limitation Act…

Under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958, the court may approve arrangements that vary existing trusts but may not approve a complete resettlement. The removal…

The court may exclude an issue, evidence or cross-examination before trial where its admission would generate disproportionate expense, delay, satellite issues…

When contractual documents contain an obvious drafting error, construction and rectification are alternative remedies. The court may consider them in the order…

Rectification under Schedule 4 to the Land Registration Act 2002 may include consequential orders necessary to correct the effects of a registration mistake…

On an application to fortify a cross-undertaking in damages supporting an injunction, the applicant must establish three linked matters: an intelligent…

On an interim injunction application, a claimant with a good arguable case that contractual rights in a company or its assets require protection may obtain an…

On a strike-out application concerning allegations of fraud or dishonesty, the court asks whether the pleaded primary facts make dishonesty more likely than…

Serving a statutory demand and threatening winding-up proceedings is an abuse of process where the alleged debt is disputed on bona fide and substantial…

On a bankruptcy petition, the court must be satisfied that the petition debt is due. A genuinely disputed debt or genuine triable issue prevents a bankruptcy…

A court may proceed with a committal application in a respondent’s absence where the respondent has been properly served, had sufficient notice and opportunity…

A trust instrument must be construed objectively, using its language, purpose and relevant surrounding circumstances. In a charitable trust, long subsequent…

A defendant debarred from defending remains unable to advance evidence or submissions amounting to a defence, but the claimant must still prove the claim on…

When directing publicity for an insurance business transfer scheme, the court may waive prescribed notification requirements where complete compliance is…

In construing an agreement for surrender of a lease, the phrase “any money due on completion” ordinarily refers to crystallised contractual payment…

The discretion to make a non-party costs order under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 51 is governed by whether the order is just in all the circumstances.…

Costs following an interlocutory injunction granted on the balance of convenience remain a matter of judicial discretion. There is no invariable rule that…

A judge should recuse himself or herself for apparent bias only where the circumstances would lead a fair-minded and informed observer, knowing all relevant…

A company’s money should not ordinarily be used to fund disputes between its shareholders. An exception may arise where a company pursues a genuinely…

On an application to extend an administrator’s term, the court should consider why the administration remains incomplete, whether another insolvency regime is…

In a tightly timed contractual delivery procedure, “return” of materials ordinarily means delivery to the specified destination, not merely consignment to a…

Each partner in a solicitor’s firm is entitled to access the firm’s papers and client files held by another partner. The requesting partner’s motive is…

A fine imposed on a company after liquidation is provable in the winding-up or administration where it arises from offences committed before liquidation. It is…

When approving a distribution plan under the investment bank special administration regime, the court must exercise its own discretion and decide whether the…

A contempt application may proceed in the respondent’s absence where the respondent has had clear notice, sufficient time to prepare, no adequate reason for…

Permission for a common-law multiple derivative claim requires sufficient interest, a prima facie case, an established exception to Foss v Harbottle, and…

For an out-of-court administration, written consent from the appropriate financial regulator must be obtained and lodged by the filing of the notice of…

Periodic drawings made by directors and shareholders as advances against anticipated dividends cannot ordinarily be re-characterised as remuneration when…

A person is knowingly concerned in a statutory contravention if they are actually involved in it and know the facts constituting the contravention. For a…

Where a deceased sole shareholder’s executors cannot obtain probate before serious and urgent prejudice will result to the company, the court may rectify the…

A possession order is a final order for the purposes of CPR Rule 3.1(7) where it finally determines the claimant’s right to possession, even if other claims…

In construing pension scheme rules, the court gives substantial weight to the chosen words and the long-term nature of the instrument, while avoiding undue…

Whether payments to shareholder-directors are disguised distributions depends on the true purpose and substance of the transactions. The court must consider…

A beneficiary seeking an account must show that no account has been produced or that the account provided is inadequate. The beneficiary need not prove a…

Separate proceedings should generally remain separate where combining them would risk disrupting a trial concerned with overarching issues, particularly when…

On an application for an interim injunction restraining a specific payment, the applicant need satisfy only the American Cyanamid requirement of a serious…

Relief from the automatic costs-budgeting consequence under CPR 3.14 is a principled discretion governed by the overriding objective. The court must consider…

In insolvency proceedings, the standing of a respondent joined by the applicants is ordinarily governed by the joinder test in CPR rule 19.2(2), rather than by…

Liability for misuse of private information is determined objectively. Dishonesty, malice and bad faith on the publisher’s part are irrelevant both to whether…

A non-party costs order may be made against a person whose nature and degree of connection with proceedings shows that they caused or facilitated their…

A trust of an investment bond may be completely constituted even where the trust document omits the bond number, provided the property can be identified from…

An unfair-prejudice claim must be commenced by petition in accordance with the statutory procedure. A claim form cannot replace that mandatory gateway, and…

A shareholder has no right, on a consensual company demerger, to receive assets proportionate to the percentage of shares held. The shareholder is entitled…

Without prejudice material may be admitted where justice clearly demands it and the material falls within an established exception, or a small and principled…

To set aside a judgment for fraud, a claimant must plead conscious and deliberate dishonesty which was material to the judgment. Materiality requires the…

The forfeiture rule applies to unlawful killing by causing death by careless driving, as it does to manslaughter. The absence of deliberate or intentional…

For limitation purposes under Limitation Act 1980, constructive knowledge requires an objective assessment of what a reasonable person with the claimant’s…

A trade mark specification cannot be invalidated merely because its terms lack clarity or precision. Bad faith invalidity is assessed only in relation to goods…

In a claim alleging that property is held on a charitable trust, the Attorney General represents the beneficial interest of the charity. Where the claim is…

The grant of a negative declaration is discretionary. The court must consider whether there is a real dispute, whether the parties are affected, whether all…

In multi-party litigation, sample claimants should be selected by a procedure that fairly identifies the factual and legal variations requiring guidance, while…

A party who has failed to pay an interim costs order may be permitted to continue proceedings only on payment, unless the court is satisfied that the condition…

An injunction restraining presentation or advertisement of a winding-up petition is ordinarily available to the company whose legal right is threatened, not…

A bankruptcy petition is a class remedy. The court must consider the value of debts supporting and opposing the petition, together with the commercial…

On an application under Limitation Act 1980, section 33, the court must assess the whole period of delay but distinguish periods for which the claimant was…

Where a defendant’s defence is struck out because its culpable conduct has prevented a fair trial of liability issues, the claimant need not ordinarily prove…

For a statutory enfranchisement notice, construction is objective. The court asks how a reasonable recipient, considering the notice as a whole and its…

On an application for strike out or summary judgment, the court must not conduct a mini-trial. Disputed allegations of fraud, dishonesty and factual inference…

Where pension scheme rules contain two potentially inconsistent methods for calculating increases, the court must construe the wording as a whole and determine…

Extended disclosure is a process directed to identifying documents relevant to the key issues in dispute. It must remain reasonable and proportionate having…

Permission to bring committal proceedings for false statements should be granted only with great caution. The applicant must show a strong prima facie case…

For derivative claims concerning limited liability partnerships, CPR 19.9C applies only the procedural provisions identified in the rule. It does not import…

The exclusivity principle requires a challenge to a purely public law decision to proceed through the appropriate public law procedure. A claimant cannot use…

Participation in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and payment of furloughed employees may amount to adoption of their employment contracts by…

Proprietary estoppel requires a sufficiently clear assurance, reasonable reliance and substantial detriment caused by that reliance. Clarity is highly…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires a claim with a reasonable prospect of success. For an alleged connected-company preference…

In an administration, an employment contract is not adopted merely because it remains un-terminated for more than 14 days. Adoption requires conduct by the…

A foreign judgment registered in England may establish that a creditor holds security for the purposes of a bankruptcy petition where the foreign court has…

An English court may enforce disclosure notwithstanding a real risk that compliance will expose a foreign litigant to prosecution abroad. Foreign law does not…

Under Part I of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, a tenant qualifies to enfranchise only where the tenant holds substantially the whole of a leasehold house. A…

Permission to bring charity proceedings under section 115(5) of the Charities Act 2011 should not be granted merely because the proposed claim is legally…

A statement of case must plead concise, material facts supporting an identifiable cause of action and remedy. Pleadings directed at statements or documents…

A claim issued in the name of a deceased person is a nullity, but that does not invalidate a claim separately issued by other claimants with proper authority.…

The court’s case-management power to adjourn a trial must be exercised consistently with the overriding objective. During the COVID-19 restrictions, the…

At the convening stage of a scheme under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006, the court does not decide the scheme’s merits or fairness. It determines…

In an individual voluntary arrangement, creditors may propose modifications of the debtor’s proposal, subject to the statutory limits and the debtor’s consent.…

Costs in Part 8 proceedings for approval of a scheme are governed by Civil Procedure Rules 44.2, but the ordinary unsuccessful-party rule will ordinarily have…

A disqualification undertaking is essentially a statutory contract. Retrospective rescission for fraud requires proof of fraudulent misrepresentation: a…

The self-dealing rule applies where a trustee sells trust property to herself, even where she is also a discretionary beneficiary, unless the transaction falls…

Under rule 14.9(2) of the Insolvency Rules 2016, an office-holder is ordinarily not personally liable for costs incurred in an appeal against a proof-of-debt…

A claim in tort may concern a matter arising out of an arbitration agreement where the tort issues have a sufficiently close connection with contractual…

On an application to sanction a scheme of arrangement, the court must be satisfied that the statutory requirements have been met, the relevant class has been…

Permission to commence private committal proceedings requires a strong prima facie case against each alleged contemnor. The applicant must show, in relation to…

When deciding whether to sanction a Part VII insurance-business transfer, the court must assess whether sanction is appropriate in all the circumstances…

A stay of protective restitution proceedings may be lifted where the statutory proceedings have become substantially protracted and the claimant wishes to…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, reasonable financial provision for an eligible applicant is provision for maintenance…

An appeal against refusal to strike out or summarily determine a claim concerning the ownership of company shares will succeed only if the lower court made an…

Trade mark infringement and passing off claims involving descriptive branding require close attention to the marks or signs as a whole and to their actual…

Under the statutory MRO regime, the minimum lease term required by regulation 30(2) is cumulative with the separate requirement that proposed terms be…

Goodwill in an entertainment business belongs to the person who created and developed the distinctive service and with whose business the public most closely…

A company director’s fiduciary duties are not limited to preventing misappropriation of existing company assets. They also prohibit exploiting a business…

A preliminary issue should be ordered only where it is decisive or potentially decisive, can be tried efficiently on sufficiently agreed facts, and is unlikely…

An accessory who is jointly and severally liable for trade mark infringement is not ordinarily liable to account for profits made by the primary infringer…

In assessing an account for rent-free occupation, the relevant measure is the value to the occupier of using the property in its actual condition. The court…

On an appeal against factual findings, the appellant must show that the trial judge fundamentally misunderstood the issue or evidence, plainly failed to take…

The doctrine of merger does not automatically extinguish a cause of action merely because the earlier judgment was declaratory. The court must examine the…

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

An account of profits is a remedy to which a beneficiary is virtually entitled as of right following a fiduciary breach. It may be withheld only on established…

Testamentary capacity is a question of capacity to understand and evaluate, not a test of perfect memory. A testator need not remember previous wills, the…

Confidentiality rings in competition litigation are exceptional. They must be confined to the narrowest extent possible and carefully scrutinised to prevent…

Amendments to pleadings in the Shorter Trial Scheme are governed by the court’s case-management discretion and the overriding objective. Relevant…

A trustee enforcing security for noteholders must exercise its discretion in the interests of the noteholders as a class and must not ordinarily prefer some…

The Henderson v Henderson principle can apply when a party seeks to introduce a new claim at a later stage of the same proceedings, including after summary…

Summary judgment requires the claimant to show that the defendant has no real prospect of defending the claim and that no other compelling reason requires a…

On an application to sanction a scheme of arrangement under Companies Act 2006, the court must apply the statutory scheme-sanction principles to registered…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance sufficiently clear to amount to a promise, reasonable reliance, and substantial detriment causally linked to that…

Long use may establish a prescriptive easement where the court can identify a reasonably possible lawful origin. A right to park may be appurtenant to a…

An appeal is ordinarily a review of the lower court’s decision. An appellate court should distinguish errors of law, findings of fact, evaluative judgments and…

Sections 140 B(8) and 141(5) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 do not impose an inflexible requirement that every potentially affected lender must be joined…

Under CPR 52.19, the court may cap recoverable appeal costs where first-instance costs were normally limited or excluded. The discretion requires consideration…

On an interim return day, a freezing injunction may continue where the evidence establishes a good arguable case of dishonest asset diversion and a real…

In managed multi-party litigation, a previously permitted pleading should not be struck out as an afterthought without a material change in circumstances.…

A person may provide dishonest assistance to a fiduciary breach through participation in a transaction chain, even where separated from the defaulting company…

An unless order for disclosure takes effect where serious and significant breaches are established and there is no good reason for them. Compliance requires…

In construing a will, the court identifies the testatrix’s intention from the words used in their documentary and factual context, giving legal or technical…

In a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation, damages comprise loss directly flowing from entering the transaction, assessed subject to causation, remoteness…

Permission to amend grounds of appeal should be granted where the proposed ground has a real prospect of success. An application to admit fresh evidence is…

A petition under Companies Act 2006, section 994, is inappropriate where the alleged prejudice consists of reliance on invalid share transactions and the…

Insolvency standing depends on a claimant having a legitimate interest in the relief sought. An outsider to a liquidation, including a disappointed bidder…

A retiring partner’s entitlement is ordinarily the value of the partnership share at the retirement date, including partnership assets. Once ascertained, that…

The iniquity exception removes legal professional privilege where a lawyer is instructed to further crime, fraud or other iniquity. It can apply even if the…

A person seeking to challenge a trustee in bankruptcy’s decision under the Insolvency Act 1986 must show both statutory qualification and a legitimate or…

Where a judgment creditor seeks equitable execution against an asset held by an ostensible owner alleged to be the judgment debtor’s nominee, an injunction…

A disclosure application must identify a proper legal basis and the parameters of the applicant’s entitlement. Where security for costs is ordered, the…

The court may direct correction of an error in the Register of Presumed Deaths under paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 1 to the Presumption of Death Act 2013 by…

On an appeal against a winding up order, the appellate court must decide whether the order was wrong or unjust because of a serious procedural irregularity.…

For limitation purposes, a proposed new claim may be added after expiry of the limitation period where it arises from the same or substantially the same facts…

Where a contract debt is governed by foreign law, a foreign insolvency regime may affect both procedure and the creditor’s substantive entitlement to enforce.…

A landlord waives forfeiture only where, with knowledge of the facts giving rise to the right, it unequivocally recognises the continuing lease. Knowledge that…

In assessing likelihood of confusion under Trade Marks Act 1994, goods and services should generally be considered individually, or in genuinely homogeneous…

A court has jurisdiction to require a defendant to give an undertaking in damages as the price of an order requiring security for costs. The jurisdiction…

A judgment creditor may use CPR Part 71 to obtain information from a debtor in aid of enforcing a foreign judgment which is recognised and enforceable in…

On an application to amend pleadings which is not late or very late, permission should be granted where the proposed case has a real prospect of success, is…

Recognition under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 is not barred merely because the debtor, an English-registered LLP, has been dissolved in…

Relief against sanctions may be granted where a serious and inadequately explained delay has prevented an application from being made within the period…

Late disclosure of important documents during a trial may be permitted where justice requires it, but the court must assess the breach rigorously. The relevant…

Expert evidence should be admitted where it is necessary to resolve a pleaded issue. Where it is not necessary, the court should ask whether it would assist in…

Security for costs under CPR 25.13(2)(g) may be ordered where a claimant has structured ownership of assets so that enforcement would be difficult. The…

Summary judgment on a construction issue should be granted only where the court has all information necessary to determine the issue and is in as good a…

Extended Disclosure under Practice Direction 51U: Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts must be fair, reasonable and proportionate. Issues for…

A trustee’s removal is not fault-based, but that does not make success and failure irrelevant to costs. A trustee who actively resists replacement will…

Applications for additional disclosure under the Business and Property Courts Disclosure Pilot should be determined by reference to necessity for the just…

A will may be rectified under Administration of Justice Act 1982, section 20 where a clerical error causes it to fail to give effect to the testator’s…

For an insolvency application, the period in which service must occur under rule 12.9(3) of the Insolvency Rules 2016 is calculated by reference to the hearing…

In managed multi-claimant litigation, liability for adverse costs is a discretionary question of fairness. The court need not start from a presumption of joint…

A defect in filing a notice of appointment of administrators may be waived as an error of procedure where the statutory and procedural requirements for the…

For limitation purposes, a negligent recommendation to pursue a hopeless appeal ordinarily gives rise to one cause of action when the appeal is commenced and…

Under section 2 of the Presumption of Death Act 2013, the court must distinguish between being satisfied that a missing person has died and being satisfied…

A claim may be an abuse of process where it seeks indirectly to undermine earlier court decisions, even if it is framed as a new claim for damages and does not…

Where a debtor seeks to go behind an existing judgment debt, the court applies the stringent test in Dawodu v American Express Bank rather than asking merely…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires three matters: a serious issue to be tried, an applicable gateway, and England being clearly…

The company or its directors cannot appoint an administrator out of court hours by electronic filing. The Insolvency Rules 2016 deliberately permit such…

An application to adjourn a trial made at the last moment requires consideration of the parties’ conduct, the reasons for delay, whether the consequences can…

An inadvertent error in using the CE-filing system may be remedied under CPR PD 51O para 5.3(2) and CPR 3.10(b) where the substantive insolvency filing…

When assessing security for costs, the court must estimate the likely costs order and adopt a percentage that balances the risks of under-estimation and…

In an insolvent partnership, the statutory provisions governing contributions by company contributories must be read across, with appropriate adjustments…

Determining a boundary is an exercise in construing the relevant conveyance, informed where necessary by physical features and other extrinsic evidence. On an…

Use of a sign similar to a trade mark with a reputation may infringe where the sign creates a link with the mark and takes unfair advantage of its distinctive…

The “best evidence” rule is not a rule requiring production of an original document whenever it is available. It is guidance governing whether secondary…

The court may sanction a scheme of arrangement where the statutory requirements are met, the class is fairly represented, the majority acts bona fide without…

The statutory confidentiality regime governing information obtained during an investigation does not permanently displace the court’s control over disclosure…

A bank providing lending services must exercise reasonable skill and care. Industry-wide regulatory standards may assist in identifying the required standard…

A defined term in a written instrument ordinarily has the meaning fixed when the instrument is executed. It does not acquire a different meaning merely because…

A proceeding is a “foreign proceeding” under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 only where it is connected with the resolution of insolvency or…

An application to join new parties under CPR 19.2 requires identification of the relevant statutory limb and satisfaction of its conditions. The conditions…

A contract may be set aside for common mistake of law only where the parties shared a common assumption as to an existing state of affairs and the mistake…

Whether the effect of bankruptcy on accrued pension rights falls within the scope of the freedom of establishment under art 49 TFEU was a question of EU law…

A breach of the statutory obligation to issue a VAT invoice does not, without more, create a private law cause of action for the customer. The statutory…

The court’s discretion to expedite a trial requires real, objectively viewed urgency before the degree of expedition or other factors are considered. The court…

A consent order may be varied under CPR 3.1(7) only where there has been a material change of circumstances or the facts underlying the order were misstated.…

A promise to suspend disciplinary proceedings may be contractually binding where the promisee presents proceedings promptly, in a modified form and at the…

A director’s general duties under the Companies Act 2006 continue during administration and creditors’ voluntary liquidation. Those duties operate…

On an application concerning land held on an express trust, the court may order sale or partition under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act…

Commercial co-venturers do not become fiduciaries merely because their relationship involves trust, confidence and co-operation. Fiduciary duties require an…

Unrepresented litigants are ordinarily subject to the same standard of compliance with court rules and orders as represented parties. An unless order may be…

For the purposes of an administration under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, a Gibraltar-incorporated company may fall within the statutory definition…

A section 994 petition is not a disguised derivative claim merely because the alleged unfairly prejudicial conduct also involves breaches of directors’ duties.…

A search order is directed primarily to the preservation of evidence, not to providing early disclosure. Imaging electronic devices does not, without more…

Damages for infringement of a UK patent must compensate the proprietor for the loss caused by the infringement. Where the proprietor licenses its rights, the…

On bankruptcy, property comprised in the bankrupt’s estate vests in the trustee, and the bankrupt ordinarily lacks standing to litigate claims concerning that…

A pension scheme provision stating that increases are linked to capped RPI, followed by a power to substitute “any other rate”, may on proper construction…

A stay of enforcement should not be extended where the judgment creditor has an established entitlement to payment and the proposed timetable does not justify…

For contempt arising from breach of an order against a company, the company’s director is liable only if aware of the order and either aids or abets the breach…

In deciding whether to sanction a scheme of arrangement, the court must consider four matters: compliance with the statutory requirements; fair representation…

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

A pleading referring to repeated publication does not ordinarily plead separate causes of action arising from unidentified later publications. A later…

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…

On a members’ scheme of arrangement, the court’s primary concern is the interests of the scheme participants. Third-party creditor concerns may be considered…

For joinder under CPR 19.2(2), an applicant need not establish a real prospect of success. It is sufficient to show an arguable issue with some prospect of…

Where advance petroleum revenue tax (APRT) has been used by statutory set-off to discharge a petroleum revenue tax (PRT) liability, it is treated as payment of…

A document intended to be executed as a deed may nevertheless be enforceable as a simple contract where the deed formalities were not satisfied, provided the…

An application to adjourn a civil trial on medical grounds requires an assessment of the medical evidence together with the procedural history, the nature of…