High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2024

Permission to amend pleadings is discretionary. The court must apply the overriding objective and balance injustice to the applicant against prejudice to the…

A contractual obligation to account for dividends or principal repayments is construed according to the agreement’s language and commercial context. A tax…

Relief under article 21 of the UNCITRAL Model Law requires both a jurisdictional basis and a discretionary assessment. The court must be satisfied that the…

The Debt Respite Scheme Regulations do not make the debt advice provider the exclusive decision-maker on whether a debt is a qualifying debt. A court may…

On an assessment following default judgment, pleaded allegations operate as a proxy for the judgment establishing liability, but causation must still be proved…

A contractual right to terminate on reasonable notice is not inferred where the agreement, read as a whole, provides for indefinite duration and expressly…

Sentencing for contempt requires an assessment of seriousness by reference to culpability and harm. The court must consider whether a fine is sufficient and…

A contractual promise to use reasonable endeavours to agree a future dispute-resolution process is unenforceable where the parties remain free to pursue their…

A former member of a limited liability partnership may apply for restoration under section 1029(2)(g) of the Companies Act 2006, regardless of when membership…

In consequential proceedings following the determination of a joint venture account, the currency of the judgment must reflect the currency in which the joint…

A civil contempt allegation requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the respondent knew of the order, deliberately performed or failed to perform the…

A company voluntary arrangement is a statutory contract. It must be construed by ordinary contractual principles, but the court cannot vary or stay it by…

A contractual presumption that a party should not benefit from its own breach is a tool of construction, not an independent rule overriding the parties’ words.…

In a petition under Companies Act 2006, majority shareholders may amend articles to protect the company’s commercial interests, even where the amendment…

In construing a professionally drafted commercial agreement, the court must undertake a unitary exercise centred on the language used, read in its contractual…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 38.6, discontinuance normally makes the claimant liable for the defendant’s costs. The claimant bears a high burden to show…

Where nuisance has been established, an injunction is ordinarily the appropriate remedy for preventing its continuation, although the court retains a…

Permission to amend and serve out of the jurisdiction requires: a serious issue to be tried on the merits; a good arguable case within a jurisdictional…

A consent order declaring a claim’s “Established Value” to be a minimum value does not, without more, prevent the claimant later seeking judgment for a higher…

At the convening stage of a restructuring plan application, the court should not ordinarily assess the plan’s merits or fairness. Those matters belong…

At a convening hearing for a restructuring plan, the court does not determine the plan’s fairness or merits. Its role is to address preparatory matters…

Summary judgment is appropriate where the evidence permits a short point of law or construction to be decided, but not where a defendant has a realistic…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court determines whether creditors have adequate notice, whether any obvious jurisdictional roadblock exists, and whether…

Patent claims are construed purposively and in the context of the invention described in the specification. A functional requirement such as flow being…

A claimant must prove the amount of loss even where the defendant is debarred from defending. The court may make reasonable assumptions to resolve uncertainty…

Declaratory relief is discretionary. It may properly be granted where it will serve a useful purpose in future enforcement or related proceedings, even if it…

A freezing order will ordinarily require prompt disclosure of assets so that the claimant can police the order. Where the order is challenged, the court…

Beneficial ownership of company shares may differ from registered ownership where the evidence establishes a resulting or constructive trust. A resulting trust…

Pre-action disclosure may be ordered where the procedural conditions are met and disclosure would materially advance fair disposal, settlement or costs…

The decision whether witnesses may give evidence remotely is a case-management discretion. Permission should be granted only where there is good reason and a…

Contractual interpretation is a unitary exercise. The court must balance the natural and ordinary meaning of the words against the agreement’s provisions…

A statutory presumption that the patent applicant is entitled to the grant does not create an additional evidential hurdle once a prima facie dispute has been…

A will is construed by identifying the meaning of its words in their documentary and factual context. Where the statutory conditions are met, evidence of the…

A voluntary disposition may be rescinded for a sufficiently serious mistake about its tax consequences. The mistake must be distinct and causative, and relief…

A Part 8 claim seeking a declaration concerning charitable relief from national non-domestic rates is not inherently an abuse of process merely because related…

In proceedings under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, knowingly overstating turnover in a Bounce Back Loan application may constitute…

A contempt hearing should ordinarily take place in person. Remote attendance requires strong, evidenced justification, particularly where the alleged contemnor…

An order for further information under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 18 may concern any disputed matter relevant to the proceedings, including matters not…

An applicant seeking a freezing injunction must establish a good arguable case, assets within the jurisdiction and a real risk that a future judgment will go…

Issues for disclosure should be concise and focused on the key disputed issues, viewed in light of the documents likely to be relevant. They should not become…

An administration order may be made where the applicant has standing, the company is insolvent, and there is a real prospect of achieving an administration…

On an application to vary a freezing order, the applicant must satisfy the court that the proposed transaction is in the interests of justice. The court must…

Administrators may be discharged from liability under paragraph 98 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 when the administration is being brought to an…

In disputes about the disposal of a deceased person’s body, the court’s overriding consideration is a decent, respectful and prompt disposal. The court should…

Damages for trespass are compensatory. The user principle permits compensation measured by a reasonable price or fee for wrongful use of valuable property…

On reverse summary judgment, the court asks whether the pleaded claim has a realistic prospect of success. It must avoid a mini-trial, but may decide a short…

The court may permit an administrator to distribute under paragraph 65(3) of Schedule B1 even where distribution cannot begin immediately, provided…

A claim is liable to be struck out where a claimant fails to comply with an unless order requiring properly particularised pleadings, an application to amend…

Specific disclosure in insolvency-related proceedings is available, but the jurisdiction is exercised sparingly. The court must consider relevance…

For an amendment to be permitted, the proposed case must have a real prospect of success. It must be coherent, properly particularised and supported by…

A qualifying floating charge holder may justify an out-of-court administrator’s appointment by relying on any continuing Event of Default existing when the…

Administrators proposing a distribution plan affecting unrepresented trust beneficiaries owe the court full and frank disclosure of all material matters. Costs…

Part 18 of the Insolvency Rules 2016 governs remuneration payable as an expense of an administration. It does not govern sums agreed between an administrator…

Section 955 of the Companies Act 2006 gives the court a broad discretion to make any order needed to secure compliance with a Takeover Panel rule. The…

A company may participate substantively in an unfair prejudice petition where it has an independent interest to protect. The governing question is whether…

A split trial is exceptional. The court should begin from the position that as many issues as possible should be determined on the same occasion. Delay…

A successful party will ordinarily recover costs under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2(2)(a), unless there is a reason to depart from that rule. For a…

An intervention under the Solicitors Act 1974 may be justified by a swift assessment of reasonable suspicion, rather than proof of dishonesty. The court should…

A company may apply for an administration order through a sole director where the Model Articles apply unmodified and no article requires more than one…

A professional adviser engaged to obtain planning permission and assist with the resulting works may owe contractual and concurrent tortious duties extending…

An interim precautionary injunction may be granted against identified persons and persons unknown where the claimant establishes a cause of action, sufficient…

A foreign receivership will be recognised in England only where there is a sufficient connection between the company and the appointing jurisdiction under…

A position trade mark is not invalid merely because its registration permits some variation. The question is whether the mark, read as a whole, conveys clear…

A proprietary estoppel claim requires an unambiguous promise or assurance intended to be taken seriously, reasonable reliance, and substantial detriment caused…

An agent who receives money belonging in law or equity to a third party is not liable as a constructive trustee merely because the agent knows the money is…

In a public-interest winding-up petition under Finance Act 2022 section 85, the respondent company may raise public law defences in the petition proceedings.…

Under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, the central question is whether replacement of personal representatives is in the interests of the…

A document specifically mentioned or directly alluded to in a witness statement may be inspected under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, subject to privilege and the…

Indemnity costs are justified where a party conducts litigation outside the ordinary and reasonable conduct of proceedings. Strong feeling and hard-fought…

Where a party is successful on a strike-out application, the general costs rule ordinarily applies. A summary assessment is appropriate where it is…

For private international law purposes, “capacity” has an internationalist meaning encompassing a corporation’s substantive power to enter into a contract.…

An interim declaration is inappropriate where the relief sought would finally determine the parties’ substantive rights. A party seeking summary determination…

Where a share purchase agreement expressly requires deferred consideration to be calculated by reference to adjusted EBITDA, the court should give effect to…

For service out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must show a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case within a jurisdictional gateway, and that England…

On applications for strike-out or reverse summary judgment, the court must determine whether the claim has a realistic prospect of success without conducting a…

A member must show substantial and unfair prejudice to the member’s interests. In a family company operated as a quasi-partnership, agreed rights of management…

A will may be revoked by physical destruction where the testator acts with the intention of revoking it. Complete destruction is required, but the testator may…

Under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the relevant alternative is the outcome most likely to occur if the restructuring plan is not sanctioned. The court…

Misrepresentations about a lender’s loan book, its due diligence and the independence/value of security cannot be remedied by simply calling the issuer a…

Summary judgment may be given where the evidence permits a short and decisive determination of law or construction, provided the defendant has no real prospect…

A contract for the sale of land made before 1989 need only be evidenced in writing, and part performance may satisfy the equitable exception. Specific…

A course of conduct amounts to harassment where its volume, duration, targeting and manner cross the boundary from conduct that is unattractive or unreasonable…

A court cannot rehear a judicial review claim that has already been decided and dismissed. An oral judgment and order take effect when pronounced unless the…

In complex group litigation, case-management directions must balance the need to establish each claimant’s standing with proportionality. Standing is…

Contractual costs indemnities are construed by reference to their precise wording. A requirement that costs be properly incurred concerns the circumstances in…

A departure from the ordinary disclosure regime under CPR 31.22 must be justified by the circumstances of the case. Confidentiality protections should reflect…

Relief restraining presentation of a winding-up petition is appropriate where the alleged debt is bona fide disputed on substantial grounds or the company has…

A cy-près occasion requires more than showing that a charity could use its property in a more extensive or effective way. The existing use must have become…

At a convening hearing for a restructuring plan involving a foreign company, the court must be satisfied that the statutory conditions for a plan are met and…

For the purposes of contribution, liability for the same damage requires more than a common underlying loss. The relevant question is whether the parties are…

A will may be valid despite its unusual form, provided it contains revocable dispositions intended to take effect on death, the testator intended the document…

The statutory expression “unregistered company” in section 220(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 is enlarged by its reference to companies and associations, but it…

Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 scheme, a dwelling is treated as unfit for human habitation while a landlord fails to comply with the…

A party relying on a trust deed to establish that a registered proprietor has disposed of a beneficial interest bears the burden of proving the disposition.…

A constructive trust may arise where the evidence establishes a common intention that the registered owner is to hold property for another, together with…

Documents obtained by a liquidator under compulsory insolvency powers are subject to an implied, qualified duty of confidentiality. The duty does not prevent…

Permission for a company employee to represent a company under CPR rule 39.6 may be required at hearings other than trial, including a case management…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 35.1, expert evidence may be admitted where it is reasonably required to resolve proceedings justly. Evidence need not be…

Whether an informal business arrangement amounts to a partnership, and whether a claimant has a beneficial interest in property, depends on the parties’…

For the purposes of an unfair-prejudice petition, personal conduct by a shareholder is not enough. It must be causally connected to conduct of the company’s…

Regular default judgment may be set aside under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 13.3 only where the defendant has a real prospect of defending the claim or there…

On an application to set aside a statutory demand, the debtor must show a genuine triable issue, equivalent to a real prospect of successfully defending the…

Objections made in the course of taking a common trust account are not statements of case. The court therefore has no direct jurisdiction under CPR rule 3.4(2)…

Defects in the execution of pension-scheme amendments may be cured by rectification where the evidence establishes a continuing common intention that the…

A solicitor advising on settlement must exercise the care and skill of a reasonably competent and diligent practitioner specialising in the relevant…

Administrators must pursue the statutory objective selected under Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 in the interests of creditors as a whole. Where a…

On a blessing application under the second category in Public Trustee v Cooper, the court does not substitute its own view for that of the trustees. It asks…

For the third excepted case under Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, the second company must have been non-dormant throughout the entire 12-month…

An order striking out a defence does not necessarily prevent a respondent from challenging items in an account, particularly where the order permits objections…

For a cohabiting partner’s pension under the Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations 2013, the claimant must show either financial dependence on the…

Trade marks incorporating descriptive terms receive protection only to the extent that their distinctive features, rather than the descriptive elements…

For an urgent interim injunction concerning alleged exclusion from a partnership business, the court applies the three-stage approach in American Cyanamid: a…

Contempt arising from a deliberate breach of a freezing order ordinarily warrants an immediate custodial sentence where the conduct seriously attacks the…

Claims arising from a solicitor-client relationship governed by English law may be brought only by, or on behalf of, the relevant clients, subject to any…

Equitable compensation for breach of trust is assessed by restoring the beneficiary to the position that would have existed but for the breach. The court…

Costs of a contested interlocutory application which is decided on its merits will generally follow the event under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 44.2.…

An application to set aside an order dispensing with notice of eviction must address the procedural order actually made. It cannot reopen an unchallenged…

When sanctioning an international scheme of arrangement, the court must examine statutory compliance, class representation and voting, whether an intelligent…

In a directions application concerning an insolvency asset, a payment made by one group company to secure business-rates relief did not become part of the…

Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 focuses on the transferor’s purpose, not merely the transaction’s effect or foreseeability. A transaction at an…

Schedule 10A to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 incorporates the common-law test of inducement or reliance for claims based on misleading…

Requests for further information must concern a matter in dispute and be concise, strictly confined, reasonably necessary and proportionate. The court’s…

The court will restrain presentation or advertisement of a winding-up petition where the petition debt is disputed on genuine and substantial grounds. A…

For CPR 18.1, a matter may be “in dispute” before a defence is served. The question is determined from the case as a whole, including available pre-action…

Following dissolution, Partnership Act 1890, section 42 applies by default where continuing partners use partnership assets, unless there is an agreement to…

A certificate required by an unless order must be construed in its factual and procedural context. Where the order requires details of a funding route, a…

The court will restrain presentation of a winding-up petition where an undisputed debt is met by a genuine and serious cross-claim which is likely to equal or…

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…

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

An oral agreement concerning the succession to shares may be contractually binding where mutual promises were intended to have legal effect, even though the…

Under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, the overriding question is whether the estate can be administered properly and in the best…

A deed of priority referring to a maximum capital sum plus interest and costs ordinarily gives priority for the lender’s properly recoverable debt, interest…

For the purposes of fairness under section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, a default interest rate may protect a legitimate commercial interest where…

An applicant seeking a without-notice injunction must give a fair and complete presentation, including a proper explanation for delay that made a…

In trade mark exhaustion disputes, the alleged infringer ordinarily bears the burden of proving proprietor consent. That burden may be adjusted where there is…

On a renewed application under section 115(5) of the Charities Act 2011, the High Court exercises an original discretion. The court must consider whether there…

A professionally drafted contract referring to a freehold title by its single registered title number ordinarily transfers the whole of that title. Commercial…

Applications to expedite proceedings challenging intervention into a solicitor’s practice are inherently urgent because intervention may close the practice…

A contempt application may amount to an abuse of process where it is a disproportionate pursuit of pointless litigation. Contempt proceedings should ordinarily…

A charity’s governing constitution must be followed unless validly altered under its own terms or by an applicable statutory power. An executive committee…

Where contractual wording reflects a transaction whose commercial purpose is apparent from the admissible background, the court should construe the words in…

When an administration has entered distribution mode, the court may extend the administrator’s term for as long as reasonably necessary to complete the…

On an application to serve bankruptcy proceedings outside the jurisdiction, the creditor must show a good arguable case that a jurisdictional gateway in…

When deciding whether to approve costs budgeting for a company joined to unfair prejudice proceedings, the court should be cautious if approval could…

The forfeiture rule may be modified where assistance in a suicide was motivated by compassion and followed a clear, settled and informed decision by the…

In an application for an interim injunction to restrain an alleged infringement of rights to light, damages may be an adequate remedy even where the claimant…

Where invalidity or revocation affects only part of a trade mark specification, the court may determine the appropriate narrowed specification on the evidence…

Under the Presumption of Death Act 2013, the word “missing” is a general descriptor and does not impose a separate jurisdictional threshold. A declaration is…

Amendments to a statement of case must remain within the permission previously granted and must not introduce new causes of action or renewed objections. A…

Under the investment bank special administration regime, the court may approve a distribution plan that departs from clients’ strict proprietary rights. The…

A freezing order requires a good arguable case on the merits, a real risk of unjustified dissipation assessed objectively, and it being just and convenient to…

A constructive trust may arise where it would be unconscionable for a legal owner to deny an agreed beneficial interest, even without detrimental reliance.…

For a freezing injunction, the applicant must show a serious issue to be tried, a real and objectively assessed risk that assets will be unjustifiably…

For limitation purposes, a claimant has trigger knowledge when she knows enough about the damage and its possible attribution to the defendant’s act or…

For the purpose of serving Particulars of Claim under rule 7.4(2), the relevant deadline is the latest time by which the claimant must complete the service…

Part 26A restructuring plans may compromise contractual rights, including a promise not to submit particular liabilities to a plan, where the holder has a…

Trade mark infringement and passing off depend on the evidence in the particular case. For online use to count as genuine use of a UK trade mark, mere…

On termination of a joint venture, the balancing payment is to be determined by an account based on the parties’ actual contributions, drawings, profits and…

Members of a company in members’ voluntary liquidation do not have a general power to control the liquidator’s conduct of the winding-up, including decisions…

The general rule is that court hearings take place in public. A private hearing is justified only where publicity would make it impossible, or materially…

A transferee mortgage lender may continue applying the original standard variable rate under the transferred mortgage conditions. A transfer does not…

A novation may be inferred from conduct where the inference is necessary to provide a lawful explanation or basis for what the parties did and to give business…

Where a claimant company’s financial position gives reason to believe that it will be unable to pay an adverse costs order, the court has jurisdiction to…

On a summary possession claim under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 55, the question is whether the claim is genuinely disputed on grounds that appear…

Costs are determined by a broad assessment of overall success and the conduct of the proceedings. A late amendment does not automatically entitle the opposing…

External-eyes-only disclosure is exceptional. The disclosing party must show a real risk of misuse causing genuine prejudice, supported by clear and cogent…

A proprietary estoppel equity arises where a sufficiently clear assurance, reasonable reliance and substantial detriment make it unconscionable for the…

On an application for summary judgment, the court must assess whether the relevant claim or defence has a realistic prospect of success and whether there is…

Retrospective validation of defective claim-form service requires a good reason in all the circumstances. Knowledge of the claim form is important but is not…

In trust litigation, trustees are generally entitled to reimbursement from the trust fund for expenses properly incurred when acting for the trust. The same…

Permission to amend a statement of case requires more than an arguable case. The proposed amendment must carry some degree of conviction, be coherent and…

USDT is property under English law. It is neither a chose in possession nor a chose in action, but a distinct form of property to which property rights may…

For trade mark infringement, a business facilitating purchases from independent retailers does not provide the retailers’ goods or services merely because it…

An appeal is a review of the lower court’s decision, not a retrial. The appeal court should interfere only where the decision was wrong in law, outside the…

An expert determination clause may be separable from the underlying contract where that is the parties’ objective intention. The question is one of contractual…

A statutory moratorium linked to arbitration continues according to the express mechanical terms of the legislation. It is not curtailed because an appeal…

Where registered title is undisputed, the owner is prima facie entitled to an injunction restraining trespass, without applying the balance-of-convenience…

Summary judgment or strike out is inappropriate where a claim raises difficult or developing questions of unjust enrichment and the court cannot be certain…

On an appeal from a trade mark opposition decision, the appellate court must identify an error in the first-instance tribunal’s evaluative reasoning; it must…

A will that appears regular on its face attracts a presumption of due execution. That presumption is displaced only by the strongest evidence. Testamentary…

A claim for declaratory relief should not ordinarily proceed without a defendant where identifiable persons may have an interest in enforcing the relevant…

An ATE policy may provide adequate security for costs where, read with any anti-avoidance endorsement, it gives the defendant effective protection against the…

A late-disclosure default justifies striking out a case at trial only in exceptional circumstances. The court must consider whether the conduct has made a fair…

Serious allegations in civil proceedings remain subject to the balance of probabilities. Their seriousness does not create a heightened standard, although…

A common intention constructive trust may arise where the parties agree that a transfer of land is subject to a continuing beneficial interest, the claimant…

In a civil claim alleging that a will was forged, the standard remains the balance of probabilities. The seriousness of the allegation does not alter that…

For infringement under Trade Marks Act 1994, s.10(2)(b), similarity between signs and identity or similarity of services do not by themselves establish…

Summary judgment is rarely appropriate in an unfair-prejudice petition under Companies Act 2006, because the court has wide powers to fashion a remedy suited…

At the convening stage of a restructuring plan application, the court decides whether the statutory jurisdictional conditions are met, whether the proposed…

In assessing costs after a trial of issues, the court should stand back and identify the parties’ overall success in the litigation. Success achieved through a…

In proceedings under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, litigation costs must ordinarily be dealt with under the Civil Procedure…

On an interim payment on account of costs, the court must apply a broad-brush assessment. The paying party’s own costs are relevant to reasonableness and…

Where a company is insolvent, or probably about to enter an insolvency procedure, directors must consider and act in the interests of creditors. Those…

On an application for summary judgment, the court should determine a short point of law where the evidence is sufficient and no realistic prospect exists that…

Applications to strike out or obtain summary judgment are determined by the pleaded case and the evidence appropriate to the relevant test. Strike out requires…

Applications under sections 235 and 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 require evidence that the office-holder reasonably requires the information or documents…

Legal professional privilege is inviolate where it exists, and does not involve balancing privilege against competing interests. The iniquity exception applies…

A court should not use the consequential-order stage after trial to determine the validity or scope of undertakings, or to give advisory rulings on unargued…

The jurisdiction to review, rescind or vary an insolvency order is wide but exceptional. It requires a material difference from the evidence previously before…

An express declaration of trust is conclusive as to beneficial ownership unless rectified or rescinded, varied by subsequent agreement, or affected by…

A mandatory injunction under section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is discretionary. The court must exercise the discretion judicially…

Under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 42(3), leave to institute, continue or make an application in civil proceedings may be granted only where the court is…

An alleged oral option to purchase land at full market value may support a proprietary estoppel claim, although it is unenforceable as a contract under section…

Where a taxpayer’s challenge to HMRC’s handling of a tax claim concerns public law issues rather than private rights, the proper route is judicial review. The…

In assessing a buy-out remedy for unfair prejudice, the court may make a reasonable allowance for corporation tax which would have arisen in the counterfactual…

A common intention constructive trust may arise for the benefit of a minor where the relevant agreement is made by an adult acting on the minor’s behalf. The…

Consequential orders following a judgment concerning collateral use of disclosed documents, summary judgment, abuse of process, amendment and costs. A breach…

Equitable compensation for breach of directors’ duties is assessed by reference to loss caused by the breach. Where breaches cause an insolvent company to…

A petition under Companies Act 2006, section 994, requires proof that company affairs were conducted in a manner both unfair and prejudicial to the…

A written agreement regulating solicitors’ remuneration for contentious business may be a contentious business agreement even if it provides for payment by…

An order may be varied or revoked under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 3.1(7), only within a principled exercise of the discretion. Finality, the avoidance…

Damages for misuse of confidential information are compensatory and aim to restore the claimant to the position it would have occupied absent the wrongdoing.…

In construing a unilateral settlement, the court must identify the objective meaning of the settlor’s words by reference to their natural meaning, the document…

A contract requires agreement, an intention to create legal relations, consideration, and sufficiently certain and complete terms. Exploratory discussions and…

The High Court has probate jurisdiction over English property forming part of an estate, regardless of the deceased’s domicile. A stay on forum non conveniens…

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

In a probate claim, the propounder bears the burden of proving knowledge and approval, assessed holistically from all relevant evidence. Proper execution…

Applications under section 366 of the Insolvency Act 1986 require a careful balancing exercise. The office holder must establish a reasonable requirement for…

A mortgage account is a discretionary remedy available where there is a genuine and real dispute about the state of the account, even if redemption is not…

For a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the relevant alternative is the outcome the court considers most likely if the plan is not…

A quasi-partnership may exist where a company was formed through mutual trust and confidence, its shareholders were expected to participate in management, and…

A defence should not be struck out merely because the party cannot provide historical, invoice-by-invoice particulars, where the pleaded case remains legally…

Applications concerning declarations require the court to assess both the underlying claim and whether declarations would serve a useful purpose. A declaration…

Directors must use company assets for proper corporate purposes and must genuinely consider the company’s interests. Where a company is insolvent or bordering…

For infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, the court must first identify the claim’s inventive core. That core is derived from the claim, read in the…

In disputes over beneficial ownership within a family, legal title is only the starting point. The court must first construe any written declaration of…

In insolvency directions proceedings, costs may properly be paid from the insolvent estate where the application is a neutral judicial inquiry required to…

Where a settlement agreement requires the deletion of confidential documents in a party’s possession or control, the obligation is not confined to documents…

Grovit abuse is not established by delay alone. The court must determine whether post-commencement inactivity was caused by an intention not to progress…

For the purposes of interpreting a will, an adopted person is treated as the child of the adopter and not of the natural parent, subject to any contrary…

In a contentious probate claim, the propounder must prove testamentary capacity where the evidence raises a real doubt. The Banks v Goodfellow test remains…

Where simple interest accrues on a debt, a part payment should ordinarily be allocated to accrued interest before principal. This preserves the practical value…

Permission to appeal should be granted where a first appeal has a real prospect of success or there is another compelling reason for it to be heard. A real…

Under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006, unfair prejudice requires both prejudice and unfairness assessed in the context of the parties’ corporate…

A passport order may be made before or after judgment where it supports the court’s procedures, including enforcement. Because it restricts liberty, the…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court must assess jurisdictional obstacles, the adequacy of notice and explanatory materials, and whether creditors can…

For the purposes of CPR rule 36.12, a case is decided when all issues in it have been determined and no further trial is required. This remains so where final…

A solicitor’s negligence claim may properly combine concurrent breaches where the pleaded loss results from their cumulative effect. A claim should not be…

In civil contempt proceedings, the applicant must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the respondent knew the order, breached it, and knew the facts making the…

A passport order may be made under section 37 of the Supreme Court Act 1981 to support a significant court process, including enforcement after judgment or the…

On a summary judgment application, the respondent need show a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. The court must not conduct a mini-trial…

An extension of time for serving a claim form under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 7.6 requires a claimant to establish a good reason for the inability to…

Costs remain within the court’s discretion, but the general rule is that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party’s costs. A party’s failure to accept…

Defects in an out-of-court administration appointment do not automatically render the appointment void. The court must distinguish requirements defining when…

Capacity is decision-specific and functional. The court must ask whether the person is unable to make the relevant decision and, if so, whether that inability…

A representative appointed under CPR, Part 19.12 represents the deceased person’s estate only for the purposes of the proceedings in which the appointment is…

Injunctions may restrain protest-related trespass, public nuisance and unlawful interference with an adjoining landowner’s access to the highway. Articles 10…

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

A settlement releasing claims against the respective agents of the parties does not ordinarily release claims by a party against its own solicitor merely…

Relief from sanctions requires a structured assessment of the seriousness and significance of the breach, the reason for default, and all the circumstances.…

Persuasion is not unlawful merely because it influences a person’s decision. It becomes undue influence when the transaction cannot fairly be treated as the…

A person may be a de facto director without formal appointment where, viewed objectively and cumulatively, they assume the status and functions of a director…

Professional indemnity insurance proceeds paid to an insured company belong beneficially to the company unless the policy, the underlying contract, an express…

On an application for Beddoe relief and approval under Insolvency Act 1986, section 284, the court must balance the interests of creditors and beneficiaries…

Rectification of a will requires the court to identify the testator’s intentions, determine whether the will fails to give effect to them, and establish that…

An appeal should not be struck out for a technical procedural default where the surrounding circumstances make that outcome unjust and the proposed appeal has…

Where a winding-up order is not made, a provisional liquidator is ordinarily entitled to retain company property required for remuneration and expenses. The…

An appellate judgment must identify the issues critical to the decision and explain the reasoning by which they were resolved. It need not address every…

A claim may be struck out where it is incoherent, discloses no legally recognisable cause of action, breaches a statutory or procedural restriction, or amounts…

A winding-up order should not be made where the alleged debt is disputed in good faith on substantial grounds. The petitioner bears the burden of showing that…

Proprietary estoppel requires an assurance or representation, reliance, and substantial detriment caused by that reliance. The central question is whether it…

In director-disqualification proceedings, the Secretary of State’s supporting affirmation is a hybrid document. It contains both the evidence relied upon and a…

Summary judgment on liability in a petition under Companies Act 2006, section 994 is available, but it is an exceptional remedy. The court must apply the…

An appeal against refusal to permit a party to attend or give evidence remotely must be assessed by asking whether the resulting hearing was fair, rather than…

Under section 996 of the Companies Act 2006, the court has a wide but judicial discretion to grant relief for unfair prejudice. A share purchase order may be…

An assessor’s role depends on the nature of the dispute and the assistance required. Where an assessor provides evidence or expert factual material, disclosure…

On an appeal against rejection of a proof of debt, the court considers the claim de novo and determines, on the balance of probabilities, the amount properly…

The High Court’s equitable jurisdiction to grant injunctions is flexible and may develop to meet new circumstances, provided relief remains principled…

Relief from sanctions may be granted where a breach is serious and lacks a good reason if, considering all the circumstances, refusal would be manifestly…

Permission to use compulsorily disclosed material for a foreign criminal investigation requires special circumstances and persuasive reasons, without injustice…

An implementer may bring a claim seeking FRAND relief before pursuing patent validity issues, and the patent claim is not abusive merely because licensing…

When enforcing a charging order, the court has a broad discretion whether to order sale. The fact that a sale will not discharge the whole judgment debt is…

On a trustee’s application for the court’s blessing of a momentous decision, the court asks whether the proposed exercise is lawful and within the trustees’…

Under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, a director may be disqualified where the company became insolvent and the director’s…

For bankruptcy jurisdiction, whether a debtor has a place of residence in England and Wales is a fact-sensitive question of fact and degree. The court must…

In an unfair prejudice petition, fairness is flexible and open-textured but remains constrained by the parties’ agreement and the circumstances in which they…

Under Regulation 7(4) of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, control requires a sufficient ability to ensure that the affairs of the relevant…

An order made in insolvency proceedings cannot be validated by alternative service where the defendant was outside the jurisdiction and permission to serve out…

An injunction against newcomers is in substance a without-notice injunction, whether formally interim or final. It is available as a novel equitable remedy…

For an application to set aside a statutory demand, “substantial grounds” require a genuine triable issue, equivalent in substance to a real prospect of…

Successful parties ordinarily recover their costs. A party seeking an issue-based reduction must provide particularised and persuasive material showing that…

For a freezing injunction, the merits threshold described in The Niedersachsen remains applicable: the claim must be more than barely capable of serious…

On an interim application supporting a petition under Companies Act 2006 s.994, the court may exceptionally remove and replace directors where that relief is…

A share transfer may be validly approved by conduct where the relevant articles do not prescribe a particular form of approval. A party who knowingly permits…

The statutory definition of “property” in Insolvency Act 1986 is wide but has limits. An interest must exist, at least as a present vested or contingent…

A contractual delivery schedule may be varied by an authorised agent through written communications, and the principal may also be bound by ratification or…

The Henderson v Henderson abuse of process principle requires a broad, merits-based assessment of whether later proceedings misuse the court’s process. It…

On an unfair-prejudice petition, the fairness of excluding a member from management is assessed objectively, by reference to all relevant circumstances. A…

Where a claim includes declaratory relief and no defence has been filed, the court may permit an application for summary judgment to proceed under Civil…

The fact a transfer is denominated a formal administrative or tax step does not prevent equity finding it was intended to reserve the beneficial interest…

A claim should not be struck out as an abuse of process merely because a related earlier proceeding could have provided an opportunity to raise it. The court…

An application for security for costs in proceedings under Part 26A is governed by the ordinary requirements of Civil Procedure Rules 1998 rules 25.12 and…

A defendant seeking release of funds subject to a proprietary freezing injunction must first establish that no assets unaffected by the proprietary claim are…

In complex fraud litigation, a split trial is not required merely because it may save time or costs. Where the court can fairly and efficiently determine the…

Specific performance is discretionary and will ordinarily be refused where damages adequately compensate the claimant or where enforcement would cause…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court may approve a scheme which uses the insolvency rules as a modified base and adds contractual…

A trustee may retain trust assets until adequately indemnified for present liabilities and, in general, contingent or future liabilities. The protection…

Following dissolution of a partnership, an open-market sale is the normal method of winding up, but it is not mandatory. The court may make a Syers order…

The open justice principle may require disclosure to a non-party of the allegations determining unfitness in company directors disqualification proceedings…

The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 must be interpreted purposively, consistently with the Directive and Aarhus Convention. The definition of…

An adviser may owe fiduciary duties personally where, viewed in context, he undertakes responsibility for a client’s property investments and exercises…

Where a company is insolvent or likely to enter insolvent liquidation, a director must give proper consideration to the interests of creditors. The duty is…

An adjournment application must be determined by asking whether proceeding would be fair in all the circumstances. The assessment is fact-sensitive and should…

Specific disclosure may be ordered where the existing disclosure exercise is materially inadequate and further searches are necessary for a fair trial. In a…

For contributory patent infringement under section 60(2) of the Patents Act 1977, the relevant intention is that of an ultimate or end user who will put the…

A contract may be formed through a combination of documents and conduct where the essential terms are sufficiently certain, even though the parties…

A person who makes or adopts a fraudulent representation to induce investment may be personally liable in deceit, even when acting as a company director or…

For restitution based on failure of basis, the failure must be total. Where a property transaction is ineffective, the failure to confer enforceable legal…

Strike-out is a draconian remedy and should be used only where the pleading defect cannot be dealt with fairly by amendment or another proportionate…

On an application for interim injunctive relief, the court must consider whether there is a serious issue to be tried, the adequacy of damages and the balance…

Technical standing under the Insolvency Act 1986 does not automatically justify relief. An unregistered transferee of shares may be a contributory through the…

A proprietary freezing injunction does not carry a presumption that the defendant may use assets which may belong to the claimant. The defendant must show, by…

Where a single joint expert has reported, a party may seek further expert evidence if it has identified reasons that are not fanciful for cross-checking the…

Articles of association should be interpreted objectively, by considering their language in the context of the articles as a whole, their scheme and purpose…

Whether an agent holds sale proceeds on trust depends on the parties’ objectively ascertained intention from the agreement and relevant surrounding…

On an appeal from opposition proceedings, the successful appellant is ordinarily entitled to its appeal costs, but the court may assess those costs summarily…

Where trustees seek the court’s blessing for a particularly momentous decision within their powers, the court does not surrender the trustees’ discretion or…

A bankruptcy order made while a debt respite moratorium is in force is not thereby a nullity. The making of the order is not enforcement action under…

In sanctioning a takeover scheme, the court must independently verify jurisdiction, statutory compliance, proper class constitution, fair representation…

For a without-notice freezing injunction, the applicant must make a full, accurate and fair presentation of all material facts, including facts which may…

Contractual construction is a unitary and iterative exercise. The court must balance the language of the agreement, its wider context, commercial consequences…

On a summary judgment application, the court may determine a short contractual construction issue where it has the necessary evidence and there is no real…

Setting aside a judgment order does not automatically create an unjust enrichment claim for repayment of sums paid under it. The effect of the order must be…

A statutory demand will not ordinarily be set aside where the debtor received it, suffered no prejudice, and any service defect is a formal irregularity…

Prescriptive easements require at least 20 years’ uninterrupted use as of right: without force, secrecy or permission. Use exercised under a lease or licence…

Summary judgment should be refused where the evidence raises a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success or where another compelling reason supports a…

For paragraph 83 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, a preferential creditor is an unsecured creditor unless the statutory context requires otherwise.…

A party may be bound by a clear admission that pursuing a claim would constitute an abuse of process or that the claim is bound to fail. Withdrawal of such an…

A statutory demand is not set aside merely because it was defective, including because notice of an assignment was served late. The debtor must show an…

Contractual construction is a unitary exercise directed to ascertaining the objective meaning of the parties’ words. The court considers the agreement as a…

On an application for strike out or summary judgment, the court must distinguish legal sufficiency from the evidential merits of the claim. Strike out is…

For partial revocation of an EU trade mark, retail services may be limited to a coherent subcategory defined by their purpose and function, including a…

A landlord’s right to renew a communal heating and hot-water system does not necessarily include a right to impose a materially different repairing obligation…

A petition under section 994 of the Companies Act 2006 is subject to the limitation period applicable to the relief sought. A claim for a share-purchase order…

For the purposes of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, a secured creditor is a creditor whose secured debt remains outstanding. A creditor whose debt has…

An application for summary judgment in a wrongful-trading claim under Insolvency Act 1986, section 214, will often depend on fact-sensitive questions…

A post-judgment worldwide freezing order may be granted where the judgment creditor shows a good arguable case, assets within or outside the jurisdiction, a…

A loan agreement may be varied by conduct without a prescribed formality, but the court must identify objective agreement to the revised arrangements as a…

Where a party seeks to rely on evidence from an independently instructed expert after a single joint expert has reported, the court should ordinarily adopt a…

Costs generally follow the event, but the court must consider all the circumstances and may make a different order. A party succeeds on an application by…

Section 36 of the Trustee Act 1925 may operate alongside provisions in a trust instrument dealing with the appointment, removal and replacement of trustees.…

A contractual mechanism deeming a transfer notice to have been served is triggered only when its stated conditions are satisfied. Where a breach is capable of…

On an appeal from summary judgment, the court must consider not only the evidence already available but also evidence reasonably expected to be available at…

When deciding whether to sanction a restructuring plan under Companies Act 2006 Part 26A, the relevant alternative is what the court considers most likely to…

On the proper construction of leases, an attic space may fall outside a demise of a second-floor flat while falling within a separate demise of an area…

A recipient payment service provider does not generally owe a third-party payer a contractual or tortious duty to detect fraud by checking whether the payer’s…

An oral agreement for the sale of land which does not comply with section 2(1) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 is ineffective.…

Allegations of dishonesty must be pleaded clearly and with particularity. A claimant cannot rely on generalised allegations, later witness evidence, or the…

Natural justice does not create an automatic right to legal representation in internal disciplinary proceedings. In an exceptional case, however, fairness may…

A donatio mortis causa is a gift made in contemplation of impending death, conditional on the donor’s death and revocable until then. The donor must deliver…

A reservation of mines, beds and quarries of ironstone, iron ore and “other metals” may extend to minerals which are sources of metallic elements, including…

The court has a wide discretion under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to select remedial or restitutionary relief for contraventions of the general…

Whether a debenture creates a fixed or floating charge depends on the rights and obligations objectively created, followed by legal categorisation. The label…

A lease may make compliance with a notice to remedy a freestanding tenant covenant, separate from any landlord step-in remedy. Failure to comply may therefore…

In determining beneficial ownership of jointly registered land, the court must distinguish an express trust, a common intention constructive trust and a…

An interim injunction must protect the legal or equitable right asserted in the underlying claim. The claimant’s alleged loss must be caused by the…

The court may order a judgment debtor to provide information in aid of enforcement where it is just and convenient to do so, particularly where the judgment…

A director’s duty under Companies Act 2006, section 172 is fundamentally subjective. The court may nevertheless reject a claimed belief where the surrounding…

A bankrupt generally lacks standing under Insolvency Act 1986, s 303(1), unless the challenge concerns the bankruptcy and the applicant has a direct and…

Permission to amend a statement of case at a late stage depends on the balance between the need for a fair and up-to-date case and the prejudice, delay, cost…

Unlawful means conspiracy was established where individuals combined to divert a company’s business, confidential information and key employees to a competing…

Permission to amend is governed by the overriding objective, proportionality, prejudice, lateness, clarity and the merits of the proposed case. A proposed…

At the convening stage of a restructuring plan application, the court should not refuse to convene creditor meetings unless a jurisdictional or other objection…

A non-party costs order against a company director is exceptional, but the question remains whether it is just in all the circumstances. The central inquiry is…

A party seeking declaratory relief bears the legal burden of proving the facts essential to the declaration. In civil proceedings, including allegations of…

A party should not be joined to costs proceedings merely because it has adopted a position which is arguable, rather than plainly wrong. A former solicitor may…

A person who sources and administers transactions for another does not thereby become a partner or obtain authority to dispose of the other’s property.…

There is no ownership of a human body. Where a valid will appoints an executor, the executor ordinarily has primary responsibility for deciding how and when…

A debarring order is a sanction of last resort. The court must assess each party’s defaults separately and consider the seriousness of the breach, whether it…

Property acquired by a bankrupt after the commencement of bankruptcy becomes claimable by the trustee under Insolvency Act 1986, s 307. Once valid notice is…

Testamentary capacity depends on the testator’s potential to understand the will, rather than perfect memory or physical health. The relevant inquiry is…

Strike out is a draconian remedy and should be used only where the pleading is bound to fail, or where striking it out will materially simplify the proceedings…

For bankruptcy jurisdiction under section 265(2)(b)(i) of the Insolvency Act 1986, whether a debtor has had a place of residence in England and Wales is a…

In a scheme or restructuring-plan claim, the court may order targeted disclosure where identified documents are relevant to issues that creditors or the court…

For a routine interim application, costs should ordinarily be summarily assessed when they are ordered. A party cannot justify detailed assessment merely…

The court may join a potential third-party costs payer before the costs liability has been finally determined or remains unpaid. The joinder application is not…

Summary disposal is inappropriate where the validity and legal character of a transfer of rights remain genuinely arguable and depend on contested expert…

A contractual expert-dispute mechanism must be construed as a whole. Where a schedule creates a self-contained process for expert determination of valuation or…

A lay person should be granted rights of audience only in exceptional circumstances and where there is good reason, assessed by reference to all the…

A director cannot relitigate findings made by a tax tribunal where he controlled the earlier proceedings, had a full and fair opportunity to contest the issue…

A company holding legal title to residential property may hold it on resulting or constructive trust for another person where the evidence shows that the…

Permission to appeal under CPR rule 52.6(1) requires a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. Where a statutory intellectual-property right is…

For the purposes of paragraph (g) of section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, a landlord must prove both a fixed and settled intention to occupy the…

Where a claimant deliberately puts proceedings on hold for a substantial period without an objectively good reason, the conduct may constitute Grovit abuse…

A deed poll evidencing a change of surname is evidential; it is not the instrument that itself effects the change. A change occurs when the person adopts the…

The court has a broad power to restrain presentation of a creditor’s winding-up petition where doing so would benefit the creditors as a class. The power may…

At a convening hearing for a restructuring plan, the court considers jurisdiction, notice, the statutory threshold conditions, class composition and any…

An employee may owe fiduciary duties where the circumstances of employment place him in practical control of his employer’s financial affairs and create a…

A charitable gift in a will must first be construed to identify the intended donee. A misdescription may be corrected where the surrounding circumstances…

For the purposes of director disqualification, conduct must be assessed in its factual context, including during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pandemic-related…

The statutory definition of an “unregistered company” in section 220(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 is not inexhaustive. It extends the natural meaning of the…

A scheme of arrangement may establish a cut-off date and an adjudication process replacing ordinary court proceedings, including in an administration, provided…

A sham requires a common intention among all relevant parties that documents should create the appearance of rights different from those actually intended…

For Insolvency Act 1986 section 423, the value of a transaction is assessed from the debtor company’s perspective by comparing the incoming and outgoing…

An unregistered and unrecognised foreign judgment may constitute a debt for the purposes of insolvency proceedings. No English judgment, registration or…

An indemnity costs order requires conduct or circumstances taking the case out of the norm. Serious and weak allegations pursued to trial, particularly where…

In approving a distribution plan under the Investment Bank Special Administration Regulations 2011, the court must decide for itself whether the plan is fair…

A company director must exercise powers only for their conferred purposes. The proper-purpose inquiry is subjective and requires examination of the director’s…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic, properly arguable prospect of success, rather than a merely fanciful or arguable case. A good-faith decision by…

Under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, the funds or economic resources subject to the asset-freeze prohibitions must in fact be owned, held…

Where an historic boundary was created by reference to a natural feature such as a line of trees, its present location must be determined from the best…

A claim should not be struck out merely because the defendant relies on an exclusion clause as a defence; that issue is ordinarily suitable for summary…

Disqualification requires proof that the director’s conduct makes the person unfit to be concerned in company management. Ordinary commercial misjudgment, or…

Permission to amend a statement of case is a discretionary decision governed by the overriding objective. The court balances the prejudice to the applicant…

A director must exercise company powers for the purposes for which they were conferred. The court identifies the power, its proper purpose, the substantial…

A winding-up petition should not be used to determine a substantial bona fide dispute. However, the companies court may critically assess whether an asserted…

A suspension of automatic bankruptcy discharge should be maintained only while it serves the statutory purpose of securing compliance with the bankrupt’s…

Claims concerning title to immovable property in England are ordinarily governed by English law and fall within the jurisdiction of the English courts. In…

Without prejudice privilege is displaced for unambiguous impropriety only in the clearest and most exceptional cases. The evidence must be rigorously…

Where co-owners acquire a home in joint names, equity starts from equal beneficial ownership. That position may change if a later common intention is…

In contentious probate proceedings, the general costs rule under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2 remains applicable. The probate exceptions are guidelines…

A solicitor’s lien over client-account money depends on the purpose for which the money is held. Money held under a freezing order to prevent dissipation is…

The court may order disclosure in aid of proprietary claims where there is strong evidence that the claimant’s assets have been misappropriated. The order must…

In a successful unfair-prejudice petition, quasi-interest on the purchase price of shares is discretionary and depends on fairness, rather than following…

The without prejudice rule protects genuine settlement negotiations, including proposals and admissions made during negotiations that do not result in an…

Beneficial ownership of company shares or property depends on the parties’ agreement and the circumstances of acquisition, not simply on legal registration or…

On an application for an interim injunction enforcing post-termination restraints, the court should assess the merits only to the extent necessary to identify…

A party’s deliberate absence from trial does not prevent the court from considering an expert report already admitted into the evidence. The court may, in an…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. An appeal is not an opportunity to re-run factual findings or introduce…

An anti-suit injunction restraining foreign insolvency proceedings may be granted under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 where pursuit of those…

An agreement will not bind the parties where the correspondence shows that they intended not to be bound until a formal document containing all essential terms…

The decision whether to order a preliminary issue is a fact-sensitive case-management decision. The court must consider the overriding objective and what is…

A settled partnership account is binding within the matters for which it was agreed, but the court may permit specific items to be corrected where errors are…

A bankruptcy order made while the debtor lacked capacity is not automatically annulled. The court must first determine whether the order ought not to have been…

A winding-up order should not ordinarily be made where the petition debt is bona fide disputed. The court’s discretion must account for the wider context and…

In large and complex litigation, the court may split issues between trials where, applying the overriding objective, this is the fairest and most efficient…

A vendor-purchaser constructive trust arises only where the contract is specifically enforceable, or would be specifically enforceable on the relevant facts. A…

At an interlocutory stage, a claim satisfies a merits test where it is coherently pleaded, properly particularised and supported by evidence establishing a…

Where an interim injunction application is not substantively heard and the hearing instead serves to organise evidence and timetable the future application…

A court has an inherent jurisdiction to stay bankruptcy proceedings, wholly or in part, although such relief will be unusual and requires compelling reasons.…

A solicitor’s duty in an investment-related conveyancing transaction depends on the retainer and the particular client’s apparent need for advice. The client’s…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed appeal has no real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. In assessing a proposed cross-claim…

For the tenant condition under the Housing Act 1985, the court asks whether the dwelling is occupied as a home and, separately, whether it is the tenant’s only…

A company director must account for company payments once the liquidator proves that the payments were made. The absence of a satisfactory explanation may…

Applications under section 382(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 are compensatory rather than punitive. Where recoveries are insufficient and…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 39.3, a court may proceed with a trial in a party’s absence where the circumstances justify doing so. The court must…

An adjournment application must be determined by applying the overriding objective and balancing the prejudice of proceeding against the prejudice caused by…

Conduct may be unfairly prejudicial where company assets are transferred to a related company at a substantial undervalue, particularly where the transaction…

In Part 8 proceedings, the general rule is that parties are not required to file and serve costs budgets. The court nevertheless has power to make a costs…

Declaratory relief may determine whether conduct breaches an existing intellectual-property injunction where there is a real commercial reason and the…

An unsuccessful application does not, without more, justify indemnity costs. The court must assess the paying party’s conduct in its full context and without…

An adjournment will not ordinarily be justified by difficulties caused by a party’s late instruction of legal representatives, particularly where the party…

On a reverse summary judgment application, the applicant must show that the claim has no realistic prospect of success and that there is no compelling reason…

In an application by trustees in bankruptcy for possession and sale of a former matrimonial home, the court held that informal communications during divorce…

Comparative advertising must be assessed by identifying both express and implied comparisons. Under regulation 4(d) of the Business Protection from Misleading…

A fixed-term interest-only mortgage does not continue indefinitely merely because development works remain incomplete. Contractual construction gives primacy…

On interim applications involving allegedly misused confidential or privileged information, the court must tailor relief to the procedural context and ensure…

A claim may be struck out for warehousing where the claimant deliberately leaves proceedings on hold, even if the claimant intends eventually to pursue them.…

Parallel proceedings may amount to an abuse of process where they concern substantially the same subject matter, witnesses and factual issues. The court may…

Summary judgment may be granted on a fraud-based claim where the defendant has no realistic prospect of defending it, but the court must approach the…

A claim to set aside an earlier judgment for fraud is an independent claim concerning the conduct of the earlier proceedings. Previous abusive litigation does…

In securities litigation, particulars of standing must enable the court and defendant to identify the factual basis of each claimant’s statutory claim. This…

A personal representative’s costs are recoverable from an estate where they were properly incurred in proceedings brought to obtain directions on construction…

A registrar’s certificate is generally conclusive evidence that the documents required for registration of a company charge were delivered in time. It cannot…

An application under section 234 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a summary and discretionary procedure designed to place apparent company property under an…

A worldwide freezing order may support enforcement of a prospective or not-yet-quantified costs order where the applicant has a strong case for substantive…

Failure to pay HMRC is not, by itself, unfit conduct. The relevant question is whether the director adopted or was responsible for a discriminatory practice of…

In exercising the costs discretion under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2, the court must identify the overall successful party and then consider all the…

A foreign judgment within the Lugano Convention must be recognised unless recognition is manifestly contrary to public policy. The exception is narrow and…

Permission to appeal is ordinarily refused where the proposed grounds seek to reargue an evaluative assessment of expert evidence, particularly on foreign law…

On an application to set aside permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction, the claimant retains the burden of establishing the jurisdictional…

In an account in common form, beneficiaries must identify specific inaccuracies in the account and provide the grounds and quantum of each objection. They…

An agent’s fiduciary duty depends on its scope in the circumstances. Disclosure that commission will be received may negate secrecy without necessarily…

On an application to set aside a statutory demand, the debtor must show a genuine dispute supported by substantial grounds. A merely arguable or fanciful…

For a freezing order, the applicant must establish a good arguable case, an objectively assessed real risk that assets will be dissipated so that a judgment…

A winding-up petition should be struck out where the petition debt is disputed in good faith on substantial grounds. A company must identify a positive dispute…

An appellate court will interfere with a case-management discretion only where the judge misdirected himself, considered irrelevant matters, overlooked…

A challenge to consequential amendments made under Taxes Management Act 1970, s 28B(4), is a public-law challenge to the validity or exercise of HMRC’s…

Liability for negligent valuation cannot be determined solely by comparing the court’s valuation with the impugned figure and applying a standard percentage…

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the contractual buyer must be identified separately from the person who ultimately has the beneficial interest. Payment by a…

A contractual confidentiality exception permitting disclosure made in good faith for the advancement of a company’s business is construed narrowly. It permits…

Tenancy-deposit information requirements are concerned with substance and statutory purpose, as well as form. An obvious error in prescribed information may be…

A statutory body concerned with a Scottish harbour may be characterised, for jurisdictional purposes, as both a trust and a body corporate. Its domicile and…

An interim declaration is a discretionary remedy. The court must apply the principles governing declarations and may use interim-injunction principles by…

An adjournment sought on medical grounds requires sufficiently detailed, current and independent medical evidence addressing the party’s condition, the…

A director’s duty to consider creditors’ interests arises when the company is knowingly insolvent. The director must give creditors’ interests appropriate…

The court held that a bank may calculate break costs for early repayment of a fixed-rate loan by valuing the lost future interest stream against the return…

An adjournment of a trial on medical grounds is a case-management decision governed by the overriding objective. The central question is whether proceeding…

The court may sanction a scheme of arrangement where the statutory requirements have been satisfied, the creditor classes have been fairly constituted and…

The court has a broad discretion to permit amendments, balancing injustice to the applicant against injustice to the respondent and applying the overriding…

A subsisting recognition order cannot ordinarily be challenged collaterally in later proceedings. A single creditor’s subsequent payment does not, without…

A proprietary estoppel may arise where a landowner, knowing of another’s mistaken belief in an entitlement to develop or use land, encourages that belief by…

For the purposes of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, residential premises may qualify as business premises where business use is a significant purpose of…

For reverse summary judgment, the question is whether the petitioner has a realistic prospect of success, not whether the respondent has proved that the shares…

An unrecognised foreign judgment may constitute a debt capable of founding a bankruptcy petition under section 267 of the Insolvency Act 1986. Recognition…

Relief under Companies Act 2006, s 996 is directed to remedying established unfair prejudice fairly and proportionately. The court has a wide and flexible…

A court order must be construed according to its natural and ordinary meaning, read in its proper factual and procedural context. The judgment and reasons…

A reversioner may sue in nuisance for permanent or potentially permanent damage to a proprietary interest, including interference with an easement, even though…

Where a claimant seeks company books and records and the defendant supplies them only after proceedings begin, the court may treat the claimant as having…

The court has a broad discretion when deciding whether to sanction a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006. Where there is no cross-class…

Where derivative claims have properly been permitted against an individual, and it later emerges that the relevant property is legally owned by another entity…

Contractual information rights must be construed objectively, by considering the language used in the agreement as a whole, its commercial purpose and the…

An interim payment on account of costs is a binding judicial determination of a reasonable sum. It is not a contingent liability merely because detailed…

An appeal concerning the enforceability of a floating charge and the appointment of administrators should not determine heavily fact-dependent issues summarily…

A person may be in contempt for deliberately failing to comply with a court order even where the failure results from misunderstanding the order. The required…

A petitioner must establish the statutory standing required by Companies Act 2006, even where the respondent has admitted that the petitioner is a shareholder.…

Rules 18.24 and 18.28 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 provide a mechanism to increase an initially fixed rate or amount of remuneration, or to…

Part 26A requires a proposed compromise or arrangement for every class of creditor or member to which the proposal is directed. A proposal that simply…

When determining costs of interim applications, the court should identify the winner, give appropriate weight to the general rule that the successful party…

A claim to set aside a judgment for fraud requires genuinely new evidence of conscious and deliberate dishonesty which was material and causative of the…

For an interim order or stay to facilitate an individual voluntary arrangement, the proposal must be both serious and viable. It must have substance, be…

A restrictive covenant prohibiting “additional buildings” ordinarily prevents separate buildings being erected in addition to an existing building. It does…

Where civil proceedings substantially overlap with a criminal investigation and a criminal restraint order is in force, the court may stay the civil…

Safeguarding provisions for electronic-money and payment-services institutions do not create a statutory trust where the institution may choose insurance or…

Under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, a restructuring plan may compromise the rights of an out-of-the-money creditor where it provides a modest…

In a probate challenge, testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, undue influence and fraudulent calumny are determined by evaluating all the evidence. A…

For security for costs under CPR r 25.13(2)(g), the applicant must show objectively that the claimant has taken steps in relation to assets which would make…

Claims against solicitors arising from earlier failed intellectual-property proceedings may be summarily dismissed or struck out where the pleaded breach…

Costs protection under the Aarhus Convention is confined to claims falling within that regime. It does not extend automatically to separate applications…

A nominee or supervisor under a company voluntary arrangement may in principle be ordered to pay costs personally, even where joined only to be bound by the…

Applications to strike out or obtain summary judgment should be determined with care where the claims raise arguable issues of fact or developing law. The…

A damages-based agreement for claims management services is unenforceable if it fails to comply with the statutory requirement to specify the true reason for…

Under the Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022, the statutory periods governing notice and reference to arbitration are strict. A reference made before the…

Permission to appeal should be refused where the proposed grounds have no real prospect of overturning the decision. Fact-sensitive issues concerning the scope…

A shareholders’ agreement requiring a company and its investors to work in good faith towards an exit by a specified date imposes a substantive obligation to…

Costs in third-party debt order proceedings remain governed by the ordinary costs jurisdiction. The specific rule permitting a judgment creditor to retain…

At a scheme sanction hearing, the court may approve material modifications made after the creditors’ meeting where the modified scheme remains substantially…

An amendment sought shortly before trial should be assessed by balancing lateness, the explanation for it, and the prejudice likely to be caused. An amendment…

A defendant joined to proceedings after a procedural order was made cannot ordinarily invoke CPR r. 3.3(5) to set that order aside. That safeguard is confined…

Where substantive proceedings are resolved and only costs remain, the court may determine costs on the available agreed or previously determined facts if that…

Fraudulent trading requires proof that the company’s business was carried on with intent to defraud creditors or for a fraudulent purpose, that the defendant…

Sentencing for contempt requires assessment of culpability and harm, followed by consideration of whether a fine is sufficient and, if custody is necessary…

A will may be validly made by a person with dementia, but testamentary capacity is transaction-specific. The court must assess whether the testator understood…

Under Companies Act 2006, contractual exit rights may materially affect whether prejudice to a minority shareholder is unfair. Where a shareholder has chosen…

When interim relief may effectively determine proceedings, the court must assess the applicant’s prospects of obtaining final relief and weigh the risks of…

The court may approve a compromise binding represented beneficiaries only where the represented classes have the same interest and the compromise benefits all…

Applications for late disclosure require strict attention to the applicable procedural threshold, reasonable and proportionate case management, and the need…

Administrators must pursue the statutory objective of rescuing a company as a going concern unless that objective is not reasonably practicable or another…

On a summary assessment of costs for an urgent injunction application, the court must assess whether the work undertaken, hourly rates and counsel’s fee were…

Under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996, the court must identify the substantial matters legally relevant to the claim and determine whether they fall…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 44, the successful party normally receives its costs. Departure from that rule requires consideration of all the…

A fixed trial date should be maintained unless grave circumstances justify vacating it. An application framed as a stay may in substance be an application to…

Where information constitutes a statutory trade secret, the open justice principle yields to the protection of that information to the extent necessary. The…

In a complex disclosure exercise, proportionality requires the court to match the breadth of disclosure to the issues, likely utility and burden of review.…

On an appeal from a trade mark opposition decision, the appellate court must respect the Hearing Officer’s specialist judgment and intervene only for a…

A specific testamentary gift does not adeem merely because a partnership has been dissolved. Where the gifted subject matter is a partner’s “share and…

In managed litigation, costs of generic issues may properly be separated from costs of individual claims. The court should assess who succeeded on each…

In an adversarial civil trial, the court must determine the issues defined by the pleadings. It cannot decide the case on a distinct, unpleaded ground merely…

Equitable compensation for breach of fiduciary duty is assessed at trial, with hindsight and on a common-sense view of causation. Common-law rules of…

The court’s power to sanction a scheme of arrangement is discretionary and is not a rubber stamp for the statutory majority. The court must consider statutory…

The presumption that a claimant discontinuing proceedings pays the defendant’s costs may be displaced where the claimant was entitled to information, made…

Testamentary capacity is determined retrospectively by the Banks v Goodfellow test. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 does not replace that test for a deceased…

In intellectual property litigation, liability may be determined by reference to specimens where this provides a proportionate and workable trial. Categories…

Permission under section 17 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 requires an unfettered balancing exercise. The applicant bears the burden of…

On summary judgment, a copyright claim based on copying requires a realistic evidential case of similarity and direct or indirect access. Access may be…

An easement may be implied where it is necessary to give effect to the parties’ common intention as to a definite and particular use of land. The court must…

For a claim for restitution of tax paid under a mistake of law, the limitation period under Limitation Act 1980, section 32(1)(c), begins when the claimant…

On an application to amend a statement of case, the claimant must show a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and plead a coherent and properly…

On an application for summary judgment concerning a will, the propounder must show that the opposing case has no realistic prospect of success and that no…

Costs incurred by a subordinate charge-holder in obtaining an order for sale do not become costs and expenses of sale ranking ahead of a prior mortgage. They…

A legal person may appear only once on the court record, even where it acts in different capacities or has conflicting interests. Separate representation does…

A transaction is not void for non est factum merely because the signatory hoped that a sale would later be reversed. The plea requires a radical or fundamental…

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

Recognition under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 is mandatory where the applicant proves that proceedings satisfy the statutory definition of a…

In assessing equitable compensation, credit must be given for assets recovered or retained under proprietary claims where those assets represent traceable…

A resulting trust arises where one party provides the whole purchase price for property transferred into joint names, subject to rebuttal by evidence of the…

The High Court dismissed a charity member’s claims concerning a presidential election and refused applications for receivers. The court held that an election…

For the purposes of the core-terms exemption in regulation 6(2) of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Regulations 1999, a dependent contract is not treated as part…

On an application to strike out or obtain summary judgment, the court must distinguish a deficient pleading from a claim requiring factual or expert…

Relief from sanctions is assessed by the three-stage approach in Denton: seriousness and significance, good reason, and all the circumstances, with particular…

At a consequential hearing, the court should give effect to the appellate conclusions already reached and should not entertain new grounds which were not…

A default judgment must be set aside where the conditions for entering judgment in default were not satisfied. For foreign service, there is no deemed service…

A final third party debt order may be made where money is held by a third party to the order of a judgment debtor. Funds held in that way constitute a debt…

A proprietary freezing order may be made under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 25.1(1)(f), and information about relevant assets may be ordered under rule…

A claim should be struck out only where it discloses no legally recognisable claim, is bound to fail, or involves misconduct so serious that continuing it…

Under Landlord and Tenant Act 1927, section 19(2), an application for consent to alterations need not follow a prescribed form. It is sufficient that the…

Applications for further disclosure or disclosure-related information must be assessed by reference to proportionality, the present evidential state of the…

An appellant seeking an extension of time for an appellant’s notice must address the seriousness and significance of the breach, the reason for default, and…

An interim amending deed may operate as an executory trust where it clearly establishes the intended pension scheme structure pending a definitive deed. A…

A gratuitous transfer of shares conveys both legal and beneficial ownership where the transferor’s subjective intention, assessed from the evidence and…

On an application to sanction a scheme of arrangement under Companies Act 2006, the court considers whether the statutory requirements have been met, whether…

Where a company’s articles are silent on appointing directors, the power must be determined by construing the articles as a whole. Articles may be amended…

A committal hearing should be adjourned where proceeding in the proposed timetable would be impractical or unjust. Relevant considerations include the time…

CPR 16.5 is not a self-contained code. A material failure to plead to allegations may justify strike out under CPR 3.4(2)(b) or (c), although the consequences…

An express declaration of trust in a transfer of registered land is conclusive of the parties’ beneficial interests unless varied by a subsequent agreement…

Where a pension amendment exceeds the scope of the power because it prejudices protected accrued rights, the court should preserve the valid part where the…

An order for non-party disclosure is exceptional and must be exercised with caution. The applicant must show, for each document or class of documents sought…

In a category 2 application for the court’s blessing of a momentous trustee decision, the court does not substitute its own view for that of the trustees. It…

The court may restrain presentation of a winding-up petition where the petition debt is disputed on substantial grounds or a genuine cross-claim may extinguish…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court must ask whether any jurisdictional or other roadblock would unquestionably prevent sanction…

In group litigation, the court has a broad case-management discretion to require claimants to particularise individual reliance cases. The timing and extent of…

For CPR r. 25.13(2)(a), “resident” has its ordinary factual meaning unless the rule’s purpose requires a different construction. Lawfulness is not generally an…

The court may stay proceedings where allowing a claimant to continue without paying costs ordered in earlier related proceedings would be abusive or unjust.…

An unpaid interim payment order may be discharged and replaced by a single final payment obligation under CPR rule 25.8. An intended appeal does not justify a…

In a deceit claim, the applicable law under Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation is determined by the place where the damage occurs, unless the tort is…

A defence should be struck out only where the pleaded facts, assumed to be true, cannot constitute a legally coherent defence. Summary judgment requires a…

A sale contract created by a tenant’s valid exercise of an option arises when the option is exercised, unless the agreement provides otherwise. A contractual…

In split trials, costs should generally be determined when issues are resolved rather than deferred until the end of the litigation. The court retains a broad…