High Court: Chancery Division judgments, 2026

Under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, materially overstating turnover in a Bounce-Back Loan application may constitute misconduct and…

A charitable constitution is construed using ordinary contractual principles, read against the background reasonably available to users of the public document.…

A claim to set aside an earlier judgment for fraud is a separate cause of action. A bankrupt lacks standing where the claim has vested in the trustee, while a…

An application for strike out or summary judgment should be refused where the defence or claim raises a properly arguable question of contractual construction…

Testamentary capacity and due execution ordinarily support an inference that a testator knew and approved a will. Where circumstances arouse suspicion, the…

A liquidator cannot use section 212 of the Insolvency Act 1986 to recover a simple contractual debt owed to the company, including a lawful director’s loan…

A distinct contractual claim for late-completion compensation must be identified in the claim form or particulars of claim and supported by the material facts.…

For service of a claim form outside the jurisdiction without permission, the claimant must show a good arguable case that the containing agreement exists and…

Under Insolvency Act 1986, leave to proceed after a winding-up should be granted where the proposed claim is genuinely arguable and raises a serious or…

A conveyancing solicitor is not generally a guarantor of an investment decision. The duty is ordinarily confined by the retainer and is fact-sensitive…

On an application for an interim payment under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r. 25.23(c), the applicant must satisfy the court, on the balance of…

A court may grant relief on a legal basis not precisely pleaded where the underlying issue was squarely in issue, each party had a fair opportunity to address…

Specific disclosure is not a means of discovering or constructing an unpleaded case. Under CPR r.31.12, an applicant must show prima facie that identified…

Copyright claimants must plead a complete cause of action and the facts enabling the defendant to know the case to meet. Each work and each claimant’s title to…

A court-appointed representative under Civil Procedure Rules Part 19.12 must act in the best interests of the estate as a whole, but need not remain neutral…

On an application to sanction a Part VII insurance business transfer under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court must identify the nature and…

Under the Insolvency Act 1986, s 238, a gross payment may be a transaction at an undervalue where the company assumes payroll-tax liability without…

For limitation purposes, a purely personal and wholly contingent liability under an unsecured guarantee is not, without more, damage caused by fraudulent…

Property held under charitable trusts remains governed by the trust instruments. Registration of a separate congregational charity and adoption of its…

For sanctions purposes, an assignment of uncertain or contingent contractual rights to receive liquidation proceeds is an economic resource, not a fund, where…

In a petition under Companies Act 2006, section 994, unfair prejudice requires proof that the conduct concerned the company’s affairs, caused prejudice to a…

On applications to strike out and amend pleadings, a proposed amended case must give fair notice, be coherent and properly particularised, and have a realistic…

A restrictive covenant expressed to secure a personal financial share in development value is not annexed to land where it confers no benefit on other land.…

A director who funds and controls litigation for an insolvent company is not ordinarily liable for the company’s costs merely because of that role. A non-party…

A contributory’s petition to wind up a solvent foreign company on the just and equitable ground requires more than a constitutional deadlock. The court must…

Where a conveyance’s verbal description leaves a boundary ambiguous but its attached plan is clear, the plan may be used to determine the precise boundary…

Proprietary and freezing injunctions engage different tests. A proprietary injunction requires a serious issue to be tried, a favourable balance of…

A person may be a de facto director without a valid appointment. The court must examine the company’s governance structure, the person’s actual acts and the…

Issue estoppel and cause of action estoppel operate only between parties and their privies. Findings in a judgment in personam are not evidence of the decision…

Negotiation damages for intellectual-property infringement are compensatory. They compensate the owner for the economic value of the right to control use…

A limitation direction under section 1032(3) of the Companies Act 2006 is available only where dissolution was the real cause of the claimant’s inability to…

Where a family member provides care under an enforceable contract at an agreed but unspecified price, the court assesses a reasonable contractual charge by…

For an acquisition constructive trust, the court asks on what terms property was transferred to the registered owner. An express agreement is unnecessary…

Success in an application to restrain presentation of a winding-up petition does not dictate the costs order. Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, CPR 44.2, the…

An application to set aside a statutory demand requires more than an arguable case. Under rule 10.5(5) of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, a…

An application for pre-action disclosure under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 r 31.16 does not require proof that proceedings are likely to be issued. It is…

When costs of a reserved interim application are determined after a related trial, the court should assess the effective outcome, not merely the form of…

For charity proceedings under the Charities Act 2011, a legally sustainable claim is necessary but does not by itself justify permission. The High Court…

A transaction at an undervalue may be established where a company transfers valuable intellectual property for a licence that is effectively worthless to it.…

At an interlocutory stage, the court should not conduct a mini-trial. Where both claims raise a serious issue to be tried and damages are not an adequate…

In consequential-costs proceedings, an approved costs budget may be revised during an unfinished trial where a court-directed development creates unbudgeted…

Confidential business information is protected where it is inaccessible and identified with sufficient precision. An employee who copies a substantial body of…

An application to restrain advertisement of a winding-up petition requires a genuine and substantial dispute or a genuine and serious cross-claim exceeding the…

In intellectual property proceedings, a claimant with a real prospect of financial relief should ordinarily receive an inquiry or account unless…

Replacement of personal representatives under section 50 turns on the beneficiaries’ interests as a whole. The court need not find wrongdoing. It must make a…

An online marketplace operator is not liable for copyright infringement merely because users upload and view protected material. Under the Copyright, Designs…

A without-notice freezing-order applicant must give full and accurate disclosure, present the case fairly and make proper enquiries. Materiality depends on…

For a contractual valuation, the expert’s jurisdiction and mandate come from the parties’ agreement. A preliminary decision made within an unfinished expert…

Under section 213 of the Insolvency Act 1986, a claimant must prove that a company’s business was carried on with intent to defraud creditors and that each…

Under section 38A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, voidness is directed at the agreement to surrender and the terms on which it is agreed. It does not…

An unfair-prejudice petition cannot be used to advance a positive case of forgery through a bare non-admission of authenticity. The allegation must be pleaded…

A case-management stay is governed by a single question: whether it is in the interests of justice. Parallel proceedings alone are insufficient, but a strong…

A will is invalid if it was not duly witnessed by two witnesses as required by section 9 (c) of the Wills Act 1837. The court may determine whether a purported…

A time limit under rule 111 may be extended only where the failure to do the required act was wholly or mainly attributable to a delay in, or failure of, a…

Bankruptcy transfers a bankrupt’s non-personal monetary cause of action to the trustee. The bankrupt cannot continue it merely because a successful recovery…

Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 confers a discretionary cross-class cramdown jurisdiction. The court must identify the most likely alternative if the plan…

A court may review its own insolvency order under rule 12.59(1) where exceptional circumstances arise, including binding authority not previously before it…

Summary judgment is appropriate where a defence or counterclaim has no real prospect of success and no compelling reason requires a trial. A detailed…

A covenant not to terminate an agreement by action or omission does not ordinarily require a party to renew an option before its contractual expiry. Expiry by…

Long-term pension scheme rules are construed primarily from their text, while giving practical and purposive effect and allowing limited weight to historical…

An appeal may be struck out as an abuse of process where it constitutes a collateral attack on, and re-litigation of, an issue conclusively determined by a…

An order for sale under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 73.10C is discretionary. Where a creditor proposes to buy charged shares, the court may require…

For leveraged spread betting and CFDs, the Conduct of Business Sourcebook appropriateness assessment concerns whether the client has the knowledge and…

The statutory power to rectify a company's register under the Companies Act 2006 may be used to create a register from scratch where no register has ever…

At the second stage of an application for permission to continue a derivative claim, the court must examine the claim beyond a prima facie threshold, while…

Under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, reference pricing is assessed from the perspective of the average consumer. A fixed sales…

Where a fraudulent misrepresentation induces a later completion payment under an existing property contract, the loss is the payment induced by the fraud.…

An obligation in a payment-services contract requiring a customer to maintain a reserve is a continuing primary obligation, not an accrued right, unless the…

Presenting a winding-up petition for a debt which is disputed is an abuse of process and a high-risk strategy. A debtor may seek injunctive relief for the…

A bankrupt may continue a pre-bankruptcy claim under the Insolvency Act 1986 where relief is sought against third-party transferees and transferred assets. The…

Where a defendant is resident in a state party to the Hague Service Convention that has not objected to Article 10(a), alternative service requires good…

A claim may be an abuse of process where an earlier strike-out determined that no viable cause of action had been shown and the claimant later seeks to plead a…

Contempt of court must be proved to the criminal standard. The applicant must establish the respondent’s knowledge of the order, conduct constituting a breach…

Where a copyright claim is pleaded by reference to a representative sample, the court may draw inferences about a wider corpus if the sample is genuinely…

Amendment of an application challenging an insolvency office-holder’s remuneration is a discretionary case-management exercise under CPR 3.1(2)(p), applied by…

Where an undischarged bankrupt brings a claim concerning rights of property vested in the trustee, the claim is not transformed into a personal claim merely…

When an application has been compromised and only costs remain, the court should rarely investigate the underlying merits or predict the result. It may decline…

A member may continue a statutory derivative claim where the company faces a prima facie case of breach and a sufficient threat of future harm; actual…

In representative pension-scheme proceedings, the court may appoint issue-based representatives where the represented persons have the same interest and…

In a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, an office-holder need not undertake a creditor decision procedure where a conflicted creditor holds decisive voting…

For sanction of a scheme under Part 26 of the Companies Act 2006, the court must be satisfied that the statutory and jurisdictional requirements have been met…

On an application to renew an interim injunction against persons unknown, the court should consider whether anything material has changed, while ensuring…

Permission to continue a common-law double derivative claim requires more than pleading an arguable breach. The claimant must show, on the totality of the…

A settlement promise not to pursue claims in later proceedings is construed in context and may cover a new cause of action based on facts underlying the…

An interim proprietary injunction requires a serious issue to be tried. The court should leave disputed evidence and difficult legal questions for trial…

A successful unfair-prejudice petition requires both prejudice and unfairness. Prejudice must be real, objectively established and suffered in the capacity of…

Apparent bias is assessed through the eyes of the fair-minded and informed observer. Familiarity with the case, adverse rulings, a judge’s assessment of…

Contractual documents forming one arrangement must be construed together, but a special rider may operate as a contractual variation of standard-form lease…

Directing a preliminary issue is a broad case-management discretion under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, but it should be exercised cautiously. The issue…

In a supply contract requiring testing by an agreed Product Tester, “Product Testing” meant the contractual testing process, not merely compliance with a…

At the interlocutory stage, a court should exclude evidence only where it is plain that, whatever the trial context, the evidence will never be relevant or…

Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, expert evidence must be reasonably required to resolve the proceedings. Market-practice evidence may assist contractual…

On a partly successful application to amend pleadings, a party may still be the successful party where it obtains much, but not all, of the relief sought.…

A company seeking to restrain advertisement of a winding-up petition must show a genuine and substantial dispute about the petition debt or a genuine and…

For Unfair Contracts Act 1977 section 27(1), a choice of English law does not prevent disapplication where, absent that choice, Rome I would select foreign…

On an application to re-amend a pleading, the court should permit an amendment where it has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and the balance…

The iniquity exception prevents legal professional privilege attaching where communications would otherwise be privileged, an iniquity is established on the…

Security for costs paid into court is court-controlled security, not a fund that the paying party may appropriate to discharge an accrued costs liability. A…

A party serving a notice to complete must be ready, willing and able to complete when the notice is served. Outstanding steps are permissible only if they can…

Section 60 of the Land Registration Act 2002 makes a boundary shown on a registered title plan a general boundary; it does not itself fix the exact line. The…

An appellate court reviewing a discretionary case-management decision exercises a review, not a rehearing. Intervention is justified for legal misdirection…

In civil contempt, the claimant must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant knew the order, intentionally acted or failed to act in breach, and knew…

An appeal court may determine a possession claim itself where the registered owner’s title is admitted, the occupant’s licence has ended and no defence…

Under section 51 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, the question is whether a non-party costs order is just in all the circumstances. “Exceptional” describes cases…

A debenture may create a fixed charge over a company’s interest in land even if it does not identify the land specifically, where the company already has an…

A capital-value assessment is not required for every claim for profits lost through breach of contract. Where the loss concerns a short period while a claimant…

For costs purposes, the successful party is identified by substance and reality, including whether the sum recovered was the prize for which the claim was…

A prior ruling that expenditure is not recoverable through a lease’s service-charge provisions does not necessarily bar a distinct claim based on a separate…

Sanction under Part 26A requires a fact-sensitive, multi-factor assessment. The court may approve late modifications where it has jurisdiction and concludes…

A freezing injunction is not a means of securing a claimant’s prospective judgment. The applicant must establish a serious issue to be tried, solid evidence of…

Paragraph 64A of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 gives moratorium creditors super-priority, but it does not require the company’s existing assets to be…

Indemnity costs are justified where a party’s conduct is radically outside the norm of properly conducted litigation. This includes deliberately creating and…

The construction of a court order is a single coherent process. The court considers the language of the order in the circumstances known to it and the parties…

A mortgagee becomes the landlord under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 when it takes possession of mortgaged property subject to a tenancy binding on it. A…

Litigation costs incurred in proceedings are generally recoverable only through the applicable costs regime, not as substantive damages in the same or later…

Where an assignee brings a company’s claims against a director, the assignee takes the claims subject to the same substantive and evidential rules as the…

An appellate court may strike out a later defence as Henderson v Henderson abuse where the defendant could and should have raised the substance of that defence…

A party should ordinarily raise at the first interlocutory hearing the arguments reasonably available to support the relief sought. A repeat application for…

Where a vesting order transfers only part of a disclaimed lease, the recipient takes the liabilities that bound the company when winding up began, as if the…

On summary judgment, a party has no real prospect of success where its case consists of unsupported assertions and the evidence establishes the relevant…

The rule against reflective loss does not bar a shareholder from pursuing the distinct statutory remedy for unfairly prejudicial conduct merely because the…

A substantial payment by an older family member is not recoverable as a loan merely because the payer later describes it as repayable. The court must determine…

The court may sanction a creditor scheme where the statutory requirements and formalities are satisfied, the class has been fairly represented, the scheme is…

Summary judgment may be granted where a claim has no realistic prospect of success, but the court must avoid conducting a mini-trial. In fraud cases, caution…

The court may grant preventive orders against intermediaries whose facilities facilitate wrongdoing by others. The jurisdiction is not confined to disclosure…

A former director remains subject to the statutory continuing duty in Companies Act 2006 s 170(2)(a) concerning property, information or opportunities known to…

Where a purchaser fails to complete a land sale, the vendor’s loss is ordinarily measured by the contract price less the price obtained on a subsequent resale.…

A stay pending appeal requires the court to balance the risk of injustice to each party. An appellant who says payment would stifle the appeal must provide…

An application for security for costs should generally be made promptly once the facts justifying it are known. Where a corporate claimant is likely to be…

An appeal under CPR 52.21(3)(b) requires proof of a procedural or other irregularity, that it was serious, and that it rendered the decision unjust. The test…

An appeal against an unless order asks whether the court exercised its discretion correctly on the information available when it made the order. Later events…

Where every creditor class approves a restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006, the court applies the sanction principles applicable to…

On a summary judgment application, the court must identify the case actually pleaded. Where an outstanding application to amend may affect whether a claim has…

Amendments to pleadings are governed by the ordinary overriding-objective discretion unless the alleged illegality is manifest or obvious. That expression…

Where a party asserts that regulatory or legal obligations prevent payment after contractual rights have been determined, the court should not exclude that…

An unless order for unpaid costs rests on the court’s inherent discretion; it is not an automatic pay-to-play rule. While proceedings remain live, such an…

A landlord’s unauthorised withdrawal from a rent deposit account may be taken into account when determining whether rent or service charge is in arrears.…

The court may extend time for service of particulars of claim under CPR 3.1(2)(a), applying the overriding objective. The strict regime governing extensions…

Valid service of a bankruptcy petition is the foundation of the court’s adjudicatory jurisdiction. The statutory jurisdictional requirements for making a…

A failure to have a declaration of solvency made before a suitably qualified person is a fundamental non-compliance with the statutory requirements for a…

On an application to replace a personal representative, the court’s guiding question is whether replacement is in the interests of the beneficiaries and…

A representative party may be personally liable for costs incurred while acting as representative, but the extent of that liability depends on the…

For security for costs against a company, the applicant must establish a reason to believe that the company will be unable to pay an adverse costs order. Mere…

A stay of enforcement under CPR 83.7 requires special circumstances or inability to pay. Commercial disadvantage alone is insufficient unless there is a…

An offer of contractual terms will not ordinarily amount to a representation about the offeror’s present ability or willingness to perform. Clear words are…

A restructuring plan under Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 may be sanctioned despite dissent by creditor classes where the statutory conditions are met and…

In taking partnership dissolution accounts, the court determines the partners’ financial entitlements by applying the agreed or legally applicable accounting…

A court may determine beneficial ownership on the balance of probabilities from documentary and circumstantial evidence, including evidence of nominee…

At a scheme convening hearing, the court assesses whether the proposed scheme is jurisdictionally available and whether any apparent roadblock makes refusal of…

For jurisdiction under Insolvency Act 1986, carrying on business is a fact-sensitive question of mixed fact and law. It ordinarily involves commercial activity…

An interim injunction must serve a substantive claim and should preserve the position pending trial. The court should not grant interim declarations which…

After settlement or discontinuance, the court retains a discretion to hand down judgment on issues that are no longer live. The discretion requires…

A claimant seeking a beneficial interest under a common intention constructive trust must prove the parties’ shared intention, assessed in light of their whole…

Under Land Registration Act 2002, rectification requires a mistake in the register which prejudicially affects a registered proprietor’s title. A purchaser of…

Once Extended Disclosure has been ordered, a party must produce disclosed documents in full unless a recognised withholding or redaction ground applies. A…

On an application for security for costs, the court must first determine whether a condition in CPR 25.27 is satisfied and then decide whether, having regard…

On an application to convene meetings for restructuring plans, the court must balance the companies’ prejudice from delay against the benefits of allowing…

The unfair-relationship provisions in Consumer Credit Act 1974 apply broadly to credit agreements with individual debtors, including business-purpose…

On an application to set aside a bankruptcy statutory demand, a debt is disputed on substantial grounds where the debtor’s defence has a real, rather than…

On a summary judgment application, the court may determine a short issue of contractual construction, but must not conduct a mini-trial where material factual…

A person who undertakes to receive and manage another’s money for a proposed investment may become a fiduciary even where no final investment or joint venture…

A conditional fee agreement complies with the statutory requirement to state the percentage increase in fees where it makes clear that uplifted rates represent…

On an appeal from the UKIPO, the court conducts a review and gives respect to the specialist tribunal’s decision. A claim must be construed as a whole, in the…

A statement of case may be struck out where it is incoherent, discloses no legally recognisable claim, or omits the essential facts needed to establish…

Conduct may be unfairly prejudicial even where the petitioner has behaved improperly, if the conduct complained of excludes a minority shareholder from…

Where land is acquired on trust and the beneficial ownership is said not to have changed, the nature of the trust is determined by construing the acquisition…

An order made on a party’s application remains a response to that application even where the application is decided on paper. It is not an order made by the…

A request for access to a company’s register of members engages the statutory response procedure only if it complies with the mandatory information…

Section 144 of the Law of Property Act 1925 and section 19 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 can operate together. Section 144 addresses whether a lease…

A trust deed must be construed objectively, by reference to the natural and ordinary meaning of its words, its overall purpose, its other provisions, the…

Permission to appeal against the exercise of discretion on a Part 26A restructuring plan will generally be refused where the proposed grounds merely challenge…

In an unfair-prejudice petition, a respondent need only be sufficiently connected with the impugned conduct for relief against it to be just. At the strike-out…

Where an amendment introduces a claim which may be statute-barred and does not arise from the same or substantially the same facts already in issue, permission…

For claims governed by foreign law, the preclusive effect of a prior foreign judgment is ordinarily determined by the law applicable to the underlying…

Declarations of trust which purport to confirm pre-existing beneficial interests have no retrospective effect unless those interests are independently…

Legal professionals remain personally responsible for the accuracy of material put before the court, even where artificial intelligence has assisted with…

Under the Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1966, compensation for ancillary mining rights is assessed as fair and reasonable between a willing…

A withdrawal of withdrawable share capital by a registered society may be a transaction for the purposes of Insolvency Act 1986, but it is not necessarily a…

A will may be valid even if its dispositions appear unfair, surprising or irrational. Testamentary capacity, knowledge and approval, and testamentary undue…

Whether premises are a “dwelling” under the relevant landlord and tenant legislation is determined objectively at the material time. The court must consider…

At the convening stage of a scheme of arrangement, the court need only identify any obvious jurisdictional impediment. It must be satisfied that the company…

A trust or trust power must be administratively workable, as well as certain in its objects. The question of administrative unworkability is ordinarily…

For a distribution under Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the court may direct payment of money voluntarily recovered in connection with a claim under…

Where several parties combine to advance the same unsuccessful case, they will ordinarily be jointly and severally liable for the successful party’s costs…

A professional-negligence claim fails where the alleged advice and conduct represented reasonable professional judgment in the circumstances. A solicitor is…

In a directors’ disqualification claim, the court must decide the case on the misconduct properly pleaded and must not determine it on a materially different…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, reasonable financial provision for a surviving spouse is assessed by a broad…

The principle of open justice is the starting point when confidentiality is asserted, and ordinarily the party seeking protection must justify departure from…

Summary judgment should be refused where the defence has a realistic prospect of success or where another compelling reason requires a trial. The court must…

Indemnity costs may be ordered where the paying party’s behaviour or the circumstances take the litigation out of the norm. Serious allegations, misuse of…

Directors who cause a company to enter into a high-risk tax scheme must consider the company’s ability to meet any resulting tax liability and, where engaged…

In construing a settlement, the court must read the instrument as a whole and select interpretative tools appropriate to its nature. Textual analysis generally…

The High Court may grant a website-blocking injunction under its inherent equitable jurisdiction where internet service providers facilitate civil or criminal…

Permission to amend a statement of case is discretionary. The merits threshold is relatively low: the proposed claim need only be arguable, coherent, properly…

For collective enfranchisement, the reversioner is ordinarily the registered legal owner of the freehold at the time the initial notice is given. An equitable…

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

Removal under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 is governed by the welfare of the beneficiaries as a whole. Proof of wrongdoing is…

Service of a claim form out of the jurisdiction may be effected by a method permitted by the law of the country of service, subject to the restrictions in CPR…

At a final consequentials hearing after dissolution of a partnership, an agreed contractual rate of interest governs the parties’ entitlement unless displaced…

At the convening stage of a restructuring plan, the court examines jurisdiction, statutory gateway conditions, notification, class composition and any apparent…

A company’s payment of a shareholder’s personal acquisition price may be a transaction at an undervalue where the company receives only a promise of repayment…

For the purposes of a power of advancement, “benefit” is construed broadly. It may include material and moral benefit to the beneficiary, including relief from…

A claim may be struck out under CPR 3.4(2) where it is incoherent, discloses no legally recognisable cause of action, is abusive, or involves cumulative…

Recognition of a foreign insolvency proceeding under the Cross-Border Insolvency Regulations 2006 is mandatory where article 17 is satisfied, subject to the…

In construing a will, the court must identify the testator’s intention from the words used, the document as a whole, the relevant circumstances and common…

At a convening hearing for a restructuring plan, the court determines whether the statutory jurisdictional conditions are met, whether the proposed creditor…

A share transfer is ineffective unless supported by a proper instrument of transfer, delivery to the company and registration in accordance with the Companies…

The court has an inherent supervisory jurisdiction to give directions enabling trustees to administer trust property safely where uncertainty, risk or…

A court determining historical facts should use reliable contemporaneous documents, known or probable facts and properly drawn inferences as the platform for…

Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 permits the court to impose a restructuring plan on HMRC, even where HMRC has rationally opposed it. HMRC’s public function…

Permission to amend a statement of case should be assessed by applying the merits test to any genuinely new case advanced by the proposed amendments. The…

In assessing damages for intellectual property infringement, the court may use the claimant’s established licensing income where the relevant licences provide…

English law recognises a foreign corporate merger as producing universal succession where the law of the place of incorporation provides for the automatic…

A preference may arise where an insolvent company repays a creditor under an arrangement whose purpose is to place that creditor ahead of others. A…

A solicitor retained in relation to a lending transaction may owe a duty extending beyond answering specific questions. The scope of the duty is determined by…

On an application to amend a statement of case, the proposed claim must have a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and carry some degree of…

A recording agreement may transfer copyright ownership and grant a continuing consent to exploit recorded performances, including by methods developed after…

A representative appointed under CPR 19.12 does not automatically become personally liable for all costs payable by the estate. The court has a discretion…

Relief under Companies Act 2006, s.996 is statutory, although equitable principles may inform the assessment of unfairness and fairness. The court has a wide…

In civil proceedings alleging money laundering, the Anwoir test applies in full. Where the precise predicate offence is not identified, the circumstances in…

A special administrator has no automatic right to recoup costs from assets in the administration. The administrator must apply to the court for permission, and…

To establish opposition to a new business tenancy on redevelopment grounds, a landlord must show a real prospect of obtaining the necessary finance…

A gratuitous promise to make a future payment is not contractual where it is unsupported by consideration. Past services and an earlier agreement do not…

Case-management disclosure should be directed to genuinely defined issues and should not require a complex accounting or tracing exercise before the legal and…

Criminal contempt protects the public interest in the administration of justice, not a litigant’s private interest in enforcing an order. The jurisdiction…

In a claim concerning jointly owned family property, the court held that a conveyance into joint names ordinarily supports a beneficial joint tenancy, subject…

Where competing relatives propose different methods for disposing of a deceased person’s body, the court’s overriding concern is respectful, decent and prompt…

An agreement to discuss remuneration reasonably is not an enforceable agreement to pay a reasonable fee. Where an express contract cannot be established from a…

Standing to present an unfair-prejudice petition ordinarily depends on membership recorded in the company’s register of members. A person claiming shares…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, an adult child’s need for maintenance is necessary but insufficient. The court must…

A seller may serve a notice to complete only if ready, able and willing to perform the substantive obligations falling due on completion. Chattels included in…

In assessing damages for breach of warranties on a share sale, the ordinary measure is the diminution in value of the shares at the date of breach. Subsequent…

For an individual voluntary arrangement to be approved, the debtor must make full and frank disclosure of relevant matters and creditors must be treated in…

In proprietary estoppel, the usual starting point for relief is enforcement of the promised benefit, but the remedy remains discretionary. The court must…

Whether unmarried cohabitees intend to create legal relations is determined objectively. Cohabitation alone does not create a presumption against contractual…

An administrator may seek directions under paragraph 63 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, supplemented where necessary by the court’s inherent…

A guarantee must be construed objectively, by reference to its language, purpose, structure and relevant background. General expressions such as “all monies”…

Where costs are payable subject to detailed assessment, the usual order is a reasonable payment on account unless there is good reason to withhold it. A…

Where creditors reject administrators’ proposals, the court may order compulsory winding up if continued administration lacks a rational basis connected with…

The rule in Pigot’s Case applies where, after execution, one party deliberately alters a deed without the other party’s knowledge or consent and the alteration…

Those propounding a will must prove that the testator knew and approved its contents. Due execution by a testator with capacity may create a strong…

Permission is not required to serve a notice of intention to appoint administrators on a qualifying floating chargeholder outside the jurisdiction. Such a…

For the purposes of director disqualification, unfitness is assessed by applying the statutory words to the director’s actual conduct, role, duties and…

An amendment should be permitted where it clarifies and particularises an existing case rather than introducing a new cause of action, provided it has a real…

An appeal court may admit fresh evidence where it could not reasonably have been obtained for trial, would probably have materially influenced the result, and…

A final costs order made after an interlocutory or case-management decision remains final for the purposes of reconsideration. Under CPR r. 3.1(7), variation…

An application under CPR 40.9 by a non-party directly affected by a judgment requires a real prospect of success at a further hearing. The court must also…

Probate claims remain inquisitorial even where a defendant is debarred. A facially regular will is presumed valid unless a recognised ground of invalidity is…

Section 339 of the Insolvency Act 1986 permits restoration of the position that would have existed without a transaction at an undervalue, but does not permit…

An auditor’s statutory and common-law obligations do not generally require direct reporting to individual shareholders, even where the directors are suspected…

In quantifying beneficial interests in a jointly owned home after cohabitees separate, the court must consider the whole course of dealing between the parties…

A collateral contract may arise between a customer and a supplier where the supplier makes assurances about goods, the customer relies on them in procuring a…

A bankruptcy court may look behind a judgment debt where there is a coherent allegation that the judgment was obtained by fraud. Permission to appeal should…

The power to vary or revoke an interim order is exercised sparingly, ordinarily only after a material change of circumstances or where the original decision…

Under CPR rule 52.14, provision of a transcript at public expense is discretionary, not an entitlement. The court must first be satisfied that the applicant…

In an unusual “dog-leg” claim, the principle that currency fluctuations between breach and judgment are generally disregarded applied to the indemnity claim…

The functions of a recognised professional body in relation to insolvency practitioner bonds are not public merely because the bonding regime is recognised by…

Applications to adjourn an appeal on medical grounds require sufficiently detailed, independent and reasoned medical evidence. The evidence should explain the…

An appeal does not, by itself, stay execution of the judgment under appeal. A stay should be granted only where the court considers that it is in the interests…

For the purposes of Article 3 of the SPC Regulation, “product” has one meaning across all four conditions. It means the active ingredient or combination of…

A transfer of a defined part of a building must be construed by reference to its factual matrix at the date of execution. Clear words limiting a transfer to…

Whether activities are carried on in the course of a business under the Gambling Act 2005 is a contextual question of degree. System, repetition and continuity…

Statements of case may be struck out where they disclose no legally recognisable claim, are incoherent, or abuse the court’s process. Summary judgment is…

A director breaches his duties where he uses corporate powers to pursue a personal objective that is contrary to the company’s agreed commercial interests…

A trade mark co-existence agreement must be construed objectively and as a whole. A prohibition on use of a mark for clothing, “but not including footwear”…

A building substantially damaged by accidental fire may remain a “house” for enfranchisement purposes where it retains sufficient physical identity, was…

Under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, responsibility for the causes of a company’s insolvency is not a jurisdictional threshold.…

A disclaimer of a hotel sub-lease does not, without clear language, defease or convert the investor’s registered long lease into a licence. A schedule…

Money received into a solicitor’s client account for a client’s benefit is held on trust. Where it is received for a specific purpose, it may be used only for…

A domestic freezing injunction may be continued where the claimant establishes jurisdiction, a good arguable case, a real risk that assets will be dissipated…

For deliberate concealment under Limitation Act 1980, time starts when the claimant knew, or could with reasonable diligence have discovered, sufficient facts…

The county court’s jurisdiction to enforce a charging order by sale derives from its equity jurisdiction under County Courts Act 1984 s 23(c). The ancillary…

On summary judgment, a company may be bound by factual findings in earlier proceedings where it was a privy of the earlier parties or where relitigation would…

Costs ordinarily follow the event, but the court may make a different order after considering all the circumstances. A party’s failure on individual arguments…

A contract preceding a conveyance may be unenforceable under section 2 of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989, yet the completed transfer…

An option to be granted a further option to acquire land may itself confer an immediate equitable interest and fall within the perpetuity rules. Under the…

An unless order must clearly identify what compliance requires. Its terms are construed restrictively, but good faith does not prevent a sanction taking effect…

In construing pension scheme rules, the court must give substantial weight to the scheme’s language, read in its statutory and practical context. A provision…

Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 applies where a debtor enters into a transaction at an undervalue for a purpose that includes putting assets beyond the…

Permission under section 4 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 is an unfettered but judicial discretion. The applicant must…

A company incorporated outside the United Kingdom may move from administration to creditors’ voluntary liquidation under paragraph 83 of Schedule B1 to the…

For costs purposes, the successful party is identified by the real-life outcome of the litigation, rather than by technical success on an individual issue. A…

A managerial scheme for a charity may be made where, having regard to all the circumstances, it is expedient in the charity’s interests to regulate its…

Leave under section 304(2) of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a flexible filter. The court must consider whether the applicant has shown a reasonably meritorious…

An unless order requiring a party to provide full and frank particulars of disclosure must be complied with in substance. The obligation extends to explaining…

Permission to amend should be refused where the proposed case has no real prospect of success. The court must not conduct a mini-trial or evaluate the weight…

In a quasi-partnership company, exclusion of a member from management may be unfairly prejudicial where the member had a legitimate expectation of…

On applications concerning a derivative claim and service out of the jurisdiction, the court must focus on whether the pleaded case has a real prospect of…

A bankruptcy order may be made where a guarantee debt has fallen due and there is no sufficient prospect of payment within a reasonable time. A possible future…

For a UK trade mark application ported from a pending EU application under Article 59(1) of the Withdrawal Agreement, the deemed application date is the…

On an account of profits for breach of fiduciary duty, receipts obtained through the fiduciary’s wrongful control may constitute benefits even if they are…

Registration of a notice under paragraph 84(1) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986 automatically terminates the administrator’s appointment under…

A subscriber’s contractual obligation to pay for shares arises when the company is registered and the subscriber becomes the holder of the shares. A call…

Permission is required to withdraw a clear admission, but the court must first determine whether the pleading contains an admission at all. Pleadings must be…

A contractual commission is payable where an investment satisfies the agreed definitions when the investment is made. “Synthetic asset backed securities” may…

An appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge’s primary factual findings or evaluative conclusions unless there is a material error, no evidential…

Specific disclosure orders must be construed by reference to their actual language. Where an order requires production of a full file relating even in part to…

Where an interim application has been compromised and only costs remain, the court should ordinarily avoid deciding the underlying merits. Parties may…

An administration order may be made on an application by a liquidator where the company is, or is likely to become, unable to pay its debts and the order is…

An application for reverse summary judgment or strike out should be assessed by reference to whether the claim has a real prospect of success or discloses…

On an application to annul a bankruptcy order made by an adjudicator, the court may consider whether the order ought not to have been made because the court’s…

Summary judgment should be refused where the issues require a fuller investigation of facts that may affect liability or damages. The court must assess whether…

A court deciding whether commercial parties formed a contract must assess their words and conduct throughout the entire course of dealing. A document described…

Third-party disclosure is exceptional. An order under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 31.17 requires documents to be likely to support the applicant’s case or…

A provisional liquidator’s powers depend on the appointment order and the facts. Protecting company assets may, in an unusual and urgent case, require selling…

A party debarred from defending remains unable to participate substantively in the proceedings, subject to the limited terms of the debarring order and any…

A boundary plan incorporated into a transfer may be used to clarify an ambiguous transfer even if its principal purpose is drainage or construction, and even…

Knowingly or recklessly overstating turnover in a Bounce Back Loan application, combined with using the loan for purposes unrelated to the company’s business…

A success fee under a joint brokerage agreement may depend on the broker’s own actions having helped secure the relevant funding, even where the agreement does…

A repairing covenant is engaged where the subject matter has suffered physical damage or deterioration. A defect present at construction does not prevent later…

The second category of the Public Trustee v Cooper jurisdiction concerns the propriety of exercising an established trust power, not whether the power exists…

For an interim injunction, the court may grant relief without applying the ordinary balance-of-convenience analysis where the claimant has no arguable defence…

Permission to serve proceedings outside the jurisdiction requires four matters to be established: a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case within a…

The service of a winding-up petition is governed exclusively by paragraph 2 of Schedule 4 to the Insolvency Rules 2016. Service under section 1139(1) of the…

At a convening hearing for a proposed restructuring plan, the court addresses jurisdiction, procedural compliance, notice and class composition. It does not…

An unless order may impose strike-out of a defence where persistent non-compliance with disclosure orders is significant and serious, lacks good reason…

On strike-out and reverse summary judgment applications, a claimant alleging loss of a chance must plead facts showing that the chance existed. The claimant…

Where an application requires case-management directions and must be heard alongside a related appeal, the court may order that the costs be costs in the…

In deciding whether to order a split trial or preliminary issue, the court must apply a pragmatic balancing exercise directed to the overriding objective.…

A common intention constructive trust requires both a common intention concerning beneficial ownership and detrimental reliance on that intention by the person…

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

An applicant for security for costs must first establish a factual gateway under CPR r. 25.27. The court must then decide whether security is just having…

Costs between parties and a trustee’s indemnity from trust assets are separate questions, although both may involve the reasonableness of the trustee’s…

Costs in proceedings involving personal representatives depend on the character of the dispute, the conduct of the parties and whether expenditure was properly…

For the purposes of an unfair prejudice petition, equitable obligations may supplement strict legal rights where a company is operated as a quasi-partnership.…

An extended civil restraint order does not permit a litigant to obtain substantive relief without permission and a properly constituted judicial application. A…

A creditor may challenge a liquidator’s decision under section 168(5) only where the challenge is brought in the creditor’s capacity as such and concerns an…

In committal proceedings, the court may proceed in a defendant’s absence where the defendant has effective notice, a reasonable opportunity to obtain…

A commercial loan agreement is supported by consideration where consolidation of earlier loans, release of co-obligors and delayed repayment confer legal…

A will is invalid where a testator’s disorder of mind produces fixed delusions that causatively affect testamentary dispositions. The challenger must establish…

Liquidators seeking information or documents under sections 235 or 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 must establish a reasonable requirement for the material…

The court has a discretion as to costs. Although the usual rule is that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party’s costs, a proportionate reduction may…

At an interim injunction hearing, the court should not order disclosure merely because a party has referred to documents in submissions or an application…

Permission to amend a statement of case is a broad case-management discretion governed by the overriding objective. The court must weigh the injustice to the…

An order for pre-action disclosure under rule 31.16 may be made where the intended claimant and respondent are likely to be parties, the documents would fall…

Dishonesty is determined by a two-stage inquiry. The court must first establish the individual’s actual knowledge or belief as to the facts. It must then apply…

Under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985, removal of personal representatives depends principally on the welfare and interests of the…

Knowledge and approval of a will require the testator to understand what the will does and its effect. Where a solicitor has prepared the will, it has been…

A contractual share option is construed by applying ordinary principles of contractual interpretation. There is no special rule requiring options to be…

Insolvency proceedings are civil proceedings for the purposes of statutory pro bono costs orders. Where counsel represents a successful party free of charge…

An alleged disposition of a beneficial interest in land requires clear evidence of an immediate intention to relinquish the interest. Communications forming…

For short-term injunctive relief sought to preserve company assets pending an unfair prejudice petition, the court may apply the American Cyanamid approach…

Specific or non-party disclosure in directors’ disqualification proceedings requires the applicant to show that the documents sought are relevant to the case…

An adverse inference from a party’s failure to call or produce readily available evidence must be adverse to that party. It may strengthen the opposing…

Special administrators should generally exercise their own commercial and administrative judgment. The court should not approve a detailed protocol for a…

An expert determination clause confined to contractual interpretation does not necessarily make every decision labelled “final and binding” immune from court…

A trust of money need not be created or evidenced in writing where the case does not concern an interest in land. No particular words are required. The…

Sentencing for civil contempt requires a structured assessment of culpability and harm, followed by consideration of all relevant aggravating and mitigating…