High Court: King's Bench Division judgments, 2023

An interim non-disclosure order engages freedom of expression, the public’s right to receive information and open justice. A super-injunction, which also…

A claim form intended from issue to be served out of the jurisdiction is governed by the six-month period for such service. A marking stating that it is not…

Approval of a bare trust to manage interim damages for a child is case-specific. The court must determine whether the arrangement is in the child’s best…

Liability under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957 is assessed factually, by reference to the particular premises, activity and visitor. Where injury results…

A claimant seeking credit hire charges at enhanced rates must plead and prove impecuniosity. Where an unless order requires all supporting facts and financial…

A fiduciary who deals with a beneficiary must show that the transaction was fair and honest, that no advantage was taken of the fiduciary position, and that…

An employer must provide equipment and a system of work that are reasonably safe for the task. Where securing equipment is unsuitable for a particular vehicle…

Non-party disclosure under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 31.17, is exceptional but may be ordered where documents may well support the applicant’s case and…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the unsuccessful party will ordinarily pay the successful party’s costs. A substantial shortfall between damages claimed and…

Sentencing for breach of a civil injunction must secure future compliance, punish the contemnor and promote rehabilitation. The court should assess culpability…

A fraud claim must plead the primary facts relied on to establish falsity and dishonesty, but need not identify the true underlying events if falsity and…

Contempt for breach of an injunction requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had notice of the order, deliberately performed a prohibited…

Vicarious liability requires both a relationship of employment or quasi-employment and a close connection between the tort and acts authorised by that…

In assessing damages for childhood sexual abuse, the conventional multiplier-and-multiplicand method should normally be used for past and future earnings where…

Detention pending deportation must remain connected to a realistic prospect of removal within a reasonable period. The Hardial Singh principles require an…

In mesothelioma claims, the claimant must prove that the defendant’s breach caused a material increase in the risk of contracting the disease. The special…

A Norwich Pharmacal order is exceptional and discretionary. The applicant must show a good arguable claim in law against the persons whose identities are…

Large-scale group litigation requires active and coordinated case management where common legal, factual and technical issues overlap. Directions should obtain…

Under the Bolam test, expert evidence supporting a clinical judgment does not automatically determine the claim. The court must assess whether the supporting…

Where a party succeeds overall but loses some issues, costs are determined by the litigation viewed globally. A deduction is justified only where the…

At an interlocutory stage, a defence of honest opinion should be struck out only if it discloses no reasonable grounds, or summarily dismissed only if it has…

On an indemnity costs assessment, the court must disallow costs that were unreasonably incurred or unreasonable in amount. Any doubt is resolved in favour of…

Informed consent requires a patient to be told about material risks of recommended treatment and reasonable alternative treatments, including their relative…

Sentencing for contempt involving false personal-injury claims requires assessment of culpability, intended or foreseeable harm, aggravating and mitigating…

Under CPR 31.14, a party generally has a prima facie right to inspect a document mentioned or directly alluded to in a statement of case. That right may extend…

For an interim injunction against industrial action, the court must apply the usual American Cyanamid principles while giving particular weight to the…

In a claim for libel based on an expression of opinion, the statutory defence of honest opinion permits reliance on additional facts closely connected with the…

Damages for breach of contract and confidence require proof that the breach caused the claimed loss. A claim for lost profits from a prospective contract fails…

Strike out is a remedy of last resort. The court must be satisfied that the claim or defence is bound to fail, and should consider whether amendment or another…

On a strike-out application, the court should not determine disputed factual matters or assess pleaded allegations in isolation. A defence of truth should be…

In determining the natural and ordinary meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the court must assess the publication as a whole from the perspective of the…

A post-judgment freezing order requires an objectively established real risk that the judgment will not be met because assets may be unjustifiably dissipated.…

Statutory reporting privilege may protect a live broadcast of proceedings at a public meeting, but whether a live broadcast is a report is fact-specific. A…

Permission to amend is governed by the overriding objective and a comparatively low merits threshold, but a new claim must remain arguable, coherent and…

Approval of a settlement for a protected party is an evaluative judicial exercise. The court must act in the interests of justice and in the protected person’s…

Where a settlement includes claims brought on behalf of children, court approval is required before it is binding in relation to those claims. A lump-sum…

Where property is acquired in the name of a nominee company, legal title ordinarily carries the beneficial interest, but a resulting trust arises in favour of…

The court may invoke its inherent jurisdiction where there is a real and credible doubt about a claimant’s capacity, even without a formal finding that the…

In an asbestos exposure claim, foreseeability involves two questions: whether a reasonable employer should have appreciated that the exposure created a real…

Where damages for future care are awarded by annual periodical payments, the payments ordinarily relate to care and case-management costs incurred during the…

In large environmental group litigation, a claimant relying on an events-based case must identify the event said to have caused loss, and must plead the…

A clear contractual term may authorise a solicitor to render interim statutory bills that are final for the relevant period. The solicitor need not separately…

An appellate court reviewing a first-instance decision must identify an error of law or procedural unfairness before interfering. Findings of fact attract a…

An interim mandatory injunction compelling a bank to permit withdrawals from a frozen account is a discretionary remedy requiring a high degree of assurance…

Under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, the court must balance the claimant’s prejudice against the defendant’s prejudice, having regard to all the…

A claim is not for a specified amount of money merely because the claim form states a monetary figure or a schedule attributes values to particular losses. The…

In civil contempt proceedings arising from a false or grossly exaggerated personal injury claim, the court must assess culpability and the harm caused…

An application under CPR 3.3(5)(a) to set aside an order made without hearing the parties must comply with the general application procedure in Part 23, but no…

In determining meaning in defamation proceedings, the court must adopt the natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical reasonable reader. The…

Meaning in a defamation claim is determined by the single natural and ordinary meaning which the hypothetical reasonable reader would attribute to the…

A Group Litigation Order is discretionary. The existence of numerous claims and some common or related issues is not enough. The court must also assess access…

On an interim-payment application, the claimant must show, to a high degree of probability, that a trial would result in judgment for a substantial sum against…

Retrospective validation of defective service is a contextual exercise. Relevant matters include the steps taken to bring the document to the recipient’s…

Under CPR Part 44, the QOCS enforcement gateways concerning claims benefiting a third party and claims benefiting the claimant generally operate as…

On summary judgment, the court must distinguish evaluation of evidence from fact-finding. A claim should proceed where disputed evidence gives a claimant a…

In a clinical negligence claim concerning an undetected intra-operative perforation, the court must determine on the balance of probabilities whether the…

Damages for negligent cosmetic surgery are assessed by reference to the claimant’s actual physical and psychological injury. The Judicial College Guidelines…

At an approval hearing for a protected party, the court must exercise judgment and impose an external check on the propriety of the proposed settlement.…

In defamation, serious harm under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 requires proof that the particular publication caused, or is likely to cause, serious…

A Group Litigation Order may include claims acquired outside England and Wales where the claims raise common or related issues and can be managed consistently…

In civil contempt proceedings, the objectives of a penalty are, in order, securing future compliance, punishment and rehabilitation. The court may assess harm…

Meaning in a libel claim is determined holistically by asking what the hypothetical reasonable reader would understand the publication to convey. The…

An employer may be liable in negligence where an employee is required to undertake work at height using an unsafe system. Where the task presents an obvious…

A claimant alleging passing off must prove goodwill, an actionable misrepresentation for which the defendant is responsible, and actual or probable damage. A…

Appeals against case-management decisions concerning the loss of essential expert evidence require the appellant to establish a legal misdirection, procedural…

For contempt arising from breach of an injunction against Persons Unknown, valid personal or alternative service supplies the required notice. The claimant…

In an application concerning allegedly misappropriated non-fungible tokens, the court held that there was a realistically arguable case that NFTs are property…

On judicial review of a police misconduct sanction, the reviewing court must respect the panel’s assessment of primary facts and evaluative judgment. The court…

Contempt for breach of a court order requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the order was unambiguous, the defendant had notice of it, the prohibited act…

An application to strike out or obtain summary judgment should be refused where the claim is legally recognisable and has a realistic prospect of success. In…

On without-notice applications for service out of the jurisdiction, applicants must disclose matters relevant to the jurisdictional and merits thresholds…

Permission to adduce expert evidence is exceptional because expert opinion is an exception to the general rule that evidence should be factual. Under Civil…

In assessing a planning application, a claimed fall-back position must involve both a lawful ability to undertake the alternative development and a real…

A claim struck out in its entirety cannot be amended because no claim remains. Later proceedings may also be abusive where they raise matters that could have…

Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 requires a highway authority to maintain each relevant part of a highway so that it is reasonably passable for ordinary…

In a forum dispute, the court applies the Spiliada approach. The claimant must establish England as the proper forum in a service-out case; in a service-in…

In statutory planning challenges, disclosure of a ministerial submission is exceptional. The governing question is whether disclosure is necessary to resolve…

In determining the meaning of allegedly defamatory publications, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical…

A solicitor acting under a lawful conditional fee arrangement does not ordinarily become a real party to litigation merely because the solicitor funds the…

A defamation claimant must prove serious reputational harm caused, or probably to be caused, by publication. The inherent seriousness of an allegation and the…

A driver is not negligent merely because a collision occurs. The question is whether the driving fell below the standard expected of a reasonably competent…

An injunction under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 187B requires an actual or apprehended breach of planning control. The court must identify the…

An unappealed disclosure order must be complied with according to its terms. Where relevance has already been determined, a party cannot redact identifiers by…

In complex group litigation, early requests for information or disclosure may be proportionate where they address a real information asymmetry and materially…

In a civil claim tried by a judge and jury, disputed facts ordinarily fall to the jury, but an issue may be withdrawn where the evidence is uncontradicted or…

Under Greek law, liability for a road accident requires unlawful conduct, fault or negligence, damage and causation. Parking is lawful where it creates no…

Permission to amend a statement of case should ordinarily be granted where the proposed case is properly pleaded, has a real prospect of success and does not…

A local planning authority may obtain an interim injunction under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to restrain apprehended offences involving protected…

A default judgment may be varied under CPR 13.3 where there is good reason, but an error in the amount or currency does not create an automatic right to…

The slip rule cannot be used to revisit a consciously approved order or to permit second thoughts. It corrects an accidental slip or omission so that an order…

In a defamation claim, the ordinary meaning of an allegation of rape includes both non-consensual penetration and the absence of a reasonable belief in…

Following default judgment, the court ordinarily determines relief on the basis that the claimant’s pleaded case is correct. It need not make findings on…

For an injunction under section 106(3) of the Representation of the People Act 1983, the court must determine definitively whether the impugned statement is…

Planning policy must be interpreted through a combination of linguistic and purposive analysis. Explanatory text may assist interpretation even where it does…

When deciding whether to confirm a public path diversion order, the decision-maker must compare the convenience of the proposed route with the existing lawful…

A contractual term requiring a consumer to pay the full fee in advance, including for services not supplied if the hearing does not proceed, may fall within…

A psychiatrist may adopt a defensible working diagnosis without breaching the duty of care, even if another diagnosis is later preferred. The clinician must…

For an interim injunction restraining alleged harassment, the claimant must show a serious issue to be tried. A course of conduct may amount to arguable…

A defendant domiciled abroad is ordinarily sued in the courts of that domicile under Article 4.1 of the Brussels Recast Regulation. The special jurisdiction…

In assessing damages for misuse of private information, the court should compensate the claimant’s primary psychological injury without double recovery for…

For civil contempt, the allegations must be proved beyond reasonable doubt, although the proceedings remain civil. Penalties should principally secure future…

Contempt by breach of a court order requires proof beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant had notice of the order, committed an act prohibited by it…

A harassment claim may properly concern the manner, persistence and impact of communications, even where some communications contain defamatory allegations.…

A court cannot use the Barrell jurisdiction to reopen an inter partes appeal once the final order has been sealed or perfected. Nor does Civil Procedure Rules…

Where enforcement under a writ affects partnership property protected by Partnership Act 1890, the statutory scheme in Schedule 12 to the Tribunals, Courts and…

An appeal under Medical Act 1983 against a medical practitioners tribunal’s review decision is appellate rather than supervisory. The High Court may substitute…

Sentencing for civil contempt has three objectives, in descending priority: securing future compliance with the order, punishment and rehabilitation. The court…

A valuer’s duty is ordinarily confined to the risk that the valuation is wrong. The fact that the valuation was critical and caused a lender to enter a…

In a credit-hire claim, impecuniosity depends on whether the claimant could reasonably have been expected to pay ordinary hire charges without making…

Where a defendant is arrested for an alleged breach of an injunction containing a power of arrest, the court may impose bail conditions where the history of…

A local authority may obtain an injunction under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 to enforce compliance with housing safety obligations, but the…

An interim injunction may be granted without notice where secrecy is essential or there are good reasons for proceeding without notice, including a real risk…

A claim may be struck out or summarily dismissed where, on the pleaded case and material properly considered on the application, it has no realistic prospect…

Documents generated during an independent healthcare-safety investigation may be ordered to be disclosed by a non-party where they may well assist in resolving…

In disputed factual causation cases, a court is not always required to choose between competing explanations. It may ask the single, unitary question whether…

The unsuccessful party will ordinarily pay the successful party’s costs, but the court may make a different order after considering all the circumstances…

A malicious prosecution claim cannot be maintained against a body which referred allegations to the Crown Prosecution Service where the CPS independently…

In judicial review of planning decisions, a committee decision may be unlawful where a councillor is significantly misled by materially mistaken advice and…

For the consumer-contract jurisdiction gateway, mere accessibility of a trader’s website, or a small number of customers from the consumer’s country, is…

For an interim injunction restraining publication of private information, the applicant must satisfy the heightened statutory threshold that publication is…

A credit hire claim may fail for lack of causation where the claimant’s vehicle could not lawfully have been used on the public highway because it lacked an…

In civil contempt proceedings, the claimant must prove contempt beyond reasonable doubt, although the proceedings remain civil. Penalties should principally…

A settlement scheduled to a Tomlin order is construed as a commercial contract. Where it expressly resolves disputes under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and…

A permanent injunction may restrain protestors where the claimant establishes a specific tort and a sufficiently real risk of repetition. In a conspiracy to…

For civil contempt, the penalty should secure future compliance first, punish the breach second and promote rehabilitation third. The court should assess…

Permission to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction requires proof of three matters: a serious issue to be tried, a good arguable case that a…

On an application under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s 187B, the court must exercise an original and independent discretion. It must decide whether an…

A judgment on liability following strike-out does not ordinarily determine the causation or quantification of every pleaded head of loss. The defendant may…

Where a person injured by alleged negligence dies after the primary limitation period has expired, the personal representative may still bring a Fatal…

Registration under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 depends on applying the statutory scheme itself. A foreign judgment may be a money…

The tort of misuse of private information requires a fact-sensitive two-stage analysis. The claimant must first establish a reasonable expectation of privacy…

For the purposes of section 57 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 2015, proof of dishonesty does not by itself establish fundamental dishonesty. The…

Interim injunctions may be granted where the claimant shows a serious issue to be tried, damages are inadequate and the balance of convenience favours relief.…

An appellate court should interfere with a case management decision only where it is plainly wrong, in the sense of falling outside the generous ambit within…

Incapacity through intoxication is established only where the person did not understand the general nature of the transaction and the other contracting party…

Indemnity costs require conduct or circumstances taking the case out of the norm; dishonesty or moral blame is unnecessary. The assessment is directed to the…

Where an election petition challenges the validity of a local government election, the petition must proceed even if the person whose election is questioned…

A civil restraint order requires more than repeated procedural mistakes. The conduct must amount to vexatious or abusive litigation, obsessive persistence, or…

In a clinical negligence claim, the claimant must prove the mechanism of injury on the balance of probabilities before breach can be established. Where an…

Sentencing for civil contempt serves both to punish the historic breach and to secure compliance with the underlying order. Where those purposes conflict…

Permission to commence committal proceedings requires a strong prima facie case, together with satisfaction that the proceedings serve the public interest, are…

On an interlocutory application raising limitation, the court must decide whether the claim has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of defeating the…

The court may permit parties to use documents disclosed for litigation purposes outside the proceedings where the exercise is justified by the court’s inherent…

For service out of the jurisdiction without permission under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 6.33(2B)(b), the claimant must have a good arguable case that a…

Under Part II of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, a licensed private-hire vehicle operator who accepts a passenger’s booking must…

In a mixed claim involving personal injury and other heads of loss, the court must exercise its discretion under CPR r 44.16(2)(b) justly. The first question…

A Norwich Pharmacal order requires an arguable wrong, a genuine need for disclosure, and a respondent involved in furthering the alleged wrongdoing. A person…

In a clinical negligence claim concerning intrapartum monitoring, a failure to identify fetal heart-rate abnormalities constitutes a breach where competent…

On an appeal by way of review, the appellate court asks whether the decision was wrong or unjust because of serious procedural or other irregularity. It does…

Strike-out and summary-judgment applications require the court to assess whether the claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. A…

An appeal may be struck out where the appellant persistently fails to comply with procedural directions, provides no adequate explanation, and the appeal is…

Meaning in a libel claim is determined by the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical reasonable reader, reading the publication as a…

Anonymity orders are derogations from the fundamental principle of open justice. They may be granted or continued only in exceptional circumstances, where…

In a pure diagnostic negligence case, the court must determine for itself whether the image disclosed an abnormality which no reasonable and responsible…

A combined Part 36 offer containing a lump sum and periodical payments is assessed by the figures stated in the offer. The periodical payments figure is not…

Early disclosure is governed by the overriding objective and must be reasonable and proportionate when ordered. The applicant must identify a proper basis and…

On an appeal from factual findings, the appellate court must identify an error of law or fact. It should not interfere with primary factual conclusions unless…

Determining whether a hyperlink forms part of a publication, and whether words refer to an unnamed claimant, is an objective exercise based on the publication…

Permission to amend after expiry of a limitation period requires the court to determine whether the amendment is arguably out of time, whether it adds a new…

On an application for specific disclosure, the court should first identify whether the documents fall within standard disclosure and then decide whether…

In a clinical negligence claim involving successful and unsuccessful allegations, costs are assessed by considering the claim in substance and identifying the…

On an appeal from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the appellate court must show considerable deference to an expert tribunal’s factual and evaluative…

An interim injunction requires a recognisable civil claim with a real prospect of success and evidence of a defined future civil wrong requiring restraint.…

At a costs budgeting hearing, the usual order is costs in the case, but the court may make a different or modified order where the circumstances justify it.…

Summary judgment may be granted where the evidence demonstrates that a claimant has no real prospect of success, even if the claim raises allegations of fraud…

Whether a local authority is vicariously liable for torts committed by foster carers cannot be resolved solely by asking whether the carers are relatives. The…

On a summary-judgment application, a solicitor’s reliance on specialist counsel’s advice cannot be determined conclusively without examining the solicitor’s…

Procedural errors in the allocation or service of an application do not automatically invalidate an order. The court may preserve the order under the de facto…

On an application for default judgment, the court must conduct a judicial assessment of whether the claimant is entitled to relief on the pleaded case. The…

A court may stay proceedings under CPR 3.1(2)(f) to encourage ADR, even without a contractual obligation to use ADR and despite a party’s opposition. The…

Meaning in libel proceedings is determined objectively by the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical reasonable reader. The court…

Foreign-state service must comply with the exclusive statutory method in section 12(1) of the State Immunity Act 1978, unless the state has agreed another…

A Group Litigation Order is appropriate where claims raise common or related issues of fact or law and a sufficient number of claimants seriously intend to…

A local authority may seek an injunction under Local Government Act 1972, section 222, to protect inhabitants from public nuisance and to support the criminal…

Permission to appeal requires an appellant to identify an arguable error in the decision below. An appellate court does not rehear the arguments or subject the…

In assessing future special damages, the court must identify the claimant’s reasonable needs caused by the injury and then consider whether the claimed expense…

An interim injunction may be granted where the claim raises a serious issue to be tried, damages or an undertaking in damages would not provide adequate…

Where defendants have failed to engage with proceedings, the court may determine an application for final relief on the papers under CPR 23.8 if a hearing…

Where a child’s damages claim is compromised, the court must determine whether the proposed settlement protects the child’s best interests. The court should…

A partnership is determined objectively from the parties’ conduct and the whole circumstances. Labels, separate sections, informal arrangements and the absence…

When a party reports symptoms of Covid-19 and has ordered the PCR test required by contemporary guidance, failure to obtain an additional lateral flow test…

A contractual default-interest provision is assessed as a penalty by construction at the time of contracting. Evidence may be relevant to the commercial…

Interim injunctions restraining neighbours from making planning objections or engaging in harassment were refused. Where proposed relief would interfere with…

When approving a settlement involving a protected party, the court must act as an external safeguard and decide whether the proposed compromise is in the…

Contempt of court arising from a dishonest civil claim must be proved to the criminal standard. The court must identify the central alleged deception rather…

On an application for an interim injunction concerning an employee’s alleged continuing employment, the American Cyanamid test applies. A contractual minimum…

Approval of a settlement for a child or protected party requires an independent judicial assessment. The court must consider the claimant’s best interests, the…

A road-speed limit is an absolute maximum, not a target or assurance that driving at or below it is reasonable. Drivers must adjust speed and attention to the…

Financial information covering bank accounts, mortgage accounts and balances may constitute private information giving rise to a reasonable expectation of…

Where a periodical payments order uses an index that has been reclassified, its recalculation formula must be interpreted consistently with the order’s purpose…

An employee cannot ordinarily require an employer to call every person interviewed during a disciplinary investigation. Disciplinary procedures must be…

On an application for summary judgment, the claimant must show that the defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim and that there is no…

On consequential matters following a strike-out application, costs should reflect the substance and practical effect of the outcome. Where neither side has…

Permission to appeal requires a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success, or another compelling reason for the appeal to be heard. A challenge to…

The court applied established principles governing inducing breach of contract, dishonest assistance and conspiracy by unlawful means. A contractual…

In claims for assault and battery arising from police use of force, the defendant must establish that the officer honestly believed force was necessary, that…

On an application to terminate a litigation friend’s appointment, the primary question is whether the conditions in CPR 21.4(3) continue to be satisfied and…

In a road-traffic negligence claim, the claimant bears the burden of proving on the balance of probabilities that the defendant driver fell below the standard…

Publication identifying a person arrested but not charged with serious sexual offences may be restrained where it creates a substantial risk of seriously…

Damages must compensate only for loss caused by the defendant’s breach. The court must compare the claimant’s actual position with the position that would…

A trial judgment must explain the reasoning essential to the result, particularly where technical evidence and competing factual or causation arguments are…

Where a student is permitted to suspend studies because of illness and seeks to return, contractual residence regulations governing fitness to study and…

For an arrest under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, the officer must honestly believe that arrest is necessary for an identified statutory purpose, and…

The High Court must transfer Equality Act 2010 claims falling within the County Court’s exclusive statutory jurisdiction. CPR Part 11 may waive a defendant’s…

Costs included in a budget must be legal costs that materially progress the litigation. A category of expenditure that is inherently non-progressive is not a…

A non-party costs order against a director or shareholder is exceptional and must be justified by the circumstances as a whole. The central question is whether…

Proceedings are an abuse of process where they seek to re-litigate issues already determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, even when framed as a…

An overseas forfeiture order qualifies as an external order where it is made by an overseas court, concerns property found or believed to derive from criminal…

In a false-imprisonment claim arising from a police arrest, the usual focus is the state of mind of the arresting officer. The officer may rely on information…

An implied contract between a course provider and the Secretary of State will not be inferred merely because student-loan payments are made directly to the…

A Part 36 offer may provide contractually for interest after expiry of the relevant period. The term must be construed objectively in the context of Part 36.…

A final quia timet injunction may restrain future trespass where there is a sufficiently real and imminent risk of repetition. The absence of an express…

CPR 7.3 permits a single claim form for multiple claims where their common disposal in one set of proceedings would be useful or helpful. The test is…

An appellate court should not interfere with a case-management decision unless it is plainly wrong, in the sense that it falls outside the generous ambit…

A site licence need not be in force for land to qualify as a protected site under the Caravan Sites Act 1968 and the Mobile Homes Act 1983. However, on…

Interim injunctive relief requires a serious issue to be tried and an assessment of the balance of convenience, including the adequacy of damages. An adverse…

In determining the meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning which a hypothetical reasonable…

A consent order compromising proceedings will be set aside only where a recognised vitiating factor, such as economic duress or misrepresentation, is…

An appellate court reviewing findings of fact, credibility or evidential evaluation must apply a stringent threshold. Intervention requires an identifiable…

The threshold for joining a person as a non-party for potential costs purposes is low. Where sufficient material supports the contention that the person…

A court’s obligation to consider contempt proceedings arises whenever it considers that a contempt of court may have been committed. The obligation is not…

A professional-negligence claim arising from unsuccessful litigation may ordinarily proceed, but it must disclose a realistic prospect of proving breach…

For the purposes of CPR 32, PD 18.1, a witness’s “own language” is not limited to a native or first language. It includes any language in which the witness is…

Registration of an authentic instrument under the Judgments Regulation follows the same procedure as registration of a foreign judgment, but the instrument…

Each discrete defamatory publication creates a separate cause of action. A claimant complaining of publications to identified individuals must particularise…

A High Court claim may be struck out where it discloses no recognisable cause of action or is used as an abusive collateral attack on concluded County Court…

Settlement involving a protected party requires court approval under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule 21.10. The court must conduct an external check on the…

Where proceedings combine personal-injury claims with other claims, they are mixed claims under CPR r 44.16(2)(b), but the court must still exercise the…

In clinical negligence claims, a claimant must establish that the treatment fell outside a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of skilled…

A pain physician must remain vigilant for new or changing symptoms in a patient with chronic pain. Where the presentation might indicate new pathology, the…

On an application under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rules 3.4 and 24.2, a claim should proceed where the pleaded case is arguable and requires disclosure or…

Permission to reopen discontinued litigation requires a claimant to show a real change directly relevant to the claim and, at minimum, a real prospect of…

An appellate court reviewing findings of fact, expert evidence and causation must respect the trial judge’s advantage in hearing the evidence. Intervention is…

An extended civil restraint order may properly prevent a party from pursuing a claim which, although framed as a new issue, is another attempt to litigate the…

Where a claimant succeeds only on an admitted period of unlawful detention, but loses all ultimately contested issues and would have remained lawfully detained…

An injunction restraining a breach of planning control should be varied only where there has been a material change of circumstances or another good reason for…

Summary judgment is appropriate where a pleaded professional-negligence claim has no realistic prospect of success on the evidence and established decisions…

An anticipatory injunction requires a strong probability that the defendant will breach the claimant’s rights and that the resulting harm will be grave and…

In a defamation claim, serious harm concerns the consequences of publication, not merely the inherent tendency of the words. It may be inferred from the…

A stay of execution pending appeal is discretionary. The court must consider all the circumstances and ask which outcome is less likely to cause injustice.…

In proceedings for precautionary injunctions against Persons Unknown, non-parties may apply under CPR 40.9 where the order is prima facie capable of materially…

In a mesothelioma claim, foreseeability is assessed by reference to what a reasonable and prudent employer should have known at the relevant time. The question…

When determining a litigator’s graduated fee, electronically served evidence which has never existed in paper form is included as pages of prosecution evidence…

In civil proceedings, hearsay evidence may carry weight even where it is uncorroborated and the maker cannot be cross-examined. The court must assess…

In a clinical negligence claim, a court must apply the Bolam / Bolitho standard. It must decide whether the defendant acted in accordance with a responsible…

Under Belgian law, a driver with priority remains capable of being liable where excessive speed or other fault is causally linked to the collision. The…

Indemnity costs may be ordered where a party’s conduct is wholly unreasonable and out of the norm, including an unreasonable failure to accept a sensible offer…

A representative claim for misuse of private information may proceed only where all represented persons share the same interest and each has a realistic…

In contractual disciplinary proceedings, natural justice may require legal representation and an effective opportunity to test an accuser’s evidence, even…

The constitution of an unincorporated association has contractual effect and is construed using ordinary contractual principles. Terms are implied only where…

Strike-out for abuse of process is discretionary. The court must consider proportionality, the overriding objective and whether a lesser case-management…

In veterinary negligence claims, the standard is that of a reasonably competent veterinary practitioner providing the relevant specialist care. A practice is…

Interest on personal injury damages is compensatory, not punitive. Although the court has a broad statutory discretion, that discretion must be exercised…

In claims concerning alleged unlawful team moves and conspiracy, an expedited split trial may be appropriate where liability and injunctive relief are urgent…

The court has a wide, open-ended discretion under section 7(5)(b) of the Human Rights Act 1998 to extend the one-year limitation period where equitable in all…

The judicial exemption in para 14 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Data Protection Act 2018 is broad. It covers personal data processed by judges in the course…

The police generally owe no private-law duty to protect individuals from harm caused by criminals, or to prevent crime through omissions in the performance of…

A final anticipatory injunction may be granted where the claimant establishes a real and imminent risk of threatened tortious conduct and the defendant has no…

A contractual safeguarding provision in a planning agreement must be construed in its statutory and commercial context. Where a later planning permission…

Registration of land does not, by itself, terminate ongoing adverse possession. A person defending possession proceedings may rely on the statutory defences…

Interest payable under foreign law may be substantive rather than procedural where it forms part of the claimant’s entitlement to compensation under the…

In an application under CPR 13.3 to set aside a regularly obtained default judgment, the court must consider whether the defendant has a real prospect of…

A final anticipatory injunction may be granted where there is a real and imminent risk that defendants will infringe the claimant’s rights and the resulting…

In suspected fabricated or induced illness cases, professionals may decide not to alert parents before seeking removal where they genuinely and reasonably…

An appellate court may intervene in a case-management decision where the lower court applied the wrong approach, failed to consider relevant prejudice, or…

Serious harm under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 depends on the actual or likely impact of publication, assessed in context. The inherent tendency of…

CPR rule 3.10 permits the court to remedy procedural errors in existing proceedings, including defects in form, but its scope is not unlimited. It does not…

At the interim stage, the court need only determine whether there is a serious issue to be tried. The enforceability of a restrictive covenant should not…

Where a Part 36 offer is accepted after the relevant period, the usual costs consequences may be displaced if they would be unjust. The court must consider all…

Whether a person contracts personally or as an agent for a company is determined objectively from the parties’ words and conduct. A payment into a company…

On an application for an injunction under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 187 B, the court must exercise its own judicial discretion. It must…

At an approval hearing for a protected party, the court must conduct an external check on the propriety of the proposed settlement. It must exercise judgment…

An NHS contract remains an NHS contract until its status is changed by a written variation signed in accordance with the contract and applicable regulations.…

Permission under CPR 38.7 to bring a further claim after discontinuance is determined by a broad, discretionary assessment under the overriding objective. No…

In a libel claim concerning allegations of sexual assault, the statutory defence of truth is established where the defendant proves the essential sting of the…

A public authority disclosing personal data must establish that the particular disclosure was necessary for a permitted purpose. Necessity is determined by the…

A modest excess of the speed limit does not, without more, establish negligence or causation where it creates no foreseeable risk of harm and would not have…

Permission for expert evidence is appropriate where there is at least a prima facie evidential basis for the issue and the court would otherwise have…

Default judgment for damages is not automatically judgment for the figure pleaded. The court must identify the reality of the claim. Claims for personal…

The open justice principle may be derogated from only where non-disclosure is necessary to secure the proper administration of justice and protect the…

On a return date for an interim injunction, the court may determine the application on paper and in the defendants’ absence where the defendants have been…

An appellate court may recognise a serious procedural irregularity but nevertheless uphold the decision below if allowing the appeal would not be just. The…

For the purposes of Limitation Act 1980 section 14, a claimant need only know that the significant injury is capable of being attributed to an act or omission…

Section 296A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 prevents a local planning authority from bringing section 187B injunction proceedings concerning Crown…

In a clinical negligence claim concerning diagnosis and referral, a doctor is not negligent merely because another respectable body of medical opinion would…

Applications concerning protected parties should be approached principally by reference to the protective purpose of Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 21.…

In a medical-treatment novus actus case, there is no special rule requiring proof that treatment was so grossly negligent as to be a completely inappropriate…

A discounted conditional fee agreement is interpreted objectively and as a whole. The fact that it must be in writing does not require a purely literal…

Where the causal relevance of proposed amendments depends on an uncertain factual mechanism, that mechanism may be determined as a preliminary issue. The…

A solicitor acting in person does not qualify for the exception to the litigant-in-person costs regime merely because he is a director or employee of a company…

In an application for relief from sanctions, failure to establish a good reason for default does not conclude the analysis. At the third stage of Denton, the…

Legal professional privilege belongs to the client and is absolute unless waived, overridden by statute, or excluded by the iniquity exception. The exception…

For the purposes of Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 44.16(1), a claim may be fundamentally dishonest even if it was genuine when commenced and the dishonesty…

In contempt proceedings, a report prepared and submitted by a party’s solicitors may be admissible as an admission made by an agent where the solicitors had…

Contractual terms for online games may be incorporated through hyperlinks and drop-down menus where the supplier takes reasonably sufficient steps to make them…

Following a default judgment in a claim involving overlapping defamatory publications, privacy infringements and harassment, the court may assess one…

For pre-action disclosure, statutory and procedural conditions must be considered separately from the court’s discretion. A putative defendant must show, on…

Under liability insurance providing cover for damage occurring during the policy period, the critical question is when the damage was caused, rather than when…

A solicitor’s duty is shaped by the retainer, but a general retainer for divorce and financial matters is not transformed into a limited drafting retainer…

Interim private-law relief should not ordinarily be granted where it would materially constrain the exercise of a public-law power. The court must consider the…

A court may restrain persons unknown from using or disclosing confidential information obtained by hacking for the purpose of blackmail. It may proceed without…

A statutory right to apply for a debt moratorium cannot ordinarily be suspended by injunction where the statutory scheme gives the debtor an unfettered right…

Permission is required to issue execution more than six years after judgment. The judgment creditor must explain the delay and show circumstances taking the…

Informed consent requires a medical practitioner to take reasonable care to explain material risks and reasonable alternative treatments in comprehensible…

An application to vary a sealed order is an abuse of process where the same point was previously advanced and rejected on appeal. A party cannot use CPR 2.8 to…

The High Court refused interim relief concerning property seized under a warrant where the alleged unlawfulness of the warrant had not first been established…

A litigant in person is entitled to reasonable case-management allowance, but must comply with procedural rules and limitation periods to the same standard as…

Where parties abandon a Group Litigation Order application after agreeing an alternative lead-claimant model, the court may depart from the ordinary costs…

Interim planning injunctions should ordinarily continue where there is a serious issue to be tried, a strong prima facie case, and the balance of convenience…

Insurance conditions requiring the insured to give or provide information reasonably requested by the insurer may operate as conditions precedent where the…

On an application under CPR 3.4(2)(a), the primary focus is ordinarily the statement of case and whether it discloses a legally recognisable claim. The court…

In a defamation claim, serious harm under Defamation Act 2013, s.1, must be established as a fact by evidence. The seriousness of the allegation alone is…

A settlement obligation to clear all waste from identified areas is construed objectively according to the contract’s natural and ordinary meaning, read in its…

A liquidator may seek a declaration determining competing claims to funds held in escrow where the relevant contractual conditions and insolvency consequences…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2, the general rule that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party’s costs may be displaced where the…

For summary judgment in a libel claim, the claimant need only show a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of proving publication. Publication to one…

A service-charge clause must be construed by its ordinary contractual meaning. There is no general rule requiring service-charge provisions to be construed…

Contract formation is determined objectively from the whole correspondence and the parties’ conduct. Where negotiations and documents leave the applicable…

An order for the costs of a compulsory purchase inquiry may, subject to its terms, include reasonable and proportionate costs incurred before formal…

On an appeal against orders made in a party’s absence, a serious procedural irregularity does not by itself make the decision unjust. The appellant will…

An undertaking incorporated into a court order must be construed strictly, but its meaning is determined objectively in the context in which the order was…

Points of Dispute in a solicitor-and-own-client costs assessment must identify the particular work challenged and state concisely the nature and grounds of the…

A surrender by operation of law is founded on estoppel and requires conduct which unequivocally treats the tenancy as ended. Where the tenancy is joint, the…

In complex group litigation, the court may require information from each claimant where it is necessary to plead a complete cause of action, identify suitable…

The conduct of litigation under paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Legal Services Act 2007 is determined by substance rather than form. The court must consider…

In determining the meaning of a social-media publication, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical…

In a noise-induced hearing-loss claim, contributory negligence requires proof of the claimant’s fault, causation, and a just and equitable reduction assessed…

A driver who stops on a clearway may be negligent where the vehicle creates a dangerous obstruction and the stopping is unjustified in the circumstances. The…

On an application to strike out a defence or obtain summary judgment, a defective pleading should ordinarily be given an opportunity for correction where there…

For summary judgment in a breach of confidence claim, the court asks whether the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim. Used…

A contribution claim requires proof that the proposed contributor was liable for the same damage; a bona fide settlement by another tortfeasor does not, by…

Damages for image-based abuse involving covert recording and publication of intimate images should reflect both the psychiatric injury and the misuse of…

An interim injunction restraining unlawful protest activity may be continued where the evidence shows a continuing risk of repetition, even if protest activity…

In a civil fact-finding exercise, the claimant bears the burden of proving each fact in issue on the balance of probabilities. The court must decide whether…

An election petition is not merely a private dispute. The election court must consider the public interest and may investigate alleged corrupt or illegal…

Applications to stay clinical negligence proceedings pending a claimant’s medical examination engage a two-stage test. The applicant must first show that the…

In negligence claims arising from sporting injuries, the governing question is whether the defendant failed to exercise the degree of care appropriate in all…

Administrative arrangements for allocating a National Insurance number do not, without more, fall within the ambit of article 14 read with article 1 of…

Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, an occupier must assess the reasonable safety of premises objectively, while taking account of the visitor’s known…

Interim injunctive relief may be granted where there is a serious issue to be tried, damages are inadequate and the balance of convenience favours relief.…

An allegation that loan terms are unfair does not, without more, plead an unfair relationship under sections 140A–D of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. The…

Requests for further information under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 18 must be confined to information reasonably necessary and proportionate for the stated…

In determining the natural and ordinary meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the court must identify the single meaning that the hypothetical reasonable…

Contempt based on false statements requires proof to the criminal standard that the defendant signed a false statement, that it materially interfered, or was…

At an interlocutory stage, an illegality defence should not be determined mechanistically where the claim involves strict-liability offences and raises…

Article 8 does not protect a general right to employment, a chosen occupation, professional development or career advancement. Loss of employment caused by an…

A counsellor or well-being coach may owe a duty of care to an individual receiving services, regardless of the label applied to the role. The duty includes…

A limited civil restraint order applies to the same proceedings even after the proceedings, or the relevant judgments, are transferred to the High Court for…

When approving a settlement for an incapacitous claimant under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 21, the court must protect the claimant’s interests throughout…

Under section 2(2) of the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, an occupier must take reasonable care to keep visitors reasonably safe. The duty does not require…

At the strike-out stage, a negligence claim against a public authority should proceed where the alleged duty is reasonably arguable, even though the claimant…

An English court may restrain foreign evidence-gathering proceedings only where they are oppressive, vexatious, interfere with the due process of the English…

Harassment by publication requires a persistent and deliberate course of targeted conduct which crosses the boundary from unattractive or unreasonable conduct…

Section 5 of the State Immunity Act 1978 applies where at least one act or omission in the United Kingdom is more than minimally causative of death, personal…

A contractual undertaking given to settle defamation proceedings is interpreted objectively, by reference to its language, the agreement as a whole, its…

Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 44.2, the overall winner is ordinarily awarded its costs, but the court must consider all the circumstances and may make an…

On an appeal by way of case stated arising from proceedings under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the High Court has a broad discretion as…

A charging order can secure a judgment debt only against a beneficial interest held by the debtor. A trust which genuinely divests that interest may…

Permission to withdraw a pre-action admission is discretionary. The court must consider all the circumstances, including the grounds for withdrawal, new…

A contractual payment plan may replace and extinguish underlying solicitors’ bills where it creates a genuine compromise, fixes an overall sum, materially…

CPR 7.5 applies to an ordinary Part 8 claim form unless another rule provides a different service procedure or time limit. A claimant must take a relevant…

An unlawful administrative scheme does not, without more, create an entitlement to damages under section 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998. For persons subject to…

In a clinical negligence claim, the applicable standard is the ordinary standard of the competent practitioner exercising the relevant skill. A practice…

A mental health crisis moratorium under regulation 28(2)(e) requires evidence of both a mental disorder of a serious nature and crisis, emergency or acute care…

For an arrest under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 24, the officer must honestly believe that arrest is necessary for an identified statutory…

Under Rome II, a foreign rule which sets a time limit for bringing proceedings is a rule of limitation within article 15(h), even if it would be characterised…

In determining meaning in a defamation claim, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical ordinary reasonable…

Applications to restrict open justice must satisfy strict necessity and proportionality requirements. Anonymity is ordered only to the extent necessary to…

Under the Limitation Act 1980, a podcast’s continuing online availability does not generally justify less vigorous pursuit of a libel claim. The court may…

When assessing the track to which an unallocated claim would have been assigned for costs purposes, the court must make the best available prediction despite…

A claim for damages under section 9 of the Human Rights Act 1998 concerning a judicial act is not subject to a blanket requirement that the underlying order…

A breach of health and safety regulations does not ordinarily create civil liability where Parliament has expressly provided that the breach is not actionable.…

In determining the meaning of online consumer reviews, the court must identify the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the hypothetical reasonable…

Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success or another compelling reason. An appeal is generally a review of the lower court’s decision and…

A claim in unlawful means conspiracy based on deceit must plead a clear and concise account of the essential facts, including the alleged dishonest acts, the…

A graduated-fee scheme may assign different remuneration bands to murder and attempted murder where the enabling legislation confers a broad discretion and…

Permission is required to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction where none of the applicable exceptions applies. A claimant seeking permission must…

For an injury to fall within article 17(1) of the Montreal Convention, it must be caused by an external, distinct event that is unusual, unexpected or…

A driver is not negligent where her driving meets the standard expected of a reasonably competent driver and an unexpected collision leaves no sufficient time…

A banking deposit contract may confer a right to international transfers even where it contains no express reference to transfers outside the country. The…

Informed consent for a novel surgical procedure requires disclosure of material risks, reasonable alternatives and any material uncertainty about safety and…

Cryptoassets and non-fungible tokens are at least arguably property capable of supporting a proprietary injunction. The American Cyanamid principles apply. An…

An extension of time to appeal requires a proper explanation for the whole period of delay. Where a civil restraint order has expired, reliance on the former…

On an interim payment on account of costs, the court should order a reasonable sum, representing an estimate of the likely recovery on detailed assessment…

Claims should not be struck out as abusive merely because their financial value appears modest compared with the costs. The Jameel jurisdiction is exceptional…

Under paragraph 8 of Schedule 6 to the Data Protection Act 1998, the High Court conducts its own inquiry into an alleged contempt arising from tribunal…

A costs order against a non-party expert is exceptional. The court must decide whether, in all the circumstances, it is just to make the order. The expert’s…

Informed consent requires discussion of reasonable alternative treatments where they are genuinely available in the circumstances. A hospital cannot logically…

Where foreign insolvency proceedings have not yet been recognised in England and Wales, their existence does not ordinarily prevent a diligent creditor from…

Applications under Civil Procedure Rules Part 25 are governed by the overriding objective. The court may draw useful guidance from authorities concerning other…

Expert evidence should generally be excluded only where the proposed witness lacks sufficient expertise or the evidence is otherwise genuinely inadmissible.…

On an appeal by way of review, an appellate court may interfere only where the lower court was wrong in law, made an unsupported finding, or reached an…