High Court: Queen's Bench Division judgments, 2008

A statutory body responsible for dock workers may owe a common law duty to take positive steps to protect them from a known and serious occupational risk, even…

An indefinite notification requirement under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 may be compatible with Article 8 in general, but the absence of any review mechanism…

When assessing criminal defence counsel’s ex post facto fees under the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2001, the determining officer must allow a…

Disclosure must be assessed by reference to the issues raised by the parties’ statements of case. It is not available to investigate an unpleaded case…

Privacy and confidentiality do not, by themselves, justify refusing disclosure or inspection of relevant documents. The court must balance those interests…

A doctor is not negligent merely because another responsible body of medical opinion would have adopted a different course. The court must assess whether the…

Under rule 353 of the Immigration Rules, further submissions constitute a fresh claim where they are significantly different from material previously…

Police officers may remain potentially liable for malicious prosecution or misfeasance in public office after the Crown Prosecution Service assumes conduct of…

A conditional fee agreement is enforceable where it substantially complies with the regulatory requirements. Compliance is assessed by the terms of the…

Regular lending to one person, even at substantial scale and for profit, does not by itself amount to carrying on a lending business. The court must assess…

In a defamation claim, the existence of a real and substantial tort cannot be determined by an arbitrary minimum number of publications. A modest publication…

Amendments should generally be permitted where they enable the real dispute to be determined, provided prejudice can be compensated in costs and the amendment…

Regulatory breaches protecting consumers or businesses may constitute the unlawful means required for the tort of interference with business by unlawful means.…

A public officer does not commit misfeasance merely by using a lawful statutory power to prevent unlawful trading. Preventing illegal conduct will ordinarily…

In assessing damages for mesothelioma, current Judicial Studies Board Guidelines should ordinarily be followed where they reflect up-to-date judicial decisions…

Ignorance of electoral law may amount to inadvertence for the purposes of relief from an illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983. The…

In a libel meaning application, the court must assess words in their full context, including their presentation, genre, surrounding publication and likely…

A payment made in connection with a debt is treated according to the agreement and the surrounding evidence establishing its purpose. Where the evidence shows…

Reports of public court proceedings attract absolute privilege under Defamation Act 1996, section 14, where they are fair, accurate and contemporaneous.…

For limitation purposes, a claimant need not understand the legal duties of a public authority or the law of negligence. It is sufficient that the claimant…

At the pre-trial stage of a defamation claim, the court determines which meanings the words are capable of bearing. A meaning should be excluded only where a…

Damages are recoverable only for injuries and losses proved to have been caused by the accident. Where a claimant has a pre-existing condition, the court must…

Company payments made by an employee or consultant are repayable where they were not authorised for company purposes. A defendant who asserts that payments…

Employers’ liability policies containing wording such as “injury sustained” or “disease contracted” are construed, in their employment-insurance context, as…

A solicitor’s receipt, reading, noting and retention of documents supplied by a matrimonial client for use in proceedings does not, without more, constitute…

In a defamation claim, a publication is incapable of bearing an alleged meaning where that meaning would require an unduly suspicious reader to select a…

A non-party costs order under Supreme Court Act 1981, section 51, is exceptional and requires careful consideration of all the circumstances. Relevant factors…

A ski instructor must assess a group by reference to the capabilities of its weakest members. The assessment is prospective and objective, and must take…

In claims for psychiatric injury caused by working conditions, foreseeability is not established merely because an employee works more than 48 hours per week…

A student may pursue a contractual claim concerning university examination procedures where the complaint concerns a material irregularity rather than the…

On an application to withdraw a Law Society intervention, the court must consider whether there were grounds for suspecting dishonesty both when the notice was…

Contributory negligence under section 1(1) of the Law Reform Contributory Negligence Act 1945 involves a wide, fact-sensitive discretion. The court must assess…

In deciding whether to stay proceedings pending a related lead action, the court must balance efficient case management and the use of court resources against…

A proprietary estoppel may arise where purchasers acquire lodges in reliance on authorised promises that they will receive defined site interests and may use…

Damages for breach of a contract concerning the use of a private home may include non-pecuniary loss where an important object of the bargain was to provide…

The commencement of court proceedings does not, by itself, prevent a party from later relying on an arbitration agreement. The critical question is whether the…

A qualified offer of amends under Defamation Act 1996, section 2 must accept that the publication conveys a defamatory meaning referring to the claimant. An…

At the permission stage of judicial review, the court asks whether the proposed challenge is arguable. It does not determine the merits. An arguable challenge…

Money claimed in litigation will not ordinarily constitute “property” for the purposes of CPR 25.1(1)(c). Where the money may be held on trust and constitutes…

Expert opinion evidence should be admitted only where it is relevant to an issue in the proceedings. Even relevant evidence may be excluded where its cost and…

In a slander claim, the claimant must prove the actual words spoken with reasonable clarity. The court must then determine whether those words were defamatory…

When assessing an interim payment in a substantial personal injury claim, the court should estimate the likely lump-sum element of the final award, including…

Qualified privilege requires proof of a duty or legitimate interest in communicating the material and a corresponding material interest in receiving it. A…

In a clinical negligence claim arising from an erroneous prenatal genetic test, each laboratory had a duty to ensure effective communication about the quality…

A Norwich Pharmacal order is directed to obtaining information which will identify a wrongdoer, not to speculative fishing for possible defendants. Disclosure…

In a medical negligence claim, breach is established where nursing staff failed to respond reasonably to objective signs of serious deterioration in a…

A libel claim may be struck out where the words relied on are incapable of bearing a defamatory meaning which a reasonable jury could properly find. The judge…

A court may resort to the burden of proof only in the exceptional situation where, after examining and evaluating the evidence, it cannot reasonably make a…

A low-speed rear-end collision can cause significant injury even where the occupant’s head does not strike the vehicle. The court must assess causation and…

Under Supreme Court Act 1981, s.69(1), the court must address three related questions: whether prolonged examination of documents is required; whether that…

In assessing damages for catastrophic personal injury, gratuitous care is ordinarily valued by reference to commercial care costs, subject to an appropriate…

A comprehensive and Convention-compliant statutory scheme is not rendered incompatible with Article 8 merely because it is poorly administered in an individual…

The court has a broad discretion under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, CPR 44.3(6)(g), to award interest on costs from a date before judgment. The discretion is…

In a clinical negligence claim, a responsible body of medical opinion will generally satisfy the Bolam standard where its approach can withstand logical…

In clinical negligence claims involving diagnostic pathology, the Bolam standard remains applicable, but expert evidence must withstand logical analysis. A…

A doctor’s obligation of confidence may survive the patient’s death. Its duration and strength depend on the circumstances, including the intimacy and…

On an application for possession, the court should proceed summarily unless the defendant’s grounds of disputation appear substantial. A breach of internal…

In assessing damages for loss of a chance, the court must reflect the prospects that the chance would have materialised. Where significant uncertainty exists…

In a mesothelioma claim involving exposure during employment with more than one employer, exposure is actionable where the defendant’s wrongdoing materially…

Under section 106 of the Water Industry Act 1991, a sewerage undertaker may refuse a proposed connection where the mode of construction includes the location…

Subject access under the Data Protection Act 1998 may be refused only under an applicable statutory exemption. For the health exemption, “likely” requires a…

An express disciplinary procedure negotiated for NHS employment may exclude legal representation at an internal disciplinary hearing. In such circumstances…

A professional practitioner gives financial advice when recommending a client or prospective borrower as suitable for lending, even if the practitioner does…

A court approving a periodical-payments order may amend the indexation mechanism without reopening the whole order. An indexation scheme must be workable and…

On an application to continue an interim injunction granted without notice, the court must first be satisfied that the claimant raises a serious issue to be…

A prospective employment contract may contain an enforceable liquidated damages clause where the employee never starts work. The increased uncertainty in…

A court should decline jurisdiction, or otherwise intervene, only where compelling evidence shows that a party cannot have a fair trial or meaningfully advance…

Participation in a fraudulent claim does not automatically require the participant’s genuine claim to be struck out. Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, rule…

A contractual payment obligation is not ordinarily conditional upon the other party’s prior performance unless the contract clearly makes it so. A…

A contractual post-termination restraint imposed on a franchisee is enforceable only so far as reasonably necessary to protect the franchisor’s legitimate…

Derogations from public procurement competition requirements must be construed strictly, and the party relying on the derogation bears the burden of proof. For…

Vicarious liability for negligent driving depends on the driver having the principal’s authority and acting for the principal’s purposes. An employee or agent…

A solicitor’s retainer to conduct litigation is ordinarily an entire contract. Where the client gives firm instructions to advance a case which the solicitor…

Article 5(4) generally requires judicial review of detention imposed by an administrative body. Where detention follows conviction and a determinate sentence…

Escaped sewage from a statutory sewerage system is “controlled waste” within section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Waste water is excluded from…

An interim payment may be ordered where the court is satisfied that, if the claim went to trial, the claimant would obtain judgment for a substantial sum. The…

In determining beneficial ownership, the court must assess the parties’ arrangements or understandings, supported by the evidence as a whole. A claimant may…

The court may maintain a stay over numerous related defamation claims where their collective pursuit offers no realistic prospect of vindication or…

Liability for material published through an internet account may be established by circumstantial evidence where the surrounding facts make competing…

Permission to bring contempt proceedings under rule 32.14 of the Civil Procedure Rules requires a cautious assessment. The applicant must show a strong prima…

A person ordinarily has a reasonable expectation of privacy in consensual sexual activity conducted on private property. Publication is lawful only where an…

Issue estoppel and the wider principles of res judicata apply to a continuing landlord’s repairing obligation under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act…

Leave under section 42(3) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 should be granted to a vexatious litigant carefully and sparingly. The court must decide whether there…

Section 89 of the Housing Act 1980 restricts postponement of possession by the court that made the possession order. It does not prevent an appellate court…

In a clinical negligence claim, the claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities that the alleged breach caused the injury. Where liability depends on…

An appellate court should not interfere with a case-management decision unless the first-instance judge applied the wrong principles, ignored or considered…

A hospital may be liable where an unsafe system prevents clinicians from accessing material records of a patient’s previous treatment. Where those records…

Costs following a split liability trial should be determined by identifying the successful party against each defendant and allocating responsibility to the…

A claimant seeking damages for dispossession and trespass must establish the relevant proprietary, possessory or tenancy right. A document that purports to…

Under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980, the court has a wide discretion to disapply the limitation period in a personal injury claim where equity requires…

Public procurement authorities must disclose, before tenders are submitted, all award criteria and sub-criteria used to identify the most economically…

For constructive knowledge under section 14(3) of the Limitation Act 1980, the court applies an objective standard. The relevant person is a reasonable person…

A former member of the UK Special Forces who has entered a binding confidentiality agreement cannot decide for himself whether proposed disclosures fall…

In a clinical negligence claim, the question is whether the clinician’s assessment and management fell outside the range accepted by a reasonable and…

Exemplary damages should not be extended by judicial analogy to claims concerning privacy or personal information merely because the claim engages Articles 8…

A clear, timely and properly formulated without-prejudice offer may constitute a special circumstance capable of altering the statutory presumption on the…

Covenants in restraint of trade contained in a shareholder agreement may be enforceable against an employee-shareholder where the shareholder voluntarily…

A purchase notice under section 12 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 must be in writing, served on the new landlord within time, and give adequate notice…

In an assessment of damages, the court may make a final award despite medical uncertainty where the claimant has a strong and informed wish to conclude the…

A highway authority’s duty is to maintain the highway to a standard reasonably safe for ordinary users. Whether a defect is dangerous depends on its character…

Under Article 34.2 of Regulation 44/2001, the central question is whether the defendant had a proper opportunity to arrange a defence before judgment, rather…

At the interim-injunction stage, an applicant must provide evidence establishing a serious issue to be tried. Mere assertion, speculation or inference from…

In a commercial relationship involving repeated deliveries, terms printed on delivery notes may become contractual through the parties’ course of dealing. A…

An express duty of good faith in a lock-out or exclusivity agreement requires the parties to act honestly and bona fide during the agreed period. It does not…

Clinical negligence is determined by whether the treatment accorded with a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of skilled practitioners, provided…

An innocent contracting party may generally elect between reliance loss and expectation loss. Reliance loss cannot exceed the contractual return, and wasted…

A broker must investigate the client’s business and obtain insurance that clearly and indisputably meets the client’s requirements. A bailee may insure goods…

When deciding whether to vary an existing interim injunction, the court applies the Cyanamid principles. It first asks whether there is a reasonably arguable…

In assessing compliance with workplace safety duties, the relevant question is not simply how an individual accident could have been avoided. The court must…

A party who commences proceedings submits to the jurisdiction for the ordinary incidents of that litigation, including enforcement of costs orders and contempt…

On a summary judgment application in a libel claim, the court must ordinarily assume that sufficiently particularised pleaded facts will be proved. Summary…

Interpleader proceedings are designed to protect a person holding disputed property from competing claims and to enable the claimants’ rights to be resolved.…

A professional negligence claim arising from settlement advice fails where the claimant understood the material terms of the settlement when accepting it. The…

On an application to strike out or obtain summary judgment, a claim in a developing area of negligence should proceed where it has a real, rather than…

On an interim application involving a proprietary claim, the court may continue a freezing injunction on a proprietary basis where the claimant has a good…

A party which has paid compensation under a judgment or bona fide settlement may recover contribution from another person liable for the same damage, even if…

A local authority may owe vulnerable adult tenants a narrowly defined duty of care where it provides social services, knows of an escalating and specific…

To establish fraudulent misrepresentation, a claimant must prove that a false representation was made knowingly, recklessly, or without honest belief in its…

A local authority may seek an injunction under section 222 of the Local Government Act 1972 to assist in preventing a public nuisance, including drug dealing.…

An employment handbook incorporated by contract may contain contractual terms even though it is described as a collection of policies. The question is whether…

A statutory duty imposed on a local authority to assess needs and provide welfare equipment does not, without more, create a private law claim for damages. A…

A restrictive covenant in an employment contract must protect a legitimate business interest and go no further than reasonably necessary. A customer…

A wasted costs order is a remedy of last resort. It requires improper, unreasonable or negligent conduct by a legal representative, causation of unnecessary…

Educational negligence requires proof of actionable breach, causation and compensable loss. Decisions influenced by educational policy are judged by whether no…

Failure to obtain prior permission under section 329(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 does not automatically render civil proceedings a nullity. It is a…

A freezing injunction may be granted where the claimant shows a good arguable case, a real risk of dissipation and that the relief is just, convenient and…

A corporate claimant seeking damages for libel must prove a trading or business reputation within the jurisdiction capable of being damaged. Trading in the…

Where no executor or administrator has been appointed, the person entitled to arrange a deceased person’s funeral is ordinarily determined by the order of…

Misfeasance in public office requires proof of subjective bad faith, including knowledge of unlawfulness or reckless indifference to it. A pleading cannot…

A statutory legal aid charge extends to property recovered or preserved in the assisted proceedings. A money judgment is property recovered, even where it is a…

A veterinary surgeon conducting a pre-purchase examination owes the client a duty to examine the horse with reasonable skill and care and to communicate…

The discretion under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 is wide and unfettered. The court must consider all the circumstances, including the statutory…

Damages awarded for personal injury are disregarded in full when assessing a claimant’s capital for liability to contribute towards residential care. This…

An employee’s right to work depends on the construction of the employment contract. Where the contract and the employee’s role show that work is part of the…

In extensive libel litigation arising from multiple internet publications, the court may intervene actively to secure fairness and prevent procedural abuse.…

For continuation of a freezing order, the claimant must show a case capable of serious argument and good evidence of a real risk that the defendants will…

Occupiers or organisers of children’s inflatable equipment must provide supervision reasonably proportionate to the risks created by the equipment and the way…

A post-termination restraint is enforceable only to the extent that it protects a legitimate business interest and goes no further than reasonably necessary…

A statutory order granting a several fishery may validly authorise the grantees to grant leases or licences, even where the order lasts for up to 60 years.…

Under CPR 31.16, medical records may satisfy the requirements for pre-action disclosure where a personal injury claim includes reduced earning capacity. The…

A solicitor’s firm is not entitled to fees where the retainer requires services to be provided by a solicitor but the work is performed by an unqualified…

A litigant must identify a recognisable cause of action, support it with properly particularised pleadings and evidence, and present it through the procedures…

Section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is a penal provision and must be construed according to its statutory wording and context. The…

An employer that has adopted a disciplinary policy must follow it unless it can establish a good reason to depart from it. That obligation may arise as a…

Under CPR 44.3(6)(g), the court has a discretion to award interest on costs from a date before judgment. The discretion should be exercised to achieve justice…

A statutory regulator’s publication of an inquiry report may attract common-law qualified privilege where the regulator has a duty to communicate its…

Membership of a voluntary society may create contractual rights governing its elections. Those rights may include an implied term requiring the election to be…

The High Court has jurisdiction to declare whether listed building consent is required, but that jurisdiction does not exclude the statutory planning…

The police generally owe no common-law duty of care to members of the public in relation to the investigation or prevention of crime. That principle is…

A person who instructs solicitors on behalf of a company is not ordinarily personally liable for the company’s costs. Personal liability may arise where the…

Summary judgment is inappropriate where the evidence, although apparently strong, requires disclosure, investigation or cross-examination to resolve material…

In a civil claim for assault and battery, the defendant bears the burden of establishing self-defence. A mistaken belief in the need for self-defence must be…

In a public procurement challenge, comparative tender documents may be strictly relevant where the defence puts the relative marking of rival bids in issue.…

The Non-International Rules governing domestic carriage by air apply to a commercial hot-air balloon flight. A balloon may be an aircraft, and a person carried…

Under paragraph 40.14 of the Costs Practice Direction, a Costs Judge has a discretion to require a receiving party to elect between disclosing a privileged…

Documents and communications arising from a mediation should, in normal circumstances, remain protected from disclosure. The without prejudice rule is founded…

Planning permission cannot authorise a nuisance, although it may alter the character of a neighbourhood. Whether it has done so is a question of fact and…

Judicial decisions made within jurisdiction cannot generally be challenged by a civil action, even where alleged to be wrong, unfair, negligent, malicious or…

Interim privacy relief may be refused where publication has already placed intimate material so widely in the public domain that an injunction would make…

A charitable recipient cannot treat every payment as a gift merely because it ordinarily receives donations. A gift requires a voluntary and gratuitous…

The necessity requirement in Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s 22(1), applies to property seized under a warrant issued under s 8(2). Retention must…

Damages under a cross-undertaking are assessed on the contractual basis, applying ordinary principles of causation, remoteness and mitigation. The court may…

The discretion to disapply the one-year limitation period for defamation claims is unfettered. The court must consider all the circumstances, including the…

Damages for childhood abuse must reflect the severity and frequency of the abuse, recognised psychiatric injury, and the causal contribution of other factors.…

Under Representation of the People Act 1983, an election is not invalid merely because serious counting errors or procedural breaches occurred. The court must…

In assessing damages for psychiatric injury following neonatal death, apparent functioning in employment, education or family life does not necessarily…

A customer may authorise a stockbroker to exercise a degree of trading discretion despite contractual documents describing the account as execution-only.…

In a clinical negligence claim, causation must be proved on the balance of probabilities. Where liability depends on what would have happened if appropriate…

Statutory conversion under section 2(2) of the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, where a bailee has allowed goods to be lost or destroyed, retains the…

In a solicitor-client costs assessment, a costs estimate is not ordinarily a fixed quotation or automatic cap. It is a yardstick for deciding what remuneration…

Costs are not determined by identifying a single winner where a claimant succeeds on liability but recovers only a fraction of the sum claimed. Under CPR 44.3…

A Norwich Pharmacal application requires proof of actual or arguable wrongdoing, the need for disclosure to enable proceedings against the ultimate wrongdoer…

A High Court judge’s common-law power to permit a Voluntary Bill of Indictment is preserved by statute. After charges have been dismissed following transfer to…

An alleged oral agreement concerning the beneficial ownership of company shares must be proved on the balance of probabilities by evaluating the whole…

Damages for multiple serious injuries should be assessed by taking an overall view of the claimant’s condition, using guideline brackets as assistance while…

Future care damages must reflect what the claimant reasonably needs and the expenditure he is likely to incur. The assessment should allow for reasonable…

In allegations of serious misconduct, the civil standard remains the balance of probabilities. The seriousness of the allegation is relevant because it affects…

Qualified privilege cannot necessarily be established summarily merely because a communication concerns an employment relationship or contains some truthful…

In libel proceedings, a defendant may rely on an uncomplained-of passage where the pleaded allegation and the complained-of meaning share a common sting. At…

A person entitled to apply for letters of administration does not automatically acquire an immediate right to possess the deceased’s property before the grant.…

Where goods have been stolen, limitation does not run in favour of a thief or against a person whose possession is related to the theft. The relevant period…

Medical negligence is assessed by the standards and medical knowledge prevailing at the time of treatment. A clinician is not negligent merely because a…

A contractual right to terminate for breach is governed by the parties’ agreement. Where the contract expressly treats specified breaches as material and…

A defendant cannot simultaneously maintain a genuine belief in the truth of a plea of justification and offer to make a Statement in Open Court declaring the…

Where a claimant beats a Part 36 offer, the court retains a discretion to withhold enhanced interest and indemnity costs if, having regard to all the…

Whether negotiations create a binding contract depends on the whole course of dealings and whether the parties agreed the same terms. Words which appear…

An injunction to restrain breach of a negative contractual obligation should ordinarily be granted. The clean-hands doctrine requires inequitable conduct…

Separate corporate personality prevents an employee from implying contracts with additional group companies merely because those companies exercised control or…

Deemed condemnation under Schedule 3 to the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 makes the forfeiture legally final where no notice of claim is given within…

In a defamation claim, summary judgment or strike-out is appropriate where the claimant has no real prospect of proving a necessary element and no compelling…

A contract is construed and applied according to the agreement actually made, rather than an earlier contract which the parties agreed to replace. A party…

An adjournment of a forthcoming trial will ordinarily require cogent reasons, particularly where the application is made at the last minute. The court should…

In deciding whether a ballot paper is void for uncertainty, the court must give effect to a clearly apparent voting intention. The provisions preserving votes…

In civil recovery proceedings under Part V of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the Director must identify the conduct alleged to constitute unlawful conduct.…

An alleged oral variation of employment-related pension terms must be established on the balance of probabilities. Where the alleged enhancement is…

For service out of the jurisdiction in a tort claim, damage sustained within England under CPR 6.20(8)(a) bears its ordinary meaning. It includes physical or…

Contractual words are construed objectively, starting with their natural and ordinary meaning and viewed against the relevant factual matrix. Previous…

A final judgment may be set aside for fraud only where new evidence, unavailable at the original hearing despite reasonable diligence, distinctly establishes…

In deciding an interlocutory application for a mandatory injunction, the court must select the course carrying the least risk of injustice if the order proves…

A right to apply for a postponement order under section 85(2) of the Housing Act 1985 does not survive the tenant’s death where binding authority provides that…

A procedural rule permitting representation of a deceased person’s estate applies only where the deceased’s claim survives death. A right to seek a…

In an Internet libel claim, publication is not presumed merely because defamatory words were accessible online. The claimant must prove publication to the…

Under Part II of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, rights enjoyed by a business tenant in connection with the holding are carried into the new tenancy only if…

A bus driver is negligent where, knowing that a passenger is caught or partially trapped between closing doors, he moves off and accelerates before the…

A legal adviser instructed in proceedings must alert the client to a reasonably arguable negligence claim against a previous adviser where the earlier adviser…