High Court: Queen's Bench Division judgments, 2014

An employer’s duty under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 concerns operations involving a foreseeable possibility of injury, not every manual…

In committal proceedings for alleged breaches of an injunction, the claimant must prove each alleged contempt against the defendant to the criminal standard.…

Permission to amend a statement of case late requires a careful balance between the applicant’s case, the opponent’s ability to respond and the interests of…

On an application for interim relief, a claim need only show a good arguable case for a freezing injunction and a serious issue to be tried for an ordinary…

A claim under the Human Rights Act 1998 may be struck out or summarily dismissed where the pleaded facts cannot establish a Convention violation, but a claim…

In assessing damages for a road accident, a diffuse axonal injury may be established on the balance of probabilities even where CT and MRI scans show no…

A driver who experiences illness before setting out must assess whether the condition may worsen and impair judgment or driving ability. Driving in those…

A regulator may owe a duty of care for economic loss caused by careless information about whether a person is authorised to practise. The fact that the…

In an emergency clinical negligence claim, the reasonableness of immediate treatment must be assessed in its full medical context. The court should balance the…

Damages must reflect the consequences of the injury proved, rather than speculative assumptions about an injured child’s possible future without the injury.…

An election petition succeeds only where the statutory conditions for invalidity are met. The election must have been conducted otherwise than substantially in…

Liability for psychiatric injury as a secondary victim requires more than grief following the death of a close relative. The claimant must establish a…

Where the precise causal mechanism is difficult to prove, a court may use common sense and draw an inference from the totality of the evidence. The claimant…

A competent emergency physician must consider infection where a patient presents with unusual, severe or disproportionate symptoms, even where the suspected…

In assessing future needs arising from chronic pain, the court must examine the claimant’s individual circumstances and the evidence as it stands. The ending…

A statutory scheme regulating NHS dental performers lists does not ordinarily create a private-law duty to protect dentists from economic loss. The scheme’s…

In a multi-defendant asbestos-related lung-cancer claim, causation remains a unitary concept, although the inquiry may conveniently be analysed in two stages.…

A final injunction granted upon entry of default judgment forms part of that judgment. An application to set it aside is governed by the self-contained regime…

A solicitor’s duty is to exercise the skill and care expected of a reasonably competent solicitor, assessed in light of the client’s knowledge, experience and…

Where claims settle but costs remain disputed, the court should determine costs under its statutory and procedural discretion, applying common sense and…

A settlement term preventing publication of material that might indirectly refer to a claimant is unenforceable where its scope cannot be stated with…

Relief from sanction requires the court to apply the structured approach in Denton v TH White Ltd: assess the seriousness and significance of the breach…

Joinder is permissible where the proposed issue is connected to matters already in dispute, even if the existing party has no extant cause of action against…

In a secondary-victim claim arising from a stillbirth, the mother is the primary victim because the law treats the foetus and mother as one legal person. The…

A local authority is not vicariously liable for deliberate abuse by foster parents merely because it placed a child in their care. Foster care is intended to…

An order made without a hearing may be treated as an order made on the court’s own initiative where the applicable procedural direction so provides. An…

Police use of force to conduct a drugs search is unlawful where the statutory information required before the search is not given. Under Police and Criminal…

An interim privacy injunction may be granted where the applicant is likely to establish that publication should not be allowed and damages would not provide an…

Solicitors who remain on the record must accept service of applications and other proceedings relating to the litigation. Refusal to do so may justify a wasted…

In an insurance claim, coverage depends on the policy wording and on proving that the claimed loss falls within an insured peril. “Malicious” damage requires…

Medical negligence is assessed by the standard of the ordinary skilled practitioner. A doctor is not negligent merely because another responsible body of…

Making a false statement verified by a statement of truth amounts to contempt where the maker lacks an honest belief in its truth and the statement has, or…

A litigation friend’s consent to act is not irrevocable. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the court may terminate the appointment of a litigation friend…

For the purposes of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, a legal defence overlooked at trial is not a “new or newly discovered fact” where the…

Costs are discretionary. The general rule that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party may be displaced where the claimant has abandoned or…

Where a party seriously fails to comply with an order for exchanging witness statements, the court may impose an unless order rather than immediately strike…

For an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour must be within the sight or hearing of a…

For an offence under section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour must occur within the sight or hearing of a…

In claims for malicious prosecution or false imprisonment, the statutory entitlement to jury trial depends on a timely application. Under Senior Courts Act…

Asymptomatic sensitisation to a hazardous substance is not actionable personal injury where the sensitisation itself causes no physical harm and symptoms will…

Defamation claims based on a highly limited publication may be struck out as an abuse of process where the proceedings are not a real and substantial tort and…

In determining the meaning of allegedly defamatory publications, the court must assess the words as a whole through the eyes of the hypothetical reasonable…

When adapting a life sentence imposed abroad for enforcement in England and Wales, the court must seek correspondence with the likely custodial duration in the…

On an application to restrain industrial action, the court must consider the likelihood that the union will establish at trial that the action is protected by…

A contractual time limit triggered by awareness of a claim begins when the relevant person knows that the claim has a proper basis, where that meaning follows…

An employee’s duty of fidelity and good faith prohibits a senior employee from actively preparing and implementing a directly competing business during…

Claims against UK officials for alleged complicity in torts committed by foreign personnel are not barred by state immunity merely because the foreign state…

A voluntary bill of indictment is an exceptional remedy after dismissal of a charge. It may be granted where there is a clear and substantive error of law…

Costs applications should be determined proportionately and by reference to the actual success achieved. A costs cap may be inappropriate where proceedings…

A costs capping order requires a substantial risk that costs will be disproportionately incurred and a conclusion that the risk cannot adequately be controlled…

Medical negligence and causation are separate questions. A clinician’s conduct is assessed by reference to practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of…

In assessing damages for serious personal injury, the claimant is entitled to reasonable provision addressing her reasonable needs. The question is whether the…

In confiscation proceedings under the Criminal Justice Act 1988, the prosecution must prove the fact and value of benefit to the civil standard. The defendant…

Contractual waiver requires an unequivocal representation, by words or conduct, that a party will not enforce a contractual right in future. Silence, inaction…

Waiver of legal advice privilege requires assessment of both what has been disclosed and the circumstances of disclosure. The court asks whether fairness…

Security Council resolutions requiring occupying forces to take security measures do not, without clear language, override obligations under article 5 of the…

An insurer alleging that an insured deliberately caused a fire bears the civil burden of proving deliberate involvement on the balance of probabilities. The…

An application for relief from the sanction imposed by late service of particulars of claim is governed by Mitchell v MGN and the clarified three-stage…

A defendant’s age does not by itself justify continuing anonymity under section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. The applicant must establish a…

A court may consider relief from sanctions under CPR 3.8 and 3.9 even where the application is made orally and no formal application notice has been issued.…

Expert evidence in civil proceedings is admissible where recognised expertise, governed by recognised standards, may assist the court on a relevant issue and…

A public meeting organiser has a common-law power to exclude attendees whose disorderly conduct disrupts or threatens to disrupt the meeting. In an appropriate…

A summary judgment application is not a summary trial. The court asks whether the claim has a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of success and must avoid…

In assessing damages for future losses, the court must avoid discounting twice for mortality. Where the evidence establishes the claimant’s overall individual…

Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 establishes a statutory scheme under which the court must make a civil recovery order once property is found to be…

When deciding whether to lift an automatic suspension in public procurement proceedings, the court applies the ordinary interim-relief principles in American…

The court may grant an injunction against persons unknown where the class is described with sufficient certainty to identify those included and excluded. The…

Immigration detention remains lawful only while the statutory purpose of removal persists and the Hardial Singh principles are satisfied. The Secretary of…

Confidential information may include a customer list which is not publicly available and which collates commercially valuable information, even where…

A solicitor acting for both borrower and lender must disclose a gifted deposit relevant to the lender’s decision and advise the borrower of its significance.…

A contractual change-of-control payment is construed in light of the commercial rationale stated in the clause. Where that rationale links the payment to the…

Where a landlord fails to comply with the tenancy-deposit requirements, the court must order payment of between one and three times the deposit under section…

For the purposes of the Human Rights Act 1998, serious judicial error or an unfair criminal trial does not, without more, establish bad faith. Bad faith…

A driver is judged by the standard of the reasonably competent driver, not by an ideal standard reconstructed with hindsight. Accident-reconstruction…

An adjudicator’s decision will generally be enforced despite errors of fact, law or procedure, unless the error amounts to a serious breach of natural justice…

In determining the meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the court must identify one single meaning by applying the governing principle of reasonableness. The…

Material published about a trader may be defamatory of the individual where the trader is named as the seller, even if the business is also implicated. A…

On judgment in default, the court gives the claimants the relief to which they are entitled on their statement of case. A corporate claimant may recover…

Interim injunctive relief may restrain internet publication where the claimant is likely to establish harassment at trial and the requirements of Human Rights…

Prison sanitation arrangements engage article 3 only where, viewed in their full context, they cause suffering reaching the high minimum-severity threshold for…

A local authority’s contractual power to discipline an employee is not removed merely because the employee was originally appointed to work at a maintained…

In a fire-causation claim, the claimant bears the burden of proving on the balance of probabilities that the defendant’s alleged conduct caused the fire. The…

Where a company pays an individual on behalf of another company under an existing service agreement, the payment arrangement does not by itself vary or novate…

Liability under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 requires conduct which is sufficiently serious to be oppressive and unacceptable, together with a…

A landlord cannot obtain an administrative warrant of possession where six years or more have elapsed since the original possession order without first…

In committal proceedings, affidavit witnesses do not automatically have to attend for cross-examination. A party seeking cross-examination should apply in…

In civil proceedings involving a closed material procedure but not directly affecting liberty, Article 6 does not impose an irreducible minimum disclosure or…

Under regulation 12(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, the employer bears the burden of proving that it has done what is…

A breach of an immigration detention policy makes detention unlawful only where the breach bears on, and is relevant to, the decision to detain. Independent…

Cheating in a gaming contract is determined objectively by the court. The claimant’s genuine belief that his conduct was lawful, or support for that view among…

Natural justice ordinarily requires a party whose substantive legal rights may be affected to know the case against it and have an opportunity to respond. A…

Liability for mesothelioma depends on the state of knowledge, probable exposure, and precautions reasonably required at the material time. Exposure below…

A claim for a personal bonus is distinct from a claim for a share in a pooled bonus. The latter must identify the contractual basis of entitlement, the share…

Under Rome II, German law normally governs a road-traffic tort where the accident and injury occurred in Germany. Habitual residence is a question of factual…

An agreement to agree is enforceable where the contractual and factual matrix identifies the essential terms sufficiently clearly. A provision requiring…

In determining defamatory meaning, the court must assess the broad impression made on the hypothetical reasonable reader by the publication read as a whole.…

Exclusion and limitation clauses in a commercial contract are construed as part of the contract as a whole. Commercial parties may allocate contractual risks…

Interim injunctive relief under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 may restrain repeated online publication where the material is targeted, objectively…

The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 requires conduct sufficiently serious to found criminal liability. Ordinary criticism, annoyance, upset or unreasonable…

A contract may arise from the parties’ conduct and agreement even where a contemplated formal document remains unsigned. An agent’s label does not determine…

Interim anti-harassment relief may be granted where the claimant is likely to establish harassment at trial and the circumstances justify restraint before…

In a negligence claim involving defective goods supplied under a bilateral commercial transaction, actionable damage may arise when the claimant supplies goods…

Administrative detention pending removal remains lawful only while removal is pursued for a genuine purpose, the period is reasonable, and removal remains…

In assessing future loss of earning capacity, the Ogden Tables are admissible evidence but are not mandatory. The court must assess the individual claimant and…

For direct racial discrimination, the court must assess whether a person was treated less favourably on racial grounds, including through unconscious racial…

A court may correct an obvious drafting error in legislation only where it is abundantly sure of the provision’s intended purpose, the draftsman’s inadvertent…

At the summary judgment and strike-out stage, a claim must have a realistic, more than fanciful prospect of success. The court may determine a pure point of…

A claimant seeking delivery up of goods in another’s possession must show an immediate right to possession, a demand for return, and refusal after a reasonable…

Following the removal of the former right to jury trial in defamation actions, the court must start from trial by judge alone. Public importance, political…

A casino does not grant unlawful credit merely because it accepts a cheque during gaming and presents it after the session. The material question is whether…

Under section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013, a claimant must establish that publication has caused, or is likely to cause, serious reputational harm.…

A course of conduct amounts to harassment only where it is objectively oppressive and unacceptable, viewed in its social or working context. Conduct may be…

A later claim against tortfeasors who were not parties to earlier proceedings is not ordinarily an abuse merely because it could have been brought earlier. The…

Under the Representation of the People Act 1983, an election petition should ordinarily be tried within the relevant local government area. The court may…

In an election petition, failure to plead facts with sufficient particularity does not necessarily make the petition a nullity. Where a permissible statutory…

Where a police authority has unlawfully charged for special police services, the rebate should approximate the loss actually suffered. The court should prefer…

Contempt of court must be proved to the criminal standard. A court may find that a witness has told deliberate lies on peripheral matters without concluding…

Under CPR Part 39.3(5), an application to set aside judgment entered in a party’s absence requires all three conditions to be satisfied: prompt action, a good…

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

Under the Maintaining High Professional Standards in the Modern NHS framework, referral to the NCAS is mandatory where local action is impracticable. The NCAS…

For the purposes of Civil Procedure Rules 1998, r 36.14(3)(d), whether a claim is monetary depends on the claim in respect of which the advantageous judgment…

In civil recovery proceedings under Part 5 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, the claimant must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that identified…

A High Court judge is bound by a binding decision of the House of Lords, even where the European Court of Human Rights has subsequently reached a different…

A solicitor is judged by the standard of the reasonably competent practitioner, assessed against the client’s instructions and the information reasonably…

A claimant seeking to enforce a written agreement bears the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, that the document is authentic and represents…

An employee cannot establish constructive dismissal by resigning on notice and later asserting that the employer’s earlier conduct was repudiatory. Giving…

In assessing damages for childhood rape, the court should compensate the whole injury proved by the evidence. It is unnecessary and often unrealistic to…

After a trial of preliminary issues, the successful party will ordinarily receive its costs, even though further issues remain for trial. Costs may be reserved…

A school’s contractual duty to exercise reasonable skill and care in a pupil’s education and welfare does not automatically incorporate every proposed…

An employee’s repudiatory renunciation does not automatically terminate the employment contract. The employer may affirm the contract where it has a legitimate…

In related civil proceedings involving substantial common issues, the court may order a preliminary trial where doing so is likely to avoid duplication…

An appellate court should be slow to interfere with a robust case-management decision to strike out a claim where no error of law is shown. A proposed…

Liability for work-related psychiatric injury depends on whether a harmful reaction to workplace pressures was reasonably foreseeable in the individual…

On an application for an interim payment, the defendant bears the evidential burden of raising a properly evidenced issue of contributory negligence. The court…

In assessing damages for wrongful death, loss of domestic services is compensable by reference to the value of the services lost. The claimant need not prove…

A court has a wide and flexible power to stay proceedings where a future dispute may arise and it would be convenient to preserve the existing action as its…

A default judgment must be construed with extreme particularity by reference to the pleaded case. In a negligence claim, it establishes only what was…

Damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 are not tortious or automatically compensatory. The court must decide whether an award is necessary to afford just…

Unaccompanied children may be detained only in the exceptional circumstances permitted by the applicable statutory powers and published policies. Once…

A compromise agreement governing an employment reference does not require a public authority to suppress, limit or refuse safeguarding disclosures required by…

Committal for contempt requires a clear and unambiguous court order. A mandatory injunction should normally specify what must be done and the time for…

For immigration detention following arrival with existing leave, the court must determine whether the facts justified cancellation of that leave and refusal of…

Absolute privilege protects statements made in judicial proceedings from civil claims, including harassment claims, where the occasion is privileged and the…

A claim based on alleged rescission of jewellery transactions requires proof that the parties agreed to rescind and that repayment was made on terms requiring…

A child cannot obtain an injunction merely because publication of a parent’s life story may cause the child emotional or psychiatric harm. The Human Rights Act…

A request for further information under CPR Part 18 must be reasonably necessary and proportionate to enable the requesting party to prepare its case or…

Permission to amend a defamation pleading depends on whether the proposed case has a realistic prospect of success and is pleaded with sufficient particularity…

Where deceased asbestos claims require employment histories to identify potential tortfeasors, the specialist asbestos court may approve an interim disclosure…

An order requiring a non-party to pay costs is exceptional and must be approached with caution. In this context, exceptional means outside the ordinary run of…

A quia timet injunction restraining threatened defamation requires evidence that publication is intended and sufficiently imminent. Where the claimant cannot…

Dishonestly presenting a wholly fabricated motor-insurance claim, supported by false witness statements, constitutes contempt of court. The court may impose…

In assessing libel damages, the court must first determine the defamatory meaning conveyed. General damages compensate injury to reputation and, for an…

Standing in judicial review is assessed contextually and should not be approached restrictively. A claimant need not show a personal interest where he is…

On an application for a substantial interim payment, the court must assess the likely capital award conservatively and order no more than a reasonable…

Interim mandatory relief may be granted where there is a serious issue to be tried, damages would not provide adequate protection, and the balance of…

A medical practitioner is not negligent merely because another body of medical opinion would have adopted a different course. The question is whether the…

An employee or director may take genuine preparatory steps towards future competition, provided there is no actual competition or misuse of confidential…

The High Court has jurisdiction to order solicitors to disclose a client’s identity, but the existence of jurisdiction does not determine whether disclosure is…

For the purposes of Article 1 of the First Protocol, concluded contracts with present economic value may be possessions. Prospective or incomplete contracts…

Under section 6 of the Justice and Security Act 2013, a closed material procedure may be authorised where the defendant would otherwise be required to disclose…

Relief under regulation 108 is directed to the applicant’s own act or omission and good faith. It is not defeated by another person’s conduct or bad faith…

A bonus arrangement may be contractually binding even where it creates an entitlement to a share of a team bonus pool and distribution within the pool remains…

Restrictive covenants must first be construed without considering their validity. They are construed in context, having regard to the transaction’s purpose and…

For an exclusive jurisdiction clause under Article 23, the court must be satisfied both that the parties really consented to the chosen jurisdiction and that…

Damages for breach of warranties in a share sale agreement are ordinarily assessed by comparing the shares’ value as warranted with their true value at the…

On a summary judgment or strike-out application, the court must decide whether the claim has a realistic prospect of success without conducting a mini-trial.…

Relief from sanctions requires consideration of all the circumstances, with particular weight given to efficient and proportionate litigation and compliance…

A neither-confirm-nor-deny policy is not an automatic immunity from civil pleading or disclosure. The court must balance the strong public interest in…

Where parties jointly purchase a lottery ticket, the court may find a contract governing their respective beneficial interests in any winnings. An agreement to…

Where a claimant seeks compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau for an unsatisfied judgment, the defendant relying on ex turpi causa or an agreement…

Interim relief should be refused where a regulated disciplinary appeal remains pending and the claimant cannot show a serious issue to be tried. A court should…

Nominal damages compensate a claimant where a tort is established but no actual loss has been suffered. Where detention was technically unlawful but the…

The absence of valid removal directions for a particular flight does not, by itself, determine every question concerning the use of force during an escorted…

An NHS contract under section 9(5) of the National Health Service Act 2006 cannot give rise to contractual rights or liabilities. A later variation converting…

A defence should be struck out only where it discloses no reasonable grounds for defending the claim. Summary judgment requires there to be no real prospect of…

A public authority providing a reference may owe duties both in private law and under statutory public-law standards. A reference must be accurate, fair and…

An appellate court should interfere with a case-management decision only where the lower court was wrong in principle or the decision was outside the range of…

Section 222(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 confers a wide power on a local authority to bring proceedings where it considers them expedient to promote or…

Third-party disclosure under CPR 31.17 requires a sufficient likelihood that the documents will support or adversely affect a party’s case and a finding that…

Personal data under the Data Protection Act 1998 requires recorded information relating to an identifiable living individual. A neutral covering communication…

Cafcass’s statutory functions are child-centred. Where the child’s interests conflict with those of a parent, it is not fair, just and reasonable to impose a…

In a civil negligence claim arising from an alleged road traffic accident, the claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities that the accident occurred…

A default judgment against one defendant does not generally prevent another defendant in the same proceedings from advancing a defence inconsistent with that…

A general practitioner is negligent where a patient presents with signs and symptoms warranting a diagnosis of meningitis, creating a strong suspicion of it…

EU motor-insurance directives require victims to receive compensation through the insurer or, where necessary, the national compensation body. Member States…

The High Court’s jurisdiction to supervise solicitors is distinct from its contempt jurisdiction and is exercised sparingly. A solicitor’s undertaking given…

A claimant need only establish a title sufficient to maintain trespass or conversion; absolute title against every possible challenger is unnecessary. Whether…

A statutory power which contains no express procedural safeguards may nevertheless be subject to common-law requirements of fairness. However, there is no…

When deciding whether to permit a late amendment, the court must balance all the circumstances and seek a fair determination of the real dispute. Relevant…

In a clinical negligence claim concerning alleged nerve damage during hand surgery, the claimant bears the burden of proving breach on the balance of…

A physiotherapist is judged by the standard of the reasonably competent physiotherapist. Evidence that rehabilitation activities may have caused or contributed…

Costs are governed by the court’s discretion under CPR r 44.2. The general rule that the unsuccessful party pays the successful party is only a starting point.…

A claim brought by a solicitor against a former client is not, merely for that reason, an abuse of process. A settlement or undertaking cannot ordinarily be…

Relief from a procedural sanction requires the court first to consider whether the underlying claim has a real prospect of success. In these claims, that…

On an application to set aside default judgment under CPR 13.3, a defendant satisfies the principal threshold where it has a real prospect of successfully…

In an extradition case engaging Article 8, the best interests of affected children are a primary consideration, but they do not automatically outweigh the…

Success fees under conditional fee agreements must reflect the risk that the solicitor will fail to recover costs, assessed by reference to the facts…

Contributory negligence requires an assessment of both parties’ causative potency and blameworthiness. Under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945…

In a libel claim, the claimant must identify with reasonable certainty the precise words alleged to be defamatory. Identifying an article by its title and URL…

Under CPR 44.2, identifying the successful party requires an assessment of substance and reality. A claimant who obtains damages for an established breach and…

Under the pre-2013 Civil Procedure Rules 1998, proportionality may be assessed both globally and item by item. A costs judge may find particular items…

Interim non-disclosure injunctions and undertakings should ordinarily be limited to a specified period. An order expressed to continue until trial or further…

A course of conduct under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 must be assessed as a whole. The court must consider the objective likelihood of alarm or…

A foreign money judgment may be enforced where the defendant agreed to the foreign court’s jurisdiction, construed objectively from the contractual documents…

The unsuccessful party should ordinarily pay the costs of an appeal and an unsuccessful strike-out application. Complaints about a party’s failure to engage in…

The graduated fee scheme under the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) Order 2007 is formulaic. Entitlement must be found in the Order and Schedule 2, rather…

In a historical asbestos-negligence claim, foreseeability is judged by the knowledge and standards reasonably applicable at the time, without hindsight. The…

In a defamation meaning application, the court must determine the actual meaning conveyed to the ordinary reasonable reader. The words must be read as a whole…

CPR 33.4 permits a party to call the maker of hearsay evidence for cross-examination only where that maker can be produced as a witness. It does not provide a…

UK forces operating abroad may exercise physical control over an individual sufficient to engage the Convention, even without territorial sovereignty. The…

Where a consent order permits enforcement after written notice, a demand for payment of the secured judgment sum may itself constitute an attempt to enforce…

A freezing order requires a good arguable case. A search order ordinarily requires a strong prima facie case. An economic tort claim based on wrongful…

An application to rely on a witness statement served after the date ordered for exchange is not automatically an application for relief from sanctions. Under…

Compliance with an unless order requiring disclosure must be assessed by reference to what the order actually required. Where a party serves a genuine…

Allegations of serious and systematic fraud may justify an inference that there is a real risk of dissipation of assets for the purposes of a freezing…

In determining meaning at a preliminary stage, the court must consider the words as a whole and give them the natural and ordinary meaning they would convey to…

Documents disclosed in civil proceedings may be inspected or used by non-parties where the open justice principle supports access, including where the document…

Legal professional privilege is a fundamental and absolute right once established. Relevance, disclosure obligations or other policy considerations cannot…

Where a deed contains a specific dispute-resolution procedure for disputes concerning damage caused by development works, broadly worded contractual provisions…

In a clinical negligence claim, breach of duty must be assessed by reference to the standard of the ordinary competent practitioner possessing the relevant…

A restrictive covenant protecting goodwill acquired from an employee is enforceable where it protects a legitimate business interest and imposes no more…

A child may have a reasonable expectation of privacy in photographs taken in a public place, particularly where the images reveal the child’s face and show…

A motorist approaching children near opposing bus stops must anticipate the real risk that a child may step into the carriageway. Reasonable precautions may…

For interim relief, the court applies the American Cyanamid principles. A serious issue on contractual entitlement does not establish a sufficient prospect of…

Following acceptance of an offer of amends in defamation proceedings, a claimant may seek permission to read a unilateral statement in open court. The court…

On an application to determine whether words are capable of bearing a defamatory meaning, the court applies the governing principle of reasonableness. A…

In a product-liability claim, the claimant bears the burden of proving that a defect caused the damage. The court may conclude that causation is unproven where…

An order under Children and Young Persons Act 1933, section 39, protecting the identity of a child or young person concerned in criminal proceedings cannot…

Damages for future care must meet all reasonable needs, including foreseeable exigencies, while remaining proportionate. The court must assess the care…

A member of a discretionary mutual indemnity scheme has a contractual right to have a request for indemnity properly considered, rather than an automatic right…

An “unless” order remains effective when a later order merely extends the time for compliance. Material non-compliance activates the specified sanction…

An emergency response does not remove the ordinary duty to drive with reasonable care and skill. Warning equipment is an important factor, since drivers may…

Insurance conditions precedent must be construed as commercial terms, read together where necessary to identify their purpose. A general protection condition…

To set aside a judgment for fraud, the claimant must show that newly discovered evidence, which could not reasonably have been produced at the original trial…

A claimant in clinical negligence must prove, on the balance of probabilities, both breach of duty and causation of loss. A midwife is judged by the care and…

Summary judgment may be granted where the defence has no realistic prospect of success. The court must avoid a mini-trial, but it need not accept unsupported…

Whether force used during an attempted removal was excessive is determined by the general law, not by the detailed requirements of an operational manual…

An order for disclosure against a non-party under CPR r.31.17 requires both evidential relevance and necessity for fair disposal of the claim or saving costs.…

A default judgment may be set aside under the court’s general case-management powers where justice requires it, even if the specific rule governing…

In assessing damages for future care and case management, the court must adopt a realistic and fair projection of the claimant’s needs. Where a progressive…

On a preliminary issue in a libel claim, the court determining meaning must identify the natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the ordinary fair-minded…

Where parties agree that a hearing will determine meaning as a preliminary issue, costs should reflect the substance and practical outcome of that hearing…

Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 gives the court jurisdiction to grant statutory remuneration relief against solicitors and recognised bodies. It does not…

An obligation to use reasonable or best endeavours is enforceable only where the object of the endeavours is sufficiently certain and there are objective…

The court may order a non-party who is the effective controller and funder of litigation to pay the successful party’s costs. The power under Senior Courts Act…

Meaning in defamation proceedings is determined by the broad impression made on the hypothetical reasonable reader, viewed from the standpoint of a layman and…

A statement of case must plead the material facts supporting each cause of action, particularly where fraud, conspiracy or misuse of confidential information…

Where a medical practitioner is subject to concerns potentially involving conduct, capability and ill health, the contractual status and scope of the…

For product liability claims under the Rome II transitional provisions, the event giving rise to damage is ordinarily the manufacture and putting into…

A person may be liable as a publisher of defamatory material without being its author. Liability arises where the person knowingly participates in, authorises…

An application for non-party disclosure in a libel action is premature where the defendant has not served a defence. Until then, the defendant has no pleaded…

On a meaning application, the court must determine the natural and ordinary meaning of the publication read as a whole by the hypothetical reasonable reader.…

For civil legal aid purposes, an appeal under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996 is not “judicial review” merely because the county court may apply principles…

An employer does not breach an employment contract merely because a return-to-practice programme is detailed, competency-based, supervised by an accredited…

In a credit-hire claim, an impecunious claimant may recover the reasonable additional cost of credit hire, but impecuniosity means an inability to pay ordinary…

Issuing proceedings against a party without serving the claim form within the prescribed period does not automatically make the claim lapse. The claim remains…

On acceptance of a Part 36 offer by one defendant in multi-party litigation, “the costs of the proceedings” ordinarily means the costs of proceeding against…

Public-law error in calculating a prisoner’s release date may make continued detention false imprisonment. Mere delay in recalculating a date is insufficient…

Where a minor physical injury triggers a chronic psychologically mediated pain disorder, causation is assessed on the balance of probabilities by examining…

Applications to set aside default judgment must be made promptly. The post-April 2013 approach to compliance with the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 applies to CPR…

Under Portuguese law, a driver must adjust speed to the road, visibility, traffic and other relevant circumstances, including the foreseeable presence of…

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights imposes a positive duty on the police to investigate credible allegations of torture or inhuman or…

An undertaking given after employment has ended, with independent legal advice, is a material circumstance when deciding whether to enforce a post-termination…

Regulation 12(3) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 involves two stages. The court must first ask whether an object or substance…

A defective bill of sale does not allow a borrower to retain money advanced under an otherwise valid loan agreement. A one-off loan transaction is not made in…

A contractual provision requiring variations to be written does not prevent a subsequent oral variation, waiver or promissory estoppel. The party alleging an…

A deportation order made lawfully under earlier European Economic Area regulations remains valid until revoked or quashed. However, under paragraph 4 of…

For a mandatory interim injunction, the overriding consideration is which course carries the lower risk of injustice if the order later proves wrong. The court…

In an extradition appeal, a European arrest warrant complies with the statutory requirements where, read fairly and without an Anglo-centric approach, it…

In a cumulative-cause case, a claimant may succeed where medical science cannot establish that the injury would probably have been avoided absent the…

Under section 12 of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995, displacement of the law of the place where a tort occurred requires a…

Words are capable of being defamatory only if they are capable of causing a reasonable person to think worse of the claimant. An inaccurate report does not…

On an application to serve proceedings out of the jurisdiction, the claimant must show a good arguable case within the relevant jurisdictional gateway, a…

Where witness statements are served late, the court must decide whether to extend time and, where necessary, grant relief from sanction by applying the…

For security for costs, residence is a factual question. A person may reside in more than one country at the same time. The court considers physical presence…

In a negligence claim involving economic loss, the date on which actual damage occurs is fact-sensitive. There is no hard and fast rule that a claimant suffers…

Police officers transferring a mentally disturbed person owe a duty to take reasonable care for his safety, including providing relevant information to those…

A contractual obligation to apportion work in progress is determined by reference to the eventual invoice and all relevant circumstances, rather than an…

A claim based on fraudulent misrepresentation requires proof that a representation was made to the claimant, as well as falsity, the requisite state of mind…

Before issuing proceedings, the court may grant a non-disclosure order without notice where advance warning creates a real risk of further disclosure and would…

An application challenging a confirmatory order should not be used to reopen an earlier automatic strike-out or the unless order which triggered it. A party…

Similar fact evidence must be considered in two distinct stages. First, the evidence must be potentially relevant and logically probative of an issue, assuming…

An occupier does not ordinarily owe a contractor’s employee a duty to ensure that an apparently competent independent contractor selects safe workers or…

Limitation provisions in an international convention must be construed by reference to the wording and international purpose of the convention, without…

In a mortgage possession claim, an unliquidated damages claim pleaded as equitable set-off does not constitute a legal defence to the mortgagee’s right to…

Points of Dispute in a detailed assessment must state the nature and grounds of each challenge sufficiently clearly to enable the opposing party and the court…

Supervening mental incapacity terminates a solicitor’s actual authority to act for a client, but it does not ordinarily terminate or frustrate the underlying…

The High Court may use its case-management and inherent powers to consolidate and control related proceedings where fragmented litigation creates a real risk…

On a preliminary meaning application in defamation proceedings, the court should ordinarily determine the natural and ordinary meaning of the words without…

A solicitor advising personal sureties must explain a material risk that the guarantee period may begin on completion rather than when the lease term…

A professional negligence claim against solicitors requires proof of the duty and advice that should have been given, the action the claimant would probably…

Under section 70(10) of the Solicitors Act 1974, “special circumstances” must be exceptional grounds making it unfair to apply the statutory costs…

Annual pay progression is not contractually guaranteed merely because employment documents refer to progression through a pay band. Where the contractual…

On a submission of no case to answer, the judge must take the prosecution evidence at its highest. The case should proceed where, on one possible view, a…

Section 7 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives statutory effect to the common-law rule concerning necessaries. It requires payment only where the supplier…

Clinical negligence is assessed under the Bolam v Friern Hospital Management Committee test [1957] 1 WLR 583, as refined by Bolitho v City and Hackney Health…

In a child’s personal injury claim, legal representatives may negotiate settlement on the litigation friend’s instructions where, having regard to the…

In assessing alleged clinical negligence, the court applies the Bolam standard prospectively. A doctor is not negligent where the treatment accords with a…

Professional agents owe duties of reasonable skill and care even where services are provided gratuitously or speculatively. An agent instructed by a vendor…

Under regulation 17 of the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, the parties may choose between indemnity and compensation, but that choice…

The court may revisit an order made on an application heard without one party, but the power should be exercised sparingly. A renewed application for…

Relief from sanctions is unlikely where a party’s failure to comply with an order is serious, cannot be characterised as trivial, and has no good reason. A…

In a conversion claim, illegality in the way property was initially obtained does not necessarily defeat a later claim based on a lawful transfer of title and…

In a clinical negligence claim concerning obstetric brachial plexus injury, the mere occurrence or severity of the injury does not establish negligent…

For service out of the jurisdiction, misuse of private information is capable of constituting a tort. Recoverable damage for that tort is not confined to…

A party cannot ordinarily invite a later case-management judge to revisit an earlier procedural categorisation by making the same application in a different…

Where a party gives voluntary undertakings to the court as part of a final settlement, compliance is essential to the finality of the litigation. Breaches may…

For an interim injunction supporting arbitration, the court must consider whether there is a serious issue to be tried and whether damages would be an adequate…