High Court: Queen's Bench Division judgments, 2022

A public law challenge to a local authority’s possession decision faces a high threshold. An Article 8 possession defence requires an assessment, at trial, of…

Vicarious liability requires both a relationship capable of giving rise to liability and a sufficiently close connection between that relationship and the…

The personal-injury exception in section 5 of the State Immunity Act 1978 applies to acts or omissions in the United Kingdom regardless of whether they are…

Where parties are engaged in civil litigation, promissory estoppel requires an unequivocal representation that a procedural right will not be exercised.…

Litigants in person remain subject to the same procedural rules and court orders as represented parties. Lack of representation, illness or limited means may…

A pleading of causation is adequate where it identifies the acts or omissions relied on, what would have happened without them, and the resulting loss. A…

A Lebanese-law banking contract may require a bank to execute international transfers where its wording, the parties’ common intention, the contractual context…

A claim in misfeasance in public office requires intentional wrongdoing. Negligence, gross negligence and objective recklessness are insufficient. Both…

In an English defamation claim, the public interest defence under section 4 of the Defamation Act 2013 is assessed primarily by reference to English law and…

Where an appellate decision materially changes the outcome of earlier proceedings, the court may postpone determination of costs until a later assessment…

Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 imposes an objective duty to maintain the structure and fabric of a highway so that it is reasonably passable for ordinary…

In a deceit claim, causation is established where the misrepresentation played a real and substantial part in inducing the transaction. It need not be the…

In contempt proceedings for breach of a Persons Unknown injunction, alternative service must comply strictly with the court’s order if relied on to establish…

A defamation claim issued one day outside the one-year limitation period may be allowed to proceed only where the claimant establishes that it is equitable to…

Where a road accident occurs abroad, the applicable tort law governs liability and contributory negligence, while procedural matters remain governed by the law…

A conditional fee agreement which makes the whole retainer conditional cannot generally be converted into an enforceable hourly-rate retainer by severing its…

A claimant alleging inadequate consent must prove, on the balance of probabilities, what decision he would have made if properly advised. The assessment is…

Under Defamation Act 2013, a truth defence succeeds where the defendant proves the substantial truth of the essential sting of the defamatory imputation. The…

The court may stay complex multi-party proceedings to facilitate a structured alternative dispute resolution process where that course is proportionate and has…

In a clinical negligence claim, the claimant must prove both breach of duty and causation of the alleged loss. A management plan does not necessarily dictate…

A borough-wide injunction restraining future unauthorised encampments must be justified against each named defendant by evidence of an actual or apprehended…

For the purposes of the Third Party (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010, the Act applies only where the insured’s liability was incurred after its commencement…

The statutory costs-assessment jurisdiction under Solicitors Act 1974, section 70, extends to disputes that must be resolved before assessment, including…

In determining meaning in a libel claim, the court must assess the publication as a whole and identify whether particular passages convey fact, opinion, or…

For a civil claim under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, the claimant must prove on the balance of probabilities both the course of conduct and the…

For statutory nuisance, noise is assessed by its actual character and effect. The court must consider noise arising from both the intended use of premises and…

A beneficiary’s right under a provisional damages order to seek further damages for a specified disease or deterioration is a continuing cause of action. On…

A sentence for contempt of court arising from breach of undertakings serves both to impose just punishment and to enforce respect for, and compliance with, the…

Derogations from open justice, including anonymity, private hearings, reporting restrictions and limits on court-file access, are exceptional. They must be…

Derogations from open justice, including anonymity, private hearings, reporting restrictions and limits on access to court documents, require clear and cogent…

Permission to appeal from a County Court first appeal should be granted only where the proposed ground has a real prospect of success or there is some other…

A claimant cannot use one claim form to commence multiple claims unless those claims can be conveniently disposed of in the same proceedings. Common parties, a…

At an approval hearing for a child or protected party, the court must independently examine whether the proposed settlement is proper and in the claimant’s…

The High Court may use its injunctive powers under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 37(1), to require a judgment debtor to exercise pension rights so that…

A court may strike out a defence for persistent, serious and unexplained failures to comply with procedural orders where repeated opportunities and warnings…

For section 1(1) of the Defamation Act 2013, serious harm is concerned with the actual or likely reputational impact of the publication complained of. It may…

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

A wasted costs application should not be used to circumvent the general rule that respondents will ordinarily recover no costs for attending an oral permission…

On an appeal against factual findings, the appellate court must respect the trial judge’s advantage in hearing and evaluating witnesses. Intervention is…

A court cannot extend the acceptance period of a Part 36 offer unless the rules provide a recognised jurisdiction to do so. Part 36 is a self-contained…

For the purposes of Defamation Act 2013, serious harm is distinct from defamatory tendency and must be established for each publication sued upon. The claimant…

In a defamation claim involving limited publication, serious harm under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 must be established as a consequence of the…

In a professional negligence claim, limitation begins when the claimant suffers real damage that falls within the applicable measure of damages. The inquiry is…

CPR 44.11 does not apply to a solicitor-and-client assessment under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 and CPR 46.9 and 46.10. Such an assessment is…

Public authorities are generally not liable in negligence for failing to prevent harm caused by a third party. The distinction between making matters worse and…

An employer must take reasonable steps to provide a reasonably safe workplace and system of work, protecting employees so far as reasonably practicable from…

Harassment under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is assessed by considering the course of conduct as a whole. Individual incidents need not each amount…

Where a defendant has been properly notified of a defamation application and deliberately takes no part, the court may proceed in its absence where doing so is…

In a defamation claim, identification, defamatory meaning, serious harm and causation must each be established in relation to the publications sued upon. The…

Claims in libel and malicious falsehood require a clearly identified publication to a third party. Each publication constitutes a separate cause of action and…

A defendant who files an acknowledgment of service but does not make the application required by CPR Part 11 is treated as accepting the court’s jurisdiction…

Check-off arrangements may form contractual terms of civil servants’ employment where the governing documents use obligatory language and limit the…

Costs are governed by the broad discretion in CPR 44.2. The unsuccessful party normally pays the successful party’s costs, but that rule may be adjusted where…

Permission to appeal from case-management decisions is subject to a high threshold. The proposed appeal must have a real prospect of success or another…

Article 2 operational duties remain an evolving area. A claim should not be struck out where the pleaded facts arguably establish that a public authority…

Contempt of court is sentenced by reference to the seriousness of the conduct, culpability, harm, cooperation, admissions, mitigation and totality. Deliberate…

Where a defendant is absent from a hearing involving relief that may affect freedom of expression, the court should first determine whether proper notice was…

An interim injunction should not be extended on an ex parte basis without a compelling evidential and jurisdictional foundation. The applicant must identify an…

In a civil claim involving competing medical explanations, the claimant bears the burden of proving causation on the balance of probabilities. The court is not…

Under Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, s 57, a claimant who is fundamentally dishonest in a personal injury claim must ordinarily lose the entire claim…

A party to adversarial immigration litigation generally owes no common-law duty of care to the opposing party concerning the conduct or timing of the…

Summary judgment may be given where a claim has no realistic prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for trial. A court may determine a…

In determining foreign law, the court must first apply a clear and unambiguous statutory definition according to its ordinary literal meaning. Secondary…

Strike out and summary judgment are exceptional remedies. A defective or untidy pleading should ordinarily be amended where it discloses a legally recognisable…

On an appeal from a trial decision, the court reviews the decision rather than rehearing the evidence. Findings of fact will ordinarily be disturbed only where…

An implied covenant for quiet enjoyment protects a tenant against interference by the immediate landlord or persons claiming under that landlord. It does not…

Contempt of court may be established where a party knowingly verifies materially false statements in applications or evidence, provided the court is sure of…

Under CPR 25.7, an interim payment must not exceed a reasonable proportion of the likely final judgment. In serious personal injury claims, the Eeles two-stage…

Section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013 requires serious harm to be proved separately for each publication. Serious harm may be inferred from the meaning…

The standard is that of a reasonable road user, not an ideal driver judged with hindsight. A driver is not required to treat every pedestrian on a pavement as…

An interim injunction is discretionary and is governed by the American Cyanamid principles where an early trial is possible. Springboard relief is available…

Local authorities may obtain interim injunctions under Local Government Act 1972, s 222 and Highways Act 1980, s 130 to protect inhabitants and public rights…

A claim for misuse of private information requires conduct by the defendant which itself amounts to a misuse of the information. A failure to secure data, or…

An application for disclosure against a non-party is exceptional. The applicant must establish that the statutory conditions for non-party disclosure are met…

On an application for summary judgment, the court must decide whether the claimant has no real prospect of success, without conducting a mini-trial. Contested…

Determination of a publication’s natural and ordinary meaning is a wholly objective exercise applying the single-meaning rule. The relevant context is that…

A party affected by a without-notice injunction may participate at the return date even without being joined, where the order affects its legal rights. An…

In civil contempt proceedings arising from dishonest evidence in a personal injury claim, the court must assess culpability and the harm caused, intended or…

The statutory necessity test for arrest and detention requires an objective assessment of the circumstances known to the officer at the relevant time. Officers…

Where a company is in administration, an injunction against the company or its property constitutes legal process for the purposes of the statutory moratorium.…

Under regulation 12 of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014, a vulnerable debtor must receive an adequate opportunity to obtain advice and…

There is no presumption that late or successive Points of Dispute must be admitted. Under Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 47 and the overriding objective, the…

An interim injunction against persons unknown may be granted where the claimant establishes a serious issue to be tried, damages are inadequate, and the…

The illegality defence requires the defendant to identify criminal or quasi-criminal conduct engaging the public interest. A claimant’s deliberate act is…

Relief from sanctions requires consideration of three matters: the seriousness and significance of the breach, the reason for it, and all the circumstances…

Whether a claimant has suffered actionable damage sufficient to complete a cause of action in a mesothelioma case is a mixed question of law and fact. Where…

A deliberate breach of a civil injunction may be sanctioned by a fine, assessed by reference to culpability and harm. The sentencing guidelines for breaches of…

A deliberate breach of a civil injunction must be proved to the criminal standard. In assessing sanction, guidance for breaches of Criminal Behaviour Orders…

For a deliberate breach of a civil injunction, the court may use the Sentencing Guidelines for breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order as a structured starting…

Penalties for contempt must reflect the distinct purposes of punishment, securing compliance with court orders and rehabilitation. Sentencing guidelines are…

Whether information is likely to lead to identification requires assessment of a real risk, rather than statistical probability. The assessment must address…

In post-2013 defamation proceedings, trial by jury is exceptional. The court must first address any properly established risk of apparent bias. The test is…

In claims arising from injuries in professional sport, breach of the rules of the game does not itself establish actionable negligence. The court must assess…

For admitted breaches of a civil contempt injunction, the court must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the breach occurred. Penalties pursue…

Penalties for civil contempt serve three objectives: punishment, securing future compliance with court orders, and rehabilitation. In assessing the penalty for…

On an application for summary judgment, the court must decide whether the claim has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success without conducting a…

An appellate court may determine outstanding issues where the material facts are undisputed, the documentary evidence is available, and the remaining questions…

To set aside a regularly entered default judgment under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the defendant must show a real, rather than fanciful, prospect of…

Where a patient with atrial fibrillation presents with an acute systemic embolic event, an unstable atrial clot and a substantial risk of further embolisation…

For an interim non-disclosure order engaging section 12(3) of the Human Rights Act 1998, the claimant must show that success at trial is more likely than not.…

An oral agreement is assessed objectively. Evidence of the parties’ subjective understanding and subsequent conduct may assist in determining what was…

An injunction order must ordinarily be personally served on the person alleged to have breached it before contempt proceedings can succeed. That requirement is…

Under the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England & Wales) Regulations 2020, a moratorium prevents…

An application for specific disclosure may be made under CPR 31.12 before standard disclosure. The court has a discretion, informed by relevance…

Penalties for contempt in the civil jurisdiction serve three connected objectives: punishment, securing future compliance with court orders and rehabilitation…

For breach of a civil injunction, sentencing should address punishment, securing future compliance and rehabilitation. Criminal sentencing guidelines may…

For contempt consisting of a deliberate breach of an injunction, the court should assess the penalty by reference to three objectives: punishment, securing…

For lis alibi pendens under Article 29 of the Brussels I Recast Regulation, the critical question is whether the court first seised has finally determined its…

When sentencing for contempt arising from breach of a civil injunction, the court must address the objectives of punishment, securing future compliance and…

When sentencing for contempt arising from breach of a civil injunction, the court must address punishment, securing future compliance and rehabilitation.…

Penalties for contempt of a civil injunction pursue punishment, securing future compliance and rehabilitation. Criminal sentencing guidelines may provide…

When sentencing for contempt of a civil injunction, the court must consider the objectives of punishment, securing future compliance and rehabilitation.…

For admitted breaches of a civil injunction, sentencing pursues punishment, securing future compliance and rehabilitation. Criminal sentencing guidelines may…

An injunction is a remedy, not a cause of action. Summary judgment may determine liability or an issue within a substantive claim, but consequential injunctive…

On a jurisdiction challenge to an online libel claim under Article 7(2) of the Brussels Recast Regulation, the claimant must establish a good arguable case on…

In solicitor-own-client costs proceedings, Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 applies unless expressly excluded. Disclosure is available where it is…

Security for costs is discretionary even where a gateway under CPR 25.13 is established. The court must decide whether security is just in all the…

Contempt arising from breach of a civil injunction is proved to the criminal standard. When fixing the penalty, the court must consider punishment, securing…

In proceedings for contempt arising from breaches of a civil injunction, the court must be satisfied of the breach to the criminal standard of proof. In…

Contempt of a civil injunction must be proved to the criminal standard. In fixing the penalty, the court must address punishment, securing future compliance…

For a deliberate breach of a civil injunction, the court may assess culpability and harm by reference to the available sentencing guidance for breaches of…

When interim relief may affect freedom of expression, the court must apply Human Rights Act 1998, section 12. The applicant must have taken all practicable…

A general civil restraint order may be extended where the court considers continuation appropriate, but each extension must not exceed two years. The court…

Counsel instructed to conduct litigation has broad apparent authority to agree orders within the scope of the proceedings, including consequential costs…

On a jurisdiction challenge under CPR Part 11, the claimant must establish a jurisdictional gateway on the good arguable case standard. The court should assess…

A solicitor’s retainer is not readily implied merely because the solicitor has previously acted for the person concerned or communicates with them during a…

A foreign company cannot be served at a UK company’s premises under CPR r.6.9 merely because both form part of the same commercial group or the UK company…

A betting operator’s confirmation of the amount to be debited from a customer’s account does not, without clear language, constitute a counter-offer to accept…

In determining the natural and ordinary meaning of a tweet, the court must adopt the perspective of the hypothetical reasonable reader of that medium. The…

An election is not invalid merely because electoral rules have been breached. The court must assess whether the election, viewed as a whole, was conducted…

An undertaking accepted by the court may be released or varied under a discretionary jurisdiction. Although a significant change in circumstances is ordinarily…

In a clinical-negligence claim, breach of duty does not establish causation. The claimant must prove, on the balance of probabilities, that the breach caused…

The reflective loss rule is a narrow company-law rule which prevents a shareholder recovering a diminution in share value or distributions where the loss…

Where a Part 36 offer is accepted after the relevant period, the ordinary costs consequences apply unless the offeree proves that it would be unjust to impose…

Third-party disclosure is exceptional. Under CPR 31.17, the applicant must show that each document sought is likely to assist its case or harm another party’s…

A landowner’s duty in relation to roadside trees requires reasonable and proportionate care. It does not make the landowner an insurer against natural failure.…

In a default judgment claim involving defamation and inaccurate personal data, damages are assessed by reference to the pleaded meanings unless those meanings…

In assessing substantial personal-injury losses, the court must make the best assessment reasonably available on the evidence. Uncertainty does not, by itself…

After settlement, a court retains a discretion to hand down its judgment. That jurisdiction does not depend on exceptional circumstances, whether settlement…

An anticipatory injunction against persons unknown requires a strong possibility of imminent interference with the claimant’s rights and a prospect of harm so…

Meaning in a broadcast libel claim is determined objectively by the single natural and ordinary meaning conveyed to the ordinary, reasonable and typical…

Strike-out for abuse of process requires a sufficiently clear basis for concluding that the pleaded case cannot properly proceed. Where the pleading and…

A Pensions Ombudsman determination is final and binding unless challenged through the statutory appeal route. Fresh High Court proceedings cannot be used to…

A data controller is not liable under the Data Protection Act 1998 merely because a third party obtains personal data through an unauthorised act, where the…

Relief from sanctions for failing to disclose a conditional fee agreement with a success fee requires the court to apply the three-stage test in Denton v…

For immigration detention to be lawful under a detained fast-track policy, the decision-maker must make sufficient inquiries to assess whether a fair and…

Interim non-disclosure relief may be continued where the evidence establishes a serious arguable case, or an overwhelming case, and no discretionary factor…

A driver towing equipment wider than the vehicle owes a duty of care to pedestrians who may foreseeably be affected on adjacent verges and pavements. The duty…

Summary judgment is appropriate only where the claim has no realistic prospect of success and is bound to fail. The court must avoid a mini-trial and generally…

In a professional-negligence claim concerning a lost underlying action, causation and valuation remain distinct. The claimant must prove on the balance of…

Interim relief restraining publication which engages Article 10 requires the applicant to show that publication is likely to be prohibited at trial. The court…

In determining the natural and ordinary meaning of conversational social-media posts, the court applies an objective reasonable-reader test. The posts must be…

In an urgent without-notice ransomware case, the court granted prohibitory and mandatory interim injunctions to protect confidential information obtained…

Where enforcement agents take control of goods claimed by a third party, Schedule 12 paragraph 60 applies whether the goods were taken lawfully or unlawfully…

Contempt sanctions for breach of planning injunctions must be assessed in a manner analogous to criminal sentencing. The court must assess culpability and…

For a finding of fundamental dishonesty under Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, the defendant bears the burden of proving dishonesty on the balance of…

Permission to amend should be granted only where the proposed claim has a real, more-than-fanciful prospect of success and the amendment offers tangible…

Information is confidential where its nature makes confidentiality obvious, even if the circumstances of its imparting add little. In an appropriate case…

A contractual right to terminate for a payment default may arise when payment is not made punctually, even if the default is later remedied, unless the…

In determining the meaning of Facebook and Twitter publications, the court must adopt the perspective of the ordinary reasonable reader in the relevant medium.…

Approval of a consent order disposing of civil contempt proceedings is not determined solely by the parties’ wishes. The court must consider the public…

A driver is judged by the standard of a reasonably careful and competent driver in the actual circumstances, not by the standard of an ideal driver or with…

Under Lebanese law, a bank account contract may confer an enforceable right to require an international transfer. A term allowing a customer to request a…

Personal head-of-state immunity under section 20 of the State Immunity Act 1978 is confined to a serving sovereign or head of state. It does not continue…

Policy documents may form part of an employment contract where the parties’ contractual intention is established and the relevant wording is apt to impose…

A solicitor who has terminated a retainer will ordinarily not be required to continue acting for the client. The court’s task on an application under CPR 42.3…

In assessing general damages for defamation, the court must make a broad and holistic assessment. It should consider the gravity of the allegations, the extent…

A security agreement governed by New York law must be a valid contract before it can create a security interest. Where consideration is disputed, the agreement…

Adverse possession requires both factual possession and an intention to possess, maintained for the requisite limitation period. The assessment is…

A driver confronted with a developing danger must respond as a reasonably careful driver would. Where the driver has failed to keep an adequate lookout, the…

In a domestic consumer case concerning a family home bought in joint names without an express declaration of trust, a later express agreement altering the…

An interim injunction may restrain protest activity where there is a serious issue to be tried in nuisance, damages are inadequate, and the injunction is…

Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, causation and defect are distinct questions. The court must consider the whole evidential picture and decide whether…

Time may be extended for a claim under Human Rights Act 1998, section 7(5)(b), only where extension is equitable having regard to all the circumstances. The…

Contempt of court based on false statements verified by statements of truth requires proof to the criminal standard that the statement was false, materially…

An injunction under Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 187B, is an original and discretionary remedy. The court must consider all the circumstances…

In defamation proceedings, the natural and ordinary meaning of publications is determined by asking what the hypothetical reasonable reader would understand…

Search orders are an exceptional and highly intrusive remedy. Before granting one, the court must be satisfied that there is: a strong prima facie case; clear…

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

A cosmetic surgery provider and the surgeon may be jointly and severally liable under a single package contract for surgery and associated care.…

Permission to rely on expert evidence may be revoked where serious breaches of the duties governing expert independence undermine the court’s confidence in the…

A personal guarantee given by a company director is enforceable where the creditor’s promise to continue supplying goods on credit, together with associated…

In a contractual debt claim, a defendant who does not expressly admit the amount claimed is taken under CPR 16.5(4) to require proof of that amount. The…

In determining the meaning of allegedly defamatory words, the court must assess the publication as a whole and ask what it would convey to the ordinary…

The court has a discretion as to whether costs are payable, their amount and when they are to be paid. The general rule is that the unsuccessful party pays the…

Strike out and summary judgment may prevent an inadequately particularised or evidentially unsupported claim from consuming disproportionate court resources. A…

On an application for a stay on forum non conveniens grounds, a defendant served within England and Wales must show that another available forum is clearly or…

Whether an unaccepted Part 36 offer may be disclosed to an interlocutory judge is a fact-sensitive question. The court did not resolve the general point. An…

A vendor of land must disclose known defects in title fully, frankly and fairly before contract. Merely placing the relevant document in a general legal pack…

An employer must take reasonable care against a reasonably foreseeable risk of injury. The assessment is objective and context-specific. It must consider the…

Applications to add or consolidate an additional claim are governed by the connection between the claims, the remedies sought, the risk of inconsistent…

An adjournment is a case-management decision governed by the overriding objective. The central question is whether proceeding would produce an unfair hearing…

Summary judgment requires a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. The court must avoid a mini-trial and should decide a short legal or…

Section 10 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives surveyors jurisdiction only over a dispute arising under the Act. It does not create a free-standing mechanism…

The court has an overall discretion whether to order a trial of preliminary issues. The usual considerations include whether the issues are decisive or…

Before service of a claim form, CPR 17.1(1) permits an existing claimant to amend the claim form to add another claimant, including a person bringing a…

When allocating appeal costs, the court may make a broad-brush order reflecting the overall justice of the case and the parties’ relative success. It need not…

A litigation friend’s appointment may be terminated where the protected party has regained capacity, or where the Official Solicitor no longer consents to act…

Cockpit voice and image recordings are protected regardless of whether the recording device was required or voluntarily installed. Disclosure for purposes…

A bankruptcy does not, of itself, create a jurisdictional bar to an application under CPR Part 71. The process is an information-gathering procedure anterior…

A contractual entitlement described as permanent may endure for as long as the employee remains in the same substantive role, where that construction reflects…

A low-value data-protection claim should not be struck out as an abuse merely because the likely damages are modest, where the pleaded facts disclose a…

Under the pre-31 May 2021 RTA Protocol, the requirement that a further medical report be “justified” concerns the recoverability of its cost, not its automatic…

Jurisdiction under Article 33(2) of the Montreal Convention 1999 requires proof of all three conditions at the time of the accident: the passenger’s principal…

A solicitor advising on prospective or ongoing litigation must take reasonable steps to ensure that the client receives an accurate assessment of the prospects…

The court’s discretion to permit evidence by video link requires a case-specific balancing exercise. Convenience and potential travel difficulties do not…

Service on a company director under section 1140 of the Companies Act 2006 may validly serve proceedings on the individual at the company address, including…

A claimant must prove causation on the balance of probabilities even where breach of duty is admitted. In a medical negligence claim, diagnosis and causation…

Section 23 of the Partnership Act 1890 applies to a writ of control directed generally against a debtor’s goods. A general writ cannot be used to evade the…

An employer does not generally owe an employee a duty to protect against pure economic loss. A focused duty may arise in a novel case through incremental…

Under section 57 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, fundamental dishonesty requires proof, on the balance of probabilities, that the claimant acted…

A child has no civil right to require a local authority to apply for, or obtain, a care order. A failure to commence care proceedings therefore does not itself…

In a clinical negligence claim, a reasonable working diagnosis must still be assessed against the whole presentation. Severe and unusual symptoms may require…

A guarantee of a company’s financial obligations is construed objectively, by reference to the contract as a whole, its commercial purpose and the relevant…

For defamation purposes, the court must determine the single natural and ordinary meaning that a hypothetical reasonable reader would attribute to the…

Contempt sentencing has no tariff. The court must assess the particular facts, including culpability, harm, punishment, deterrence and securing future…