Earlier reported cases judgments, 2001

On an application for summary judgment under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, the court must decide whether the claim has a real prospect of success, not determine…

A further appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal may arise where the local education authority, after a remittal under section 325(3)(c) of the…

A bank instrument must be construed as a whole, in its factual and contractual context and with regard to its commercial purpose, to determine whether it is an…

An expert determination clause binds the parties only to a determination made within the expert's contractual remit. Where the contract specifies both a…

An insurance notification clause is a condition precedent to liability where the policy, construed as a whole, clearly provides that no claim is payable unless…

For contribution under section 1(1) of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978, parties may be liable for the same damage even though their liabilities…

Whether insured property was being used for a specified purpose depends on the essential or predominant character of the use when the loss occurred. That…

In an insurance aggregation clause, result from imports ordinary proximate causation, applied with good sense and regard to the parties’ contractual intention.…

Under section 14A(7) of the Limitation Act 1980, the question is when the claimant had facts about the damage which would lead a reasonable person to consider…

Two persons are liable for the “same damage” under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 where their separate breaches contribute to the same harmful…

An insured cannot recover on an insurance claim where a sufficiently substantial part of that claim was advanced fraudulently. The invalidity extends to the…

In a negligent survey claim, the prima facie measure of loss is diminution in the property's value, rather than the cost of repairing defects which already…

For registration under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933, the relevant question is the identity of the court which issued the foreign…

An equitable charge securing repayment of a debt may attract equitable interest even where the underlying loan contract contains no express or implied…

Section 17 of the Marine Insurance Act 1906 may apply after an insurance contract has been made, including to materially fraudulent conduct by the assured.…

An insurance clause may wholly waive an assured’s pre-contractual duty of disclosure. Where that duty is waived, the waiver also extends to the agent effecting…

Whether avoiding action has been taken in ample time under rule 19(d) of the collision regulations depends on all the circumstances. Relevant matters include…

A choice of English law for a defined contractual claim does not, without more, change the law governing a separate contract relied on as a cross-claim or…

Under a contractor’s public-liability cover for liability for damage to property, defective workmanship requiring rectification is not, without physical damage…

A claims co-operation clause expressed as a condition precedent to any liability is effective according to its terms. It may bar recovery under the reinsurance…

Under article 4 of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976, a shipowner loses the right to limit liability only where the claimant…

Article 6(1) of the Brussels Convention requires a sufficient connection between claims against different defendants to justify hearing them together and avoid…

Where a shipbuilding contract gives the owner an alternative contractual right to take possession of an unfinished vessel and complete it, that right may…

An offer to renew an insurance policy ordinarily refers to the previous policy terms. Different wording supplied during negotiations is incorporated only if…

A solicitor retained by one party may exceptionally owe a duty of care to a non-client. The question is objective. A duty may arise where the solicitor is…

A term in insurance or reinsurance is a warranty where, on its construction, it goes to the root of the transaction, bears materially on the risk, and damages…

When a chattel is destroyed by a tort, its owner is prima facie entitled to its market value in its existing condition, whether or not a replacement is…

The no reflective loss principle bars a shareholder from recovering diminution in share value where the loss would be made good by a company’s claim arising…

A court may dispose of a claim without trial by striking out the statement of case or by giving summary judgment under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998. It…

A solicitor’s duty is defined by the retainer and by the kind of loss against which the solicitor must protect the client. Where negligent will-making causes…

A laycan-narrowing clause in a voyage charterparty is not invariably a condition precedent to the owners’ obligation to nominate a vessel. Its effect depends…

An equitable set-off is available where the cross-claim flows out of, and is inseparably connected with, the dealings and transactions giving rise to the…

Permission to serve a contribution claim on a foreign necessary or proper party requires caution, but no presumption against service and no additional “special…

An existing long-term commercial contract is not unenforceable merely because its price or fee is fixed only for an initial period. Where the contract is…

A lender’s tort claim against a negligent solicitor accrues when the lender first suffers actual damage within the applicable measure of loss. The claimant…

A damages tribunal must do its best on the admissible evidence, particularly where the opposing party had an opportunity to produce contrary evidence but…

Pre-action disclosure under rule 31.16 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 requires sufficiently clear anticipated issues and documents falling within the…

An insurance-policy exclusion must be construed by giving its words their ordinary, objective meaning in their contractual context. The court must not create…

Trade union notices of ballots and industrial action must be construed in light of their purpose: enabling the employer to identify the affected workforce…

An excess insurer's obligation to meet defence costs depends on the construction of the policy as a whole. A bona fide payment by a primary insurer of its full…

A final judgment alleged to have been obtained by fraud should ordinarily be challenged by an appeal or a fresh action to set it aside. The fraud must be…

For the purposes of article 31(2) of the Convention for the International Carriage of Goods by Road 1956, an action becomes pending upon service of the…

A national court may refer questions to the Court of Justice under Article 234 where it reasonably considers them necessary to determine the proceedings. A…

Where an employment contract permits, but does not require, an employer to make a payment in lieu of notice, the clause gives the employer an option. It does…