30/10/2013 – Current Awareness

Breathing a sigh of relief…? – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, civil procedure rules, costs, enforcement, news, practice directions by sally

“By the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 CPR r. 3.9 was substantially amended with effect from 1st April 2013. The ‘new’ rule reads as follows:
‘3.9 (1) On an application for relief from any sanction imposed for a failure to comply with any rule, practice direction or court order, the court will consider all the circumstances of the case, so as to enable it to deal justly with the application, including the need –
(a) for litigation to be conducted efficiently and at proportionate cost; and
(b) to enforce compliance with rules, practice directions and orders.
(2) An application for relief must be supported by evidence.'”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Solicitors’ indemnity insurance: Is the withdrawal of insurers creating a black hole for policyholders? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in disclosure, indemnities, insurance, Law Society, news, solicitors by sally

“Professional indemnity insurance (‘PII’) cover for solicitors is notoriously forgiving to policyholders on the issue of non-disclosure.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 18th October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

The Relevance of Health and Safety Regulations After the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in accidents, compensation, duty of care, employment, health & safety, negligence, news, regulations by sally

“As a result of EERA 2013 there is no civil liability for breach of the Regulations made
under the Health and Safety at Work Act in accidents that occur on or after the 1st October 2013. However the Regulations remain in force. The key question for all practitioners is how far do they remain relevant to issues of civil liability?”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

‘Cash for crash’ fraud – sentencing in the criminal courts by Bronia Hartley – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in accidents, appeals, conspiracy, consultations, fraud, insurance, news, road traffic, sentencing by sally

“The Court of Appeal in the recent case of McKenzie [2013] EWCA Crim 1544 dismissed the Defendant’s appeal against the sentence of 15 months’ imprisonment imposed by the Crown Court following his conviction after trial for a fraud committed in the context of false insurance claims in the form of ‘cash for crash’ incidents.”

Full story

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Commercial Court upholds worldwide freezing order in support of English arbitration against foreign nonarbitrating parties – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in arbitration, Commercial Court, freezing injunctions, jurisdiction, news by sally

“In PJSC Vseukrainskyi Aktsionernyi Bank v Sergey Maksimov and others [2013] EWHC 3203 (Comm), Blair J dismissed an application to discharge a worldwide freezing order made against non-arbitrating parties in support of an LCIA arbitration in long-running commercial court proceedings. Charles Samek QC lists three reasons why the case is of importance.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

In Too Deep – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, compensation, duty of care, health & safety, local government, news, personal injuries, school children, Supreme Court by sally

“Kate Mckinlay considers the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision in Woodland v Essex County Council UKSC 2013.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Mediation: No duty to put meat on the bones – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, dispute resolution, duty of care, news, solicitors by sally

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a mediation can be nauseating at three in the morning, as Ian Fleming might have written had he declined a successful career as a thriller writer in favour of the less glamorous life of a commercial litigator. It is a sentiment which clearly resonates even in the Court of Appeal, as revealed in the Court’s judgment in Frost v Wake Smith & Tofields [2013] EWCA Civ 772 last month.”

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 17th October 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Where now for mediation? Extending the Halsey guidelines – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, costs, dispute resolution, news, penalties by sally

“Since the case of Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] 1 WLR 3002, the manner in which the Court may encourage parties to settle their disputes by mediation has been largely settled. Thus, the court should not compel parties to mediatebut it may engage in robust encouragement. Importantly, a successful party may be deprived of some or all of its costs if it unreasonably refuses to mediate. The burden is on the unsuccessful party to demonstrate unreasonableness.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Jackson: 6 months on – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, claims management, costs, news, time limits by sally

“It is now almost 6 months since the Brave New World of Jackson. This article considers the impact of the reforms and stated ‘culture change’.”

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 25th October 2013

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Green v RBS: Lessons in Interest-Rate Hedge Products Litigation – Littleton Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, consumer protection, duty of care, interest, limitations, news, statutory duty by sally

“Interest- Rate Hedge Products (‘IRHPs’) include a variety of different products sold to customers to help protect them against interest rate risk. The down side is that such products are often complex and structured to produce adverse financial effects for the customer if the Bank of England Base Rate (‘Base Rate’) goes down. And we all know that is exactly what has happened in recent years. This has given rise to a wave of IRHP mis-selling claims.”

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Is this the end for Swap Mis-selling Claims? – No. 5 Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, banking, consumer protection, contracts, interest, limitations, news by sally

“One of the difficulties encountered when advising clients as to the merits of their claim that they have been mis-sold an Interest Rate Hedging Product (IRHP), usually an Interest Rate Swap, is the paucity of decided case law concerning the sale of such products.”

Full story

No. 5 Chambers, 21st October 2013

Source: www.no5.com

NCA suffers Supreme Court defeat on assets recovery marshalling claim – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, assets recovery, debts, equity, mortgages, national crime agency, news, Supreme Court by sally

“On 23 October 2013, the Supreme Court gave judgment in Szepietowski v. the National Crime Agency (formerly the Serious Organised Crime Agency, ‘SOCA’). The case is now the leading authority on the marshalling of securities and will be of interest to those advising banks and other businesses involved in secured lending. The case, however, will also be of general interest in light of the Court’s consideration of the principles applicable to the construction of settlement agreements which involved the Court distinguishing the decision of the House of Lords in Bank of Credit and Commerce International v. Ali [2002] 1 AC 251.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

Jackson: six months on – New Law Journal

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, budgets, civil procedure rules, claims management, costs, news, time limits by sally

“Dominic Regan serves up a survival guide.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 29th October 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Too Many Law Students, Not Enough Jobs? – BBC Law in Action

Posted October 30th, 2013 in employment, legal education, legal profession, news by sally

“Joshua Rozenberg investigates claims that too many students are training to be lawyers in a time when jobs in the legal profession are scarce.”

Listen

BBC Law in Action, 29th October 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v Revenue and Customs Comrs – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in corporation tax, EC law, interest, law reports, restitution, tax credits by sally

Prudential Assurance Co Ltd v Revenue and Customs Comrs [2013] EWHC 3249 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 411

“It was within the scope of conforming interpretation to construe section 790 of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 as providing for the grant of a tax credit for foreign dividends to the extent necessary to secure compliance with European Union (‘EU’) law.”

WLR Daily, 24th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Closegate Hotel Development (Durham) Ltd and another v McLean and others – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in administrators, insolvency, law reports by sally

Closegate Hotel Development (Durham) Ltd and another v McLean and others [2013] EWHC 3237 (Ch); [2013] WLR (D) 409

“The prohibition on an officer of a company in administration exercising a management power absent the consent of the administrators contained in paragraph 64 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986, as inserted, did not deprive the directors of a company of the authority to cause the company to challenge the validity of the appointment of the administrators, nor was the exercise of such authority dependent upon the provision by the directors of an indemnity for costs.”

WLR Daily, 25th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

National Crime Agency v Szepietowski and another – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, assets recovery, debts, equity, law reports, mortgages, proceeds of crime by sally

National Crime Agency v Szepietowski and another [2013] UKSC 65; [2013] WLR (D) 408

“The equitable remedy of marshalling was not available where the security held by the second chargee did not secure an underlying personal debt of his to the chargor. Therefore the National Crime Agency, having agreed to take a second mortgage over a property in settlement of its claim that it had been purchased by its owner with the proceeds of crime, could not, when the sale of the property only realised sufficient funds to pay off the debt secured under a first mortgage to a bank, require the bank to enforce its security against another property mortgaged by the owner to that bank.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

HF(Iraq) and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department; MK(Iraq) v Same – WLR Daily

Posted October 30th, 2013 in appeals, EC law, human rights, immigration, Iraq, law reports, tribunals by sally

HF(Iraq) and others v Secretary of State for the Home Department; MK(Iraq) v Same [2013] EWCA Civ 1276; [2013] WLR (D) 407

“There was no presumption that the eligibility guidelines issued by the UNHCR in relation to Iraq should be followed unless there were cogent reasons for not doing so.”

WLR Daily, 23rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk