Litigation funding agreements are DBAs, Supreme Court rules – Legal Futures

‘Agreements with third-party litigation funders are damages-based agreements (DBAs), the Supreme Court said today in a ruling likely to invalidate almost all existing arrangements.’

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Legal Futures, 26th July 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Landlord L&Q told to pay out to tenants after finding of severe mismanagement – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2023 in compensation, housing, landlord & tenant, news, ombudsmen, repairs by sally

‘One of Britain’s biggest social landlords has been ordered to pay tenants more than £140,000 in compensation as a special investigation by the housing ombudsman revealed it was “dismissive” of tenants and found “severe maladministration” including in tackling disrepair and antisocial behaviour.’

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The Guardian, 27th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Family Division judge issues ruling on naming of magistrates and legal adviser – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 27th, 2023 in anonymity, children, magistrates, media, murder, news, reporting restrictions by sally

‘The High Court has ruled that magistrates and a legal adviser involved in decisions on the care of a murdered child, Finley Boden, can be named by the media.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th July 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Satisfying judgment from scheme assets following bankruptcy discharge – Pensions Barrister

Posted July 27th, 2023 in bankruptcy, debts, injunctions, judgments, news, pensions by sally

‘Handed down on 26th July, the latest in a long line of cases in which a judgment creditor has sought to enforce their debt from the pension scheme assets of the debtor is Cohen v O’Leary [2023] EWHC 1939 (Ch), a decision of Louse Hutton KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court.’

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Pensions Barrister, 27th July 2023

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Kevin Spacey cleared of sexually assaulting four men – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2023 in assault, juries, news, sexual offences by sally

‘Kevin Spacey wept and said he was humbled after being cleared of sexual assault in one of the UK’s most high-profile #MeToo trials.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Georgia Harrison’s £200k damages over Stephen Bear sex tape – BBC News

Posted July 27th, 2023 in damages, news, pornography, video recordings, voyeurism by sally

‘Lawyers for a former reality TV personality say she has been granted record damages after her ex-partner shared a private sexual video without her consent.’

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BBC News, 26th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Appeal court overturns Manchester rape conviction of man who spent 17 years in jail – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2023 in appeals, miscarriage of justice, news, police, rape by sally

‘A man who spent 17 years in prison for rape has had his conviction overturned by the court of appeal.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

HMRC barred from proceedings for failing to meet disclosure obligations – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 27th, 2023 in disclosure, fraud, HM Revenue & Customs, news, tax evasion, tribunals, VAT by sally

‘The First-tier Tax Tribunal has barred HM Revenue & Customs from taking any further part in proceedings against a taxpayer, Ebuyer (UK) Limited (Ebuyer), because of its failures to comply with directions – an “unless order” – issued by the tribunal.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th July 2023

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

New Judgment: R (on the application of PACCAR Inc and others) v Competition Appeal Tribunal and others [2023] UKSC 28 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal concerns a matter of statutory interpretation in the context of litigation funding. Litigation funding involves the agreement of a third party (with no prior connection to the litigation) to finance all or part of the legal costs of certain litigation, in return for a percentage of any damages recovered should the funded litigant be successful. In particular, this appeal concerns whether each of the agreements to provide this funding, known as litigation funding agreements (“LFAs”), constitute a “damages-based agreement” (“DBA”), a term given a specific definition by statute. In order to be lawful and enforceable a DBA has to satisfy certain conditions. The LFAs have been entered into without satisfying those conditions, so the question whether they constitute DBAs is critical for their enforceability.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th July 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Jury discharged in trial of UK asylum seeker facing manslaughter charges – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2023 in asylum, homicide, juries, news by sally

‘The jury in the trial of an asylum seeker accused of manslaughter over the deaths of four people who were in a small boat with him during his journey across the Channel has been discharged.’

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The Guardian, 26th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

MoJ rules out any exemptions to small claims mediation plan – Legal Futures

Posted July 27th, 2023 in dispute resolution, Ministry of Justice, news, small claims by sally

‘The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has ruled out any exemptions to the requirement for compulsory mediation that it is set to introduce for small claims.’

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Legal Futures, 27th July 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bring in new lobbying rules for ex-ministers by autumn, says watchdog – The Guardian

Posted July 27th, 2023 in civil servants, fines, lobbying, ministers' powers and duties, news by sally

‘No 10 should bring in new fines for ex-ministers who break the rules on lobbying in time for Rishi Sunak’s next reshuffle and tighten restrictions on former civil servants, the government watchdog has said.’

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The Guardian, 27th July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Acts – legislation.gov.uk

2023 c. 37 – Illegal Migration Act 2023

2023 c. 35 – Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023

2023 c. 34 – Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023

2023 c. 39 – Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023

2023 c. 36 – Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023

2023 c. 33 – Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

Recent Statutory Instruments – legislation.gov.uk

Posted July 26th, 2023 in legislation by tracey

SI 2023/850 – The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2023

SI 2023/858 – The Pensions Dashboards (Amendment) Regulations 2023

Source: www.legislation.gov.uk

BAILII: Recent Decisions

Posted July 26th, 2023 in law reports by tracey

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Gopee v Crown Court at Southwark [2023] EWCA Civ 881 (25 July 2023)

N & A (1996 Hague Convention: Costs) (Rev1) [2023] EWCA Civ 887 (25 July 2023)

UK Trucks Claim Ltd v Stellantis NV & Ors [2023] EWCA Civ 875 (25 July 2023)

Dyson Technology Ltd & Anor v Channel Four Television Corporation & Anor [2023] EWCA Civ 884 (25 July 2023)

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd & Anor v Astellas Pharma Inc [2023] EWCA Civ 880 (25 July 2023)

JJ, R (On the Application Of) v Spectrum Community Health CIC [2023] EWCA Civ 885 (25 July 2023)

H (A Child : Recusal) [2023] EWCA Civ 860 (24 July 2023)

High Court (Administrative Court)

Court of First Instance West Flanders, Bruges Belgium v Marchesani [2023] EWHC 1848 (Admin) (24 July 2023)

High Court (Chancery Division)

Clientearth v Shell Plc & Ors [2023] EWHC 1897 (Ch) (24 July 2023)

Reading Borough Council v Holland [2023] EWHC 1902 (Ch) (24 July 2023)

Court (Commercial Court) Decisions

Viegas & Ors v Cutrale, The Estate of & Anor [2023] EWHC 1896 (Comm) (24 July 2023)

High Court (Family Division)

K & S (Article 13(b)), Re [2023] EWHC 1883 (Fam) (21 July 2023)

High Court (Technology and Construction Court)

Vinci Construction UK Ltd v Eastwood And Partners (Consulting Engineers) Ltd & Anor [2023] EWHC 1899 (TCC) (24 July 2023)

Source: www.bailii.org.uk

Modern slavery gangmasters exploit care worker shortage – BBC News

‘The number of modern slavery cases reported within the UK care industry has more than doubled in the past year.’

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BBC News, 25th July 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Update on British Citizenship for Children of EEA Nationals – EIN Blog

Posted July 26th, 2023 in brexit, children, citizenship, EC law, families, immigration, news by sally

‘In our previous article, we discussed the complexities arising from the case of R (on the application of Roehrig) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 31 (Admin) for children of EEA nationals and their potential claims to British citizenship. This case raised the question of whether the Secretary of State had been correct to treat children born before 2 October 2000 to EU citizens residing in the UK pursuant to their rights under EU law as having automatically acquired British citizenship at birth.’

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EIN Blog, 25th July 2023

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Government to introduce compulsory mediation for small claims – Legal Futures

‘The Ministry of Justice is to introduce compulsory mediation for small claims valued up to £10,000, starting with specified money claims.’

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Legal Futures, 25th July 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Fake taxi driver who preyed on young women jailed for 18 years – The Independent

Posted July 26th, 2023 in imprisonment, kidnapping, news, rape, sentencing, sexual offences, taxis, victims, women by sally

‘A fake taxi driver who kept condoms, latex gloves and Viagra in his car as he prowled the streets for vulnerable women has been jailed for 18 years, police said.’

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The Independent, 25th July 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sunak “undermining trust in lawyers”, says Bar Council – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Council has accused Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of undermining trust in the profession by claiming that a “subset of lawyers” are exploiting illegal migrants for profit.’

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Legal Futures, 26th July 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk