‘Solicitors are not immune from receiving fixed penalty notices for breach of lockdown restrictions, which raises the entirely new question of whether that is reportable to the SRA. Ordinarily the SRA is not overly interested in fixed penalty notices but these are not ordinary times.’
Law Society's Gazette, 27th April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Following last week’s moratorium imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to credit card debts, overdrafts and personal loans, the FCA is imposing a similar moratorium on hire-purchase (annoyingly referred to by the trendy term ‘rent-to-own’), high-cost short-term credit (payday loans), buy-nowpay-later deals (BNPL) and pawn agreements.’
Henderson Chambers, 24th April 2020
‘The Chief Coroner Guidance (numbers 34 and 35) has made it clear, as with other jurisdictions, that no physical hearing should take place unless it is urgent and essential business and it is safe for those involved.’
Parklane Plowden, 24th April 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty across the world of professional football for players, clubs and fans alike. Almost all domestic football leagues have been suspended for the past several weeks (save for holdout Belarus, which has continued to hold professional matches in front of fans). As the lockdowns in European countries have been extended, many have speculated about the possible need to cancel domestic seasons outright. However, a vexed question has remained about the effect any such cancellation might have on one of the most prestigious and lucrative elements of the sport: qualification for European competitions.’
Littleton Chambers, 24th April 2020
Source: littletonchambers.com
‘On 16th April 2020, Sir Andrew McFarlane handed down a case management judgment on a public law case which may have significant implications for case management decisions until court services return to normal. The case in question was on the issue of fabricated or induced illness and the issue was whether the final hearing should proceed remotely. The Mother opposed the local authority care plan. It was listed for a fifteen day hearing addressing whether she had harmed her seven year old daughter. Despite the coronavirus pandemic both the Father and the local authority supported the hearing continuing remotely. The Mother’s Solicitors’ had assumed it would proceed with plans to take instructions by Zoom or in between each piece of evidence. There were to be three expert witnesses.’
No. 5 Chambers, 24th April 2020
Source: www.no5.com
‘A few weeks before the lockdown, one of the most important UK labour law cases of the last decade was heard by the Supreme Court. Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson Blake has not attracted the attention paid to the Uber litigation, also to reach the Supreme Court later this year. Yet Mencap will have significant ramifications for a segment of the British workforce at the front line of the coronavirus response, namely care workers.’
Oxford Human Rights Hub, 27th April 2020
Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk
‘In this post I analyse some of the contradictions present in the current penal response to Covid-19 in England and Wales, represented in a recent Crown Prosecution Service press release. Coercive criminal law measures which clearly and proportionately penalize those who endanger emergency workers, or engage in fraudulent conduct, may be justified. But civil liberties must be considered on both sides. I challenge the punitive narrative which celebrates sending those convicted of coronavirus crimes to prisons where Covid-19 has the potential to be rampant. The rights to life and health of offenders—put at risk in overcrowded prisons—must also be considered.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 28th April 2020
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Insurers, law firms and suppliers have agreed a ‘statement of intent’ to keep non-MedCo medical examinations and rehabilitation going remotely during the Covid-19 crisis.’
Litigation Futures, 27th April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The recent judgment in R(Idolo) v London Borough of Bromley [2020] EWHC 860 (Admin) provides an important discussion of the positive duties of the state under Article 8 ECHR – and specifically, the issue of when an Article 8 breach may arise in the absence of any failure of a local authority to carry out statutory duties. Arianne Kelly discusses the case and its practical implications following the amendments that the Coronavirus Act made to the Care Act.’
Coronavirus: Guidance for Lawyers and Businesses, 27th April 2020
‘On 6 April 2020, a few minor changes to the Civil Procedural Rules (“CPR”) came into effect; amongst them, changes to CPR 12.3, which brought a degree of welcome clarity to an area of conflicting case law. Many lawyers would be forgiven for thinking that, if the claimant issued proceedings and properly filed and served the claim form and particulars of claim and the defendant failed to acknowledge service or file a defence within the times stipulated by CPR 10.3 and 15.3, the claimant would be entitled to judgment in default. However, if, in the intervening period between the claimant’s representative requesting default judgment and judgment being entered (which as we all know can too often be substantial), the defendant files a defence, the court no longer has jurisdiction to enter that default judgment and any such judgment entered must be set aside, under CPR 13.2. This article identifies the key decisions on what now appears to be the settled position; and the effect this may have on how claimants’ and defendants’ representatives should approach ‘late’ acknowledgments of services and defences, particularly in light of the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19.’
Thomas More Chambers, 24th April 2020
Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk
‘Can “shielding employees” (those who are extremely vulnerable to a Covid 19 infection) be furloughed; and what of that wider group, including pregnant women and those over 70, thought to be more at risk than the population at large, many of whom have been sent home by their employers on health and safety grounds?’
Parklane Plowden, 23rd April 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘In Municipo de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group PLC & Ors ([2020] EWHC 928 (TCC)) His Honour Judge Eyre QC set out the principles to be applied by the Court when considering applications to extend time for compliance with directions or for the adjournment of hearings in the context of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. These principles provide a helpful framework for parties seeking to make such applications.’
Henderson Chambers, 24th April 2020
Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk
‘Only 33 prisoners have been released under emergency measures announced by the government to combat the spread of Covid-19 in jails in England and Wales, MPs have heard.’
The Guardian, 27th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Two former presidents of the Supreme Court have suggested introducing a “breathing space” so that contractual breaches arising from the coronavirus crisis are conciliated to avoid the courts being overwhelmed with disputes.’
Litigation Futures, 27th April 2020
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘The body that organises the annual silk round has responded to pressure to release reserves during the coronavirus crisis by donating £200,000 to the benevolent associations for solicitors and barristers.’
Legal Futures, 28th April 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Two doctors are launching a legal challenge over government guidance on personal protective equipment which they say exposes them to coronavirus infections.’
The Guardian, 24th April 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Changes to the list of reserved activities that only authorised lawyers can do has been floated as one way the ways legal regulation could be flexed to help the profession recover from the Covid-19 crisis.’
Legal Futures, 27th April 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has ruled that a hearing related to the biggest class action in history can go ahead remotely, in another sign of judges’ acceptance of a new default position during the coronavirus crisis.’
Law Society's Gazette, 22nd April 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘How effectively are people with a cognitive impairment, mental health condition and/or neuro-diverse condition able to participate in proceedings in the justice system, particularly when they engage with that system via video or telephone link?’
Transparency Project, 24th April 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
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