Council to review decision on admission of summer-born child after criticism from LGO – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 19th, 2020 in children, delay, education, families, local government, news, ombudsmen, school children by sally

‘Warwickshire County Council has said it will review its decisions in two cases in which it denied parents’ requests for deferred summer-born children to start school in reception class rather than year one after receiving criticism from the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th February 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Clinical negligence and PI costs – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 17th, 2020 in civil procedure rules, compensation, costs, delay, negligence, news, personal injuries by sally

‘Following the decision in I v Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust (25 February 2019), applications for a further interim payment on account of costs have become common in high-value clinical negligence and personal injury claims where there is likely to be substantial delay before quantum can be determined by the court. In the recent decision in RXK v Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2019] EWHC 2751 (QB), Master Cook observed that there was no decision of the High Court on the principle of whether such applications are well founded and have an adequate judicial basis in the rules and/or the authorities. Thus, the master took the opportunity in RXK to provide guidance ‘in the hope that such applications would be better prepared in future’.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 17th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barristers warn of strain on defendants after Caroline Flack death – The Guardian

‘The death of the Love Island presenter Caroline Flack has prompted questions about the way the justice system deals with allegations of domestic abuse and the strains imposed on defendants.’

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The Guardian, 16th February 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

New setback in race to begin whiplash reform in April – Legal Futures

‘The Civil Procedure Rule Committee last week put off approving the rules for the new whiplash portal until next month, it is understood, making the April start-date all-but impossible.’

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Legal Futures, 10th February 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Crown court sitting days increase ‘nowhere near enough’ – criminal bar – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 5th, 2020 in barristers, criminal justice, Crown Court, delay, news, statistics by tracey

‘The criminal bar has welcomed the thousands of extra Crown court sitting days announced by the government this week but says it is not even close to what is needed.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th February 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

MP launches new legal bid to allow asylum seekers to work after six months – The Independent

Posted February 5th, 2020 in asylum, bills, delay, immigration, news, time limits by tracey

‘Asylum seekers who have waited more than six months for a decision on their claim would be given the right to work under a new bill brought forward in parliament.’

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The Independent, 5th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

‘I wanted to forget the past – but I couldn’t’: How modern slavery victim was left in limbo for five years by Home Office – The Independent

‘He arrived in the UK nearly a decade ago after an “uncle” – the term he uses for older men of his nationality – helped him escape the violence, labour exploitation and sexual abuse he was subjected to for most of his childhood. He has since been saved from his exploiters, but faced a different challenge – the battle for protection from the Home Office.’

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The Independent, 4th February 2020

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Criminal record checks system still broken, say campaigners – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2020 in criminal records, delay, news, vetting by sally

‘Legal rights campaign groups have described as a “disgrace” the government’s delay in reforming the criminal record checks system.’

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The Guardian, 30th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Out of time but not out of mind – Nearly Legal

‘We saw the High Court in this case take an incredibly strict approach to homelessness section 204 appeal timescales (our report), deciding that seeking legal aid representation could not be a good reason for filing an appeal out of time because, well, the substance of any appeal should be obvious to an unrepresented homeless applicant. We expressed considerable doubts about the realism of this decision at the time. Now, as it turns out, the Court of Appeal has had similar doubts.’

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Nearly Legal, 2nd February 2020

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Applicant wins Court of Appeal battle over whether difficulty finding legal advisers was “good reason” for delay in homelessness appeal – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that the fact a homeless applicant was unrepresented and seeking legal aid was not a “good reason” for delay in bringing an appeal under s.204 of the Housing Act 1996 against an adverse review decision under the homelessness provisions of that Act.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st January 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

How do you balance the prejudice between parties when one party could be left with an undefendable claim? – Parklane Plowden

‘HHJ Freedman, the Designated Civil Judge in Newcastle, had to grapple with this in the case of Mitchell v Precis 548 Ltd [2019] EWHC 3314 (QB). HHJ Freedman had to decide whether to accede to the request of a First Defendant in the proceedings as to whether to vacate a trial 2 days before it was due to start.’

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Parklane Plowden, 24th January 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

What evidence does the adjudicator find useful when considering delay? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted January 21st, 2020 in causation, construction industry, delay, news by sally

‘White Constructions, a developer, engaged a sewer designer (“IWS”) and water servicing coordinator (“SWC”) to design a sewerage solution that complied with New South Wales regulations. The initial design was rejected by the relevant authorities, but a second design was later submitted and accepted. Subsequently, White Constructions brought proceedings against IWS and SWC for failing to produce a sewer design acceptable to the relevant authority within a reasonable time period, submitting that this failure caused delay to the completion of the project and thereby led to significant additional costs. At trial, the parties were each permitted to engage their own experts to assess the alleged delay. White Construction’s expert used an ‘as planned versus as-built windows analysis’, stipulating that there had been a serious delay of 240 days. The Defendants’ expert used a ‘collapsed as-built (or “but-for”) analysis’, demonstrating that there had been, at most, a 19-day delay. However, neither evidences were used by the Court because the they seen as not being appropriate for the case. Instead, the Court appointed a third expert whose evidence was preferred. The Court found that no breach had been established and so damages were not awarded.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 16th January 2020

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Insurance claims – Reservation of rights & Late payment by insurers – Where are we now? – 4 New Square

Posted January 16th, 2020 in damages, delay, insurance, news by sally

‘Knowing when and how an insurer’s rights should be reserved is a key skill for anyone involved in handling insurance claims. Listen to this podcast to hear Alison Padfield QC’s thoughts on this controversial issue, together with an outline of the new legislation on damages for late payment of claims by insurers – and why she thinks the two topics might be linked.’

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4 New Square, 14th January 2020

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Victims waiting up to three years for justice amid cuts – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 14th, 2020 in criminal justice, delay, news, sentencing by sally

‘Victims of crime are having to wait up to three years for offenders to be sentenced as the length of time it takes to bring a criminal to justice has soared by more than a third in the past decade.’

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Daily Telegraph, 12th January 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Serious crime victims wait longer for justice after court days cut – The Guardian

Posted January 13th, 2020 in budgets, courts, delay, Ministry of Justice, news, statistics, victims by tracey

‘Victims of serious crime now wait almost a year-and-a-half for the suspects to go on trial while judges sit “idle” after the government cut their sitting days – despite Guardian analysis finding almost half of all crown courtrooms in England and Wales are empty each day.’

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The Guardian, 13th January 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Grenfell victims face eight-year wait for justice over inferno that killed 72 – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 6th, 2020 in accidents, bereavement, delay, emergency services, families, fire, inquiries, news, victims by sally

‘The families of Grenfell victims could be forced to wait at least eight years after the tragedy to discover if anybody will ever be charged over 72 deaths.’

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Daily Telegraph, 4th January 2020

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Paedophile who preyed on girl, 13, spared jail after backlogs delayed his case – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 12th, 2019 in child abuse, delay, news, prosecutions, sentencing, sexual offences, suspended sentences by tracey

‘A paedophile who admitted having sex with a 13-year-old girl has been spared jail after backlogs meant his case took over two years to come before the courts.’

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Daily Telegraph, 11th December 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Home Office unlawfully delaying support for modern slavery victims, High Court rules – The Independent

‘The Home Office has been unlawfully forcing trafficked people to wait for months and sometimes years before granting them leave to remain in the UK, the High Court has ruled.’

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The Independent, 11th December 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Small claims track delays continue to rise – Litigation Futures

Posted December 6th, 2019 in delay, news, personal injuries, small claims by sally

‘The average time between a small claim being issued and going to trial continues to spiral upwards ahead of the reforms which will send hundreds of thousands of personal injury claims into the system.’

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Litigation Futures, 6th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Supreme Court to review equitable lien ruling – Litigation Futures

Posted December 6th, 2019 in airlines, compensation, delay, equity, fees, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court is to review a controversial ruling that a law firm handling uncontested flight delay claims was not conducting litigation and so did not have an equitable lien over the compensation.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com