Latest Cases

Income tax – Partnership. The Upper Tribunal (Tax and Chancery Chamber) (the tribunal) dismissed the appeal by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (tax Chamber) which had allowed the taxpayer's claim for deduction of a payment made to a bank on the basis that it had been am expense incurred 'wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade' as required by s 34 of the Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005. The tribunal held that it was in the context of the limited liability partnership (LLP) conducted collectively that the taxpayer had to justify the deduction of his payment and that the payment at issue had not been incurred 'wholly and exclusively' for the purposes of the LLP's trade. 

Terrorism – Prevention of. The Administrative Court determined that the claimant's appeal against the defendant Secretary of State's refusal to vary measures set out in his Terrorism Prevention Investigation Measures notice should be held at the same time as the statutory review of that notice. It further set out the procedure to be followed, given the Secretary of State's refusal to disclose in open proceedings all the material sought by the claimant. 

Practice – Pre-trial or post-judgment relief. The Queen's Bench Division allowed an appeal to amend the particulars of a case of medical negligence in the case of a 6-year old boy with complex mental and physical disabilities following a home birth. It held that the amendment ought to be allowed even at the risk of the trial date being lost. The consolidation of all claims to be heard at one trial was so much more practical and economic in terms of time, trouble and cost to the parties. 

Arbitration – Arbitration agreement. The Commercial Court ruled on a question referred to it in the course of two shipping arbitrations. It held that, in circumstances where a claim and a counterclaim arose from a single set of facts giving rise to a balance of accounts or netting-off under a contract, a reference to 'claims' and to 'all disputes arising under the contract' in notices of appointment of an arbitrator would ordinarily suffice to interrupt the running of time in respect of the counterclaim for the purposes of s14(4) Arbitration Act 1996. 

Insurance – Policy. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the claimant's appeal concerning a claim for hire charges in respect of a replacement vehicle following a road traffic accident. The particulars of claim made it clear that the claim was a subrogated claim under a policy of insurance, under which the claimant had claimed, and that the hire charges had been discharged by payments under the policy. Among other things, the court did not accept that, if there had been, as the judge had found, two insurance policies, it had been right to confine the claimant to a claim only in respect of the first. 

European Union – Rules on competition. The Court of Justice gave a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The request had been made in proceedings between several travel agencies and the Competition Council of Lithuania concerning a decision by which the latter had ordered those travel agencies to pay fines for having entered into and participated in anti-competitive practices. 

Income tax – Assessment. The Chancery Division allowed an application for summary judgment by seven companies in the course of the FII group litigation concerning restitution of advance corporation tax (ACT) paid on foreign income dividends (FIDs). The companies had succeeded in claims regarding FIDs which the respondent Revenue and Customs Commissioners sought to appeal. The court held that the Revenue's arguments did not have a real prospect of success. 

Human rights – Right to respect for private and family life. The Administrative Court held that the claimant heterosexual couple's ineligibility to register as civil partners, under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, was not incompatible with their rights under arts 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The state had fulfilled its obligations under the Convention by having made a means of formal recognition of their relationship available and the denial of a further means of formal recognition which was open to same-sex couples did not amount to unlawful state interference with the claimants' rights to family life or private life. 

Heritable property – Title to share of house – Purported revocation of survivorship destination. Court of Session: In a dispute about the ownership of a house which was disponed to the pursuer and his late wife 'equally between them and to the survivor of them', the wife having then executed a codicil purporting to revoke the survivorship destination in favour of the pursuer and her executors having sought confirmation on an estate which included her one‑half joint pro indiviso share of the house and granted title to that share to first defender, the court held that the first defender had stated no relevant defence to the proposition that the terms of the codicil did not operate to revoke the special destination, his case under s 1 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 was bound to fail, and he had failed to plead a relevant case of acquiescence. 

Medical practitioner – Disciplinary proceedings. The Administrative Court held that a doctor had a duty, under para 58 of the General Medical Council's (the GMC) Good Practice Guide (2006), to immediately notify the GMC of an adverse finding by a foreign regulatory body, notwithstanding that that decision was suspended pending appeal. Under r 4(5) of the General Medical Council (Fitness to Practise) Rules 2004, the five years after which an allegation would not proceed absent exceptional circumstances, ran from the date that the professional body actually made its findings and only the GMC registrar had the power to make a r 4(5) determination.