Latest Cases

European Union – Civil and commercial matters. Article 1(1) and (2)(b) of Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 should be interpreted as meaning that an action, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, concerning a claim for damages arising from liability for a wrongful act, brought by the liquidator in insolvency proceedings and the proceeds of which, if the claim succeeded, accrued to the general body of creditors, was covered by the concept of 'civil and commercial matters' within the meaning of art 1(1), and therefore fell within the material scope of that regulation. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in proceedings concerning the recovery by the liquidator, in bankruptcy proceedings opened in the Netherlands, of a sum duly debited by one of the bankrupt parties from an account with a bank in Belgium.

European Union – Trade marks. The First Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office had correctly found that the relevant public would have no difficulty in understanding that the word sign 'STREAMS' applied for by Google Inc., which was subsequently transferred to the applicant company, designated the type and quality of the goods and services concerned. Consequently, the General Court of the European Union held, among other things, that the applicant's complaint, alleging infringement of art 7(1)(c) of Council Regulation No 207/2009, read in conjunction with art 7(2) of that regulation would be rejected.

Contract – Creation of contract. The claimant had failed to prove an alleged oral agreement with the defendant company, under which he claimed he had agreed to resolve an issue which the company had been facing concerning accreditation in respect of a solar energy project in Staffordshire, in consideration of payment by the company to him of 2% of the gross development value of the project. The Queen's Bench Division preferred the evidence of the company's witnesses and dismissed the claim which, it held, had not been established on the facts.

Insurance company – Transfer scheme. The applicant insurer had taken the entirely reasonable decision to propose the transfer scheme, pursuant to Pt VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, to be certain that their EEA policyholders would be able to be serviced after the UK had left the EU. Accordingly, the Companies Court allowed the insurer's application for the sanction of a scheme for the transfer of its EEA insurance business to a newly formed Irish subsidiary under Pt VII of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Building – Repair. The claimant tenant's claim succeeded, in a dispute concerning damage to glass panels at the Beetham Tower in Manchester, where the claimant's hotel was situated. The Technology and Construction Court held that, among other things, the defendant freehold owner was liable to carry out works regarding disrepair on the tower. An order for specific performance was made against the defendant.

Interlocutory application – Interim relief. The applicant was successful in obtaining an interim injunction suspending the effect of the revocation of its authorisation licence, which had granted it the privilege of warehousing duty-suspended goods for the respondent Revenue and Customs Commissioners. The Queen's Bench Division held that, as the stringent test as set out in the case of ABC Ltd and others v Revenue and Customs Commissioners [2017] All ER (D) 102 (Aug) was to apply when determining the issues between the parties, an injunction would be made to allow the applicant time to collate the evidence required.

Adoption – Jurisdiction. An adoption application in respect of a child placed for adoption in Scotland with Scottish adopters could be determined in England. The Adoption and Children Act 2002 gave the Family Court in England and Wales jurisdiction to make an adoption order in favour of applicants who satisfied one or other of the criteria in s 49 of that Act. The Family Court so ruled in determining a preliminary issue concerning proceedings where prospective adopters in Scotland had applied to the Family Court in England for an adoption order in respect of a child who had been made the subject of a final care order and a placement order in English (Family Court) proceedings. The court held that the prospective adopters had satisfied the criteria in s 49 of the Act and that their application had been lawfully and procedurally well made in the English Family Court, in circumstances where at least one of them was domiciled in Scotland, and they had both been habitually resident in Scotland for many years. Accordingly, the court held that it was appropriate that the adoption application should be allowed to proceed in England.

Liquidator – Company. The respondents' covenant to pay an amount equal to their liability for taxation in a deed of indemnity had been apt to include payment under accelerated payment notices issued by the Revenue and Customs Commissioners. Accordingly, the Chancery Division gave judgment for the applicant liquidators in the sum of £1,365,335.24.

Libel and slander – Defamatory words. The claimant Member of Parliament's claim for libel succeeded, and he was awarded damages of £30,000 and an injunction to restrain further publication. However, the Queen's Bench Division dismissed his claim for malicious falsehood, as the second defendant political editor had not been dishonest and, given the success of the libel claim, it was not necessary to address the claim for breach of statutory duty under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Practice – Pre-trial or post judgment relief. Following the defendant's appeal, the Queen's Bench Division reduced the success fee awarded in a personal injury case where a CFA had been entered into after liability had been admitted, from 65% to 12.5%.