The Claimant brought a claim for damages following the death of her husband in a road traffic accident. He had died on 22nd December 1996 whilst travelling around a slight right hand bend at about 45-50 mph (a safe speed in the dry or wet). The road was however icy/frosty and he lost control.  At the time of the accident the relevant council believed that they had a duty to grit icy roads (the case being pre Goodes v East Sussex). The trial Judge effectively found that had the council's employees acted with due diligence the roads would have been salted prior to the accident. If the road had been salted then the deceased probably would not have crashed.  The Trial Judge, Mr Justice Newman however dismissed the Claimant's claim for damages holding that there was no duty of care under section 41 of the Highways Act nor was there any duty of care under common law. The Claimant was given leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal...

Details of how to approach CRU and Recoupment. Written by Anesh Pema

Following the Court of Appeal decision in Clark v Ardington  [2002] EWCA Civ 510, it has become very difficult for Defendant insurers to challenge the duration for which a car is hired on credit.  In Clark, Mrs Clark's repairs should have taken 5 days.  In fact, due to factors beyond her control, they took 10 days.  The Defendant insurer argued that the Defendant should only be liable for a reasonable period, and that as the repairs should only have taken 5 days, only 5 days of hire should be recovered.  This is an approach which had been widely adopted at First Instance.  However, it was rejected by the Court of Appeal.  The Court of Appeal approved Mattocks v Mann [1973] RTR 13 and held that Mrs Clark could claim for the full period for which she was without her own vehicle, providing that the delay was due to factors beyond her control.  The Court of Appeal went on to state that if there was unjustified delay by the garage in repairing the vehicle, the Defendant insurers should seek a contribution from the garage. 

2004 brought a number of changes to the use of ASBOs as the changes effected to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 by the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 came into force and greater use. Last year also saw the courts have to determine a number of challenges to the scope of ASBOs both a root and branch attack of the interim ASBO legislation, test and procedure and specifically in the context of post conviction orders. There was also important guidance given by the court in relation to publicity following the making of ASBOs..

In both cases the Defendant had made offers to settle the claims by letters which said they were pursuant to Part 36 and in Crouch referring specifically  to Part 44. The offer was said to be open for 21 days and reasonable costs would be paid in addition. The Defendant in each case made clear that they would not pay into court but as they were a public authority there was no doubt that it had the means to and would pay...

Details on CICA Applications. Covering Making an application, Reviews and Appeals, Oral Hearings and Compensation and the Tariff Scheme. Written by Anesh Pema.

At this time of the year many of us will have been on, be about to go on, or are contemplating a skiing/snowboarding holiday. It is generally accepted that skiing/snowboarding is a relatively hazardous sporting activity and it is not at all uncommon to see friends or family return with bumps, bruises or even broken limbs. This is however generally taken as an accepted risk of going on such trips. Very few people consider the legal liability which can arise when such accidents have occurred.

The Court of Appeal has recently delivered judgment (R (Stanley, Marshall, Kelly) v London Borough of Brent 17th October 2004) in an important case which has considered the human rights implications of local authorities' practice of publicising the granting of Anti-social behaviour orders ("ASBOs") in its area. Publicity can occur through the media however more regularly it is achieved by the local authority's distribution of leaflets to residents, community newsletters or web sites...

The case law on successive injuries is not clear cut and has formed the basis of many a question in exam papers. What we attempt to do is to give a précis of the case law and then a guide to what we intend to be a practical approach...

Details of the new Untraced Drivers Agreement 2003, which came into force on 14th February 2003...

Few, if any, applications in the field of private law children work evoke as much emotion as applications to remove children permanently from the jurisdiction.  These applications, invariably brought by mothers, represent a father's worst nightmare.  The hearings in these cases, typically, are tense emotional affairs.  One of the litigants will leave Court in tears.  The purpose of this seminar is to give guidance on the presentation of such cases, when acting for the applicant mother, and in defence of such applications, when acting on behalf of the respondent father. 

It was a long, long time ago, that Princess Fiona, then aged 30 years, met her true love. Her champion, who was but five years her elder, had secured her release from a dreadful ordeal that was imprisonment, in a far, far away tower.  His name was Shrek.  

Public law Update 2005 by Clive Heaton.

THE FACTS

The H and the W are both aged 45 and at the time of separation been married for 25 years.
There are 2 children of the marriage - now effectively independent.
Both parties in new relationships but not cohabiting.
Both the H and the W live apart in properties that are entirely owned by the H's family business. The H intends to remain in his property and to continue to work for the business that manufactures specialist valves for industry.
The W is keen (understandably) to move elsewhere...

"Children are not a commodity to be apportioned equally after separation"

The Historical Approach

The Modern Approach

The purpose of this seminar is to provide a practical overview of costs issues in ancillary relief cases, including recent case law.  The main areas covered will be:
(I)    An outline of the CPR and FPR in relation to costs, and recent case law on their application;
(II)    Summary assessment; and,
(III)    Costs issues in CLS cases.