News & Events
News & Events
In this second blog on the particular challenges posed by limitation periods in historical sexual abuse claims, James Counsell QC and Joshua Cainer focus on the second key live issue under section 33(3)(b), namely the extent to which, having regard to the delay, the evidence adduced or likely to be adduced by the parties is or is likely to be less cogent than if the action had been brought in time. The first blog can be found here. In the first of two recent blogs on the particular challenges posed by limitation periods in historical sexual abuse claims, James Counsell QC and Joshua Cainer considered how historical sexual abuse claims are often brought long after primary limitation has expired, in which…
Insights 20 Jan, 2021
In the first of two blogs, James Counsell QC and Joshua Cainer discuss the particular challenges posed by limitation periods in historical sexual abuse claims, and seek to identify, by reference to four very recent historical sexual abuse High Court judgments, the key considerations which courts take into account when determining whether such claims are barred by reason of expired limitation. The second blog can be found here. Key elements to success in historical sexual abuse claims Sexual abuse claims often rely on vicarious liability as a cause of action. Whilst all claims relying upon vicarious liability have their difficulties, claimants in historical sexual abuse claims have unique challenges to overcome. To succeed, a claimant usually must overcome three hurdles:…
Insights 12 Jan, 2021
In this post, Carin Hunt details the Advocate General’s opinion in X v Kuoni (Case C-578/19), regarding an assault by a member of hotel staff, which was handed down on 10 November 2020. The facts In July 2010, X and her husband were on a package holiday in Sri Lanka. The package was provided by Kuoni and included hotel accommodation. In the early hours of the morning of 17 July 2010, X was on her way to reception when a hotel employee offered to show her a shortcut. The employee took X to an engineering room where he assaulted and raped her. The employee who attacked X was a member of the hotel’s maintenance team. He was on night-duty at…
Insights 21 Dec, 2020
Is demonstrating a breach of local safety regulations the only way to show that reasonable care has not been taken by the suppliers of holiday services in the context of a package holiday claim? No, said Marcus Smith J, in the recent case of Morgan v TUI UK Ltd. The Claimant went on a package holiday to Mauritius, organised by the Defendant Tour Operator. One evening whilst there, she was returning to her hotel room from dinner along an outside, unlit sun terrace adjacent to the swimming pool, when she collided with a heavy wooden sunbed and fell, suffering injuries to her knees, face and head. The standard of reasonable care She brought a claim against the Defendant under the…
Insights 16 Dec, 2020
Saaman Pourghadiri and Patrick Tomison consider termination clauses and good faith in their article entitled “When is the exercise of a termination clause restricted by an implied duty of good faith?” In this note, Saaman Pourghadiri and Patrick Tomison consider when the exercise of a termination clause could be restricted by an implied duty of good faith. The note considers the authorities which appear to suggest that termination clauses are special and ought to be unfettered. Saaman and Patrick then outline how such authorities might be overcome and the basis for doing so. Saaman and Patrick analyse the two principal obstacles to subjecting express termination clauses to an implied term. The full article can be read here. About the Authors…
Insights 25 Oct, 2020
Chloë Bell and Joshua Cainer consider cryptoasset litigation and the challenges that litigation with a foreign element present in their latest article entitled “Decrypting the Situs – Conflicts of Laws Challenges in Cryptoasset Litigation”. Litigation involving cryptoassets will frequently have a foreign element to it. Conflicts of laws rules will therefore be highly relevant to resolving such disputes. The article below focuses on, first, outlining what features of cryptoassets and distributed ledger technology (‘DLT’), the technology on which cryptoassets depend for their existence, give rise to difficulties in private international law. Secondly, it gives an overview of the key methodological questions which need to be resolved at the outset of an analysis of private international law issues. The third and…
Insights 25 Oct, 2020
Michael Uberoi explores where we are with contractual rectification in light of FHSC Group Holdings Limited v GLAS Trust Corporation Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 1361. It has now been a little over a year since Leggatt LJ (as he then was) gave the Court of Appeal’s judgment in FHSC Group Holdings Limited v GLAS Trust Corporation Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 1361, which altered the test for common intention when one party seeks to rectify a contract as a result of what it alleges was a mistake which was common to both parties. The (high level) test for rectification means any party must demonstrate (i) that the parties had a common intention, which (ii) by mistake was not recorded in the…
Insights 23 Oct, 2020
Following on from their previous article considering the scope of the moratorium from a lender’s perspective, Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider the thorny question of whether all defined benefit pension scheme contributions are exempt from the payment holiday under the moratorium. In this note Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider one important issue for insolvency and pensions practitioners which arises from the Moratorium in Part A1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA 86”) introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA 2020”). The note sets out various arguments going to the vexed issue of which forms of employer contribution to an occupational pension scheme fall within the payment holiday under the…
Insights 15 Oct, 2020
What can be achieved via electronic means within the 2013 Employment Tribunal Rules? Andrew Allen QC has updated his earlier article to reflect the changes to the 2013 ET Rules made on 8 October 2020? Hearings by electronic means Following the changes to the 2013 ET Rules made on 8 October 2020, Andrew Allen QC has updated his article analysing the practical issues faced by Employment Judges in considering, within the parameters of the 2013 ET Rules, whether to list hearings that are to be conducted by electronic communication. You can view the article here. Find out more These extraordinary circumstances bring new perspectives on employment law and the existing rules. Please contact Nick Levett on 020 74274905 or Mark Gardner on +44 (0)20 7427 4909ho will be…
Insights 9 Oct, 2020
With suspension of insolvency enforcement due to end shortly, lenders face the prospect of borrowers entering the new, free-standing moratorium. Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider the impact of the new moratorium from a lender’s perspective. How vulnerable are lenders upon entry into the moratorium? Which categories of charge holders are more vulnerable? How might lenders protect their positions, and what opportunities might a moratorium present to lenders? In this in-depth article, Andrew, Justina and Saaman consider: Protections for lenders arising from: the requirement of companies to meet lenders’ capital and interest payments during the moratorium; the disapplication of “ipso facto” provisions to most financial services contracts; and the ability of lenders, in practice, to stymy the…
Insights 9 Sep, 2020
Ian Denham has written an article considering the recent judgment of Spencer J in Griffiths v TUI UK Limited [2020] EWHC 2268 (QB), which considered “a fundamental question concerning the proper approach of a court towards expert evidence which is ‘uncontroverted’”. The Court concluded that it was not open for the Court to examine the contents of an uncontroverted Part 35 compliant report and reject an expert’s reasoning if considered appropriate. This judgment contradicts the common practice where Courts would assess the reasoning behind an expert’s opinion in a Part 35 expert report whether it was controverted or not. The impact of this judgment will be felt widely but may be most keenly felt by tour operators defending holiday gastric…
Insights 1 Sep, 2020
Paul Rogers provides a health & safety perspective on how to manage a safe return of spectators to elite sport in his article for LawInSport. The Department for Culture Media & Sport announced a series of pilots to trial the safe return of spectators to stadiums. The aim of the pilots was to prepare for the full “socially distanced” return of sporting events from 1 October 2020 in England as stated in its guidance “Elite sport – return to competition: safe return of spectators”. Paul’s article considers the : How the safe return of spectators will be managed; What the implications are for sporting venues under Sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974;…
Insights 17 Aug, 2020
