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Melanie Hart reviews the impact of the Trafigura case ‘Where the overall level of costs is disproportionate then each item of cost will only be recoverable if it passes the additional test of necessity.’ On 12 October 2011 the Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Motto & ors v Ltd & anor (Rev 3) …
Continue reading "Costs: Get a grip – keeping a sense of proportion"
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John Bruce, Donald McDonald and M ajella McGarrigle consider a Court of Appeal case on unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 ‘Section 140A of the Act enables the court to make an order (under s140B) if it determines that the relationship between the lender and the borrower arising out of a credit agreement …
Continue reading "Consumer Credit Act 1974: Unfairness as justice?"
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Tim Harris examines the Patents County Court and proposals for a unified patents court ‘There is no “line in the sand” dividing an action that should be started in the PCC from one that must be brought in the High Court. Apart from a damages limit, each court has the same jurisdiction to hear claims …
Continue reading "Intellectual Property: United forever?"
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David Sawtell summarises the law relating to assumption of risk ‘The practitioner must carefully weigh up the indicia pointing towards and away from an “assumption of responsibility” when assessing the merits of a claim or a defence.’ It would be sensible to expect someone who is injured sliding down the banisters in a pub to …
Continue reading "Tort: Look before you leap"
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Peter Dodge considers whether the court will order the completion of unfinished projects following dissolution ‘There is very little pre-1890 authority as to the extent of a partner’s authority to bind his former partners following dissolution.’ Section 39 of the Partnership Act 1890 provides for the winding-up of the business and affairs of a dissolved …
Continue reading "Partnership: When partners fall out"
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Philippa Charles discusses the recent Supreme Court judgment in Jivraj The London arbitration community has warmly welcomed the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Nurdin Jivraj v Sadruddin Hashwani [2011]. The issues in the case and the decision of the Court of Appeal had carried what one advocate described as ‘chilling’ implications …
Continue reading "Arbitration: Being picky"
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Mark Surguy examines the tension between disclosure and misconduct ‘The logic of allowing clients to do some of the work in relation to disclosure to save costs may be sound, but the external law firm needs to think very carefully about its duties.’ On 6 October 2011 the Solicitors Code of Conduct 2007 will be …
Continue reading "Disclosure: Call of duty"
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Sarah Bazaraa looks at the impact of Lucasfilm v Ainsworth The Supreme Court recently handed down its much anticipated judgment in Lucasfilm v Ainsworth [2011] : a case that highlighted difficulty with the practical application of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1998 (CDPA) and that forced the judiciary back into the uncomfortable realm of …
Continue reading "Intellectual Property: Episode III – the final showdown"
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Simon Baggs and Rachel Barber report on the Newzbin2 case The case of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation & ors v British Telecommunications plc [2011] (Newzbin2 case) addresses the question of whether an internet service provider can be required to impede subscriber access to a website engaged in copyright infringement. The proceedings were commenced by …
Continue reading "Media: Hold the line"
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Christopher Gilbert argues that we neglect arbitration at our peril Practitioners fear that arbitration is in danger of being sidelined by the Ministry of Justice, notwithstanding the aim published in its Business Plan in November 2010 to develop ‘proposals to promote wider use of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation, in the civil courts’. The Green …
Continue reading "ADR: We can work it out"
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