Hot off the press - judgment released today. Birmingham, apparently intent on suicide, appealed the judicial review decision in Aweys. Birmingham City Council v Abdishakur Aweys & Ors [2008] EWCA Civ 48. They lost, badly, on all counts....
All the blog posts, most recent first
They'll have to wait
In a sudden rush we have: Court of Appeal: Greenwood Reversions Ltd. v World Environment Foundation Ltd. - and - Madhav Mehra [2008] EWCA Civ 47 on forfeiture of lease. House of Lords: Majorstake Limited (Respondents) v Curtis (Appellant) [2008]...
Caroline Flint speaks her brain
In a time when the shortage of social housing is at something of a crisis point, the housing minister has some thinking to share with us. Unfortunately, it is this. (Also BBC news page and the Guardian). Let us make the rash assumption that this...
Do you remember the first time?
Pupil barrister Scribbler encounters a litigant-in-person in action for the first time, and he sounds like a classic of the genre, issuing against multiple defendants 'so they could come to court to explain themselves', regardless of whether they...
Tenancy and occupation through employment
Wragg & Ors v Surrey County Council [2008] EWCA Civ 19 is an appeal on the refusal of some Right to Buy applications, but the main issue is when a tenancy falls under Schedule 1, para 2(1) Housing Act 1985, which provides: "… a tenancy is not a...
Adverse possession, Art 1 and acknowledgements
Ofulue & Anor v Bossert [2008] EWCA Civ 7 deals with an adverse possession case prior to the Land Registration Act 2002. Some notes: The (then) law on adverse possession does not breach Art.1 Protocol 1, Pye v United Kingdom [2007] ECHR...
LSC Judicial Review Mk 2
The Law Society is (just about) to file the second Judicial Review application of the Civil legal aid Unified Contract, this time arguing that, following the Court of Appeal judgment in the first JR, the LSC has to address the illegality of the...
Legal aid, negligence and the clients from hell
It's not a housing case, but Leonard & Leonard v Byrt & Others [2008] EWCA Civ 20 caught my eye as being of practical interest for legal aid practioners and potential amusement for everyone else. This was an appeal against a summary...
Hope over experience
Surprising being undeterred by the experience of the first podcast I did with him, Charon QC has demonstrated a generosity of spirit, if a lack of judgement, in doing another. We talk about training contract experience, smaller firms, and the...
More in sorrow than in anger
or rather, a good slapping. A sequel to the last post on barristers refusing to sign up for the VHCC contract. A hat tip to Charon QC for the link to the response of the Chairman of the Bar, Tim Dutton to Richard Collins' letter from the LSC...
Lacking Support
Tempted though I am to get caught up in Jeremy Paxman's baggy pants revelations (and don't you just love the image of Paxman raising his best inquisitorial eyebrow as he questions the occupants of his gym and, of course, the House of Commons as to...
Disability discrimination – the comparator
Following on from the previous post, and the detailed discussions that took place in the comments to that post, I wanted to try to clarify for myself the key element of establishing discrimination, which hopefully may be of use for others. In...