Category: Legal Professions

In Re A (Children) (Contact: Expert Evidence): FD 27 Feb 2001

In heavily contested contact proceedings, the father had surreptitiously videoed an episode of contact, and his solicitors had sought an opinion from a psychologist, and provided anonymised information in support of the father’s application.
Held: The court must always be asked for permission to obtain expert reports, and the court should direct what assistance it needed. The solicitor should pay the wasted costs, and the father should pay the costs of the contact centre whose integrity he had attacked.

Citations:

Times 27-Feb-2001, Gazette 20-Apr-2001

Statutes:

Family Proceedings Rules 1991 (SI 1991/1247) 4.18 4.23

Legal Professions, Children

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.81624

Hesford v General Council of the Bar: IoC 20 Aug 1999

When a barrister had accepted a brief, the duty to appear on a fixed date hearing could only be set aside by conflict with another professional duty. Counsel, who were also Members of Parliament, attending at votes in the House of Commons were not, in that act, attending to such a professional duty, and so breached the Code if they failed to attend at court.

Citations:

Times 20-Aug-1999

Statutes:

Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales 1990

Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.81348

Holden and Co v Crown Prosecution Service (No 2); Steel Ford and Newton v Crown Prosecution Service and Another (No 2): HL 14 Jul 1993

The Court of Appeal had set aside wasted costs orders made in the Crown Court against four different firms of solicitors.
Held: The House set aside the orders but was unable to award to the firms their costs of the successful appeals. There is no provision to order costs from Central funds on appeals against costs orders in criminal cases. It was just for a successful litigant, and perhaps a fortiori a successful appellant, to be able to recover his costs from someone, but it was not always so: ‘it is relatively commonplace for a party who is the victim of a misjudgment by an inferior court or tribunal to have to seek relief by an application for judicial review in circumstances where the Divisional Court cannot hold another party or the inferior tribunal itself liable in costs and there is no power to award costs from public funds.’

Judges:

Lord Bridge of Harwich

Citations:

Gazette 14-Jul-1993, [1994] 1 AC 22, [1993] 2 All ER 769, [1993] 2 WLR 934

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Holden and Co v Crown Prosecution Service (No 2); Similar Cases CA 8-Jan-1992
The Civil Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to award Costs from central funds and they should be made in favour of successful applicants against wasted costs orders in criminal proceedings. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Moore CACD 12-May-2003
The applicant had been convicted of contempt of court, but succeeded on appeal. Costs had been ordered in his favour, but the matter had been referred back to the court to consider the extent of its powers on such an occasion.
Held: The making . .
Cited – Regina on the Application of Davies (No 2) v HM Deputy Coroner for Birmingham CA 27-Feb-2004
The claimant appealed against a costs order. She had previously appealed against an order of the High Court on her application for judicial review of the inquest held by the respondent.
Held: The coroner, and others in a similar position . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Criminal Practice, Costs, Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.81435

Frazer Harris v Scholfield Roberts and Hill (A Firm): FD 4 Nov 1998

Barristers and solicitors have the same immunity from suit in respect of advocacy, but a solicitor may still be liable after settlement at door of court where the substantial fault lay in matters preceding that hearing and preparation of the case.

Citations:

Gazette 04-Nov-1998, [1998] 2 FLR 679

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Professional Negligence, Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.80673

Essex County Council v Regina (Legal Professional Privilege): FD 23 Jul 1993

The court’s duty to a child’s welfare can override issues of legal professional privilege if necessary. Parties and their legal professional representatives appearing in a court on a Children’s Act matter had a positive duty to disclose material documents, including experts’ reports and even where otherwise protected by privilege. If not the court’s assessment of the risks facing a child may be distorted.

Judges:

Thorpe J

Citations:

Ind Summary 16-Aug-1993, Times 18-Aug-1993

Statutes:

Children Act 1989

Children, Family, Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.80368

Erridge v Coole and Haddock: ChD 6 Jul 2000

A solicitor had advised one party to a joint venture transaction. His advice was incorrect. He witnessed the signature of another partner who was not separately represented. Although the solicitor’s advice was negligent, and he should have regarded himself as the solicitor for that party as regards parts of the agreement impacting upon him personally, the party would have proceeded anyway, and could show no loss personal to him.

Citations:

Gazette 06-Jul-2000

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Professional Negligence, Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.80361

Cottingham and Another v Attey Bower and Jones (A Firm): ChD 19 Apr 2000

A solicitor acted on a purchase in 1993. He asked for but did not receive copies of building regulations consents from 1985. He went ahead anyway.
Held: He had been negligent. He had been under a duty to continue the investigation, and to advise his clients that the replies relating to these consents appeared to be misleading. Some consents had been refused, and there remained a small risk of proceedings by the local authority for an injunction under section 36 (6) of the Building Act 1984, even though time limits had expired for other enforcement purposes. A solicitor is generally under a duty to provide specific information or advice, and not to advise on the wisdom of transactions in general. The fact that the claimant would not have purchased the property but for his negligence did not mean that the defendant was liable for every consequences which would not have happened but for the negligence. The loss for which he is responsible will normally be limited to the consequences of the specific information being inaccurate. Damages were awarded on the basis of the cost of rectifying the defect.

Judges:

Rimmer J

Citations:

Times 19-Apr-2000, Gazette 11-May-2000, [2000] EGCS 48, [2000] Lloyds Rep PN 591

Statutes:

Building Act 1984 36(1) 36(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Land, Professional Negligence, Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.79527

Barclays Bank Plc v Weeks Legg and Dean: ChD 26 Feb 1996

The failure by a conveyancer to disclose a right of way either to his lay client or to the lender was not a breach of his undertaking to acquire a good and marketable title. The Solicitor had applied the money in accordance with the undertaking even though, through no fault of his own, no title was obtained. The action was dismissed.

Judges:

Moseley J QC

Citations:

Times 28-Feb-1996, Ind Summary 26-Feb-1996

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Re Stirrup’s Contract 1961
The parties disputed whether good title had been shown when an assent under seal had been used where a conveyance ordinarily should have been used.
Held: Good title had been shown. Though the law is concerned with substance rather than form, . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Barclays Bank Plc v Weeks Legg and Dean (a Firm); Barclays Bank Plc v Lougher and Others; Barclays Bank Plc v Hopkin John and Co CA 21-May-1998
The defendant solicitors had each acted for banks in completing charges over property. They had given the standard agreed form of undertaking to secure a good and marketable title, and the banks now alleged that they were in breach because . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Land

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.78221

In re A Solicitor: CA 1945

An appeal against the findings of the Tribunal to the CA is by way of a rehearing and the Court may make such as order as it thinks fit.

Judges:

Scott LJ

Citations:

[1945] 1 All ER 445

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Aaron v The Law Society (the Office of the Supervision of Solicitors) QBD 13-Oct-2003
The appellant challenged an order suspending him from practice as a solicitor for two years. He had previous findings of professional misconduct in failing to pay counsels’ fees. In the course of later disciplinary proceedings he was found to have . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions

Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.186741

Lumsdon and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Legal Services Board: SC 24 Jun 2015

The appellant, barristers and solicitors, challenged the respondent’s approval of alterations to their regulatory arrangements, under Part 3 of Schedule 4 to the 2007 Act. The alterations gave effect to the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates providing for the assessment of the performance of criminal advocates in England and Wales by judges. They now appealed against rejection of their argument that the decision was contrary to the 2009 Regulations.
Held: The appeal failed. The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates for criminal practitioners both complied with the reuirements imposed by European law, and was both proportionate and lawful.
The origin of the scheme had been concern at the law standards of some advocates, and a requirement for accreditation though judicial assessment was rational.
Lord Reed and Lord Toulson: ‘Proportionality as a general principle of EU law involves a consideration of two questions: first, whether the measure in question is suitable or appropriate to achieve the objective pursued; and secondly, whether the measure is necessary to achieve that objective, or whether it could be attained by a less onerous method. There is some debate as to whether there is a third question, sometimes referred to as proportionality stricto sensu: namely, whether the burden imposed by the measure is disproportionate to the benefits secured. In practice, the court usually omits this question from its formulation of the proportionality principle. Where the question has been argued, however, the court has often included it in its formulation and addressed it separately, as in R v Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Ex p Fedesa (Case C-331/88) [1990] ECR I-4023.’

Judges:

Lord Neuberger, President, Lady Hale, Deputy President, Lord Clarke, Lord Reed, Lord Toulson

Citations:

[2015] UKSC 40, [2015] Crim LR 894, [2015] WLR(D) 270, [2015] 3 CMLR 42, [2015] HRLR 12, [2015] 3 WLR 121, [2016] 1 All ER 391, UKSC 2014/0081, [2016] AC 697

Links:

Bailii, Bailii Summary, SC, SC Summary, SC Video, WLRD

Statutes:

Legal Services Act 2007, Provision of Services Regulations 2009, Council Directive 2006/123/EC, EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 52(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Lumsdon and Others v Legal Services Board Admn 30-Oct-2013
The claimants, practising barristers and members of the Criminal Bar Association sought a declaration that the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates approved by the defendant was unlawful. . .
At First Instance – Lumsdon and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Legal Services Board Admn 20-Jan-2014
Four barristers challenged, by a judicial review, a decision by which the LSB approved an application proposed by the BSB jointly with two other approved regulators, the SRA and IPS, to introduce the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates . .
Appeal from – Lumsdon and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Legal Services Board and Others CA 7-Oct-2014
The claimants sought to challenge the respondent’s decision to introduce the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates.
Held: Arden LJ and Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR analysed the cases as yielding a ‘manifestly inappropriate’ test. They then . .
Cited – Rex v Pritchard 21-Mar-1836
A person, deaf and dumb, was to be tried for a capital felony the Judge ordered a Jury to be impanneled, to try whether he was mute by the visitation of God, the jury found that he was so. The jury were then sworn to try whether he was able to . .
Cited – Regina v Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Secretary of State For Health, ex Parte Fedesa and Others ECJ 13-Nov-1990
ECJ 1. Community law – Principles – Legal certainty – Protection of legitimate expectations – Prohibition of the use in livestock farming of certain substances having a hormonal action in the absence of unanimity . .
Cited – Gebhard v Consiglio dell’Ordine degli Avvocati e Procuratori di Milano ECJ 30-Nov-1995
Practice by lawyers in other European jurisdictions were governed by the general principles of freedom of establishment under the Treaty: ‘National measures liable to hinder or make less attractive the exercise of fundamental freedoms guaranteed by . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for Health ex parte British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd and Imperial Tobacco Ltd ECJ 10-Dec-2002
The respondent sought to transpose the Directive into UK law. The Applicant objected saying that the Directive was invalid.
Held: The Directive had been made under Article 95 EC, concerning the internal market. Insofar as the Directive . .
Cited – British Sugar v Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce ECJ 19-Feb-2004
CJ Agriculture – Common organisation of the markets – Sugar – Regulation (EEC) No 2670/81 – Proof of export – Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 – Correction of an export licence – Obvious inaccuracy – Principle of . .
Cited – Regina, ex parte International Air Transport Association, European Low Fares Airline Association v Department for Transport ECJ 10-Jan-2006
ECJ Carriage by air – Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – Articles 5, 6 and 7 -Compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights – Validity – . .
Cited – Bank Mellat v Her Majesty’s Treasury (No 2) SC 19-Jun-2013
The bank challenged measures taken by HM Treasury to restrict access to the United Kingdom’s financial markets by a major Iranian commercial bank, Bank Mellat, on the account of its alleged connection with Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic . .
Cited – Revenue and Customs v Aimia Coalition Loyalty UK Ltd SC 20-Jun-2013
Decisions about the application of the VAT system are highly dependent upon the factual situations involved. The case-law of the Court of Justice indicates that, when determining the relevant supply in which a taxable person engages, regard must be . .
Cited – Jippes and others v Minister van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij ECJ 12-Jul-2001
(Judgment) Community law did not recognise the rights of animals as fundamental. The applicant owned animals, which fell to be destroyed as part of a preventive cull to protect against the spread of foot and mouth disease. The animals would not be . .
Cited – Reiseburo Broede v Sandker ECJ 12-Dec-1996
ECJ (Judgment) 1 Freedom to provide services – Restrictions – Whether permissible – Conditions
(EC Treaty, Art. 59)
2 Freedom to provide services – Judicial recovery of debts – Restrictions – . .
Cited – Alliance For Natural Health and Another, Regina (On The Application of) v Secretary Of State For Health and Anor (Approximation Of Laws) ECJ 12-Jul-2005
ECJ Approximation of laws – Food supplements – Directive 2002/46/EC – Prohibition on trade in products not complying with the directive – Validity – Legal basis – Article 95 EC – Articles 28 EC and 30 EC – . .
Cited – Manzanilla Limited v Corton Property and Investments Limited; John MacIver (Southport) Limited; Rootbrights Limited and Halliwell Landau (a Firm) CA 13-Nov-1996
Millett LJ set out the principles applicable to a deposit paid on a land transaction being held by a stakeholder: ”Where a stakeholder is involved, there are normally two separate contracts to be considered. There is first the bilateral contract . .

Cited by:

Cited – Nouazli, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department SC 20-Apr-2016
The court considered the compatibility with EU law of regulations 21 and 24 of the 2006 Regulations, and the legality at common law of the appellant’s administrative detention from 3 April until 6 June 2012 and of bail restrictions thereafter until . .
Cited – Scotch Whisky Association and Others v The Lord Advocate and Another SC 15-Nov-2017
The Association challenged the imposition of minimum pricing systems for alcohol, saying that it was in breach of European law. After a reference to the ECJ, the Court now considered its legality.
Held: The Association’s appeal failed. Minimum . .
Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Gubeladze SC 19-Jun-2019
The claimant had come from Latvia to the UK in 2008, but not registered under the Worker Registration Scheme until 2010. She now sought state pension credit. The SS appealed from a judgment that it was to calculate her entitlement to include her . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, European, Human Rights

Updated: 06 April 2022; Ref: scu.549436

Solicitors Regulation Authority v Farrimond: Admn 21 Feb 2018

The solicitor had pleaded guilty to attempted murder. The SRA now appealed against the sanction of indefinite suspension of his practising certificate, saying that his name should have been struck from the roll.
Held: The appeal succeeded.

Judges:

Sir Brian Leveson P QBD, Garnham J

Citations:

[2018] EWHC 321 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 05 April 2022; Ref: scu.605611

Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd/ Evening Standard Ltd: QBD 18 Dec 2015

In each of these libel actions the Claimant applied for an order for the delivery up of documents which he claimed were the subject of legal professional privilege but which have been obtained by the Defendants from his former wife, Ms Lachaux, in breach of what he alleged was a duty of confidentiality owed to him by her, and by the Defendants. He also sought an injunction to restrain the Defendants from using the information in the Documents, in particular using it in these two libel actions.
Held: The application for an injunction was granted.

Judges:

Sir Michael Tugendhat

Citations:

[2015] EWHC 3677 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd QBD 30-Jul-2015
The claimant brought defamation claims as to articles making allegations said to imply that the claimant had mistreated his wife. The defendant contended that, while inferences might sometimes suffice, s.1 (1) nevertheless required a claimant to . .
See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd QBD 11-Mar-2015
Judgment as to meaning of certain of the phrases founding the defamation action.
Held: The articles were held to have meant (inter alia) that Mr Lachaux had been violent and abusive towards his wife during their marriage, had hidden Louis’ . .
See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd QBD 1-Apr-2015
The claimant alleged defamation by the three defendant news organisations. The defendants now sought trial of certain preliminary issues, and particularly whether the claimant had suffered any serious harm to his reputation.
Held: The court . .
See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd and Others QBD 29-Jun-2015
Orders allowing extension of time for service of the Particulars of Claim. . .

Cited by:

See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd (1) CA 12-Sep-2017
Defamation – presumption of damage after 2013 Act
The claimant said that the defendant had published defamatory statements which were part of a campaign of defamation brought by his former wife. The court now considered the requirement for substantiality in the 2013 Act.
Held: The defendant’s . .
See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd (2) CA 12-Sep-2017
The court was asked whether the defendants and their solicitors may retain and make use of information contained in documents which are said by the claimant to be confidential and the subject of legal professional privilege . .
See Also – Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd and Another SC 12-Jun-2019
Need to Show Damage Increased by 2013 Act
The claimant alleged defamation by three publishers. The articles were held to have defamatory meaning, but the papers argued that the defamations did not reach the threshold of seriousness in section 1(1) of the 2013 Act.
Held: Section 1 of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Defamation, Litigation Practice, Legal Professions

Updated: 05 April 2022; Ref: scu.557320

Akram and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for The Home Department: Admn 20 Apr 2015

The court was severely critical of the firm of solicitors who had brought this claim for judicial review of an immigration decision.

Judges:

Sir Brian Leveson P QBD, Green J

Citations:

[2015] EWHC 1359 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Immigration, Legal Professions

Updated: 03 April 2022; Ref: scu.550014

Budana v The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Another: CA 5 Dec 2017

The court considered the effectiveness of a transfer of a conditional fee agreement by a client to another firm of solicitors.

Judges:

Gloster VP CA, Davis, Beatson LJJ

Citations:

[2017] EWCA Civ 1980, [2017] WLR(D) 834

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Statutes:

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 02 April 2022; Ref: scu.601136

Menzies v Menzies and Another: HL 17 Mar 1893

The only son and heir-apparent of a baronet and heir of entail, an officer in the army, and dependent on his father except for his pay, had for some years lived beyond his allowance, and had more than once to apply to his father to pay his debts. His father did so. The son again fell into debt, and consulted the family agent, his most pressing liability being a bill for pounds 3000 granted to a money-lender, on which he feared he might be made bankrupt, and so ruined in his profession. The son, if he survived his father, became absolutely entitled to the fee of the estates, which were worth upwards of pounds 300,000. After much correspondence and consultation, it was arranged that the estates should be disentailed and conveyed to trustees to hold for the father in liferent, and the son in liferent alimentary allenarly, and for the heirs of the son’s body, whom failing the heir to the baronetcy in fee. As part of the arrangement the son’s debts were to be paid, and an increased allowance secured to him by charges on the estates. The son about three years afterwards raised an action against the trustees and his father for reduction of the deeds by which the arrangement had been carried out, on the ground that his father and the family agent, in pursuance of a joint scheme which they had laid some years before, to deprive the pursuer of the fee of the estates, induced him to enter into the arrangement by false and fraudulent representation and fraudulent concealment, and that the pursuer had consented to the arrangement (1) under essential error, (2) under essential error induced by the father and his law-agent, and (3) under essential error fraudulently so induced.
The House- rev. the decision of the Second Division, and restoring the interlocutor of the Lord Ordinary (Low)-while negativing all idea of fraud, set aside the family arrangement, on the ground that the son had been induced to enter into it by representations made by the agent as to a matter of fact, viz., the possibility of raising the necessary funds in some other way, he having no legal advisers, and being ignorant of his own rights and powers.

Judges:

Lord Chancellor (Herschell), and Lords Watson, Ashbourne, Field, and Hannen

Citations:

[1893] UKHL 530, 30 SLR 530

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Trusts, Legal Professions

Updated: 30 March 2022; Ref: scu.633296

Moseley v Solicitors Regulation Authority: Admn 28 Jun 2013

Appeal against an order of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal striking off the claimant from the roll of solicitors. He was found guilty of four allegations. In essence, he had been adjudged bankrupt. The four allegations relate to his failure to disclose an interest in property to the official receiver and, thereafter, holding himself out as able to deal in the property and failing to return money that he had received in respect that of property. The fourth allegation was that he had acted in way likely to diminish public trust in the profession.

Judges:

Lewis J

Citations:

[2013] EWHC 2108 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 29 March 2022; Ref: scu.514465

Hazlett v Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council: QBD 2 Dec 1999

The need for a party claiming his costs to give evidence to prove his entitlement to costs rather than relying on the presumption in his favour, will not arise if the defendant simply puts the complainant to proof of his entitlement to costs. The complainant can rely on the presumption in his favour. The defendant must raise a genuine issue as to whether the complainant is liable for his solicitors’ costs before the complainant has to adduce evidence to show that his entitlement. The complainant is presumed to be personally liable for his solicitors’ costs and it should not normally be necessary for the complainant to have to adduce evidence to that effect.
Harrison J said: ‘there is normally a presumption that the complainant will be personally liable for his solicitors’ costs and it should not normally be necessary for the complainant to have to adduce evidence to that effect.’ and
‘Where, however, there is a genuine issue raised by the defendant as to whether the complainant has properly incurred costs in the proceedings, the position will be different. A defendant may, for instance, have grounds for believing that the complainant will not be liable to pay his solicitor’s costs, whether because he has entered into an unlawful and unenforceable conditional fee arrangement with his solicitor or for any other reason. In those circumstances, where the defendant has raised a genuine issue as to whether the complainant has properly incurred costs in the proceedings, the complainant will be at risk if he continues to rely on the presumption that he is liable for his solicitor’s costs. If he does not then adduce evidence to prove that he has properly incurred costs in the proceedings and the defendant can show by evidence or argument, that he has not, he would be most unlikely to succeed in recovering his costs.
The need for a complainant to give evidence to prove his entitlement to costs rather than relying on the presumption in his favour will not, however, arise if the defendant simply puts the complainant to proof of his entitlement to costs. The complainant would be justified in relying on the presumption in his favour. It would be necessary for the defendant to raise a genuine issue as to whether the complainant is liable for his solicitors’ costs before the complainant would be called upon to adduce evidence to show that he is entitled to his costs. It will be for the trial judge to decide whether or not the defendant has raised an issue which calls for proof by the complainant of his liability to costs. Prior notice of the issue to be raised by the defendant should be given to the complainant in sufficient time before the hearing to enable the complainant to deal with it properly at the hearing and to avoid the necessity of an adjournment at the defendant’s expense.’ and
‘the mere non-acceptance by a defendant that an agreement between the complainant and his solicitor is a proper private fee agreement would not of itself be sufficient to call for evidence from the complainant. The defendant must show that there is a genuine reason for believing that it is not a proper private fee agreement before the complainant should need to consider adducing evidence to support the presumption in his favour.’

Judges:

Lord Bingham of Cornhill CJ and Harrison J

Citations:

[2000] 4 All ER 887, [2001] 1 Costs LR 89

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Hollins v Russell etc CA 22-May-2003
Six appeals concerned a number of aspects of the new Conditional Fee Agreement.
Held: It should be normal for a CFA, redacted as necessary, to be disclosed for costs proceedings where a success fee is claimed. If a party seeks to rely on the . .
Cited – Kenneth L Kellar Carib West Limited v Stanley A Williams PC 24-Jun-2004
(Turks and Caicos Islands) The appellant had failed in his action but argued that he should not be called upon to pay the costs of the respondent because there had been an unlawful conditional fee agreement. The bill had referred to one factor as . .
Cited – Pepin v Watts and Another CA 26-Jun-2002
Application for permission to appeal out of time (2 years) on an issue in costs. . .
Cited – Pepin v Watts and Another CA 30-Oct-2002
. .
Cited – Burstein v Times Newspapers Ltd (No 2) CA 28-Nov-2002
The defendant complained that the agreement under which the claimant’s solicitors had continued to act on his behalf, despite any realistic prospect of him ever being able to pay their costs, was a sham, and requested a full hearing to determine . .
Cited – Hollins v Russell CA 25-Jun-2003
The court considered whether a successful party should be refused his costs to the extent of the costs associated with a particular argument they had lost.
Held: In a weighty matter the court should not disallow the costs of arguments which . .
Cited – Ghannouchi v Houni Limited, Ahmed Salhin El-Houni, Al Arab Publishing House Limited SCCO 4-Mar-2004
. .
Cited – Ilangaratne v British Medical Association ChD 9-May-2007
. .
Cited – Gower Chemicals Group Litigation v Gower Chemicals Ltd and Another QBD 17-Apr-2008
. .
Cited – Dranez and others v Hayek and others SCCO 28-Apr-2008
. .
Cited – Tranter v Hansons (Wordsley) Ltd SCCO 18-Jun-2009
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Costs, Litigation Practice, Legal Professions

Updated: 29 March 2022; Ref: scu.182520

Barkauskas v Regina: CACD 8 Aug 2017

After a bitter and protracted trial, the defendants appealed against conviction, and defence counsel made complaints about the judge’s conduct, and the judge about their conduct. The convictions related to serious allegations of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles, and the defence had complained about the use of closed materials protecting the identity of experts working covertly within the motor industry tracing stolen materals and vehicles. No special counsel had been allowed to examine the evidence.
Held: The Appeals failed.

Citations:

[2017] EWCA Crim 1210

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Criminal Practice, Legal Professions

Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.591702

Stevensdrake Ltd (T/A Stevensdrake Solicitors) v Hunt: CA 31 Jul 2017

SL appeals against a judgment dismissing SL’s claim against SH for its fees under a CFA dated 10 April 2008 for legal services provided in relation to the liquidation of Sunbow Limited, of which SH was the liquidator.

Judges:

Briggs, Hamblen LJJ

Citations:

[2017] EWCA Civ 1173

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions, Costs

Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.591687

Main and Othersv (Giambrone and Law (A Firm) and Others: CA 31 Jul 2017

Appeal by lawyers practising in England and Italy against a judgment holding them liable to compensate clients who lost money in a disastrous ‘holiday homes’ venture. The principal issues in this appeal are whether the claimants are entitled to equitable compensation for their lost deposits and whether the losses suffered are within the scope of the lawyers’ duties.

Judges:

Jackson, Underhill, Moylan LJJ

Citations:

[2017] EWCA Civ 1193

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Equity, Legal Professions

Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.591679

Pavlov And Famira v Ausschuss der Wien Rechtsanwaltskamme (External Relations): ECJ 7 Jul 2011

ECJ External relations – Association agreements – National legislation excluding, before the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union, Bulgarian nationals from inclusion on the list of trainee lawyers – Compatibility of that legislation with the prohibition of all discrimination based on nationality, as regards working conditions, in the EC-Bulgaria Association Agreement

Citations:

[2011] EUECJ C-101/10

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Citing:

See Also – Pavlov And Famira v Ausschuss der Wien Rechtsanwaltskamme (External Relations) ECJ 17-Mar-2011
ECJ External relations – Association Agreement – Direct effect – National legislation excluding, before the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union, nationals of Bulgaria’s entry on the roll . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Legal Professions

Updated: 28 March 2022; Ref: scu.591249

Halborg v EMW Law Llp: CA 23 Jun 2017

The Court was asked whether a Limited Liability Partnership (‘LLP’) of solicitors, which is a party to litigation and acts as its own legal representative in the proceedings, is a litigant in person within CPR 46 and so can only recover the level of costs allowed to litigants in person under CPR 46.5(2) and PD46 para. 3.4.

Judges:

Sir Terence Etherton, MR, Beatson, Underhill LJJ

Citations:

[2017] EWCA Civ 793

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Civil Procedure Rules 46.5

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Costs, Legal Professions

Updated: 27 March 2022; Ref: scu.588322

Lexlaw Ltd v Zuberi: ChD 9 Jun 2017

The claimant firm of solicitors sought payment of its charges. The defendant former client now challenged the enforceability of a Damages Based Agreement with them.
Held: The application should be allowed to proceed as a preliminary point.

Judges:

Clark M

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 1350 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 58AA(2) 58AA(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions, Contract

Updated: 27 March 2022; Ref: scu.588213

Serious Fraud Office (SFO) v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd: QBD 8 May 2017

The claimant asserted that documents generated during investigations by lawyers acting for the defendants were not protected by legal professional privilege.

Judges:

Andrews DBE J

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 1017 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Criminal Justice Act 1987 2(3)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Criminal Evidence, Legal Professions

Updated: 26 March 2022; Ref: scu.584208

Solicitors Regulation Authority v Wingate and Another: Admn 7 Feb 2017

Orders following principal judgment

Judges:

Holman J

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 505 (Admin)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Solicitors Regulation Authority v Wingate and Another Admn 21-Dec-2016
The SRA alleged that the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal had erred in not finding proven some of the serious allegations against the defendant solicitors proven.
Held: Some of the appeals succeeded. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Litigation Practice

Updated: 24 March 2022; Ref: scu.581092

Piringer: ECJ 9 Mar 2017

ECJ (Judgment) Reference for a preliminary ruling – Freedom of lawyers to provide services – Possibility for Member States to reserve to prescribed categories of lawyers the drafting of formal documents for creating or transferring interests in land – Legislation of a Member State requiring that the authenticity of the signature on a request for entry in the land register be certified by a notary

Citations:

ECLI:EU:C:2017:196, [2017] EUECJ C-342/15

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Legal Professions

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.580715

Adams v London Improved Motor Coach Builders Ltd: CA 1921

The plaintiff successfully sued his employers for wrongful dismissal. The defendant argued it should not pay costs since it was the plaintiff’s union who had retained the solicitors in the case, and it was the union to which the solicitors looked for payment of their costs.
Held: The argument was rejected. Bankes LJ said: ‘When once it is established that the solicitors were acting for the plaintiff with his knowledge and assent, it seems to me that he became liable to the solicitors for costs, and that liability would not be excluded merely because the union also undertook to pay the costs. It is necessary to go a step further and prove that there was a bargain, either between the union and the solicitors, or between the plaintiff and the solicitors, that under no circumstances was the plaintiff to be liable for costs.’
Atkin LJ said: ‘I think that it is highly probably, though the matter has not been discussed, that the solicitors have a personal right against the trade union to receive a proper remuneration for their services. It has not been discussed, and we do not know the precise terms of the relation between the trade union and the solicitors, but I assume there exists such an obligation. Nevertheless there is nothing inconsistent in that obligation co-existing with an obligation on the part of the plaintiff to remunerate the solicitors. Naturally, as a matter of business, the solicitors would, I have no doubt, apply in the first instance to the trade union, as being the persons ultimately liable to pay the costs as between all arties – that is to say, the persons who would have to indemnify the plaintiff against the costs. But that does not exclude the liability of the member, and it seems to me not in the least to affect the position that the client may be liable, although there may be a third person to indemnify the client.’

Judges:

Bankes LJ, Atkin LJ

Citations:

[1921] 1 KB 495

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Bee v Jenson ComC 21-Dec-2006
The defendant objected to paying the plaintiff the costs of a replacement hire car after the accident for which he was liable. He said that the plaintiff was in any event insured to recover that cost, and the insurance company were subrogated to the . .
Cited – Meretz Investments Nv and Another v ACP Ltd and others ChD 14-Nov-2007
The parties disputed the success of a sale by a mortgagee in possession of various properties. The parties disputed the apportionment of costs.
Held: The appeal failed. Where there is no express agreement concerning the division of costs, a . .
Cited – Radford and Another v Frade and Others QBD 8-Jul-2016
The court was asked as to the terms on which solicitors and Counsel were retained to act for the defendants. The appeals did not raise any issues concerning costs practice, and were by way of review of the Costs Judge’s rulings, and not by way of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Costs

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.247997

Dunford and Elliott v Johnson and Firth Brown: CA 1977

A report which had been prepared confidentially was disclosed to 43 per cent of shareholders of a company (the institutional shareholders), but not the others, who then complained to the court.
Held: The others were entitled to the information: ‘This widespread use of the information drives a hole into the blanket of confidence; especially when that information is being used – or, shall I say misused – for the benefit some potential shareholders, and not for the benefit of the others. So much so that it would not be reasonable that the stipulation for confidence should be enforced.’

Judges:

Lord Denning MR

Citations:

[1977] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 505

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Marks and Spencer plc v Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (A Firm) ChD 2-Jun-2004
The claimant sought an injunction preventing the respondent form of solicitors acting for a client in a bid for the claimant, saying that the firm was continuing to act for it, and that a conflict of interest arose.
Held: Though the . .
Cited – Marks and Spencer Group Plc and Another v Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer CA 3-Jun-2004
The defendant firm of solicitors sought leave to appeal against an injunction requiring them not to act for a client in making a bid to take over the business of the claimant, a former client of the firm.
Held: Leave was refused. The appeal . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Company

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.200341

Re A Barrister (Wasted Costs Order); Re A (No 1 of 1991): CA 1992

The section provided that the Court could order a legal practitioner to pay ‘wasted costs’, which were defined as costs incurred by a party ‘as a result of any improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission on the part of any representative’. The barrister appealed against the order made.
Held: The court adopted the practice of not naming barristers subject to applications for wasted costs orders.
The Court recommended a three-stage test or approach when contemplating an order under s.19A. Macpherson J said: ‘A three stage test or approach is recommended when a wasted costs order is contemplated.
(i) Has there been an improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission?
(ii) As a result have any costs been incurred by a party?
(iii) If the answers to (i) and (ii) are ‘Yes,’ should the court exercise its discretion to disallow or order the representative to meet the whole or any part of the relevant costs, and if so what specific sum is involved?’
. . And ‘There is a clear need for any judge or court intending to exercise the wasted costs jurisdiction to formulate carefully and concisely the complaint and ground upon which such an order may be sought. These measures are draconian, and, as in contempt proceedings, the grounds must be clear and particular.’

Judges:

Macpherson J

Citations:

[1993] QB 293, [1992] 3 All ER 429, [1992] 3 WLR 662, (1992) 95 Cr App R 288

Statutes:

rosecution of Offences Act 1985 19A

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Regina v Legal Aid Board ex parte Kaim Todner (a Firm of Solicitors) CA 10-Jun-1998
Limitation on Making of Anonymity Orders
A firm of solicitors sought an order for anonymity in their proceedings against the LAB, saying that being named would damage their interests irrespective of the outcome.
Held: The legal professions have no special part in the law as a party . .
Cited – Ridehalgh v Horsefield; Allen v Unigate Dairies Ltd CA 26-Jan-1994
Guidance for Wasted Costs Orders
Guidance was given on the circumstances required for the making of wasted costs orders against legal advisers. A judge invited to make an order arising out of an advocate’s conduct of court proceedings must make full allowance for the fact that an . .
Cited – Reeves and Co, Solicitors, Regina v CACD 24-Mar-2011
The solicitors appealed against a wasted costs order. On the morning of the trial, they had produced further evidence leading to the collapse of the trial.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The solicitors had not been given notice of the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Criminal Practice

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.200455

Boulting v Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians: CA 1963

There must be a real conflict and not a theoretical conflict, before a solicitor can be restrained from acting in a matter against a former client. In order to give fully informed consent, the person entitled to the benefit of the rule must: ‘fully understand . . not only what he is doing but also what his legal rights are, and that he is in part surrendering them.’ As to company directors, a company is entitled ‘to the undivided loyalty of its directors.’ The principle recognises the primacy of the interests of the company which he is trusted not to betray.

Judges:

Upjohn LJ

Citations:

[1963] 2 QB 606

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Marks and Spencer Group Plc and Another v Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer CA 3-Jun-2004
The defendant firm of solicitors sought leave to appeal against an injunction requiring them not to act for a client in making a bid to take over the business of the claimant, a former client of the firm.
Held: Leave was refused. The appeal . .
Cited – Ratiu, Karmel, Regent House Properties Ltd v Conway CA 22-Nov-2005
The claimant sought damages for defamation. The defendant through their company had accused him acting in such a way as to allow a conflict of interest to arise. They said that he had been invited to act on a proposed purchase but had used the . .
Cited – Towers v Premier Waste Management Ltd CA 28-Jul-2011
The defendant appealed against a finding that as a director of the claimant company he had accepted personal benefits from a customer without disclosing this to the company.
Held: The appeal failed. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Company

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.200432

Attorney-General v Mulholland: CA 1963

The court rejected a claim for protection from disclosure of matters passing between journalists and their sources: ‘it is said that however these questions were and however proper to be answered for the purpose of this inquiry, a journalist has a privilege by law entitling him to refuse to give his sources of information’ and ‘It seems to me that the journalists put the matter much too high. The only profession that I know which is given the privilege from disclosing information to a court of law is the legal profession, and then it is not the privilege of the lawyer but of his client. Take the clergyman, the banker or the medical man. None of these is entitled to refuse to answer when directed by a judge. Let me not be mistaken. The judge will respect the confidences which each member of these honourable professions receives in the course of it, and will not direct him to answer unless not only it is relevant but also it is a proper and, indeed, necessary question in the course of justice to be put and answered. A judge is the person entrusted, on behalf of the community, to weigh these conflicting interests – to weigh on the one hand the respect due to confidence in the profession and on the other hand the ultimate interest of the community in justice being done or, in the case of a tribunal such as this, in a proper investigation being made into these serious allegations. If a judge determines that the journalist must answer, then no privilege will avail him to refuse.’

Judges:

Lord Denning MR

Citations:

[1963] 1 All ER 767, [1963] 2 QB 477

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – British Steel Corporation v Granada Television Ltd HL 7-May-1980
The defendant had broadcast a TV programme using material confidential to the plaintiff, who now sought disclosure of the identity of the presumed thief.
Held: (Lord Salmon dissenting) The courts have never recognised a public interest right . .
Cited – D v National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children HL 2-Feb-1977
Immunity from disclosure of their identity should be given to those who gave information about neglect or ill treatment of children to a local authority or the NSPCC similar to that which the law allowed to police informers.
Lord Simon of . .
Cited – Prudential Plc and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Another SC 23-Jan-2013
The appellants resisted disclosure to the revenue of advice it had received. It claimed legal advice privilege (LAP), though the advice was from its accountants.
Held: (Lords Sumption and Clarke dissenting) LAP applies to all communications . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Media, Legal Professions

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.193357

Bott and Co Solicitors Ltd v Ryanair Dac: CA 12 Feb 2019

Existence and exercise of an equitable lien by solicitors over part of damages reserved from that paid direct to clients to cover their fees.

Judges:

Lewison, Simon, Lindblom LJJ

Citations:

[2019] EWCA Civ 143, [2019] WLR(D) 84, [2019] 1 Costs LR 113, [2019] PNLR 16, [2019] 1 WLR 3375

Links:

Bailii, WLRD

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Appeal from – Bott and Co Solicitors Ltd v Ryanair Dac SC 16-Mar-2022
The appellant solicitors’ firm took flight delay compensation claims on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. When it accepted a case, the appellant would send a letter before action to the relevant airline and ask for payment to be made to the appellant’s . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Costs

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.633437

Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens and Another: CA 23 Feb 2010

The solicitors felt that the instructions received from their client were to pursue points which neither they nor counsel thought were properly arguable. They withdrew from the case, and now appealed against a refusal of their costs on the basis that they having once accepted a retainer a solicitor could not withdraw.
Held: The appeal succeeded. At common law, a solicitor may terminate his retainer before the end of a case on reasonable notice and if he has a ‘reasonable ground for refusing to act further for the client’. The common law rule that a solicitor is entitled to be paid for all the work he has done prior to termination if he terminates for good reason has been law for almost 200 years.
The solicitors had good reason for withdrawing from a case where they were instructed to put forward a case he believed was ‘bound to fail’. ‘if an advocate considers that a point is properly arguable, he should argue it without reservation. If he does not consider it to be properly arguable, he should refuse to argue it. He should not advance a submission but signal to the judge that he thinks that it is weak or hopeless by using the coded language ‘I am instructed that’. Such coded language is well understood as conveying that the advocate expects it to be rejected. In my judgment, such language should be avoided.’

Judges:

Dyson LJ, Maurice Kay LJ

Citations:

[2010] EWCA Civ 122, [2010] WLR (D) 49, [2010] 17 EG 96, [2010] 3 Costs LR 421, [2010] CP Rep 26, [2010] 1 WLR 1997, [2010] 9 EG 166

Links:

Bailii, Times, WLRD

Statutes:

Solicitors’ Practice Rules 1990 812.12

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Underwood, Son and Piper v Lewis CA 11-May-1894
Solicitors had declined to continue to act for their client before the litigation in which they were acting had been completed. They brought an action for the amount of their bill of costs for work done to date. The trial judge held that a solicitor . .
Appeal From – Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens QBD 28-Jul-2008
The solicitors appealed against refusal of their costs. They had begun to act but withdrawn part way through the case. The costs judge had said that they had been wrong to do so. Though the client’s instructions would be disastrous, they were not . .
Cited – Vansandau and Brown v Browne 24-Nov-1832
An attorney is not compelled to proceed to the end of a suit in order to be entitled to his costs, but may, upon reasonable cause and reasonable notice, abandon the conduct of the suit, and in such case may recover his costs for the period during . .
Cited – Cresswell v Byron 24-Dec-1807
A Solicitor, having declined to act for his client, has no lien for his costs upon a fund in Court. In this cause a petition was presented by a Solicitor; stating, that in 1789 he was employed as Solicitor for the Plaintiff ; and continued so to act . .
Cited – Skjevesland v Geveran Trading Co Ltd CA 30-Oct-2002
The debtor’s wife was personally acquainted with counsel for the petitioner in his bankruptcy examination. He sought that it be set aside.
Held: Whereas a judge had a duty to be independent of the parties, no such duty fell on counsel. A court . .

Cited by:

Cited – French v Carter Lemon Camerons Llp CA 3-Sep-2012
The appellant had instructed the defendant solicitors in litigation. On beginning to act in person she sought an order to require the solicitors to deliver the case papers to her. They asserted a lien on them until their account was paid. She now . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Costs

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.401678

Price Waterhouse v BCCI Holdings (Luxembourg) SA: CA 1992

A claim for legal advice privilege was rejected for reports written by accountants both when the accountants were independent and when they reconstituted themselves as a committee of the client. However, legal advice privilege attaches to all communications made in confidence between solicitors and their clients for the purpose of giving or obtaining legal advice even at a stage when litigation is not in contemplation. It does not matter whether the communication is directly between the client and his legal adviser or is made through an intermediate agent of either.

Judges:

Millett LJ

Citations:

(1992) BCLC 583

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v The Governor and Co of the Bank of England (No 5) CA 3-Apr-2003
Documents had been prepared by the respondent to support a request for legal advice in anticipation of the Bingham enquiry into the collapse of BCCI.
Held: Legal advice privilege attached to the communications between a client and the . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) HL 11-Nov-2004
The Bank anticipated criticism in an ad hoc enquiry which was called to investigate its handling of a matter involving the claimant. The claimant sought disclosure of the documents created when the solicitors advised employees of the Bank in . .
Cited – Kyla Shipping Co Ltd and Another v Freight Trading Ltd and Others ComC 22-Feb-2022
Litigation Privilege
Defendants challenged the claimants assertion of litigation privilege and contended for a waiver of any privilege which entitles them to disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement.
Held: ‘I dismiss the waiver of . .
Cited – Starbev GP Ltd v Interbrew Central European Holding Bv ComC 18-Dec-2013
Challenge to assertion of litigation privilege.
Hamblen J said:
’11. The legal requirements of a claim to litigation privilege may be summarised as follows:
(1) The burden of proof is on the party claiming privilege to establish it . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Evidence

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.180871

Brennan and others v Sunderland City Council Unison GMB: EAT 16 Dec 2008

No Waiver for disclosure of Advice

EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE: Admissibility of evidence
The claimant sought disclosure of certain legal advice on the basis that its effect, and a summary of its contents, had been put before the court and therefore privilege was waived. The Tribunal rejected the application and the EAT held that they were right to do so.
Consideration of the operation of waiver principles.
Elias J P discussed the question fundamental to whether there had been a waiver: The fundamental question is whether, in the light of what has been disclosed and the context in which disclosure has occurred, it would be unfair to allow the party making disclosure not to reveal the whole of the relevant information because it would risk the court and the other party only having a partial and potentially misleading understanding of the material. The court must not allow cherry picking, but the question is: when has a cherry been relevantly placed before the court?
Typically, as we have seen, the cases attempt to determine the question whether waiver has occurred by focusing on two related matters. The first is the nature of what has been revealed; is it the substance, the gist, content or merely the effect of the advice? The second is the circumstances in which it is revealed; has it simply been referred to, used, deployed or relied upon in order to advance the parties’ case? As Waller LJ observed in the Dunlop Slazenger case [2003] EWCA Civ 901. The principles are not altogether easy to discern, partly perhaps because of the vagueness of the language adopted – for example, sometimes reliance and deployment are used as separate terms and sometimes they appear to mean much the same thing – and partly because the cases are necessarily fact sensitive . .
66. Having said that, we do accept that the authorities hold fast to the principle that legal advice privilege is an extremely important protection and that waiver is not easily established. In that context something more than the effect of the advice must be disclosed before any question of waiver can arise.
However, in our view, the answer to the question whether waiver has occurred or not depends upon considering together both what has been disclosed and the circumstances in which disclosure has occurred. As to the latter the authorities in England strongly support the view that a degree of reliance is required before waiver arises, but there may be issues as to the extent of the reliance . .’

Judges:

Elias J P

Citations:

[2008] UKEAT 0349 – 08 – 1612, [2009] ICR 479

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Wilson v Northampton and Banbury Junction Railway Co 1872
Lord Selborne LC said: ‘It is of the highest importance . . that all communications between a solicitor and a client upon a subject which may lead to litigation should be privileged, and I think the court is bound to consider that . . almost any . .
Cited – Unison GMB v Brennan and others EAT 19-Mar-2008
EAT Jurisdictional Points
Sex discrimination
Can an employment tribunal make a declaration that the term of a collective agreement is void, pursuant to section 77 of the Sex Discrimination Act, at the . .
Cited – Assicurazioni Generali Spa v Arab Insurance Group (BSC) CA 13-Nov-2002
Rehearing/Review – Little Difference on Appeal
The appellant asked the Court to reverse a decision on the facts reached in the lower court.
Held: The appeal failed (Majority decision). The court’s approach should be the same whether the case was dealt with as a rehearing or as a review. . .
Cited – Great Atlantic Insurance v Home Insurance CA 1981
The defendants sought to enter into evidence one part of a document, but the plaintiffs sought to have the remainder protected through legal professional privilege.
Held: The entirety of the document was privileged, but by disclosing part, the . .
Cited – Nea Karteria Maritime Co Ltd v Atlantic and Great Lakes Steamship Corporation (No 2) 11-Dec-1978
The court considered disclosure of a legally privileged note of an interview: ‘I believe that the principle underlying the rule of practice exemplified by Burnell v British Transport Commission is that, where a party is deploying in court material . .
Cited – Dunlop Slazenger International Ltd v Joe Bloggs Sports Ltd CA 11-Jun-2003
Waller LJ said: ‘To answer the question whether waiver of parts of a privileged communication waives the complete information, it is that dictum of Mustill J., as he then was, which applies. A party is not entitled to cherry pick and a party to whom . .
Cited – Bennett v Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Customs Service 25-Aug-2004
Austlii (Federal Court of Australia) EVIDENCE – Privilege – Legal professional privilege – Waiver – Letter conveying substance and effect of legal advice to third party – Inconsistency between disclosure and . .
Cited – Expandable Ltd and Another v Rubin CA 11-Feb-2008
The defendant’s witness statement referred to a letter written to him by the defendant’s solicitor. The claimant appealed refusal of an order for its disclosure.
Held: The appeal failed. The letter was protected by legal professional . .
Cited – Mann v Carnell 21-Dec-1999
Austlii (High Court of Australia) Practice and procedure – Preliminary discovery – Legal professional privilege – Loss of privilege – Waiver by disclosure to third party.
Australian Capital Territory – . .
Cited – GE Capital Corporate Finance Group v Bankers Trust Co and Others CA 3-Aug-1994
Irrelevant parts of documents required to be disclosed may be blanked out on discovery by the party giving discovery. Hoffmann LJ: ‘It has long been the practice that a party is entitled to seal up or cover up parts of a document which he claims to . .
Cited – Infields Ltd v P Rosen and Son CA 1938
Sir Wilfred Greene MR said that reliance on a document was not of itself sufficient to displace legal professional privilege: ‘In my judgment, the same principle applies here. All that the deponent was doing was saying: ‘Well, I am asking the court . .
Cited – Government Trading Corporation v Tate and Lyle Industries Ltd CA 24-Oct-1984
Reference was made to information derived from Iranian lawyers. The solicitor in an affirmation had set out his understanding of Iranian law on the incorporation of a Government Trading Corporation in Iran and stated that his information had been . .
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for Transport ex-parte Factortame and Others CA 1988
The Secretary of State was willing to make legal advice given to him available on the grounds that privilege had been waived, but not advice after a particular cut off date. The claimants were dubious as to whether the privilege had been properly . .
Cited – University of Southampton v Dr C K Kelly EAT 14-Nov-2005
EAT The respondent had stated in its response to the complaint of unfair dismissal that it had realised that it would be unlawful to continue to employ the claimant after having taken legal advice. The claimant . .

Cited by:

Cited – Re D (a child) CA 14-Jun-2011
In the course of care proceedings, the mother had revised her version of events, and then explained why. The father sought disclosure of the attendance notes of her solicitor, saying that she had waived any privilege in the advice given. She now . .
Applied – The National Crime Agency v Perry and Others QBD 12-Nov-2014
The agency had taken proceedings against the defendant to reciver what it said were theproceeds of crime. That claim was dicontinued. The defendant sought to recover his costs on an indemnity basis, and relying upon a witness statement from an . .
Appeal from – Council of The City of Sunderland v Brennan and Others CA 3-Apr-2012
Equal pay claim – Whether difference in pay due to material factor other than sex . .
See Also – Sunderland City Council v Brennan and Others EAT 2-May-2012
EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Contribution
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Disclosure
(1) An employment tribunal has no jurisdiction to determine claims for contribution under the Civil Liability . .
See Also – Sunderland City Council v Brennan and Others EAT 2-May-2012
EAT PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Contribution
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Disclosure
(1) An employment tribunal has no jurisdiction to determine claims for contribution under the Civil Liability . .
Cited – Kyla Shipping Co Ltd and Another v Freight Trading Ltd and Others ComC 22-Feb-2022
Litigation Privilege
Defendants challenged the claimants assertion of litigation privilege and contended for a waiver of any privilege which entitles them to disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement.
Held: ‘I dismiss the waiver of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Employment, Legal Professions, Litigation Practice

Leading Case

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.278812

French v Carter Lemon Camerons Llp: CA 3 Sep 2012

The appellant had instructed the defendant solicitors in litigation. On beginning to act in person she sought an order to require the solicitors to deliver the case papers to her. They asserted a lien on them until their account was paid. She now appealed against refusal of an order for their release. There had been found to be a complete breakdown in the relationship of trust and confidence between client and solicitor. She said that their lien did not apply after they had repudiated the retainer.
Held: The appeal failed. The solicitors’ retainer had not been terminated by repudiation or otherwise, and the solicitors were entitled to payment of their fees. The retainer was in fact terminated by the client, and therefore the solicitors were entitled to assert their lien.

Judges:

Lloyd, Stanley Burnton LJJ, Morgan J

Citations:

[2012] EWCA Civ 1180

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Underwood, Son and Piper v Lewis CA 11-May-1894
Solicitors had declined to continue to act for their client before the litigation in which they were acting had been completed. They brought an action for the amount of their bill of costs for work done to date. The trial judge held that a solicitor . .
Cited – Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens and Another CA 23-Feb-2010
The solicitors felt that the instructions received from their client were to pursue points which neither they nor counsel thought were properly arguable. They withdrew from the case, and now appealed against a refusal of their costs on the basis . .
Cited – Gamlen Chemical Co (UK) Ltd v Rochem Ltd CA 4-Dec-1979
Solicitors accepted instructions against a promise of sums on account of costs. After non-payment they began to apply to be removed from the record. The new solicitors sought transfer of the solicitors file, and obtained an order to that effect . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Legal Professions

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.463825

Re Highgrade Traders Ltd: CA 1984

The court rejected a claim for legal advice privilege in relation to reports commissioned by an insurance company after a suspected arson. The documents were reports prepared by third parties rather than employees of the company. After considering a number of earlier authorities, held that litigation privilege might be claimed in respect of documents brought into being at a time when litigation was reasonably in prospect.

Judges:

Oliver LJ

Citations:

(1984) BCLC 151

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Waugh v British Railways Board HL 12-Jul-1979
No Litigation Privilege without Dominant Purpose
An internal report had been prepared by two of the Board’s officers two days after a collision involving the death of a locomotive driver, whose widow brought the action and now sought its production.
Held: The court considered litigation . .

Cited by:

Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v The Governor and Co of the Bank of England (No 5) CA 3-Apr-2003
Documents had been prepared by the respondent to support a request for legal advice in anticipation of the Bingham enquiry into the collapse of BCCI.
Held: Legal advice privilege attached to the communications between a client and the . .
Cited – United States of America v Philip Morris Inc and Others and British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd CA 23-Mar-2004
The defendants appealed orders requiring them to produce evidence for use in the courts in the US.
Held: It was the pleasure and duty of British courts to respond positively to a letter of request. Public interest required that a court should . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) HL 11-Nov-2004
The Bank anticipated criticism in an ad hoc enquiry which was called to investigate its handling of a matter involving the claimant. The claimant sought disclosure of the documents created when the solicitors advised employees of the Bank in . .
Cited – Kyla Shipping Co Ltd and Another v Freight Trading Ltd and Others ComC 22-Feb-2022
Litigation Privilege
Defendants challenged the claimants assertion of litigation privilege and contended for a waiver of any privilege which entitles them to disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement.
Held: ‘I dismiss the waiver of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Evidence

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.180870

Vansandau and Brown v Browne: 24 Nov 1832

An attorney is not compelled to proceed to the end of a suit in order to be entitled to his costs, but may, upon reasonable cause and reasonable notice, abandon the conduct of the suit, and in such case may recover his costs for the period during which he was employed.

Citations:

[1832] EngR 869, (1832) 9 Bing 403, (1832) 131 ER 667

Links:

Commonlii

Cited by:

Cited – Underwood, Son and Piper v Lewis CA 11-May-1894
Solicitors had declined to continue to act for their client before the litigation in which they were acting had been completed. They brought an action for the amount of their bill of costs for work done to date. The trial judge held that a solicitor . .
Cited – Richard Buxton (Solicitors) v Mills-Owens and Another CA 23-Feb-2010
The solicitors felt that the instructions received from their client were to pursue points which neither they nor counsel thought were properly arguable. They withdrew from the case, and now appealed against a refusal of their costs on the basis . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.319816

Ellingsen v Det Skandinaviske Compani: CA 1919

The court considered an apportionment of the legal costs as between the parties.
Held: On the authorities, each client was only liable to the solicitors for half of the costs of the joint items of defence and the whole of any separate items of defence: ‘If there has been a joint contract between the solicitor and his clients, each client is liable for the whole costs; and if there were separate contracts, each will be liable for his own portion of them; . . the fact that after separate retainers the defence is conducted jointly does not make the liability joint.’

Citations:

[1919] 2 KB 567

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Korner v Korner and Co CA 1951
It was submitted by the receiving parties (being 7 out of 8 defendants) that they should receive an equal portion of the total costs of the defendants by number, that is to say 7/8ths. The taxing master disagreed, permitting each defendant 7/8ths of . .
Cited – Meretz Investments Nv and Another v ACP Ltd and others ChD 14-Nov-2007
The parties disputed the success of a sale by a mortgagee in possession of various properties. The parties disputed the apportionment of costs.
Held: The appeal failed. Where there is no express agreement concerning the division of costs, a . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Costs

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.261317

United States of America v Philip Morris Inc and Others and British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd: CA 23 Mar 2004

The defendants appealed orders requiring them to produce evidence for use in the courts in the US.
Held: It was the pleasure and duty of British courts to respond positively to a letter of request. Public interest required that a court should have before it all the evidence it required to fulfil its task. Unless it was clear that the majority of questions asked could be resisted on the grounds of legal professional privilege, the rquest should be complied with.

Judges:

Mr Justice Brooke Lord Justice Chadwick Lord Justice Scott Baker

Citations:

[2004] EWCA (Civ) 330, Times 16-Apr-2004, [2004] 1 CLC 811

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Evidence (Proceedings in other Jurisdictions) Act 1975

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Genira Trade and Finance Inc v CS First Boston and Standard Bank (London) Limited CA 21-Nov-2001
The court considered the circumstances under which it could be called upon to assist a foreign court.
Held: It is the duty and pleasure of the court to give all such assistance as it can to the requesting court within the limits imposed by the . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v The Governor and Co of the Bank of England (No 5) CA 3-Apr-2003
Documents had been prepared by the respondent to support a request for legal advice in anticipation of the Bingham enquiry into the collapse of BCCI.
Held: Legal advice privilege attached to the communications between a client and the . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council v Bank of England (No 5) ComC 4-Nov-2003
The defendant bank sought protection from disclosure of advice it had received from its solicitors.
Held: To the extent that the communications were for the purpose of seeking advice as to its legal rights and obligations, the communications . .
Cited – Balabel v Air India CA 1988
When considering claims for legal professional privilege, the court should acknowledge the ‘continuity of communications’. However, where the traditional role of a solicitor had expanded, the scope of legal professional privilege should not be . .
Appeal from – United States of America v Philip Morris Inc and others QBD 10-Dec-2003
Witness orders were sought in respect of professionals resident in England to support litigation in the US. They objected on the ground that the terms of the order sought suggested improper behaviour, and that an order would anticipate breach of . .
Cited – Waugh v British Railways Board HL 12-Jul-1979
No Litigation Privilege without Dominant Purpose
An internal report had been prepared by two of the Board’s officers two days after a collision involving the death of a locomotive driver, whose widow brought the action and now sought its production.
Held: The court considered litigation . .
Cited – Re Highgrade Traders Ltd CA 1984
The court rejected a claim for legal advice privilege in relation to reports commissioned by an insurance company after a suspected arson. The documents were reports prepared by third parties rather than employees of the company. After considering a . .
Cited – Regina v Derby Magistrates Court Ex Parte B HL 19-Oct-1995
No Breach of Solicitor Client Confidence Allowed
B was charged with the murder of a young girl. He made a confession to the police, but later changed his story, saying his stepfather had killed the girl. He was acquitted. The stepfather was then charged with the murder. At his committal for trial, . .
Cited – In Re L (A Minor) (Police Investigation: Privilege) HL 22-Mar-1996
A report obtained for Children Act proceedings has no privilege against use in evidence. Such proceedings are in the nature of inquisitorial proceedings. Litigation privilege was not applicable in care proceedings and a report prepared may be given . .
Cited – Anderson v Bank of British Columbia CA 1876
Litigation was threatened against an English bank concerning the conduct of an account kept at the branch of the bank in Oregon. The English bank’s London manager thought it necessary to ascertain the full facts and cabled the branch manager in . .
Cited – Wheeler v Le Marchant CA 1881
Advice was given to the defendant trustee of the will of a Mr Brett in the course of its administration in the Chancery Division; for the purpose of that advice information was sought from both the former and the current estate-agent and surveyor. . .
Cited – Collins v London General Omnibus Company 1893
The court adopted a narrow definition of when documents would be protected by legal professional privilege because of anticipated litigation. Will J postulating circumstances being such that ‘no reasonable person could doubt that an action would . .
Cited – Jarman v Lambert and Cooke Contractors Ltd CA 1951
The words ‘pending’ or ‘anticipated’ in the subsection were the words habitually used in connection with legal professional privilege, and ‘The privilege only obtains if litigation is ‘pending or anticipated’, and in that connection it is well . .
Cited – Regina v Special Commissioner And Another, ex parte Morgan Grenfell and Co Ltd HL 16-May-2002
The inspector issued a notice requiring production of certain documents. The respondents refused to produce them, saying that they were protected by legal professional privilege.
Held: Legal professional privilege is a fundamental part of . .

Cited by:

Cited – Starbev GP Ltd v Interbrew Central European Holding Bv ComC 18-Dec-2013
Challenge to assertion of litigation privilege.
Hamblen J said:
’11. The legal requirements of a claim to litigation privilege may be summarised as follows:
(1) The burden of proof is on the party claiming privilege to establish it . .
Cited – Kyla Shipping Co Ltd and Another v Freight Trading Ltd and Others ComC 22-Feb-2022
Litigation Privilege
Defendants challenged the claimants assertion of litigation privilege and contended for a waiver of any privilege which entitles them to disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement.
Held: ‘I dismiss the waiver of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Legal Professions, Evidence

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.194836

Waugh v British Railways Board: HL 12 Jul 1979

No Litigation Privilege without Dominant Purpose

An internal report had been prepared by two of the Board’s officers two days after a collision involving the death of a locomotive driver, whose widow brought the action and now sought its production.
Held: The court considered litigation privilege. There is a conflict between the need to enable clients to communicate freely with their legal advisers in relation to litigation and the need to ensure that all relevant material is before the court. The report undoubtedly contained material collected by or on behalf of the Board for the use of their solicitors in anticipated litigation, but because it could not be shown that this was its dominant purpose the document did not attract litigation privilege.
Legal advice privilege has to be distinguished from litigation privilege. The need to make that distinction was sometimes overlooked: ‘It is for the party refusing disclosure to establish his right to refuse. It may well be that in some cases where that right has in the past been upheld the courts have failed to keep clear the distinction between (a) communications between client and legal adviser, and (b) communications between the client and third parties, made (as the Law Reform Committee put it) ‘for the purpose of obtaining information to be submitted to the client’s professional legal advisers for the purpose of obtaining advice upon pending or contemplated litigation.”
A ‘dominant purpose’ test was the best method of resolving the competing principles that on the one hand there should be full disclosure of relevant material in litigation, and on the other, there must be effective maintenance of legal professional privilege.

Judges:

Lord Simon, Lord Edmund Davies, Lord Wilberforce

Citations:

[1980] AC 521, [1979] UKHL 2, [1979] 3 WLR 150, [1979] 2 All ER 1169, [1979] UKHL TC – 53 – 185

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Approved – Re Highgrade Traders CA 1984
Litigation privilege may be claimed in respect of documents brought into being at a time when litigation is reasonably in prospect. . .
Cited – United States of America v Philip Morris Inc and Others and British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd CA 23-Mar-2004
The defendants appealed orders requiring them to produce evidence for use in the courts in the US.
Held: It was the pleasure and duty of British courts to respond positively to a letter of request. Public interest required that a court should . .
Cited – Re Highgrade Traders Ltd CA 1984
The court rejected a claim for legal advice privilege in relation to reports commissioned by an insurance company after a suspected arson. The documents were reports prepared by third parties rather than employees of the company. After considering a . .
Cited – Three Rivers District Council and others v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No 6) HL 11-Nov-2004
The Bank anticipated criticism in an ad hoc enquiry which was called to investigate its handling of a matter involving the claimant. The claimant sought disclosure of the documents created when the solicitors advised employees of the Bank in . .
Cited – Wright v Sullivan CA 27-May-2005
The claimant had appointed a clinical case manager. She appealed an order requiring the case manager to report also to the court.
Held: The case manager’s duties were purely to the claimant, and an order requiring that manager to report also . .
Cited – British Broadcasting Corporation v Sugar and Another Admn 2-Oct-2009
Disclosure was sought of a report prepared by the BBC to assess the balance of its coverage of middle east affairs. The BBC said that the information was not held for purposes other than those of journalism, art or literature. One issue was whether . .
Distinguished – Sugar v The British Broadcasting Commission and Another (No 2) CA 23-Jun-2010
The respondent had had prepared a report as to the balance of its reporting of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Earlier proceedings had established that the purposes of the holding of the reporting included jurnalism. The claimant now appealed . .
Cited – Sugar v British Broadcasting Corporation and Another (2) SC 15-Feb-2012
The claimant sought release of a report prepared by the respondent as to its coverage of the Arab/Israel conflict partly for journalistic purposes, and partly for compliance.
Held: The appeal failed. Where the report was prepared even if only . .
Cited – Kyla Shipping Co Ltd and Another v Freight Trading Ltd and Others ComC 22-Feb-2022
Litigation Privilege
Defendants challenged the claimants assertion of litigation privilege and contended for a waiver of any privilege which entitles them to disclosure of additional materials referred to in a witness statement.
Held: ‘I dismiss the waiver of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Evidence

Leading Case

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.188693

Simms v Conlon and Another: CA 20 Dec 2006

Solicitors within a practice sued each other, and one wished to plead the fact of a finding of professional misconduct.
Held: The defendant’s appeal succeeded. It was not an abuse for the appellant to continue to assert his innocence, and the findings were not admissible as a whole. Prospective partners were under a duty to disclose matters within their knowledge of relevance to the proposed partnership. The issue of the need to disclose a past finding of dishonesty was inextricably tied to the past finding. ‘there can be no doubt that the principle of caveat emptor does not apply to the making of a partnership agreement, and that in negotiating such an agreement a party owes a duty to the other negotiating parties to disclose all material facts of which he has knowledge and of which the other negotiating parties may not be aware.’
However, absent fraud, breach of the duty of disclosure will, at least as a general rule, give rise merely to a right of rescission and not damages.
When considering an allegation of abuse of process, a court should be slower in preventing a party from continuing to deny serious charges of which another court has previously found him guilty than in preventing such a party from initiating proceedings for the purpose of relitigating the question whether he is guilty of those charges. If the claimants had wanted to rely on the earlier proceedings hey should have pleaded the particular parts upon which they wished to rely, rather than seeking to import the entire proceedings. The abuse of process allegation was not made out as against the defendant persisting in his denial of the findings.

Judges:

Lord Justice Ward, Lord Justice Jonathan Parker and Lord Justice More-Blick

Citations:

[2008] 1 WLR 484, [2006] EWCA Civ 1749, Times 17-Jan-2007, [2007] 3 All ER 802

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Hollington v F Hewthorne and Co Limited CA 1943
The defendant had been involved in a road accident in which the plaintiff’s son had died, and had been convicted of careless driving. The plaintiff as the personal representative of his son sued for damages for negligence, seeking to rely on the . .
Appeal from – Conlon and Another v Simms ChD 9-Mar-2006
Partners in a solicitors practice fell out after one was struck off by the Law Society. The remaining partners claimed damages alleging that they had been drawn into the partnership after misrepresentations by the defendant about it, and sought to . .
Cited – Maddeford v Austwick 1826
When co-partners are negotiating between each other in relation to partnership assets, each partner must put the others in possession of all material facts with reference to the partnership assets, and not to conceal what he alone knows. . .
Cited – Bell v Lever Brothers Ltd HL 15-Dec-1931
Contract – Mutual Mistake Test
Bell was director and chairman of Niger, a subsidiary of Lever Brothers Ltd who dismissed him, offering and paying pounds 30,000 compensation. Lever then discovered that Mr Bell had made secret profits at the expense of Niger for which he could have . .
Cited – Helmore v Smith 1886
The relationship between partners is of a fiduciary nature.
Bacon V-C said: ‘If fiduciary relation means anything I cannot conceive a stronger case of fiduciary relation than that which exists between partners. Their mutual confidence is the . .
Cited – Fawcett v Whitehouse 21-Dec-1829
The defendant, intending to enter into a partnership with the plaintiffs, negotiated for the grant by a landlord of a lease to the partnership. The landlord paid the defendant andpound;12,000 for persuading the partnership to accept the lease.
Cited – Andrewes v Garstin 1861
The plaintiff sued for breach of an agreement to enter into a partnership with the defendant, who pleaded that previously the plaintiff had carried on trade in partnership with another person, and that the defendant made the agreement on the faith . .
Cited – Law v Law 1905
A person with a right to rescind a contract may be held to have affirmed the contract even if there are some material facts which he did not know at the time of the affirmation. However: ‘ . . there is a duty resting upon the purchaser who knows, . .
Cited – The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v Bairstow CA 11-Mar-2003
The Secretary of State attempted, in the course of director’s disqualification proceedings, to rely upon findings made against Mr Bairstow in an earlier wrongful dismissal action to which he had been a party but the Secretary of State not. The . .
Cited – Pan Atlantic Insurance Co Ltd and Another v Pine Top Insurance Co Ltd HL 27-Jul-1994
The plaintiff had written long term (tail) insurance. The defendant came to re-insure it. On a dispute there were shown greater losses than had been disclosed, and that this had been known to the Plaintiff.
Held: ‘material circumstance’ which . .
Cited – Hill v Clifford CA 12-Jun-1907
(Majority) An earlier decision of the GMC striking the defendant off the register of dentists was prima facie evidence of the truth of the charges against him. . .
Cited – Trimble v Goldberg PC 1906
The parties entered into a partnership to acquire ‘stands of land’ for conversion into a township and subsequent re-sale. The land was acquired, along with shares in a company owning other stands in the same locality. One of the partners then bought . .
Cited – Phosphate Sewage Co Ltd v Molleson 1879
For an action making a collateral attack on a previous decision not to be an abuse of process the evidence had to be ‘fresh’ i.e. unavailable at the time of the first hearing, and the ‘new evidence must be such as entirely changes the aspect of the . .
Cited – Ashmore v British Coal Corporation CA 1990
The plaintiff was one of many female employees who complained to the industrial tribunal that she was paid less by the defendant than her male counterparts. Sample cases were selected for trial and the others stayed pending a decision. It was an . .

Cited by:

See Also – Simms v Conlon and Another ChD 31-Oct-2007
. .
Cited – OMV Petrom Sa v Glencore International Ag ComC 7-Feb-2014
The claimant sought to have struck out as abuse of process parts of the defence, saying that the factual issues raised had already been resolved in arbitration proceedings, but as against a different oarty. The defendant replied that the arbitration . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Company

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.247491

Donsland Limited v Nicholas Van Hoogstraton: CA 2002

Once a transaction in respect of which the solicitor was retained is completed, the retainer comes to an end, and with it the fiduciary relationship between client and solicitor.

Judges:

Tuckey LJ

Citations:

[2002] PNLR 26, [2002] EWCA Civ 253

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Underwood, Son and Piper v Lewis CA 11-May-1894
Solicitors had declined to continue to act for their client before the litigation in which they were acting had been completed. They brought an action for the amount of their bill of costs for work done to date. The trial judge held that a solicitor . .
See Also – Donsland Limited v Nicholas Van Hoogstraton; Barnhill Investments Limited and Selective Management Limited CA 19-May-1999
. .
Leave – Donsland Ltd v Van Hoogstraten and others CA 23-Feb-2001
Application for leave to appeal granted – in what circumstances a solicitor’s implied authority may extend to taking steps in litigation without express instructions. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Ratiu, Karmel, Regent House Properties Ltd v Conway CA 22-Nov-2005
The claimant sought damages for defamation. The defendant through their company had accused him acting in such a way as to allow a conflict of interest to arise. They said that he had been invited to act on a proposed purchase but had used the . .
Cited – Blankley v Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust CA 27-Jan-2015
This case concerns a claimant with fluctuating capacity to conduct legal proceedings. At a time when she had capacity, she retained a firm of solicitors under a conditional fee agreement. The issue was whether the CFA terminated automatically by . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions

Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.236334

Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns and Another: CA 24 Nov 1993

Solicitors were liable to mortgagees for mortgage monies which had been out by them paid in advance of the completion of the purchase which would allow the mortgagee’s loan to be charged. The basic liability of a trustee in breach of trust was not to pay damages, but to restore to the trust fund that which had been lost to it or to pay compensation to the beneficiary for what he had lost. If a trustee wrongly paid away trust monies to a stranger, there was an immediate loss to the trust fund and the trustee came under an immediate duty to restore the monies to the trust fund. The remedies of equity were sufficiently flexible to require the finance company to give credit for monies received on the subsequent realisation of its security, but otherwise the solicitors’ liability was to pay the whole of the monies wrongly paid away.
Peter Gibson LJ said: ‘The remedy afforded to the beneficiary by equity is compensation in the form of restitution of that which has been lost to the trust estate, not damages. ‘
Ralph Gibson LJ (dissenting) held that it was necessary for the court to examine the nature of the relationship between the parties out of which the solicitors’ equitable duty arose. If, having regard to the relationship and its purpose, the obligations of the parties, its purpose and the obligations of the parties within it, it appeared just to regard the breaches as having caused no loss, because the loss would have happened if there had been no breach, the court should so hold.

Judges:

Peter Gibson LJ

Citations:

Independent 03-Dec-1993, Times 24-Nov-1993, [1994] 1 WLR 1089

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Nocton v Lord Ashburton HL 19-Jun-1914
The defendant solicitor had persuaded his client to release a charge, thus advancing the solicitor’s own subsequent charge on the same property. The action was started in the Chancery Division of the High Court. The statement of claim alleged fraud . .

Cited by:

Appeal From – Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns (A Firm) and Another HL 21-Jul-1995
The defendant solicitors had acted for a purchaser, Crowngate, which had agreed to buy a property from a company called Mirage for andpound;775,000. Crowngate had arranged however that the property would first be passed through a chain of two . .
Cited – Charter Plc and Another v City Index Ltd and others ChD 12-Oct-2006
An employee of the claimant had fraudulently spent several million pounds of the claimant’s money on personal bets through the defendant company. The claimant said that the defendants knew the origin of the funds and were liable to repay them. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Legal Professions, Trusts, Equity

Updated: 11 February 2022; Ref: scu.89717

AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co Solicitors: SC 5 Nov 2014

Bank not to recover more than its losses

The court was asked as to the remedy available to the appellant bank against the respondent, a firm of solicitors, for breach of the solicitors’ custodial duties in respect of money entrusted to them for the purpose of completing a loan which was to be secured by a first charge over the borrowers’ property. The solicitors had acted for both the bank and the borrowers. The bank appealed against rejection of its claim to be entitled to recover the entire sum it had paid, asserting a breach of trust, notwithstanding that its actual losses were rather less.
Held: The bank’s appeal failed. It was entitled to recompense only for the actual loss suffered. Payment of the amount claimed would be penal and retrograde.
Lord Toulson said: ‘The purpose of a restitutionary order is to replace a loss to the trust fund which the trustee has brought about. To say that there has been a loss to the trust fund in the present case of pounds 2.5m by reason of the solicitors’ conduct, when most of that sum would have been lost if the solicitors had applied the trust fund in the way that the bank had instructed them to do, is to adopt an artificial and unrealistic view of the facts.’
and: ‘in circumstances such as those in Target Holdings the extent of equitable compensation should be the same as if damages for breach of contract were sought at common law. That is not because there should be a departure in such a case from the basic equitable principles applicable to a breach of trust, whether by a solicitor or anyone else . . Rather, the fact that the trust was part of the machinery for the performance of a contract is relevant as a fact in looking at what loss the bank suffered by reason of the breach of trust, because it would be artificial and unreal to look at the trust in isolation from the obligations for which it was brought into being. I do not believe that this requires any departure from proper principles.’
Lord Reed concluded: ‘Some of the typical obligations of the trustee of a fund are strict: for example, the duty to distribute the fund in accordance with the purposes of the trust. Others are obligations of reasonable care: for example, the duty to exercise reasonable care and skill in the management of the fund. Since these equitable obligations relate to a fund held for trust purposes, the trustee’s liability for a breach of trust will, again putting the matter broadly, depend upon its effect upon the fund: the measure of compensation will generally be based upon the diminution in the value of the fund caused by the trustee’s default.’
and: ‘The result of the appeal was undoubtedly correct. The mortgage advance had been paid out prematurely and to the wrong person, with the consequence that at that point the trustee did not have the charges which he ought to have had. That deficiency was however remedied when the charges were obtained some weeks later. The assets under the control of the trustee were then exactly what they ought to have been. There was nothing missing from the trust fund, and therefore no basis for a claim for restoration. For the same reason, there was no basis for a claim to compensation by the mortgagee.’

Judges:

Lord Neuberger, Lady Hale, Lord Wilson, Lord Reed, Lord Toulson

Citations:

[2014] UKSC 58, [2014] 3 WLR 1367, [2014] WLR(D) 466, UKSC 2013/0052, [2015] AC 1503

Links:

Bailii, WLRD, Bailii Summary, SC, SC Summary

Statutes:

Judicature Act 1873

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

At ChD – AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co (A Firm) ChD 23-Jan-2012
The claimant bank sought damages from the defendant solicitors, saying that they had paid on mortgage advance moneys but failed to deliver as promised and required, a first mortgage over the property purchased. The solicitors had failed to discharge . .
Cited – Target Holdings Ltd v Redferns (A Firm) and Another HL 21-Jul-1995
The defendant solicitors had acted for a purchaser, Crowngate, which had agreed to buy a property from a company called Mirage for andpound;775,000. Crowngate had arranged however that the property would first be passed through a chain of two . .
At CA – AIB Group (UK) Plc v Mark Redler and Co Solicitors CA 8-Feb-2013
The defendant firm of solicitors had acted for the claimants under instructions to secure a first charge over the secured property. They failed to secure the discharge of the existing first charge, causing losses. AIB asserted breach of trust.
Cited – Caffrey v Darby 1801
A fiduciary has a strict duty to account; equity imposes stringent liability on a fiduciary as a deterrent – pour encourager les autres. Lord Eldon LC said: ‘It would be very dangerous, though no fraud could be imputed to the trustees, and no kind . .
Cited – Nocton v Lord Ashburton HL 19-Jun-1914
The defendant solicitor had persuaded his client to release a charge, thus advancing the solicitor’s own subsequent charge on the same property. The action was started in the Chancery Division of the High Court. The statement of claim alleged fraud . .
Cited – Canson Enterprises Ltd v Boughton and Co 21-Nov-1991
Canlii Supreme Court of Canada – Canada – Damages — Breach of fiduciary duty — Solicitor preparing conveyance not advising purchasers of secret profit made on a flip — On agreed facts, purchasers fully . .
Cited – Libertarian Investments Ltd v Hall 6-Nov-2013
(Hong Kong) A trustee owes a duty to hold trust funds and apply them for the purposes of the trust (a stewardship or custodial duty). He is bound to answer for his stewardship when called on by the beneficiary to do so. If for any reason he . .
Cited – Bartlett v Barclays Bank Trust Co Ltd (Nos 1 and 2) ChD 1980
A claim was made against a trustee for compensation for losses incurred during the administration of the trust.
Held: For a court to order an account by a trustee on the basis of wilful default, and make the defendant liable not only for . .
Cited – Agricultural Land Management Ltd v Jackson (No 2) 2-May-2014
(Supreme Court of Western Australia) Equity – Fiduciary duties – Whether mere existence of conflict is actionable – Whether a breach of conflict rule requires a fiduciary actually to act in a position of conflict and pursue or prefer a personal . .
Cited – Mothew (T/a Stapley and Co) v Bristol and West Building Society CA 24-Jul-1996
The solicitor, acting in a land purchase transaction for his lay client and the plaintiff, had unwittingly misled the claimant by telling the claimant that the purchasers were providing the balance of the purchase price themselves without recourse . .
Cited – Ex parte Adamson; In re Collie CA 1878
The Court of Chancery never entertained a suit for damages occasioned by fraudulent conduct or for breach of trust, and that the suit was always for ‘an equitable debt, or liability in the nature of a debt’. . .
Cited – Livingstone v Rawyards Coal Co HL 13-Feb-1880
Damages or removal of coal under land
User damages were awarded for the unauthorised removal of coal from beneath the appellant’s land, even though the site was too small for the appellant to have mined the coal himself. The appellant was also awarded damages for the damage done to the . .
Cited – Magnus v Queensland National Bank 1888
A custodial bank was liable to restore trust funds merely because it dissipated the trust funds in a manner which was not authorised. Lord Halsbury LC said: ‘we are not at liberty to speculate whether the same result might not have followed whether . .
Cited – Bank of New Zealand v New Zealand Guardian Trust Co Ltd 1999
New Zealand Court of Appeal – Gault J said: ‘Recent cases show a trend in favour of analysis by reference to the scope of the duty, and enquire as to the risks against which there was a duty to protect the plaintiff. In South Australia Asset . .
Cited – Kelly v Cooper and Cooper Trading As Cooper Associates (A Firm) Co PC 19-Oct-1992
Bermuda – The fiduciary obligations imposed on an agent will depend on the express and implied terms of the contract. Although an agent is, in the absence of contractual provision, in breach of his fiduciary duties if he acts for another who is in . .
Cited – Hodgkinson v Simms 30-Sep-1994
Supreme Court of Canada – Fiduciary duty — Non-disclosure — Damages — Financial adviser — Client insisting that adviser not be involved in promoting — Adviser not disclosing involvement in projects — Client investing in projects suggested by . .
Cited – Cadbury Schweppes v FBI Foods 28-Jan-1999
Supreme Court of Canada – Commercial law – Confidential information – Breach of confidence – -Remedies – Manufacturer using confidential information obtained under licensing agreement to manufacture competing product – Whether permanent injunction . .
Cited – FHR European Ventures Llp and Others v Cedar Capital Partners Llc SC 16-Jul-2014
Approprietary remedy against Fraudulent Agent
The Court was asked whether a bribe or secret commission received by an agent is held by the agent on trust for his principal, or whether the principal merely has a claim for equitable compensation in a sum equal to the value of the bribe or . .
Cited – KM v HM 29-Oct-1992
Supreme Court of Canada – Limitation of actions – Torts – Assault and battery – Incest – Woman bringing action against father for damages for incest – Whether or not action limited by Limitations Act – Application of the reasonable discoverability . .
Cited – Breen v Williams 6-Sep-1996
High Court of Australia – Medicine – Doctor/patient relationship – Medical records – Patient’s right to access – Contractual right – Doctor’s duty to act in patient’s ‘best interests’ with utmost good faith and loyalty – Patient’s proprietary right . .
Cited – Maguire v Makaronis 25-Jun-1997
High Court of Australia – Equity – Fiduciary duties – Solicitor and client relationship – Mortgage by clients in favour of solicitors – Ascertainment of particular fiduciary duties.
Equity – Equitable remedies – Rescission – Relevance of . .
Cited – Youyang Pty Ltd v Minter Ellison Morris Fletcher 3-Apr-2003
High Court of Australia – Trusts – Express trust – Money received by firm of solicitors to be held for a specific purpose and in accordance with specific conditions – Misapplication of funds by firm – Breach of express trust – Liability of firm as . .
Cited – Pilmer v Duke Group Ltd 3-Apr-2003
High Court of Australia – Trusts – Express trust – Money received by firm of solicitors to be held for a specific purpose and in accordance with specific conditions – Misapplication of funds by firm – Breach of express trust – Liability of firm as . .
Cited – Amaltal Corpn Ltd v Maruha Corpn 20-Feb-2007
Supreme Court of New Zealand – Blanchard J said that even in a commercial relationship, there might be aspects which engaged fiduciary obligations: ‘That is because in the nature of that particular aspect of the relationship one party is entitled to . .
Cited – Premium Real Estate Ltd v Stevens 6-Mar-2009
Supreme Court of New Zealand – The court was asked as to the forfeiture of remuneration by an agent for breach of fiduciary duty.
Held: In relation to remoteness of damage, it was observed that the question of foreseeability in common law . .
Cited – Akai Holdings Ltd v Kasikornbank PCL 8-Nov-2010
Court of Final Appeal – Hong Kong – Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury NPJ said: ‘the notion that equitable compensation is assessed on a somewhat different basis from common law damages is clearly right (albeit that the difference can be overstated)’ and . .

Cited by:

Cited – Purrunsing v A’Court and Co (A Firm) and Another ChD 14-Apr-2016
The claimant had paid money for a property, but the seller was a fraudster and no money or title was recovered. The claimant sued both his conveyancers and the solicitors who had acted for the fraudster, in each case innocently. The defendants each . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Equity, Damages, Legal Professions

Leading Case

Updated: 11 February 2022; Ref: scu.538296

Securities and Investments Board v Pantell and Others (No 2): CA 24 Jun 1992

Order against solicitors in defence of Financial Services proceedings were to stand. The powers conferred by s.6(2) and 61(1) were wide and should not be cut down judicially, and the two remedies might overlap. The power found in s.61(1) had two preconditions to be satisfied before it could be exercised, namely (1) a relevant contravention and (2) steps intended to and reasonably capable of remedying that contravention.
Under sections 6(2) and 61(1) of the Financial Services Act 1986, a person knowingly involved in certain contraventions of the act, including a solicitor acting for a company which contravened the act, can be ordered to make restitution to investors, even when he had not received the money.
Although it was not necessary for him to decide the point, Scott LJ commented: ‘Section 5 of the Act provides remedies for individual investors who have entered into investment agreements with persons carrying on unauthorised investment business. Subsection (1) provides that any such agreement
‘shall be unenforceable against the other party [i.e. the investor]; and that party shall be entitled to recover any money or other property paid or transferred by him under the agreement, together with compensation for any loss sustained by him as a result of having parted with it’ . . The restitutionary and compensatory provisions of section 5 do not in terms identify the person or persons against whom the remedies are available. But it is difficult to see how the section 5 restitutionary remedy could be available against anyone other than the other party to the transaction in question or the party to whom, under the transaction in question, the investor’s money had been paid or transferred. Whether the compensatory remedy available ‘together with’ the restitutionary remedy, could be obtained against an accomplice who was neither a party to the transaction nor a person to whom money or property of the investor had been transferred is equally doubtful. These difficulties do not, however, have to be resolved on this appeal.’

Judges:

Scott LJ, Steyn LJ

Citations:

Gazette 02-Sep-1992, [1993] Ch 256, [1993] 1 All ER 134, [1992] 3 WLR 896, Times 24-Jun-1992

Statutes:

Financial Services Act 1986 5 6(2) 61(1)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Appeal from – Securities and Investments Board v Pantell SA (No 2) ChD 9-Aug-1991
A solicitor can be ordered by the court to repay sums of money to investors who innocently paid money to the solicitors client who was carrying out unlawful financial transactions with which the solicitor was concerned. One of the purposes of . .

Cited by:

Cited – Financial Services Authority v Martin and Another CA 25-Nov-2005
The respondents were a firm of solicitors who had acted for a client who carried on an unauthorised investment scheme. The Authority sought to recover losses from them.
Held: The solicitors had been concerned in the investment business, and . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Financial Services, Legal Professions

Updated: 09 February 2022; Ref: scu.89152

D R Sheridan Llp v Higgins and Another: ChD 12 Mar 2012

Application by a firm of solicitors seeking declaratory and interpleader relief in relation to (a) their unpaid costs, and (b) their client file, for the period from December 2008 until February 2010 during which (as D R Sheridan and Co) they acted in relation to the estate of the late Constance Mary Higgins.

Judges:

Mr Justice Henderson

Citations:

[2012] EWHC 547 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 07 February 2022; Ref: scu.451878

Meretz Investments Nv and Another v ACP Ltd and others: ChD 14 Nov 2007

The parties disputed the success of a sale by a mortgagee in possession of various properties. The parties disputed the apportionment of costs.
Held: The appeal failed. Where there is no express agreement concerning the division of costs, a general rule of thumb is to divide them equally between the relevant parties. But that is only a general rule and is not to be allowed to produce injustice. Where costs can be shown to be attributable to one party rather than another, the liability falls only on that party. And where the real contest is between one party A and another party B, injustice could arise if that were not recognised in the way in which the costs of B and other parties employing the same solicitor are apportioned. The judge in this case had made a factual determination in favour of an equal apportionment.
The court considered the proper approach to the costs when calling a solicitor to give evidence as a witness of fact. Warren J set out the three tasks of a solicitor who was also a witness as: (a) assistance and general preparation on the case as a solicitor, (b) producing the witness statement, and (c) cost of attendance at court. The costs incurred in relation to (a) and (c) are, in principle allowable. He continued: ‘As to (b), the position is more complex. There are, at least in theory, two components of the work involved in producing the witness statement. This can be illustrated by considering the position had Mr Hawkins not been involved, in his capacity as a practising solicitor, in preparing the witness statement but had, instead, been treated in the same way by the legal team as any other witness of fact. In that case, Mr Hawkins would have needed to spend time and effort (including, possibly, being proofed) in producing for the legal team the material for them to turn into the witness statement. The cost attributable to first component, the work done by Mr Hawkins, would not be allowable (any more than it would be allowable in the case of any other witness of fact); the cost attributable to the second component, the work done by the legal team, would be allowable.’

Judges:

Warren J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 2635 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Law of Property Act 1925 104

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

See Also – Meretz Investments Nv and Another v ACP Ltd and others ChD 30-Jan-2006
The applicant challenged the exercise of a power of sale under a mortgage, saying that the mortgagee’s purposes included purposes not those under the mortgage. The parties had been involved in an attempted development of a penthouse.
Held: The . .
Cited – Ellingsen v Det Skandinaviske Compani CA 1919
The court considered an apportionment of the legal costs as between the parties.
Held: On the authorities, each client was only liable to the solicitors for half of the costs of the joint items of defence and the whole of any separate items of . .
Cited – Adams v London Improved Motor Coach Builders Ltd CA 1921
The plaintiff successfully sued his employers for wrongful dismissal. The defendant argued it should not pay costs since it was the plaintiff’s union who had retained the solicitors in the case, and it was the union to which the solicitors looked . .
Cited – Dyson Technology Ltd v Strutt ChD 24-Jul-2007
. .
Cited – Russell Young and Co (A Firm) v Brown and others CA 31-Jan-2007
The court was asked to consider the liability of a tortfeasor to a claimant for a share of those costs which have been incurred by the claimant’s solicitor in investigating and settling a large number of claims of a similar nature, and which have . .
Cited – Korner v Korner and Co CA 1951
It was submitted by the receiving parties (being 7 out of 8 defendants) that they should receive an equal portion of the total costs of the defendants by number, that is to say 7/8ths. The taxing master disagreed, permitting each defendant 7/8ths of . .
Cited – Regina v Miller and Glennie; Miller v- Glennie 1983
The question was whether or not the litigants had incurred liability for costs in cases in which they had been supported by their employer.
Held: Where the solicitor is on the record for the client in the litigation, there is a rebuttable . .
See Also – Meretz Investments Nv v ACP Ltd QBD 27-May-2002
Meretz sued ACP for monies alleged to be due under agreements. . .
Cited – Rogers v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council CA 31-Jul-2006
The Court considered the validity of after the event legal expenses insurance and conditional fee agreements schemes, and in particular whether an ATE premium was recoverable by a successful claimant. The damages had been agreed in the sum of pounds . .

Cited by:

Cited – Kris Motor Spares Ltd v Fox Williams Llp QBD 12-May-2010
The claimant sought to challenge the After the Event Insurance (ATE) bought by its solicitors late in the day in their claim, before then withdrawing the conditional fee agreement. The premium was over andpound;90,000.
Held: The appeal failed. . .
Appeal from – Meretz Investments Nv and Another v ACP Ltd and others CA 11-Dec-2007
The claimant alleged that when exercising its power of sale under a mortgage over its land, the mortgagee had done so in order to override the claimant’s intention of granting a sub-lease, and that this was a tortious intention to induce a breach of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Land, Costs, Legal Professions

Updated: 07 February 2022; Ref: scu.261306

Commission v Czech Republic (Freedom of Movement for Workers – Judgment) French Text: ECJ 15 Mar 2018

State failure – Article 49 TFEU – Freedom of establishment – Notaries – Condition of nationality – Article 51 TFEU – Participation in the exercise of public authority

Citations:

C-575/16, [2018] EUECJ C-575/16, ECLI:EU:C:2018:186

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

European

Legal Professions

Updated: 06 February 2022; Ref: scu.606489

Fox Hayes v Financial Services Authority: UTTC 13 May 2010

PENALTY – Authorised Person – Partnership – Decision Notice imposing penalty issued after termination of Partnership – whether regulatory authority has power to impose penalty on dissolved partnership – whether partners are personally liable – who rank as partners in dissolved partnership – FSMA 2000 32(1), 40(1(c) and 206(1)

Citations:

[2010] UKUT B14 (TCC)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 04 February 2022; Ref: scu.577939

X Insurance Co Ltd v A and B: SCS 20 Dec 1935

Appeal by A, a country solicitor, and B, a solicitor carrying on business in Edinburgh, against an order of the Solicitors’ Discipline Committee finding them both guilty of professional misconduct and censuring them.

Citations:

[1935] ScotCS CSIH – 6, 1936 SC 225, 1936 SLT 188

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

Scotland

Legal Professions

Updated: 01 February 2022; Ref: scu.279365

Pemberton Greenish Llp v Henry: QBD 16 Feb 2017

The claimant solicitors firm, at the behest of its insurrs sought to recover losses from a former consultant solicitor whose actions had given rise to the original claim against the firm. She had taken on clients who had perpetrated an identity fraud on her and the firm and the original claimant lender.
Held: Though the defendant had made mistakes, these did not amount to dishonesty, and the claim against her failed.

Judges:

Jeremy Baker J

Citations:

[2017] EWHC 246 (QB)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions

Updated: 31 January 2022; Ref: scu.575247

Various North Point Pall Mall Purchasers v 174 Law Solicitors Ltd: ChD 10 Jan 2022

Sale of land – Stakeholder – Off-plan fractional residential development scheme – Buyers’ deposits held by seller’s solicitor to order of buyer company established to protect buyers’ interests – Authority to release deposits – Construction of stakeholder contract – Estoppel by convention
Whether claim for breach of stakeholder contract sounding in debt or damages – Measure of damages
Contribution between stakeholder and buyers’ solicitors

Judges:

His Honour Judge Hodge QC
Sitting as a Judge of the High Court

Citations:

[2022] EWHC 4 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Contract, Legal Professions

Updated: 31 January 2022; Ref: scu.671015

Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd v Khan and Others: ChD 12 Jan 2022

Judgment of the court following the hearing of two applications for an order for the committal of the First Defendant on the basis that she failed to comply with two orders

Judges:

Mr Justice Leech

Citations:

[2022] EWHC 45 (Ch)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Contempt of Court, Legal Professions

Updated: 31 January 2022; Ref: scu.671238