Articles

The law and practice related to costs and funding in family proceedings continue to develop rapidly. Family lawyers may be unaware and surprised at some of the significant changes.  

Joshua Swirsky assesses the case of Pease v Carter [2020] EWCA Civ 175 in which the Court of Appeal further limited the scope for tenants running defences based on errors in notices.

Upper Tribunal Judge Coker oversaw some interesting discussions during the Age Assessment Forum we held in partnership with Doughty Street Chambers earlier this week. Applicant and respondent representatives gave their views on current practice and procedure in local authority age assessment cases in the Upper Tribunal and suggested improvements.  The event was attended by more […]

Many boundary disputes depend on factual findings made regarding historical documents, which often came into existence for other purposes. Although appeals on questions of fact that have been determined by a trial judge are nowadays rare, and tend to be discouraged by the appellate courts, Boas v Aventure shows how the court is likely to approach such a boundary dispute appeal.  

The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal, upholding an order of the Upper Tribunal that the Appellant’s Housing Benefit should be calculated without deduction of the “bedroom tax”.

Must a claimant of rectification for common mistake show that the parties actually (subjectively) shared the same mistaken belief as to the meaning of the contract? Yes, said the Court of Appeal in FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v Glas Trust Corporation Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1361.

A Court of Appeal judgment by Moylan LJ setting aside a High Court decision made under the inherent jurisdiction, which had ordered the return to Russia of two children.

Two recent cases, Re A (Children) (Parental Alienation) and In Re H (A Child) (Parental Alienation), have once again highlighted the need for lawyers, parents and courts to be live to the possibility of parental alienation.

A father unsuccessfully appealed a determination of fact made in private law children proceedings that he had perpetrated a rape upon the mother.

Reviewing a decision under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996 has become more onerous for local authorities. They now need to re-evaluate their available housing at the date of review to see if properties within or closer to their district are available as well as the allocation of such properties. Following the case of London Borough of Waltham Forest v Saleh [2019] EWHC CIV 1944, this has to be factored into a suitability assessment.