News

Jonathan Pennington Legh represented the successful applicant, resisting set aside and permission to appeal in residential property proceedings. The respondent sought to challenge the decision on the grounds that he lacked capacity. The Tribunal refused both the application to set aside and the second respondent’s request for permission to appeal.

Genevieve Screeche-Powell led by Kelvin Rutledge KC acted for the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to successfully resist an appeal about the local authority’s use of a database of homeless applicants awaiting transfer to alternative temporary accommodation. The appellant, Ms Begum had claimed that the system of allocating temporary accommodation indirectly discriminated against women.

Francis Hoar acted pro bono for the appellant in the Court of Appeal, in an appeal against the High Court’s dismissal of a judicial review into a local council’s decision to build a shared driveway without seeking her consent: Anwar v Ealing London Borough Council [2025] EWCA Civ 813.

Rebecca Handcock acted for the local authority at an inquest into the death of a 79-year-old woman who died at the care home where she lived. The local authority was responsible for her placement at the care home (and her deprivation of liberty there), and had safeguarding and other oversight duties in respect of the home.

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a father’s appeal against an order allowing his ex-wife (Barry McAlinden’s client) to relocate with the parties’ 2 children to a non-Hague convention country. This is the 1st case in the Court of Appeal to consider the interplay of Practice Direction 12J and relocation.

Harrison Engler acted in a successful High Court appeal against 2 previous orders (which had themselves set aside the registration of 2 Pakistani judgments) on the basis that those orders were unjust because of serious procedural irregularity.