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Civil way: 3 May 2024

PI damages up; Tribunal responses; Family dress; Luba got it right

AVOID DAMAGE

The 17th edition of the Judicial College’s guidelines on the assessment of general damages in personal injury cases is about to hit those bookstalls that litigators frequent. But avoid a negligence claim by NOW revisiting the guidelines of two years ago. This latest edition uplifts figures by reference, as usual, to the retail prices index (RPI) and the index figure of 376.6 for August 2023. Claimant negotiators should avoid a negligence claim by increasing guidelines further for inflation between August 2023 and assessment, as defendant negotiators may curse. Last time a new sub-category of psychiatric injury to cover awards made to victims of sexual abuse was included. Adjustments have now been made to the brackets for these injuries as well as the figures within the range. It is made clear that any challenge to use of the RPI as against the consumer prices index must be made in the courts. Over to you.

The

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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