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Civil way: 31 May 2013

30 May 2013
Issue: 7562 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Big matches in tenancy litigation, the guest list from hell & beware the client

TENANCY DIVISION

The season started with Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson [2013] UKSC 14, [2013] All ER (D) 48 (Mar) (see “The long game"). A landlord’s failure to comply with the service charge consultation requirements of s 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) and subordinate legislation, however serious, would not justify refusal of dispensation from the requirements when the landlord applied for it to a leasehold valuation tribunal so long as there was no relevant prejudice to the tenant or the tenant could be compensated for it by dispensation conditions. Landlords congregate on the victory bus.

Then along came Phillips v Francis [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch) (see “Difficult facts making bad law”) where there may be a replay. For the purpose of ascertaining whether “qualifying works” reached the threshold to trigger the LTA 1985, s 20 consultation requirements, the landlord now needed to aggregate all the “qualifying works” in any

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
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