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04 June 2020 / Neil Parpworth
Issue: 7889 / Categories: Features , Covid-19 , Procedure & practice
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COVID-19 & the courts: the show must go on

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Neil Parpworth outlines how access to justice, through the function of the courts, must continue during the coronavirus pandemic
  • The claim: damages in excess of £250m.
  • The rival submissions: would proceeding with trial be inconsistent with the prime minister’s instruction?
  • Judgment: a very clear message from legislature.

With the global coronavirus pandemic having a profound impact on the way in which many of us now work, if we are lucky enough to continue to have a job, and how businesses and services are able to operate, the recent decision in Re One Blackfriars Ltd (in liquidation) Hyde and another (joint liquidators of One Blackfriars Ltd) v Nygate (in his capacity as representatives of the estate of James Joseph Bannon) and another [2020] EWHC 845 (Ch), [2020] All ER (D) 75 (Apr) provides an interesting example of some of the issues which the pandemic has raised in terms of access to justice and the continuing operation of the courts. More particularly, it required the

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NEWS
Children can claim for ‘lost years’ damages in personal injury cases, the Supreme Court has held in a landmark judgment
Holiday lets may promise easy returns, but restrictive covenants can swiftly scupper plans. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Francis of Serle Court recounts how covenants limiting use to a ‘private dwelling house’ or ‘private residence’ have repeatedly defeated short-term letting schemes
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing
The cab-rank rule remains a bulwark of the rule of law, yet lawyers are increasingly judged by their clients’ causes. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian McDougall, president of the LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation, warns that conflating representation with endorsement is a ‘clear and present danger’
The Supreme Court has drawn a firm line under branding creativity in regulated markets. In Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB, it ruled that Oatly’s ‘post-milk generation’ trade mark unlawfully deployed a protected dairy designation. In NLJ this week, Asima Rana of DWF explains that the court prioritised ‘regulatory clarity over creative branding choices’, holding that ‘designation’ extends beyond product names to marketing slogans
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