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11 December 2019 / Mark Pawlowski
Issue: 7868 / Categories: Features
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It’s a wonderful life!

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Mark Pawlowski takes a festive look at some of the more humorous cases taken from the English & Commonwealth law reports

Contacting the spirit world

Very spooky behaviour can be found in the criminal law case of R v Young [1955] QB 324. Four members of a jury, while staying overnight in a local hotel, used a ouija board to contact the victim of a murder to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. The Court of Appeal, not surprisingly, held that this was a material irregularity and duly quashed the conviction for murder.

Unreasonable behaviour?

Most family law practitioners will be aware of O’Neill v O’Neill [1975] 3 All ER 289. This involved a wife’s petition for divorce, which was based on her husband’s unreasonable behaviour in embarking on an extensive two-year programme of renovation of the matrimonial home in order to cure dampness under the floorboards. As part of this work, the toilet door was removed for a period of eight months, causing great embarrassment to the wife and

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Morr & Co—20 promotions

Morr & Co—20 promotions

Firm announces double-digit promotions, including two new partners

Switalskis—Jonathan Hyldon

Switalskis—Jonathan Hyldon

Head of commercial property appointed in Lincolnshire

Excello Law—Caroline Gray & Mick Hewitt

Excello Law—Caroline Gray & Mick Hewitt

Corporate and commercial property partners appointed in Manchester and Stoke

NEWS
Family law chambers 4PB has announced the return of the Alan Inglis Memorial Essay Prize for a third consecutive year, honouring the life and legacy of LGBTQ+ advocate and barrister Alan Inglis

A long-standing issue in family justice can now be resolved, thanks to recently launched charity the Separated Parenting Programme Directory (SPPD)

Medical reporting organisation fees have become ‘the final battleground’ in modern costs litigation, says Kris Kilsby, costs lawyer at Peak Costs and council member of the Association of Costs Lawyers, in this week's NLJ
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has become ‘a very different organisation’ under its new enforcement leadership, writes James Tyler, of counsel at Peters & Peters LLP, in the latest issue of NLJ

An engagement ring may symbolise romance, but the courts remain decidedly practical about who keeps it after a split, writes Mark Pawlowski, barrister and professor emeritus of property law at the University of Greenwich, in this week's NLJ

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