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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

Freeths—Heather Gibson

Freeths—Heather Gibson

Freeths strengthens national tax team with Heather Gibson appointment

Debevoise & Plimpton—Mary Lavelle

Debevoise & Plimpton—Mary Lavelle

Debevoise expands London secondaries team with addition of Mary Lavelle

Excello Law—Hestia Private Client

Excello Law—Hestia Private Client

Excello Law welcomes ex-Irwin Mitchell team to launch Hestia Private Client

NEWS
A client cannot use a costs assessment to investigate whether their solicitor received commission on an after-the-event (ATE) insurance premium, the Court of Appeal has held
Law firms cannot be compelled to disclose documents protected by unwaived legal professional privilege (LPP) during misconduct investigations, the High Court has clarified
Solicitors have urged regulators not to impose unnecessary cost and complexity on third-party litigation funding
Employees who lose a spouse, partner, parent, adult child or sibling will have a legal right to bereavement leave from next April, the government has confirmed
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