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Law digest: 8 December 2023

08 December 2023
Issue: 8052 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Damages

Holmes v Poeton Holdings Ltd [2023] EWCA Civ 1377, [2023] All ER (D) 129 (Nov)

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the appellant’s appeal from a decision which had determined that the appellant was liable to the respondent for all the consequences of his having contracted Parkinson’s disease. The respondent was a valued employee of the appellant. Later, the respondent was diagnosed as suffering from Parkinson’s disease. He filed an action and claimed damages from the appellant because it acted in breach of its common law and statutory duty in the period from 1982 to 1997 by exposing him to unsafe levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) in the course of his employment. The appellant alleged, among other things, that: (i) the judge had adopted the wrong legal test for establishing causation of what was acknowledged on all sides to be an ‘indivisible disease’; (ii) the judge misunderstood the evidence before him in assessing whether exposures to TCE in excess of occupational exposure limits occurred; and (iii) the finding of individual causation

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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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