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01 October 2021
Issue: 7950 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Law digests: 1 October 2021

Costs

Shah and another v Shah and another [2021] EWHC 1668 (QB), [2021] All ER (D) 102 (Jun)

Where the appellants had rejected the respondents’ Pt 36 offer of £1 in respect of county court proceedings, concerning a family dispute, and where the county court judge had awarded the respondents nominal damages of £10 on their claim, having found that the appellants had breached an agreement between the parties, the Queen’s Bench Division (the court) held that the judge had not erred in making a costs order in favour of the respondents, having found that they were the successful parties, that the purposes of Pt 36 had properly been served and that there had been a genuine basis offered for avoiding litigation. The court held that the judge had taken decisions that had been open to him and that he had not erred in principle or in law.


Damages

Steve Hill Ltd v Witham (as widow and executrix of the estate of Neil Witham (deceased)) [2021] EWCA Civ 1312, [2021]

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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