header-logo header-logo

NLJ this week: Knotty problems with a big impact for nuisance

29 March 2024
Issue: 8065 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Nuisance
printer mail-detail
166024
From Fearn v Tate to a series of Japanese knotweed cases, the law of nuisance has made frequent appearances in the courts of late

In this week’s NLJ, John Campbell and James Saunders trace recent developments in this area of common law.

They note that Fearn v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2023] UKSC 4 (the case involving Tate Modern’s viewing platform directly overlooking luxury flats with floor-to-ceiling glass windows) and the knotweed cases ‘represent evolution, rather than revolution, in the law’.

Campbell and Saunders, of New Square Chambers, write: ‘The Fearn appeal passed from the High Court, through the Court of Appeal and to the Supreme Court with different reasoning at each stage, highlighting the difficulties of identifying the boundaries of nuisance and applying the traditional approach that was ultimately reinstated in the Supreme Court.’

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
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
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
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll