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29 March 2024
Issue: 8065 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Nuisance
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NLJ this week: Knotty problems with a big impact for nuisance

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

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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