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22 July 2022 / Marc Thorley
Issue: 7988 / Categories: Features , Profession , In Court
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Question of fact appeals: paranoia, puzzles & island-hopping

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Marc Thorley investigates appeals on questions of fact
  • Recent decision in Volpi & Delta Limited v Volpi set out principles to be applied on questions of fact appeals.
  • A look back at Lewison LJ’s findings in Fage UK Ltd and Another v Chobani UK Ltd and Another.

Appeals on pure questions of fact have long been disliked by the appeal courts. In its recent decision in Volpi & Delta Limited v Volpi [2022] EWCA Civ 464, the Court of Appeal has set out clearly the principles to be applied on such appeals. It has issued a warning to those who ‘island hop’ by focusing their appeals on their preferred select extracts of (supposedly misjudged) evidence, rather than dealing with the entire sea of evidence available to the trial judge.

Facts

The case was about whether CHF (Swiss Francs) 6m advanced by a father, through a company controlled by him, to his son, was a loan or a gift. The moneys were for the purchase

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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