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11 February 2010 / Lucy Wyles
Issue: 7404 / Categories: Features , Professional negligence
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Striking the right balance

Lucy Wyles reports on three cases which revisit the fundamental principles of the law of negligence

One of the most rewarding aspects of the common law is the rich and varied diet of factual and legal situations that it provides for our delectation. This article examines three of this winter’s decisions on liability issues, in which fundamental principles were considered against particularly colourful or unusual backgrounds.

In Parker v TUI UK Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1261, [2009] All ER (D) 305 (Nov) Mrs Parker was injured when taking part in an evening tobogganing event in Austria. She had completed the toboggan run, but then remounted her toboggan, lost control of it on an icy road and careered into a barrier of frozen straw bales. She and the other participants had been told that at the end of the run they had to get off the toboggans and walk down to the place where they were to return the toboggans. Mrs Parker said that she had got back on to the toboggan because the road

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NEWS
A wave of scandals has reignited debate over misconduct in public office, criticised as unclear and inconsistently applied. Writing in NLJ this week, Alice Lepeuple of WilmerHale says the offence’s ‘vagueness, overbreadth & inconsistent deployment’ have undermined confidence
FIFA’s 2026 Men's World Cup is already mired in controversy, with complaints over ‘excessive prices’ and opaque ticketing. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dr Ian Blackshaw of Valloni Attorneys warns that governing bodies may face scrutiny under EU competition law, with allegations of a ‘dominant—if not monopolistic—position’ in ticket sales
Ten years after Brexit, UK and EU trade mark regimes are drifting apart in practice if not principle. Writing in NLJ this week, Roger Lush and Lara Elder of Carpmaels & Ransford highlight tighter UK scrutiny after SkyKick, where overly broad filings may signal ‘bad faith’
A landmark Supreme Court ruling has underscored the sweeping reach of UK sanctions. In NLJ this week, Brónagh Adams and Harriet Campbell of Penningtons Manches Cooper say the regime is a ‘blunt instrument’ requiring only a factual, not causal, link to restricted goods
Fraud claims are surging, with England and Wales increasingly the forum of choice for global disputes. Writing in NLJ this week, Jon Felce of Cooke, Young & Keidan reports claims have risen sharply, with fraud now a major share of litigation and costing billions worldwide
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