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25 November 2020 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7912 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil Way: 26 November 2020

Evictions repossessed; DJs rule, OK!; Insolvency traps; Default notice rewrite; Family agreement enforcement

Bailiffs suffer seizure

The Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction and Taking Control of Goods) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/1290) came into force on 17 November 2020. They generally stop in England residential evictions and even delivery of a residential notice of eviction (so effectively no eviction appointments) until 11 January 2021 and taking control of goods by bailiffs and enforcement agents until the end of the current national lockdown. They do not stay current possession proceedings or prevent the institution of new possession proceedings.

Exemptions to the eviction stoppage are orders made * under CPR 55.6 against trespassers who have been unnamed (that’s better but can a named trespasser be ousted with the unnamed trespassers laughing their heads off?), * wholly or partly on the grounds of anti-social behaviour, nuisance, false statements or domestic abuse in social tenancies, * on the ground of the equivalent of at least nine months’ rent outstanding but with any arrears having

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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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