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29 October 2021 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7954 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 29 October 2021

Possession reviews evicted; Security offer too insecure for CoA; Onerous term defeats £180K claim; Employment tribunal rules amended

END OF MONTH REPORT

District judges and their deputies recently compiled data for one month on how they were spending their judicial time and without even the enticement of free participation in a prize draw. The civil statistics are interesting. Trial durations are overestimated: on average, a three-hour trial for a 4hour 30 mins estimate. LiP hearings are shorter than represented hearings (someone at the MoJ will jump on that). Review hearings for possession cases have been a flop. Too few settlements and so the Master of the Rolls has decreed that such hearings and triage hearings in advance of the final shoot out should no longer be standard practice but local practice may dictate otherwise. There will be a CPR change.


COURT OF APPEAL GOES BANKRUPT

We have met the beanless defence to a bankruptcy petition. ‘No point in bankrupting me, I don’t have a bean.’ The defence in Hughes and another

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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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