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09 November 2012
Issue: 7537 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 9 November 2012

The latest on PI damages & the interview of a lifetime

IN GENERAL

More answers to questions (or the penny but not the bun)

Well, you can’t accuse the Association of British Insurers of lacking guts. Through Derek Castle (who is in danger of becoming a cult figure) in Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1288 it went before the Lord Chief Justice, Master of the Rolls and Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Civil) and most respectfully asked them to reconsider what they decreed a few weeks earlier in Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1288 (see NLJ, 14 September 2012, p1154). Those claimants whose conditional fee agreements were made before 1 April 2013 and so would be able to recover their success fees from the defendant, asserted the Association, should not also qualify for the 10% increase in personal injury generals: double jeopardy for the insurers. And the powerfully constituted Court of Appeal agreed. So it is that claimants will now be unable to score an extra 10% when

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

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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