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30 May 2013
Issue: 7562 / Categories: Features , Civil way , Procedure & practice
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Civil way: 31 May 2013

Big matches in tenancy litigation, the guest list from hell & beware the client

TENANCY DIVISION

The season started with Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson [2013] UKSC 14, [2013] All ER (D) 48 (Mar) (see “The long game"). A landlord’s failure to comply with the service charge consultation requirements of s 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (LTA 1985) and subordinate legislation, however serious, would not justify refusal of dispensation from the requirements when the landlord applied for it to a leasehold valuation tribunal so long as there was no relevant prejudice to the tenant or the tenant could be compensated for it by dispensation conditions. Landlords congregate on the victory bus.

Then along came Phillips v Francis [2012] EWHC 3650 (Ch) (see “Difficult facts making bad law”) where there may be a replay. For the purpose of ascertaining whether “qualifying works” reached the threshold to trigger the LTA 1985, s 20 consultation requirements, the landlord now needed to aggregate all the “qualifying works” in any

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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
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
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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