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29 January 2020
Issue: 7872 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Weekly law digests

Charity

Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and others v Derby City Council and others (Charity Commission for England and Wales intervening) [2019] EWHC 3436 (Ch), [2020] All ER (D) 58 (Jan) 

The lead claimant, an NHS foundation trust, was not established for charitable purposes under the definition of ‘charity’ in both the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and the Charities Act 2011. Accordingly, the Chancery Division found that the claimants could not reduce their liability to pay non-domestic rates in the properties they occupied, by one fifth, under s 43 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Child

L (a child) (special guardianship order: reasons) [2020] EWCA Civ 20, [2020] All ER (D) 98 (Jan)

The judge had been entitled to make a special guardianship order in favour of the maternal grandmother and reject the application of the local authority, supported by the children’s guardian, for a care plan for adoption. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissing the guardian’s appeal, held that the judge had carried out a thorough evaluation

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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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