header-logo header-logo

24 February 2021
Issue: 7922 / Categories: Legal News , Property , Procedure & practice
printer mail-detail

Deceased claimant included on claim form

A High Court judge has expressed concern that solicitors in a county court case failed to mention that one of the claimants was deceased.

The dispute concerned title to a passageway between a petrol station and a Costcutter supermarket, in Amirtharaja v White [2021] EWHC 330 (Ch). There were three claimants to the action: William White, Frances White and their son, Colin White, who together purchased Hollis House, which was situated at one end of the passageway.

Finding in favour of the claimants, Mr Justice Michael Green said: ‘An extraordinary aspect of this case is that Mr William White died in September 2017 yet he was included as the first claimant on the claim form when it was issued on 14 January 2019.

‘At the trial no one referred to the fact that Mr William White remained a claimant and the judge clearly assumed in his judgment that he was still alive. Neither of the respondents, both of whom gave evidence, mentioned that he had died.’

Issue: 7922 / Categories: Legal News , Property , Procedure & practice
printer mail-details

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
back-to-top-scroll