header-logo header-logo

20 May 2020
Issue: 7887 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
printer mail-detail

Law digests: 22 May 2020

Company

Re Debenhams Retail Ltd (in administration) Rowley and another (as joint administrators of Debenhams Retail Ltd) [2020] EWCA Civ 600, [2020] All ER (D) 42 (May)

The judge had been correct to determine that, by paying only the amounts which might be claimed under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) to employees of Debenhams Retail Ltd (the company) while they had been furloughed, the appellant joint administrators had adopted the contracts of those employees with the effect that those employees had, potentially, enjoyed super-priority in the administration. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissing the administrators’ appeal, held that the question was whether the conduct of the administrators had been such that they had to be taken to have accepted that the relevant amounts falling due under the employment contracts had enjoyed super-priority. In the present case, because of the nature of the JRS, the administrators had continued the employment of the furloughed employees.


European Union

LG and others v Rina SpA and another C-641/18, [2020] All ER (D) 69 (May)

Article

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

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
back-to-top-scroll