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26 May 2023
Issue: 8026 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Law digests: 26 May 2023

Company

Seneschall v Trisant Foods Ltd (in liquidation) and others [2023] EWHC 1029 (Ch), [2023] All ER (D) 27 (May)

The Chancery Division allowed the claimant’s claim that he had been the victim of a plan, concealed from him, by which the second to fifth defendants had taken control of a company from him. Further, from about June 2020, there had been an unlawful means conspiracy between the second to fifth defendants to exclude the claimant from executive participation in the company’s affairs. A counterclaim, brought by another company that had invested in the company in issue, was dismissed.


Damages

Smout v Wulfrun Hotels Ltd [2023] EWHC 1128 (KB), [2023] All ER (D) 48 (May)

The King’s Bench Division held that no authority had been put before it that abusive or unprofessional conduct by the representative of a defendant company had previously justified a tripling of the conventional interest rate (of 2%) awarded on damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity. The court ruled that interest on damages was

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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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