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28 July 2023
Issue: 8035 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Law digests: 28 July 2023

Costs

Woodgate v Woodgate [2023] EWHC 1640 (Ch), [2023] All ER (D) 52 (Jul)

The Chancery Division dismissed the claimant’s application for additional relief under CPR Pt 36 if it was subsequently established that the defendant (R) had failed to beat the CPR Pt 36 offer. The claimant (P) and R were brothers. P was granted, as sought, R’s removal as representative of their mother’s estate, the appointment of an independent administrator, and an account by way of CPR Pt 8. R was also ordered to provide an inventory and account of his administration of both estates. P and R agreed to an order reflecting the ruling of the court where R would pay P’s costs, such costs being subject to detailed assessment on the standard basis if not agreed. P brought the present application for additional relief on the basis that a valid CPR Pt 36 offer did not have to reflect an available outcome of litigation. The court held that P’s offer was not properly a CPR Pt 36

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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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