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07 February 2025
Issue: 8103 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Law digests: 7 February 2025

Case management

Okuashvili and others v Ivanishvili and others [2025] EWHC 165 (Ch)

This is an application by Mr Okuashvili to allow new expert and witness evidence to be adduced in his claims to set aside service out of the jurisdiction against multiple defendants. The evidence had not been served in accordance with the case management timetable set by the court. The court considered the reason for the default—that there had been a change in representation, and during the course of that change in representation, evidence which was intended to be prepared and served was not prepared and served—was unsatisfactory. Further, in regard to the witness statement, the court took into account the new factual assertions which were contested and the lateness at which evidence had been served, such that the defendants had not had opportunity to respond in not permitting the late filling of either of the items of further evidence.


Contract

Omanovic v Shamaazi Ltd and another [2025] EWHC 131 (KB)

The court ruled on the claimant’s application for

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

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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