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01 December 2017
Issue: 7772 / Categories: Case law , Law digest , In Court
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Weekly law digests

Contract

Rocker v Full Circle Asset Management [2017] EWHC 2999 (QB), [2017] All ER (D) 198 (Nov)

The defendant had acted in breach of mandate over nine monthly periods, as the actual risk profile of the claimant’s portfolio had exceeded that agreed. The Queen’s Bench Division further held that the defendant had also breached its contractual obligation to operate a stop loss policy under which it was required automatically sell any investment if that investment made a loss of 5%.

Costs—Security for costs

Premier Motorauctions Ltd (in liquidation) and another v Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP and another [2017] EWCA Civ 1872, [2017] All ER (D) 197 (Nov)

After the event insurance could, in principle, be taken into account in determining an application for security of costs if it gave a defendant sufficient protection. However, the Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that, on the facts, the defendants did not have the assurance that the insurance had not been liable to be avoided for misrepresentation or non-disclosure and ordered the claimants to provide security of £4m.

EU—Insurance

Rodrigues

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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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