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17 January 2019
Issue: 7824 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Weekly law digests

Disclosure

R (on the application of British American Tobacco (UK) Ltd and other companies) v Secretary of State for Health and other applications (Action on Smoking and Health intervening) [2018] EWHC 3586 (Admin), [2019] All ER (D) 11 (Jan)

Court documents from the claimants’ judicial review proceedings, seeking to have declared unlawful legislation that the defendant was proposing to introduce regulating the packaging of tobacco products, were to be disclosed to the applicant non-governmental organisation that promoted tobacco control measures and legislation worldwide, and thereby into the public domain. The Administrative Court had an inherent jurisdiction to order disclosure and it was immaterial that the documents sought might, technically, not all fall within the scope of the CPR.

Divorce

Quan v Bray and others [2018] EWHC 3558 (Fam), [2019] All ER (D) 07 (Jan)

On the evidence, the first respondent husband had the capacity to receive very significant fee award, on a fully commercial arms-length basis, for financial advisory work for the third respondent trust. Accordingly, the Family Division held, among

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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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