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22 March 2019
Issue: 7833 / Categories: Case law , In Court , Law digest
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Weekly law digests

Company

Re Peak Hotels and Resorts Ltd; Crumpler and another (joint liquidators of Peak Hotels and Resorts Ltd) v Candey Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 345, [2019] All ER (D) 48 (Mar)

The appellant liquidators’ appeal succeeded, in a dispute concerning the valuation of sums owed to the respondent solicitors following the liquidation of a company for which the solicitors had carried out work. The Court of Appeal held that the judge’s approach to the construction of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and its application to the present case could not stand. The whole concept of provision of services in return for a fixed fee had to be disregarded in the present case, because such a concept was incompatible with the exercise which IA 1986 s 245(6) required to be performed.

Contract

Harcus Sinclair LLP and another v Your Lawyers Ltd and another [2019] EWCA Civ 335, [2019] All ER (D) 58 (Mar)

The judge had taken into account matters that he should not have taken into account in applying the relevant

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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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