A collaboration between
piCalculator and 1 Chancery Lane

Why did the pedestrian cross the road? by Ivor Collett

Motor insurers are keen to keep up the pressure up on the courts to exonerate drivers or at least to ramp up the findings of contributory negligence in cases where pedestrian claimants wrongly walk into the road in front of approaching vehicles.  However, three recent decisions show the pace of change, if any, to be glacial.   First, there was a set back for motor insurers in Smith v Chi... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 17 May, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

How to admit, pay millions and get off Scott-free by Ian Miller

    How do you get off Scott-free when you have made an admission of liability and paid millions in damages? The answer in AC and Others v Devon County Council [2012] EWHA 796 was not by withdrawing that admission but bringing a Part 20 Claim. Even then the result is rather curious but the case raises some interesting points of highways law and permission to appeal was granted... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 11 May, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

If you go down to the woods today... by Andrew Spencer

Picture the scene: a wild area of woodland, full of trees, leaves, plants and wildlife. How nice it would be to have an area like that within the grounds of your workplace. An area like that is going to be full of trip and slip hazards. Surely no-one would want it to be smoothed out, or for the carpet of leaves and bluebells to be replaced with some kind of solid surface?   But what happens ... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 01 May, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

Child Car Seats and Contribution Claims by Thomas Crockett

In the latest of my run of articles on recent developments in the law of contributory negligence in personal injury cases, I have turned to the recent decision of the High Court in Emma Hughes (by Anne Marie Armstrong) v Estate of Dayne Joshua Williams, deceased (Defendant) and Louise Williams (Third Party) [2012] EWHC 1078 (QB).    It is tempting to say that “everyone knows”... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 27 April, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

Lords insist on amendments to LASPO by Frances McClenaghan

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (“LASPO”) has now reached the “Ping Pong” stage, during which time the Bill will be batted back and forth between the two Houses, until both Houses agree on the text. From the point of view of PI practitioners, two important amendments are being sought by the Lords. The first is that people should have access to leg... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 25 April, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (1)

Good with Food? by Matthew Chapman

Case note: Josephine Mitchell & Others v United Co-operatives Limited [2012] EWCA Civ 348 Just occasionally the law reports provide us with a glimpse of the difficult working conditions that some employees have to endure (even where their employer is not to blame for such working conditions). Josephine Mitchell and others, decided by the Court of Appeal at the end of last month, is an example... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 24 April, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

Supreme Court appeal on striking out fraudulent claims by Frances McClenaghan

  Should a claim be struck out in its entirety if it is substantially fraudulent? That was the issue considered by the Supreme Court last week in Fairclough Homes Limited v Summers. The appeal arose out of a commonplace employers liability case. Mr Summers slipped on a defective step whilst descending from a stacker truck. He fell to the ground, thereby breaking his right hand and suffering a... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 22 April, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

What's in a name? by Simon Readhead QC

  On 22 March, after 200 years of being called Cadbury, Kraft, the US food conglomerate which bought the Cadbury business in 2010, is changing its name to - Mondelez (pronounced mohn-dah-LEEZ) International.   The article I read suggests this means delicious world – “monde” coming, I suppose, from the French (or perhaps the Latin) for world and “delez”... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 10 April, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

From vicarious liability to non-delegable duties... by Ian Miller

Some cases are destined for not just one visit to the appellate courts but several. You may remember the case of Woodland v Beryl Stopford and others [2011] EWCA Civ 266. Simon Trigger wrote about it on this blog exactly 1 year ago to the day under the heading ‘We can all now resile from pre action admissions’. It is now back on the issue of non-delegable duties in the contex... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 16 March, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

Vicarious Liability for a non-employee - again by Matthew Chapman

XVW & YZA v X School for Girls & Adventure Lifesigns Ltd [2012] EWHC 575 (QB) This action was brought by two Claimants and arose out of a school trip/expedition to Belize in July/August 2005. The Claimants were pupils at the D1 school; they were aged 16 years and 15 years respectively. D2, a UK company, assisted with the planning of the expedition, as well as providing two ex-military adul... [Continue Reading]
Posted: 15 March, 2012 | Permanent Link | Comments (0)

piBlawg is running on BlogEngine.NET 2.0.0.36


Use of this site is governed by our Terms and Conditions.

piBlawg Spotlight On....

John Lovatt

Partner at Stevensdrake Solicitors

1. If I was a superhero my superpower would be... to be more alert in the mornings.

2. If I wasn’t a solicitor I would be... working outside in the fresh air doing something non taxing or selling classic cars.

3. My worst day at work was... how long have you got ?

4. My favourite case during my career was... my career is not over yet but obtaining Judgment against a fraudster for £1.2m after a 5 days trial in the high Court – quite stressful though. (Well done Zach B).

5. I am most proud of... what I have brought to my firm over the years.

6. The thing that I love most about my job is... my wonderful colleagues and their odd sense of honours.

7. The thing that keeps me sane / grounded is... my wife.

View the archive

Month List