Those of you who have any regular involvement in or contact with the coronial process will no doubt have shared my sinking feeling when it was announced during the bonfire of the quangos that the office of Chief Coroner was not going to be implemented.  I was surprised and pleased to see that yesterday Ken Clarke announced a u-turn on this issue, although in limited form. The background to t... [Continue Reading]

The 2011 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) Provisional Results were released yesterday (23 November 2011) by the Office for National Statistics. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ashe/annual-survey-of-hours-and-earnings/ashe-results-2011/ashe-statistical-bulletin-2011.html ASHE provides information about the levels, distribution and make-up of earnings and hours worked for employees in all in... [Continue Reading]

The Sunday Times’ motoring supplement yesterday contained a cheery article entitled “Brace yourself for a winter of holey hell”. It was of course referring to what appear to be fast becoming a national obsession among many – potholes!   The article referred to the findings of an “army of amateur pothole hunters” recruited by the AA. (Perhaps this is seen as... [Continue Reading]

The administrative court has handed down its judgment in R (Cairns) v HM Deputy Coroner for Inner West London [2011] EWHC 2890 (Admin).   This judicial review case concerned a sadly topical subject, at least in London, namely that of cyclists killed by lorries. With the huge upsurge in Londoner’s taking to two wheels seen during the present Mayoral administration, has regrettably come ... [Continue Reading]

The High Court has continued chipping away at the iniquitous (as some see it) situation where an impecunious claimant can bring proceedings on a CFA without ATE insurance protection. So if the claimant wins, the costs are paid, if the claimant looses – too bad, the defendant is left to sing for their costs incurred in defeating the claim.   A number of defendants faced with this situati... [Continue Reading]

A recent case has undermined an important pitfall when seeking anonymity for vulnerable litigants.   C, a patient, was investigating a potential claim against a local authority and adoption charity in respect of child abuse she had suffered at the hands of her adoptive brother and sister. It is difficult to imagine a more sensitive case or a more vulnerable claimant.   C’s solicit... [Continue Reading]

On 8 November 2011, MacDuff J gave judgment, in the case of JGE v The Trustees of the Portsmouth Catholic Diocesan Trust, on a preliminary issue concerning whether the defendant diocese was vicariously liable for the acts of a priest. This is yet another example of the incremental development of the doctrine of vicarious liability in respect of the criminal acts  of third parties. I don&... [Continue Reading]

The reforms to CFA’s are “legitimate to try and deal with the problem of no win no fee agreements when it applies to so-called ‘ambulance chaser’ lawyers… those who are trying to get people to sue where they think there is a pot of gold” said Chris Bryant M.P. as he was interviewed on the Today programme on Wednesday. By contrast he said those whose privacy had... [Continue Reading]