Barton v Gwyn Jones
No Unjust Factor - No Unjust Enrichment
In the recent case of Philip Barton v Timothy Gwyn Jones and Ors [2018] EWHC 2426 (Ch), Nicholas Woolf & Co successfully defended a High Court claim in unjust enrichment.
Brexit Means Breakfast
Nicholas Woolf summarises a Brexit panel event jointly hosted by Nicholas Woolf & Co and Newington Communications
Yesterday I sat on a panel with Beth Rigby, deputy political editor for Sky News, Stewart Jackson, former special adviser and chief of staff to David Davis and Chris White of Newington Communications, who chaired a discussion with an invited audience on the prospects of the current Brexit negotiations and their possible political consequences. At the end of the meeting, the general consensus appeared to be that Mrs May, who was said to be fairly private about the real progress made in the negotiations, was unlikely to remain as Prime Minister much beyond 29th March 2019, although she may try and hang on; there being no clear and popular successor.
Magazine: April 2018 - July 2018
Nicholas Woolf & Co has published the first edition of its new magazine, containing articles written by members of the firm on important contemporary legal matters.
Broke But Not Bankrupt
A bankruptcy order set aside for want of purpose
To many, the decision of HHJ Hodge QC in Lock v Aylesbury Vale District Council [2018] EWHC 2015 (Ch) may seem a little strange. In that case, the Council had presented a bankruptcy petition on Ms Lock in respect of £8,067-odd unpaid council tax. At first instance, the District Judge made a bankruptcy order, which was appealed by Ms Lock on the basis that she had absolutely no assets to satisfy any liability in bankruptcy. This, she said, meant that a bankruptcy order would serve no useful purpose and would not benefit the Council.
The Judge on appeal agreed with Ms Lock, and the bankruptcy order was set aside.
It's Not Fair
The final cry of the litigant relying on offended conscience
There can often be a disconnect between the way in which certain terms are used in everyday life, and the way in which they are used in a legal context. This means that people may believe that they are protected in certain circumstances in any event, and therefore it does not matter if they are not expressly provided for in the contract. It comes as an unpleasant shock to subsequently find out that, although it may seem unfair, there is no legal remedy available.
Tullow Ghana Limited v Seadrill Ghana Operations Limited
It’s Not My Fault – Allocate Risks Or Gamble With Litigation
Synopsis
The case of Tullow Ghana Limited v Seadrill Ghana Operations Limited [2018] EWHC 1640 (Comm) highlights the difficulties that a person may face if they do not comprehensively allocate foreseeable risks in their contracts.
McDonald and McDonald v D&F Contracts Limited
Out Of Time – The Race Begins, But You Aren’t In It
It is often tempting to bury your head in the sand with the prospect of Court proceedings. If you receive a letter from another person claiming money from you, it is easy to ignore it; particularly if the claim appears hugely overstated, or (in your opinion) destined to failure. Even when matters progress and formal Court proceedings issued, many people fail to take the required initial steps to deal with the claim; being filing and serving an Acknowledgement of Service and/or a Defence. This is what happened in the recent TCC case of McDonald and McDonald v D&F Contracts Limited [2018] EWHC 1600 (“McDonald”).
What a Wonderful World
Two Data Protection Horror Stories to Keep You Awake At Night
This article has been published in the Summer 2018 edition of Solo - the journal of the Sole Practitioners Group.
I am sure that we have all been struggling with the joys of GDPR, worrying about does our privacy policy come up to scratch, have we checked our suppliers are compliant, have we destroyed/deleted all the material we should, have we relied on the appropriate exceptions in particular categories, have we got the correct consents and did we remember to amend our client care letters etc?
