Secure tenancies granted by local housing authorities are either the familiar periodic tenancies or tenancies for a fixed term. Croydon LBC v Kalonga (2020) EWHC 1353(QB) concerns a flexible secure tenancy granted by the Council for a fixed term of 5 years.
Public Path in Public Park
June 3rd, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Environment, Highways and LeisureIn Barlow v Wigan MBC (2020) EWCA Civ 696 the Court of Appeal holds that a public path in a local authority park engaged the statutory duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 notwithstanding that the path had not been constructed as a highway by the authority in its capacity as highway authority. The path was nonetheless maintainable at public expense within Section 36 of the Act. It had been dedicated as a highway.
Listed Buildings
May 21st, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Planning and EnvironmentalAn item being on a listed building list is not conclusive of it being a “ building”. When considering what free standing items, such as garden objects or structures, qualify as a “ building” protected in the listed building context the relevant criteria are (1) size, (2) permanence, and (3) degree of physical attachment. So held by the Supreme Court in Dill v SoS for MHCLG (2020’ UKSC 20.
Rateable Occupation
May 21st, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Council Tax and RatesATMs installed inside and outside supermarkets and shops are not separate hereditament. They remain in the rateable occupation of the retailers, not of the parties which operate them. So has the Supreme Court held in Cardtronics v Sykes (2020) UKSC 21. It is analogous to the situation of a lodging house. There is a single hereditament in the rateable occupation of the landlord.
State Aid
May 13th, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesCase T-8/18, easy jet Airline Co Ltd v EU Commission, General Court Judgment, about airports in Sardinia, addresses a range of features of State Aid law, including state resources, selective advantage, distortion of competition, affecting trade between member states, and compatibility with the internal market, and, from para 169, especially at paras 185, 200-203, 212 and 218, the Market Economy Operator Principle.
Interim Injunctions
May 12th, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationA School’s appeal against the refusal of an interim injunction was dismissed in R ( Governing Body of X ) v OFSTED (2020) EWCA Civ 594. The injunction sought was to restrain OFSTED from publishing a Report. The Report graded the School as inadequate. The Court of Appeal addressed the approach to interim injunctions in public law proceedings.
Ultra Vires
May 7th, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsOn the application of the ultra vires doctrine to contracts with public bodies, see SFM v Christ the King College and Isle of Wight Council (2020) EWHC 1118 (Comm). The Judge held that the contract in question was a finance lease rather than an operating lease, I.e. a form of borrowing, and beyond the College’s capacity and ultra vires.
Disclosure
May 6th, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationIt is fundamental to disclosure obligations in litigation that it must not be the client who makes the selection of which documents are relevant and disclosable. That is the responsibility of the solicitor.
Policies and Consistency
May 4th, 2020 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationWhen there is a statutory discretion is there a requirement to have and publish a policy on the exercise of that discretion? No, says the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal in the context of the discretion of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, under the Northern Ireland Act 1998, implementing the Belfast Agreement, to hold a border poll : Application by Raymond McCord for Judicial Review (2020) NICA 23. The case is of general interest on policies, on the rule of law, and on general administrative law principles of consistency, equal treatment, transparency and accountability.