In Schofield v Jones (2019) EWHC 803 (Ch) the Court exercised its power under Section 306 of the Companies Act 2006 to direct the holding of a Company General Meeting with a quorum of only one. The purpose of the Meeting was to remove one of two members as one of four Directors. That Director was alleged to be in breach of fiduciary duty and had lost the confidence of the other Directors. That Director can and had thwarted the holding of a General Meeting by not
Companies: General meetings and torts
April 9th, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and Companies
Options
April 9th, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Land, Goods and ServicesIn Francis v Vista Del Mar Developments Ltd (2019) UKPC 14 Lady Arden stated the issues for determination on the appeal to the Privy Council from the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal as follows:-
Procedural Propriety
April 9th, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsOn acting as a judge in one’s own cause, legitimate expectation, and ECHR Article 8, see the Divisional Court Judgment in R (Sargeant) v First Minister of Wales (2019) EWHC 739 (Admin). A Press Statement issued by the First Minister stating that there would be an Independent Inquiry into actions of his was held to give rise to an enforceable legitimate expectation that he would himself have no involvement in the preparatory work for the Inquiry. That expectation was breached by him by setting the remit for the drafting of the Operational Protocol governing the Inquiry and by his control over the final form of that Protocol.
Injunctions against persons unknown
April 4th, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Judicial Control, Liability and LitigationBoyd v Ineos (2019) EWCA Civ 515 was an appeal from Morgan J who had granted injunctions against persons unknown who were thought to be likely to become protesters at sites selected for the purpose of “fracking”.
The main issue was whether the Judge had been correct to grant injunctions against “persons unknown”. RSC Order 113 of the RSC enabled this. There are also statutory provisions enabling local authorities to take enforcement proceedings against persons such as squatters or travellers contained in Section 187B of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Since the advent of the CPR, there has been no requirement to name a defendant in a claim form. Orders have been made against Persons Unknown in appropriate cases. Read more »
Election Timetable
April 4th, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Elections and BylawsMHCLG has updated its “Election timetable in England”, setting out how often different types of local authority in England hold elections for their councillors, subject to boundary changes, and its Guidance on “Local government structure and elections”, providing information on the different types of council in England and their electoral arrangements.
Waste
April 1st, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Environment, Highways and LeisureTwo interesting Judgments of the CJEU on 28 March 2019: Joined Cases C-487/17 to C489/17, Verlezza v Vetreco, and Case C-60/18, Tallina v Keskkonnaamet. The former is concerned with the classification of hazardous waste in circumstances where the waste may be assigned codes for both hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The latter is concerned with re-use and recovery of waste.
Contractual Interpretation
April 1st, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsThe issue before the Court of Appeal (Longmore, David Richards and Leggatt LJJ) in Merthyr (South Wales) Ltd v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (2019) EWCA Civ 526 was one of interpretation of a contract to establish an escrow account.
State Aid
April 1st, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Capital Finance and CompaniesCase C-405/16P, Germany v Commission, CJEU Judgment on 28 March 2019, is concerned with aid supporting renewable energy. The CJEU said:-
Pollution caused by nitrates
April 1st, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Environment, Highways and LeisureThe European Union adopted rules to counter water pollution caused by nitrates as early as 1991, namely the Waste Water Directive, which regulates the construction and operation of waste-water treatment plants in particular, and the Nitrates Directive, which concerns nitrates from agriculture. The aim of those measures is first and foremost to protect ecosystems from excess nutrient supply. However, at the same time, health risks are also associated with nitrates, particularly in very young infants. The Drinking Water Directive therefore contains a limit value of 50 mg/l for nitrates, a value which also appears in the Nitrates Directive.
Participation in public contract
April 1st, 2019 by James Goudie KC in Decision making and ContractsCase C-101/18, Idi v Arcadis, CJEU Judgment on 28 March 2019, concerns the exclusion of Idi from participating in a tendering procedure for a public services contract.