March 8, 2026
Joint liquidators sued Sheikh Al Jaber for equitable compensation after he dishonestly transferred 891,761 shares owned by a company in liquidation to another entity he controlled. The Supreme Court held that by purporting to exercise directorial powers after liquidation, the Sheikh assumed fiduciary duties and breached them, restoring the trial...
March 8, 2026
An NHS Foundation Trust sought VAT exemption for car parking services at its hospitals, arguing it acted as a public authority under a special legal regime. The Supreme Court held that external guidance combined with a general public law duty to follow it does not constitute a special legal regime...
March 8, 2026
Hotel La Tour Ltd sought to recover VAT on professional fees incurred for selling shares in its subsidiary to fund a new hotel development. The key issue was whether input VAT on costs related to an exempt share sale could be deducted when the proceeds funded taxable economic activities. Facts...
March 8, 2026
A child suffered severe brain injury at birth due to clinical negligence, reducing her life expectancy to 29 years. The Supreme Court overruled Croke v Wiseman, holding that young children can recover 'lost years' damages for pecuniary losses during the years of life lost due to injury, subject to normal...
March 8, 2026
Stone & Rolls Ltd, controlled solely by fraudster Mr Stojevic, sued its auditors Moore Stephens for negligently failing to detect fraud perpetrated through the company against banks. The House of Lords held that the ex turpi causa defence barred the claim as the company was a one-man company where the...
March 8, 2026
Andrew Tinkler, a founder and executive director of Stobart Group Ltd, was dismissed from employment and removed from the board following allegations of breaching fiduciary duties by briefing shareholders against the board and destabilising the company. The court upheld his dismissal, finding serious breaches of duty, but rejected the company's...
March 8, 2026
Standard Chartered Bank paid under a letter of credit relying on falsely dated bills of lading presented by Mr Mehra, Oakprime's managing director. The House of Lords held that contributory negligence is no defence to deceit, and a director who personally commits fraud is personally liable regardless of acting in...
March 8, 2026
Spectrum granted a debenture to National Westminster Bank purporting to create a fixed charge over book debts. The House of Lords held that despite the label, the charge was a floating charge because Spectrum remained free to collect debts and draw on its bank account without restriction. This overruled Siebe...
March 8, 2026
Smithton Ltd (formerly Hobart) sought damages from Mr Naggar, claiming he was a de facto or shadow director and that arrangements for contracts for differences breached section 190 of the Companies Act 2006. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding Mr Naggar acted in his capacity as DDI director,...
March 8, 2026
Mr Smith sought to pursue claims against solicitors on behalf of a company (SPDL) after purportedly assigning the company's causes of action to himself at an inquorate board meeting he alone attended. The Court of Appeal considered whether section 35A of the Companies Act 1985 could validate such a transaction...
March 7, 2026
The High Court considered whether the AI model Stable Diffusion infringed Getty Images’ intellectual property rights through the generation of images containing Getty-style watermarks and through its distribution in the UK. The court found limited trade mark infringement (in relation to certain iStock-style watermarks) but rejected most of Getty’s remaining...
March 7, 2026
Mr Daly was convicted of child sexual offences including rape. He appealed arguing his trial was unfair because he could not cross-examine the complainer about an uncharged allegation he claimed was false, which would have challenged her credibility under Article 6 ECHR. Facts On 13 December 2022, Mr Daly was...
March 7, 2026
Mr Butler, managing director owning 31.2% of shares, suspended Mr Smith, chairman owning 68.8%, without board authority over alleged expense fraud. The Court of Appeal held a managing director lacks implied authority to suspend the chairman, affirming the judge's order for a meeting with quorum of one to remove Mr...
March 7, 2026
Joint administrators sought a declaration that their appointment was valid despite the notice being filed via the Electronic Working Pilot Scheme rather than the prescribed Insolvency Rules procedure. The court held the defect was purely formal, causing no substantial injustice, and declared the appointment valid from 5:03pm on 10 September...
March 7, 2026
A charity sought a court order to refuse a member's request for access to its register of members under section 116 of the Companies Act 2006. The member's request omitted required information about disclosure to third parties. The court held the request was invalid and, alternatively, that one stated purpose...
March 7, 2026
Singularis, through its liquidators, sued Daiwa for breach of the Quincecare duty after its sole shareholder fraudulently directed payments totalling US$204m from the company's account. The Supreme Court held that the fraudster's conduct could not be attributed to the company to defeat the claim, upholding the bank's liability for negligence....
March 7, 2026
A director of a dental company acquired dental practices for herself rather than for the company. The Court of Appeal held she was not in breach of fiduciary duty because shareholders had acquiesced at a family meeting with full knowledge of the material facts. Silence in the circumstances amounted to...
March 6, 2026
Marex obtained judgment against two companies controlled by Mr Sevilleja, who then stripped their assets to prevent payment. Marex sued Mr Sevilleja personally for economic torts. The Supreme Court clarified that the reflective loss principle only prevents shareholders claiming for diminution in share value reflecting company losses, and does not...
February 27, 2026
The SFO applied to prefer a voluntary bill of indictment against Barclays following dismissal of charges relating to capital raisings in 2008. The court refused, holding that senior executives were not the 'directing mind and will' of the company for completing the transactions, as ultimate authority remained with the Board...
February 27, 2026
The Secretary of State sought disqualification orders against directors and alleged de facto directors of Amba companies and Nextime. The court analysed what constitutes a de facto director, finding that Jayson Hollier was not a de facto director despite assisting his father's business, but that Adrian Hollier and Mrs Hollier...
February 27, 2026
Directors' disqualification proceedings against two individuals who controlled three insolvent companies. They diverted company funds to other businesses in which one had interests, causing substantial creditor losses. Both were found unfit as directors for failing to respect corporate personality principles and were disqualified for seven and eleven years respectively. Facts...
February 27, 2026
Craig Whyte, former director of Rangers Football Club and Tixway Limited, was disqualified from being a company director for 15 years. The court found his conduct demonstrated dishonesty, breach of fiduciary duties, misuse of company funds, and wilful disregard for creditors' interests and administrative duties. Facts The Secretary of State...
February 27, 2026
The Secretary of State sought disqualification orders against directors of UKLI Limited, a land banking company that collapsed with a deficiency exceeding £70 million. The First Defendant, Mr Chohan, was found to be a de facto or shadow director who operated an unauthorised collective investment scheme contrary to FSMA 2000,...
February 26, 2026
This appeal raised two issues of planning law concerning environmental protection and large-scale residential development. Issue 1 was whether regulation 63 of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 (“the Habitats Regulations”) requires an appropriate assessment before a local planning authority discharges conditions attached to a reserved matters approval....
February 26, 2026
The appeal concerned the meaning of “crematorium” in section 2 of the Cremation Act 1902 for the purpose of the “radius clause” in section 5, which prohibits siting a crematorium within 200 yards of a dwelling house or 50 yards of a public highway. The central question was the point...
May 3, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 3, 2026
National Case Law Archive
May 3, 2026
National Case Law Archive