May 1, 2026
A same-sex couple’s first child was wrongly adopted by the non-birth mother due to a clinic’s lost consent form. The President of the Family Division declared legal parentage under the 2008 Act and, exceptionally, revoked the adoption order. Facts The applicant, X, and her partner Y entered into a civil...
May 1, 2026
A local authority sought permission to invoke the High Court’s inherent jurisdiction to revoke a 2004 adoption order after the adoptive parents rejected the twelve-year-old child. Bodey J refused permission, holding revocation was unlikely and would cause further harm. Facts G, a girl aged twelve and a half, was adopted...
May 1, 2026
Hotel and racecourse operators claimed business interruption insurance for Covid-19 losses. The Supreme Court held furlough payments under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme reduced recoverable losses under policy savings clauses, as they reduced employment expenses in consequence of the insured peril. Facts The appellants comprised subsidiaries of the Arena Racing...
May 1, 2026
The Supreme Court held that the High Court has no inherent (parens patriae) jurisdiction to revoke a validly made adoption order on welfare grounds. AM, adoptive mother of X and Y, sought revocation after both children returned to their natural mother. The appeal was dismissed. Facts X and Y were...
May 1, 2026
A lesbian couple conceived a child using a gay male friend as sperm donor, with B marrying A for family acceptance. Disputes arose over A's contact role. The Court of Appeal allowed A's appeal, holding the trial judge erred in fixing A's future role as definitively limited. Facts The appellant,...
April 30, 2026
Mr Storer, a council tenant, sought specific performance after Manchester City Council refused to complete the sale of his council house following a change in political control. The Court of Appeal held a binding contract existed despite no formal exchange of contracts. Facts In 1970, Manchester City Council, then under...
April 30, 2026
A shopkeeper displayed a flick knife in his shop window with a price ticket. He was prosecuted for “offering for sale” an offensive weapon contrary to section 1(1) of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959. The Divisional Court held that, applying the ordinary law of contract, the display of...
April 30, 2026
The House of Lords held (3:2) that a contractual clearing house arrangement between airlines, which purported to settle mutual indebtedness through a multilateral netting system operated by IATA, could not displace the statutory requirement that an insolvent company’s assets be distributed pari passu amongst unsecured creditors. Such “contracting out” of the statutory...
April 30, 2026
Lord St Leonards, a former Lord Chancellor, died and his will could not be found. His daughter Charlotte reconstructed its contents from memory. The court admitted her evidence, granted probate of the reconstructed will and rejected the presumption of revocation. Facts Edward Burtenshaw Sugden, Lord St Leonards, an eminent property...
April 30, 2026
Mr Clarke objected to the registration of his wife's LPAs, arguing she lacked capacity and the witness had not properly observed her signing. Senior Judge Lush rejected both challenges, applying Casson v Dade's 'line of sight' principle and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Facts Mrs Clarke, who was suffering from...
April 30, 2026
A 67-year-old widow sought permission to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, 25 years and 9 months out of time. Despite the extraordinary delay, the court granted permission, finding compelling grounds including her vulnerability, the stepchildren's obstruction, and that the estate remained undistributed....
April 29, 2026
Following divorce, the wife undertook to share any inheritance over £100,000 from her mother with her ex-husband. When her mother's will left her exactly £100,000, the husband sought to challenge the will's validity. The Court of Appeal held he had sufficient interest to bring a probate claim. Facts The appellant...
April 29, 2026
Geoffrey Gillett worked loyally for farmer Kenneth Holt for nearly 40 years, relying on repeated assurances that he would inherit Holt's farming business. When Holt changed his will in favour of David Wood and dismissed Gillett, the Court of Appeal upheld Gillett's proprietary estoppel claim. Facts Geoffrey Gillett first met...
April 29, 2026
A testator's will leaving everything to his homosexual partner could not be found after his death. The court held the presumption of revocation by destruction was rebutted, finding it more probable the will was accidentally lost, and admitted a copy to probate. Facts The testator, Barrie James Clarke, lived with...
April 29, 2026
Two grandsons challenged their grandmother's 2016 and 2017 codicils, which revoked an earlier gift of her Devon farm to them and restored equal division between her daughters. They also claimed proprietary estoppel. The High Court dismissed both claims and granted possession to the executrix. Facts Mary Elizabeth Stevens (the deceased)...
April 29, 2026
The High Court propounded in solemn form the 2016 will of Elaine Reid, who left her estate to her partner Malcolm rather than her sons. The court rejected the sons' challenge based on want of knowledge and approval, and found their 7½-year delay also barred the claim by laches. Facts...
April 29, 2026
Alastair Bowerman challenged his parents' 1999 wills, alleging his father lacked testamentary capacity following a severe stroke and his mother was unduly influenced by his brother Ben. Master Clark dismissed the claims, finding laches barred the father's will challenge and no coercion was proven regarding the mother's will. Facts John...
April 29, 2026
Michael Gwilliam’s four daughters successfully challenged his 2014 will, which had reduced their inheritance in favour of his sister, nephew, and companion. The High Court held the will invalid for lack of testamentary capacity due to insane delusions caused by organic brain disease. Facts Michael Gwilliam died on 17 February...
April 29, 2026
Executors sought to prove the 2017 Will of Robert Glyn Evans against his daughter Caroline's challenge alleging lack of testamentary capacity, want of knowledge and approval, and undue influence. The High Court pronounced in favour of the 2017 Will, rejecting all grounds of challenge. Facts Robert Glyn Evans (the Testator)...
April 29, 2026
Ms Khatun challenged a will purportedly executed by her late father leaving his entire estate to Mr Hasan, whom she barely knew. The High Court found suspicious circumstances surrounding the will's execution and held the defendants failed to prove its authenticity, pronouncing against it. Facts Mr Monir Jaman Shaikh, a...
April 29, 2026
Julie Mate spent years working with a planning consultant to remove her family's farmland from the Green Belt, securing housing allocation that led to a £9 million sale to Persimmon. Her proprietary estoppel claim failed due to insufficiently clear promises, but she succeeded in unjust enrichment, recovering £652,500. Facts The...
April 29, 2026
Lucy Habberfield worked on her family's dairy farm for 30 years on assurances she would inherit it. After rejecting a 2008 partnership offer and leaving in 2013, she successfully claimed proprietary estoppel. The Court of Appeal upheld her £1.17m award. Facts Lucy Habberfield worked full-time on her parents’ dairy farm...
April 29, 2026
Eirian Davies worked on her parents' farm over many years on the strength of various assurances about inheriting the farm and business. The Court of Appeal reduced her proprietary estoppel award from £1.3 million to £500,000, emphasising proportionality between remedy and detriment. Facts Mr and Mrs Davies are dairy farmers...
April 29, 2026
Two adult daughters claimed reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 from their late father's estate, which passed mainly to his second wife. The High Court dismissed their claims, finding no failure to make reasonable provision for maintenance. Facts The claimants, Juliet Miles and...
April 29, 2026
Mrs Cowan, widow of a wealthy deceased, sought permission to bring an Inheritance Act 1975 claim out of time after negotiations with trustees failed. The Court of Appeal overturned the refusal, granting permission and clarifying the proper approach to section 4 extensions. Facts Mrs Mary Cowan was the widow of...
July 5, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive