April 6, 2026
A door steward employed by a security company applied a fatal neck hold to Mr Grant during an ejection from a bar. His widow claimed against the company's insurer after the company entered liquidation. The Supreme Court held the policy's 'deliberate acts' exclusion required intention to injure, which was not...
April 6, 2026
A care home operator financed its acquisition through a sale and leaseback arrangement. HMRC argued this triggered a VAT self-supply charge under paragraph 36(2) of Schedule 10 to VATA. The Supreme Court held that since the operator retained a leasehold interest throughout, it had not disposed of its 'entire interest'...
April 6, 2026
Female retail employees at Asda brought equal pay claims comparing their pay to predominantly male distribution depot workers. The Supreme Court held they could use depot workers as comparators despite working at different establishments, as the 'common terms' requirement was satisfied through the North hypothetical test. This clarifies the threshold...
April 6, 2026
A mother wrongfully removed her child from South Africa to England and claimed asylum, naming the child as a dependant. The Supreme Court considered the interplay between the 1980 Hague Convention on child abduction and asylum law, holding that a child named as a dependant on a parent's asylum application...
April 6, 2026
Care workers performing sleep-in shifts claimed entitlement to National Minimum Wage for all hours present at work, not just when awake. The Supreme Court held that under the NMW Regulations, sleep-in workers are only entitled to NMW for hours when actually awake for the purpose of working, not for permitted...
April 6, 2026
Shamima Begum, who left the UK aged 15 to join ISIL in Syria, had her British citizenship revoked by the Home Secretary on national security grounds. She challenged the refusal of leave to enter the UK to pursue her appeal. The Supreme Court held that national security concerns outweighed her...
April 6, 2026
A collision occurred between two vessels near the entrance to Jebel Ali port. The Supreme Court considered whether crossing rules under the Collision Regulations apply when one vessel exits a narrow channel while another waits to enter. The Court held the crossing rules were not displaced merely because the approaching...
April 6, 2026
Uber drivers claimed they were 'workers' entitled to minimum wage and paid leave. Uber argued drivers were self-employed contractors working for passengers. The Supreme Court unanimously held drivers were workers employed by Uber London, emphasising the need to look beyond contractual terms to the reality of the working relationship and...
April 6, 2026
A concrete area in a working port was registered as a town or village green (TVG) following 20 years of recreational use by local inhabitants alongside commercial port activities. The Supreme Court held that registration did not criminalise the landowner's pre-existing commercial activities under Victorian statutes, as both uses could...
April 6, 2026
The SFO served a notice under section 2(3) of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 on a US company (KBR, Inc) requiring production of documents held abroad. The Supreme Court held that section 2(3) does not have extra-territorial effect permitting compulsion of foreign companies with no UK presence to produce overseas...
April 6, 2026
The FCA brought a test case concerning whether business interruption insurance policies covered losses caused by COVID-19 and government restrictions. The Supreme Court held that disease clauses, hybrid clauses, and prevention of access clauses did provide cover, and that trends clauses should not reduce indemnities for pandemic-related concurrent causes. Facts...
April 3, 2026
Candey, a law firm, sought to enforce an equitable lien over settlement proceeds recovered in litigation for their insolvent client PHRL. The Supreme Court held Candey had waived its lien by entering into a fixed fee agreement and deed of charge without expressly reserving the lien, despite inconsistencies between the...
April 3, 2026
Stanford International Bank, operated as a Ponzi scheme, claimed HSBC breached its Quincecare duty by making payments to customers when it should have frozen accounts. The Supreme Court held that paying valid debts does not cause loss to a company, as liabilities were reduced correspondingly, and struck out the claim....
April 3, 2026
A developer challenged whether a planning condition required dedication of access roads as public highways. The Supreme Court held that planning authorities cannot impose such requirements via conditions, as this would circumvent compensation rights. The condition in question addressed construction standards, not dedication. Facts The development site formed part of...
April 3, 2026
The Attorney General for Northern Ireland referred a question to the Supreme Court regarding whether clause 5(2)(a) of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, which criminalises acts intended to influence persons accessing abortion services within designated zones, was outside the Assembly's legislative competence as disproportionately interfering with protesters' Convention...
April 3, 2026
The Lord Advocate referred to the Supreme Court the question whether the Scottish Parliament had power to legislate for a referendum on Scottish independence. The Court held it did not, as such legislation would relate to reserved matters under the Scotland Act 1998, specifically the Union of Scotland and England...
April 3, 2026
A developer sought to rely on a 1967 planning permission for 401 dwellings despite having built houses under subsequent inconsistent permissions. The Supreme Court held that where development materially departs from an approved scheme under independent permissions, the original permission becomes incapable of further implementation due to physical impossibility. Facts...
April 3, 2026
A child born at a German hospital to a British Army family suffered brain injury allegedly due to negligence. The defendants sought contribution from the hospital under the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978. The Supreme Court held the Act does not have overriding effect and applies only when English choice...
April 3, 2026
NHS Lothian claimed recovery of historic VAT input tax from 1974-1997 on laboratory services, relying on extrapolation from recent years. The Supreme Court allowed HMRC's appeal, holding the taxpayer must prove the amount of input tax incurred, not merely that some was paid. The principle of effectiveness does not require...
April 3, 2026
A son worked on his parents' farm for over 30 years at low wages, relying on promises that he would inherit a substantial share. After a family breakdown, he was disinherited and brought a proprietary estoppel claim. The Supreme Court clarified that the remedy aims to prevent detriment from reliance...
April 3, 2026
DCM, an optical business, challenged HMRC's VAT assessment on time-bar grounds and disputed HMRC's power to reduce claimed VAT credits without formal assessment. The Supreme Court held the assessment was not time-barred and confirmed HMRC has implied power to verify and refuse unjustified VAT credit claims. Facts DCM (Optical Holdings)...
April 3, 2026
AWA Ltd paid a dividend to its parent company Sequana SA when solvent but facing a real risk of future insolvency due to uncertain environmental liabilities. The Supreme Court held that directors have a duty to consider creditor interests when a company is insolvent or bordering on insolvency, but not...
April 3, 2026
Andrewes obtained senior positions at a hospice and NHS trusts through CV fraud, lying about qualifications and experience. He performed his roles satisfactorily for over 10 years. The Supreme Court established that in CV fraud cases, confiscation should be limited to the profit gained—the difference between fraudulently obtained earnings and...
April 3, 2026
The Supreme Court considered whether section 41(4) of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 precludes exceptions to restraint orders for legal expenses in civil proceedings founded on similar facts to the criminal offence. The Court held such expenses are not precluded, as they do not 'relate to' the criminal offence....
April 3, 2026
Three conjoined appeals concerning deportation of foreign criminals under section 117C of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002. The Supreme Court clarified the 'unduly harsh' test for Exception 2 and the 'very compelling circumstances' test, rejecting a notional comparator approach and endorsing the MK self-direction requiring an elevated threshold...
July 5, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive
July 1, 2026
National Case Law Archive