Case summaries

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Adams v Lindsell [1818] EWHC KB J59 (05 June 1818)

Facts The defendants, wool-dealers in St. Ives, sent a letter to the plaintiffs, who were woollen manufacturers in Bromsgrove, on 2 September 1817, offering to sell them a quantity of wool. The defendants required an answer ‘in course of post’. Critically, the defendants misdirected this letter to ‘Bromsgrove, Leicestershire’, instead...

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Villiers v Villiers (Rev 1) [2020] UKSC 30

Mrs Villiers, habitually resident in England after separating from her husband in Scotland, applied in England for maintenance under section 27 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 while divorce proceedings continued in Scotland. The Supreme Court held, by majority, that the English court had jurisdiction and no power to stay...

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Hilton, R v (Northern Ireland) [2020] UKSC 29

Ms Hilton pleaded guilty to benefit fraud offences and a confiscation order was made against her half-share in a jointly-owned property. The Supreme Court held section 160A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 did not require third-party representations at the confiscation stage unless a section 160A determination was actually...

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The Advocate General (representing Revenue and Customs) v K E Entertainments Ltd (Scotland) [2020] UKSC 28

A bingo operator sought to reclaim VAT overpaid between 1996-2004 after HMRC changed its guidance from game-by-game to session-by-session calculation. The Supreme Court held the claim was time-barred under section 80 VAT Act, rejecting the argument that a change in calculation method constituted a decrease in consideration. Facts The appellant...