A galvaniser suffered a burn on his lip from molten zinc due to his employer's negligence. The burn triggered cancer in pre-disposed tissue, causing his death three years later. The court held the employer liable for the full consequences, establishing the eggshell skull rule in negligence.
Littlewoods purchased a cinema intending demolition. Before demolition, vandals broke in and deliberately started a fire which spread to neighbouring properties. The House of Lords held Littlewoods not liable as fire-raising by vandals was not reasonably foreseeable in the circumstances, and there is no general duty to prevent third parties causing damage.
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, not as Hobart's director.
GET acquired SeaFrance's ferry assets after its liquidation, resuming services with ex-employees via SCOP. The Supreme Court held the Competition and Markets Authority was entitled to find this constituted acquisition of an 'enterprise', triggering UK merger control jurisdiction under the Enterprise Act 2002.
Lenders suffered losses after advancing money on the strength of negligent property valuations and subsequent market falls. The House of Lords held valuers liable only for losses attributable to the overvaluation itself, not for all losses from the lending transaction, establishing the ‘information not advice’ and SAAMCO cap principles on recoverable damages.
The tanker Inverpool stranded in the Ribble estuary. To refloat her, the master discharged about 400 tons of oil, which polluted Southport Corporation’s foreshore and Marine Lake. The Court of Appeal majority held the shipowners liable in public nuisance and negligence; the master was not personally liable.
Roadworks contractors negligently damaged an electricity cable supplying Spartan Steel’s factory, causing physical damage to a melt in an arc furnace and loss of production profits during a 14½ hour outage. The Court of Appeal limited recovery to physical damage and directly consequential profit, excluding pure economic loss.
Mr Spencer suffered a minor knee injury at work which led to leg amputation. Later, while filling his car at a petrol station without using his prosthesis or walking sticks, he fell and sustained further serious injuries. The Court held the original tortfeasor remained liable for the subsequent injury, reduced by one-third for contributory negligence.
Mr Spring, a former insurance representative, was denied new appointments after his ex-principals supplied highly damaging references. The House of Lords held by majority that those providing employment references owe the subject a duty of care in negligence and, possibly, in contract, reshaping protection for workers’ reputational and economic interests.
Springwell, a Polemis family investment vehicle, lost heavily on Russian GKO-Linked Notes purchased from Chase after Russia's 1998 default. It sued Chase for misrepresentation and breach of duty. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, confirming contractual estoppel through non-reliance clauses is enforceable.
The SRA intervened in Ms Khan's solicitors' firm for suspected dishonesty. She continued practising through a not-for-profit company, claiming entitlement under s.23 Legal Services Act 2007. The High Court granted injunctions restraining her from carrying on reserved legal activities without a valid practising certificate.
St Albans Council contracted with ICL to supply computer software for community charge collection. Faulty software overstated the local population by 2,966, causing the Council to set the charge too low and suffer significant revenue losses. The Court held ICL breached its contract and that limitation clauses failed the reasonableness test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
Mr Tipping sued the St Helen’s Smelting Company for damage to trees and crops caused by noxious fumes from their copper works. The House of Lords held that ordinary industrial operations in an industrial area can still constitute a nuisance where they cause material injury to neighbouring property, and upheld the verdict for Tipping.
An unmarried cohabiting couple purchased a home in joint names without declaring their beneficial interests. When the relationship ended after 18 years and four children, the House of Lords held that joint legal ownership creates a presumption of equal beneficial ownership, but this was rebutted by evidence of their rigidly separate financial arrangements, resulting in a 65-35 split in favour of the woman.
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 a corporate capacity.
Following divorce, the Supreme Court considered whether assets transferred between spouses for inheritance tax planning purposes became 'matrimonial property' subject to sharing. The husband had transferred £80 million to his wife to establish trusts for their children. The Court held that tax planning transfers do not matrimonialise assets unless the parties treated them as shared over time.
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.
A fire broke out at a tyre-fitting business, destroying neighbouring property. The claimant sought to recover damages under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher. The Court of Appeal allowed the defendant's appeal, holding that tyres are not exceptionally dangerous things, and their storage was not a non-natural use of land. The fire, not the tyres, had escaped.
Hong Kong-based PCCM operated a NOW TV service and sought to prevent Sky from launching a UK service under the same name. The Supreme Court held that passing off requires actual goodwill, in the form of customers, within the UK jurisdiction—mere reputation is insufficient.
Mr Stark, a postman, was injured when his Post Office bicycle’s front brake stirrup broke due to an undiscoverable defect. Although the employer was not negligent, the Court of Appeal held that regulation 6(1) of the 1992 Work Equipment Regulations imposed an absolute duty, making the Post Office liable.
The retired headmaster of Bradfield College received a £500 annual pension granted at the discretion of the Warden and Council under college statutes. The House of Lords held that this purely voluntary payment, which could be rescinded at any time, was not assessable to Income Tax.
A solicitor, acting for a borrower, sent a careless email to the lender falsely stating the entire loan was being repaid, causing the lender to discharge its security over retained units. The Supreme Court held she owed no duty of care as the lender's reliance without checking its own file was unreasonable.
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.
Mr Ruhan, a director of HPII, secretly purchased hotels from HPII through a nominee (Mr Stevens), resold them for £102m profit, then dissipated the funds. The Supreme Court held that a dishonest assistant in dissipating profits held on constructive trust is liable to compensate the beneficiary for the loss, even where the profits arose from an earlier breach causing no loss.
McLean offered to sell iron warrants to Stevenson, open till Monday. Stevenson sent an inquiry about modified terms, which McLean ignored before selling to another party. The court held Stevenson's inquiry was not a counter-offer rejecting the original offer, and their subsequent acceptance created a binding contract.
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive
October 4, 2026
National Case Law Archive