Summary Although the tending and letting of fields to graziers constituted a business, it was one which consisted wholly or mainly of the holding of an investment and so the land was not a relevant business property for the purposes of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 s.105. Facts The appellant personal...

Summary The substitution of one obligor for another in relation to a particular contractual obligation could take place only by novation, but it did not necessarily follow that where a particular obligation was novated by substitution of one obligor for another, the conclusion had to be that a large and...

Summary The conservators of Wimbledon and Putney commons had power under the Wimbledon and Putney Commons Act 1871 to grant an easement over an access way on the commons. Facts The appellants (H) appealed against a decision dismissing their application to register an easement over an access way on Wimbledon common....

Summary A party who agreed to mediation but then took an unreasonable position in the mediation was in the same position as a party who unreasonably refused to mediate. Where the claimants had won on liability and had recovered substantial damages, but the defendants succeeded in cutting down the sum...

Summary Permission to continue with a derivative action under the Companies Act 2006 s.261 was refused where a notional director was unlikely to attach much importance to the claim and the alleged damage was speculative. Facts The applicant former executive directors (S) sought permission to continue a derivative claim against the...

Summary The fact that a vendor of a property had not proved any loss where the purchaser had failed to complete could not, on its own, amount to a sufficient ground for ordering the return of a deposit under the Law of Property Act 1925 s.49(2), but the economic impact on...

Summary Although an appellant had repeatedly failed to attend court when ordered there was no evidence justifying a judge's conclusion that his behaviour was contumacious and the judge had erred in imposing a suspended committal order. Facts The appellant diamond merchant (R) appealed against a judge's decision to make a...

Summary The court declined to determine summarily a claim that solicitors owed a duty of care in relation to certain estate planning transactions to the claimant as the residuary beneficiary of the estate of his late mother. Facts The applicant solicitors (T) applied for summary judgment or the striking out...

Summary Dominion Petroleum Limited (“DPL”) is an AIM listed exploration company incorporated in Bermuda. It has a subsidiary (“DPAdmin”) incorporated in England. Carlo Seidel (“CS”), who is resident in England, is/was a 16% (with 65 million shares) shareholder in DPL, a director and CEO of DPL, and a director/CFO of...