Archive for the ‘Commercial Litigation, General’ Category

High Court Acts to Prevent Piracy

Friday, July 29th, 2011

The High Court has taken decisive action in the war against the illegal distribution of copyright material by requiring BT, the UK’s largest Internet Service Provider, to block access to ‘pirate’ websites which allow the free download of films and music.

 
So-called ‘file-sharing’ sites, of which the original Napster site (which is now a commercial operation) is possibly the best known, have been the bane of the performing arts industry for many years.
 
The action was brought to prevent file-sharing site ‘Newzbin 2’ from distributing copyright material, especially films, which costs major film studios many million in lost profits.
 
Newzbin 2 is a site that was set up abroad when the original Newzbin site was closed down. By requiring BT to prevent access to it, Internet users in the UK will no longer be able to download copyright material from the site for free.

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Court of Appeal Backs ‘Bin Diving’

Monday, July 18th, 2011

A recent case illustrates how strong the evidence must be before the presumption that a person making a will has the mental capacity to so will be overturned.

 
It involved an elderly woman who died leaving an estate of a little under £150,000. Her only relative was her granddaughter. The woman had been looked after by a neighbour for some years and appointed him to be her executor and the beneficiary of her estate.
 
The woman’s granddaughter sought to have both the will and the man’s appointment as executor overturned, alleging that:
 
  • the woman lacked testamentary capacity (i.e. was not ‘of sound mind’ when she executed the will);
  • she did not know and approve of the contents of the will; and
  • the will was procured by undue influence.

Paper in Dustbin

It was in point that the woman had previously instructed a firm of solicitors to pr epare her will, but had not proceeded with it. Evidence was given by the firm that they had reservations about her testamentary capacity when she instructed them.
 
The court ruled against the granddaughter. There was almost no evide nce that she did not know and approve of the contents of the will or that it was procured by undue influence. As regards the issue of testamentary capacity, the judge considered that she had ‘good days and bad days’, and that she could therefore be presumed to be of sound mind.
 
 

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Claim Procedure Reforms Will Affect Smaller Claim

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

With all the hoop-la about the proposed change to the ‘no win, no fee’ regime, another set of proposals, which may well be of greater importance for many people has slipped under the radar of the popular press.

 
A new consultation paper proposes changes to the limits on claims to be heard by the lower courts. The proposals include:
 
  • the limit of a claim which can be dealt with in the small claims court is to be increased from the current £5,000 to £15,000;
  • the minimum limit for a case to be sent to the High Court is to be raised from £25,000 to £100,000; and
  • home repossession cases are to be sent to the High Court when they are for £300,000 or more: the present limit is £30,000.
 
In addition, the online system for settlement of smaller road traffic accident cases is to be adapted for use in all small personal injury cases up to £50,000 in value and trialled for use in claims for clinical negligence against the NHS.
 
 
 
Partner Note
Consultation Document ‘Solving disputes in the county courts…’ –Consultation started 29 March 2011 and finishes 30 June 2011 See http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultations/docs/solving-disputes-county-courts.pdf

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