East Northamptonshire District Council and others v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another company

Town and country planning Permission for development. An inspector for the first defendant Secretary of State had granted the second defendant company planning permission for four wind turbines. The claimants challenged the inspector's decision on the grounds that he had failed to consider a planning policy on the effect of development on the setting of heritage assets and had given inadequate reasons. The Administrative Court, in allowing the application, held that the inspector had erred in balancing relevant policies and had given inadequate reasons for his decision.

*Follett v Wallace

Damages Personal injuries. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that a paying insurer under a judgment entered in favour of the claimant who had suffered catastrophic injuries following a road traffic accident and had been awarded a lump sum and periodical payments thereafter, had been entitled to require the claimant to attend a medical examination within defined time limits to provide the insurer with details of his life expectancy, and was also entitled to require the claimant to provide, at the start of each payment year, medical confirmation that he was still alive.

Poland v European Commission

European Union Environment. The General Court of the European Union dismissed the action brought by Poland for the annulment of European Commission Decision (EU) 2011-278 of 27 April 2011, determining transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to art 10a of Directive (EC) 2003-87 of the European Parliament and of the Council (establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community) and amending Council Directive (EC) 96-61, as last amended by Directive (EC) 2009-29 of the European Parliament and of the Council, so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the Community.

Brent Borough of London v Tudor

Housing Local authority houses. After her mother's death, the defendant applied to remain in her mother's council house. The local authority sought a notice of possession and alleged that the house was under-occupied. The judge found that the defendant's brother and nephews also lived with her. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the authority's appeal. It found that, on the evidence that had been before the judge, he had been entitled to reach the conclusion that he had.

Goodman v Faber Prest Steel

Damages Personal injury. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed an appeal against an award of damages for personal injury in respect of a road traffic accident. The court found that judge appeared to have accepted the claimant's assertion that he had experienced knee and back pain immediately following the accident without testing it against the medical records and other documents which tended to contradict it.

*Taiwo v Olaigbe and another

Employment Discrimination. The employee, a Nigerian national, had been employed as a domestic worker by the employer. She had brought a number of claims before the employment tribunal which held, amongst other things, that the mistreatment she had suffered by the employer had not been direct or indirect discrimination based on her race or national origin. The employment appeal tribunal (EAT) dismissed the employee's appeal that, amongst other things, she had been mistreated on account of her being a migrant worker. The EAT held that her mistreatment had been due to her vulnerability on socio-economic grounds.

Reed v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Town and country planning Enforcement notice. The second respondent local authority issued the appellant enforcement notices. The appellant's appeal to an inspector for the first respondent Secretary of State was dismissed. The appellant appealed. The Administrative Court applied established authority and, although granting leave to appeal, dismissed the appeal, as the inspector had not erred.

Kenny and others v Ministry for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and others

Employment Equality of treatment of men and women. The Court of Justice of the European Union made a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of art 141 EC Treaty and Council Directive (EEC) 75-117 (on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women) in proceedings between Margaret Kenny and 13 other civil servants, on the one hand, and the Irish Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and others concerning a difference in pay between the employees in the main proceedings and another group of civil servants.

Re C-G (a child) (contact order: staying contact with father)

Family proceedings Orders in family proceedings. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that a judge had erred in making an order granting staying contact to the father, since the judge had failed to state his reasons for rejecting recommendations of a CAFCASS officer that professional psychological help would be of benefit in dealing with the mother's anxieties at the prospect of staying contact being ordered.

Biluan and another v Mental Health Care (UK) Ltd

Redundancy Employees working at residential home for persons with mental disabilities. The employees worked at a residential home for persons with mental disabilities. After they were made redundant, they brought a claim for unfair dismissal. The employment tribunal held that the employees had been unfairly dismissed because they had been assessed on criteria designed for use in a recruitment context and no account had been taken of their past performance. The Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed the employer's appeal, having found that although some of the tribunal's reasons had been flawed, its primary reason had been one that had been open to it.