Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd v Friends Life Ltd

Landlord and tenant Leasehold enfranchisement. The Court of Appeal, allowing the appeal, held that CPR 38.7 did not apply where tenants had withdrawn their application for a transfer of the freehold pursuant Leasehold Reform, Housing and Development Act 1993 (the 1993 Act), to a second application by the tenants for that transfer.

*Humphreys v Revenue and Customs Commissioners

Social security Child benefit. The Supreme Court, in dismissing a minority carer father's appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal, held that indirect discrimination against men flowing from the requirement, pursuant to the Child Tax Credit Regulations 2002, , that the payment of child tax credit, in respect of a child in shared care by two parents, was to be made to the parent with main responsibility for the child, was justified.

MK Airlines Property Ltd (in administration) v Katz and another

Company Administration. The Companies Court of the Chancery Division ruled on an application by joint administrators of a company for declarations in respect of the administration of the company, including, inter alia, whether rent allegedly due to be paid by the company to its then subsidiary, under a sale and leaseback, during the provisional liquidation period was to be treated as an expense of the liquidation.

*R and C Electrical Engineers Ltd v Shaylor Construction Ltd

Building contract Adjudication. The Technology and Construction Court refused the claimant immediate payment of a sum found owing under a sub-contract by an adjudicator on the basis that the contractual machinery in relation to payment after final certification had not broken down.

*Hughmans Solicitors v Central Stream Services Ltd (in Liquidation) and another

Equity Beneficial interest. The Chancery Division held that a company had obtained a beneficial interest in a property and that the subsequent obtaining, by a firm of solicitors, of a final charging order was ineffective to confer priority for its consequential equitable charge over the company's beneficial interest in the property.

Paton and another v Todd

Land registration Rectification of register. The Chancery Division allowed an appeal against the deputy adjudicator's refusal to rectify the register on the basis that the deputy adjudicator made no finding on the critical point of whether the defendant believed he acquired the disputed land when he bought the property.

Humber Oil Terminals Trustee Ltd v Associated British Ports

Landlord and tenant Lease. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, upheld a finding that the defendant landlord had established a genuine intention to re-occupy premises leased to the claimant upon the expiry of the claimant's leases, and had accordingly defeated the claim for the grant of a new tenancy.

Perkins and another v McIver and others

Land Registration. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, held that a decision of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) refusing to modify a restrictive covenant to allow the claimants to erect a dwelling on their property had been erroneous on the grounds of procedural unfairness and a mis-application of the benefits derived from the covenant.

R v Martin

Criminal Law Trial. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, in dismissing the defendant's appeal against conviction for: (i) obtaining a money transfer by deception; (ii) converting criminal property; and (iii) concealing criminal property, but allowing his appeal against a total sentence of nine years' imprisonment, held that, on the evidence, the judge had not been entitled to take the view that all of the money had been derived from drug-trafficking.

*Harrow Borough of London v Ayiku

Local government Council tax. The Administrative Court, in dismissing the appellant's appeal, held that the respondent who was the non-British spouse of a student and was prevented from claiming state benefits but not prevented from taking paid employment by her immigration status, was exempt from liability to pay council tax pursuant to the Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992.