Fareham Borough Council v Miller

Housing Local authority houses. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, allowed the claimant local authority's appeal against a decision in the county court refusing its claim for possession of a flat which was let to the defendant under a non-secure tenancy. The defendant had been in and out of prison and the flat had been the scene of anti-social behaviour. The court held that the defendant had no defence to the possession claim on either Wednesbury grounds or under art8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

O'Donnell and another v The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland

Bankruptcy Petition. The Chancery Division considered the claimants' application for a review of an order holding that their centre of main interests, for the purposes of a bankruptcy order, was in Ireland and not England and Wales. In dismissing the application, the court held that evidence put before it had not been sufficient to justify reviewing the order.

Garwood (trustee of the estate in bankruptcy of Adekunbi Ibrahim Fabumni-Stone) v Bank of Scotland Plc

Bankruptcy Trustee in bankruptcy. The Chancery Division considered an appeal against the decision of an adjudicator. It held that the adjudicator had been right to hold that the respondent bank had been entitled to be re-registered as proprietor of a charge that had secured a loan over a property, where the charge had been made as the result of a mistake.

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.

*Darbyshire v Turpin and another

Insolvency Bankruptcy. The appellant appealed against an order granting the respondents' petition for a bankruptcy order. He contended that a previous order, dismissing his application to discharge a statutory demand, had failed to specify a date on or after which the respondents could present a petition and, therefore, relying on r 6.5(6) of the Insolvency Rules 1986, , no bankruptcy petition could have been properly presented. The Chancery Division, in disagreeing with that analysis, held that r 6.5(6) of the Rules should not be interpreted as prohibiting the petitioner from presenting a petition forthwith if no date was specified in the order. However, the court allowed the appeal, having found that, on the facts, the district judge had not been entitled summarily to dispose of the petition in the way that she had.

*Westfields Construction Ltd v Lewis

Building contract Adjudication. The defendant employed the claimant contractor to carry out refurbishment work at a property (the property). A dispute arose following the defendant's non-payment of a valuation and, following adjudication, the claimant was awarded a sum of money plus interest. The claimant sought to enforce the order. The defendant sought to rely on the exception in s 106 of the Housing Grants (Construction and Regeneration) Act 1996 on the basis that he had occupied the property as a residence and intended to do so in the future. The Technology and Construction Court held that there had been no ongoing residential occupier for the purposes of s106 of the Act. 'Occupation' was an ongoing process and could not be tested by reference to a single snapshot in time. Accordingly, the claimant was entitled to enforce the award and the defendant was liable to the claimants in the sum awarded.

Bush and another v King

Misrepresentation Fraudulent misrepresentation. The claimants entered into a transaction with the defendant to acquire an interest in land. The claimants issued proceedings, contending that the transaction was entered on the basis of fraudulent misrepresentation. The Queen's Bench Division, in allowing the claim, held that the claimant had relied on the defendant's knowingly untrue representation in entering into the transaction.

*R (on the application of Stirling) v Haringey London Borough

Local government Council tax. The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in dismissing the claimant's appeal, held that fairness had not required the defendant local authority in its consultation process in respect of its council tax reduction scheme to mention other options which it had decided not to incorporate into its published draft scheme, much less had it required that the consultation document contain an explanation as to why those options were not incorporated into the draft scheme.

New Forest District Council v Owen and others

Town and country planning Enforcement of planning control. The Queen's Bench Division dismissed the claimant local planning authority's application for an injunction requiring the defendants to cease using units on a former RAF site for residential purposes on the basis that the defendants had reasonable prospects of succeeding at full trial.

Re Ovenden Colbert Printers Ltd

Practice Summary judgment. An insolvency practitioner applied for summary judgment in respect of a claim brought against him by a liquidator of a company under s238(4)(a) of the (transactions at an undervalue). The Companies Court granted the application, having held that there was no prospect of the claim succeeding where the company had not entered into a transaction which the liquidator could review.