Judgment call: 30th April 2012
The content of a contractual obligation to use ‘best endeavours to promote’ another person’s business was not so uncertain as to be incapable of giving rise to a legally binding obligation, although it might be difficult to determine whether there had been a breach of it.
In this case, an airport was in breach of contract in refusing to accept departures or arrivals of a low-cost airline’s aircraft outside its normal hours.
Appeal dismissed
For the claimant/respondent Jet2.com Ltd
XXIV Old Buildings’ Philip Shepherd QC and Adam Clohert; Bird & Bird partner Robin Springthorpe
For the defendant/appellant Blackpool Airport Ltd
Brick Court Chambers’ George Leggatt QC and Michael Bools (QC in waiting); Eversheds partner Richard Little
A properly pleaded meaning in a libel action was key to ensuring fairness between the parties. A judge had been entitled to strike out defences of justification and honest comment, and to have refused to give the defendants permission to amend their defence where the defences or proposed amendments were not sufficient or pleaded with proper particularity, and the intended meanings of the words complained of were vague and lacking in clarity and coherence.
Appeal dismissed
For the appellants (1) Stephen Foley, (2) Independent News & Media, (3) Roger Alton
Cloisters’ Paul Epstein QC; David Price principal David Price QC
For the respondent Lord Ashcroft KCMG
5RB’s Mark Warby QC and Adam Speker; Davenport Lyons partner Kevin Bayes
A newspaper publisher was entitled to have disclosure of court documents that had been referred to in open court at an extradition hearing. Where documents had been placed before a judge and referred to in proceedings, the default position should be that access was permitted on the open justice principle, particularly where access was sought for a proper journalistic purpose.
Appeal allowed
For the appellant Guardian News and Media
Doughty Street Chambers’ Gavin Millar QC; 5RB’s Adam Wolanski; RPC senior associate Brid Jordan
For interested party the US government
6 KBW’s David Perry QC and Melanie Cumberland
For the intervener in the appeal
Doughty Street Chambers’ Heather Rogers QC and Ben Silverstone; Leigh Day & Co partner Sean Humber
Blackstone Chambers’ James Eadie QC
30 March 2012
The decision to abolish the fee previously payable to legal representatives for committal proceedings by the Criminal Defence Service (Funding) (Amendment) Order 2011 art.25 was not unlawful.
Application refused
For the appellant the Law Society of England and Wales
Matrix Chambers’ Sam Grodzinski QC and Helen Law; Bindmans partner Stephen Grosz
For the respondent the Lord Chancellor
Blackstone Chambers’ James Eadie QC; 11KBW’s Jason Coppel; both instructed directly by the Treasury Solicitor
The High Court determined a number of issues in relation to proceedings concerning the infringement of a registered community design for a tablet computer.
Judgment accordingly
For the claimants Samsung Electronics (UK) Ltd and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
11 South Square’s Henry Carr QC and Anna Edwards-Stuart; Simmons & Simmons partner Gavin Lawson
For the defendant Apple
3 New Square’s Simon Thorley QC and Joe Delaney; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner Justin Watts
Where a break clause condition stipulated that a tenant was to pay rent up to the termination date, the tenant was required to pay a full quarter’s rent on the last quarter day, notwithstanding that the exercise of the break clause terminated the underlease before the end of the quarter period.
Judgment accordingly
For the claimant PCE Investors
Falcon Chambers’ Stephen Jourdan QC; MacRae & Co partner Robert Gaskell
For the defendant Cancer Research UK
Landmark Chambers’ Katharine Holland QC; Squire Sanders partner Will Laurence
A shipowner that exercised a general average lien could not recover from the cargo receiver insurance and storage charges incurred in protecting the cargo where it denied possession to the receiver solely on the grounds that it was exercising a lien.
Appeal allowed in part
For the claimant Metall Market OOO
Quadrant Chambers’ Chirag Karia QC; Clyde & Co partner John Whittaker
For the defendant Vitorio Shipping Co Ltd
Essex Court Chambers’ Claire Blanchard QC; Stephenson Harwood partner Peter Handley
