Case Summaries
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Burton v Camden LBC
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Whether a deed assigning joint tenancy constituted an assignment as prohibited by the Housing Act 1985. ...
Burton v Islington Health Authority
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimants were children who had been born suffering from disabilities which had been caused by negligent medical treatment of their mothers… ...
Bushwall Properties v Vortex Properties
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The parties agreed to sell a property of 51 ½ acres of land for a set price of £500,000. The payments were to be made in unequal instalments. ...
Butler Machine Tool v Ex-Cell-O Corporation – 1979
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The court allowed the buyer’s appeal. The court found that the buyer’s order was not an acceptance of the initial offer from the seller but a counter-offer which the sellers had accepted by returning the signature section of the buyer’s letter. ...
Butterfield V Forrester (1809) 103 E.R. 926
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case Summary of Butterfield V Forrester (1809) 103 E.R. 926. The establisment of contributory negligence. ...
Bux v Slough Metals
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mr Bux was employed by the defendant as a die-caster. This involved him lifting molten metal from a furnace with a ladle and pouring it into a die. ...
Byrne and Co v Van Tienhoven
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendants wrote a letter, on October 1, to the plaintiffs offering the sale of 1000 boxes of tin plates. The defendant was based in Cardiff and the plaintiff was based in New York, and letters took around 10-11 days to be delivered. ...
Byrne v Deane – 1937
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was golf club member, while the defendants were the proprietors and the secretary of the club. By a rule of the club… ...
C & P Haulage v Middleton – Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
C&P granted Middleton a license to occupy premises from where he would conduct his business. The agreement expressly stated the license… ...
Cabinet Office v Information Commissioner and Dr Lamb
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The Cabinet Office sought to resist disclosure of the minutes of two meetings at which Ministers had determined to commit forces to the conflict in Iraq… ...
Caldwell v Maguire
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was a professional jockey. He sustained severe injuries due to manoeuvres from two other jockeys a left turn in a race, which a later internal investigation by the Jockey Club deemed to be careless and against the rules. ...
Calverley v Green
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Mr Calverley and Ms Green were in a de facto relationship, where they were not legally married but had lived together… ...
Calverley v Green – Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mr Calverley and Ms Green were in a de facto relationship, where they were not legally married but had lived together as if they were for 10 years. ...
Cambridge Water v Eastern Countries Leather Plc
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The Defendants were engaged in leather tanning at Sawston. During their work, as a result of the process of degreasing pelts, small quantities of a solvent known as Perchloroethene (PCE) was spilt on the floor of the building in which the Defendants carried out their activities. ...
Cameron v Murdoch (1986)
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Proprietary estoppel can be enforced even though the interest is inchoate. ...
Campbell v Griffin [2001]
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The claimant, Campbell, moved in with a much older couple, Mr and Mrs Ascough, as a lodger. ...
Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers – 2004
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The House of Lords held that the correct test to determine whether information was private was to consider whether a reasonable person of ordinary sensibility placed in the same situation as C would find the disclosure of the information offensive. ...
Canada Steamship Lines v The King
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Canada Steamship Lines entered into a Crown lease in 1940. The Duration of the lease was for 12 years and the lease pertained to dock property on St Gabriel Basin on the Lachine Canal. All of this was situated in the Port of Montreal. ...
Canadian Railway Co v The King
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Circumstances where a licence will be implied and whether such a licence is revocable ...
Caparo v Dickman Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case Summary of Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] UKHL 2. The tripartite test in establishing duty of care. Caparo is the landmark case which has created the tripartite test in establishing duty of care. ...
Capital and Counties v Hampshire CC
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The decision is on three conjoined appeals from three separate decisions. Hampshire County Council (HCC) – the defendant, appealed a decision that the… ...
Carillion Construction v Felix – Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Carillion was a main contractor on a building site and subcontracted Felix to undertake work. The work was due for completion… ...
Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co – 1893
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Emphasised the significance of offer and acceptance in contract law; distinguishes between offers and invitations to treat. The issue in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co was whether the advert in question constituted an offer or an invitation to treat. ...
Carmarthenshire County Council v Lewis
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant in this matter was the wife of a lorry driver killed whilst trying to avoid a child in the road. The child was at school… ...
Carnegie v Waugh
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
It was agreed between the parties that the annual rent would be paid to C. There was a dispute related to the agreement between the parties… ...
Carslogie Steamship v Norwegian Government
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The complainant’s vessel, Heimgar, was damaged by a collision with the defendant, Carslogie. The defendants admitted negligence and damage and this was not… ...
Case 6/64 Flaminio Costa v E.N.E.L
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In 1962 the Italian Republic introduced a law which nationalised the production and *427 distribution of electricity and created an organisation… ...
Case Law on Duress by Threats
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Duress by Threats. The general nature of the defence of duress is that the defendant was forced by someone else to break the law under an immediate threat of serious harm befalling himself or someone else, ie he would not have committed the offence but for the threat. Duress is a defence because.. ...
Case Summaries on Burglary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Criminal law case summaries covering and burglary and aggravated burglary. R v Brown – A witness, having heard the sound of breaking glass, saw the defendant partially inside a shop front display. ...
Case Summary: Cellulose Acetate Silk Co Ltd v Widnes Foundry
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
LawTeacher.net Case Summary about Cellulose Acetate Silk Co Ltd v Widnes Foundry (1933) – tackling contract law, contract terms, and measure of damages. ...
Case Summary: Hinz v Berry – 1970
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A case summary for LawTeacher.net covering Hinz v Berry (1970) regarding matters of negligence, psychiatric damage and duty of care. ...
Case Summary: Monmouth BC v Marlog, The Times
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A case summary for LawTeacher.net regarding Monmouth BC v Marlog, The Times (4 May 1994), covering matters of the intention to create legal relationships in tenancy arrangements. ...
Case Summary: R v Kirk – 2008
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case Summary for LawTeacher.net about R v Kirk [2008], regarding admissibility of evidence including bad character, summing up in respect of consent, the approach for two defendants and sentence length. ...
Case Summary: Rothwell v Chemical and Insulating Ltd (2007)
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Case summary for LawTeacher.net of Rothwell V Chemical And Insulating Co [2007] covering legal matters such as Negligence, Asbestos-Related Illness, Psychiatric Damage, and Nature Of Compensatable Damage. ...
Cases on Actus Reus
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Cases on Actus Reus. The defendant, a diabetic was charged with assaulting his victim. The assault occurred whilst the defendant was in a state of hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar level due to an excess of insulin). ...
Cases on Mens Rea
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mens Rea Case Summaries. The defendant, in order to frighten Mrs Booth, her rival for the affections of Mr X, put burning newspaper through the letterbox of Booth’s house and caused the death of two of her children. ...
Cases on Mens Rea 2
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Cases on Mens Rea 2. The defendant struck a blow with his belt at Horace Chapple which recoiled off him, severely injuring an innocent bystander. The defendant was convicted of maliciously wounding the victim… ...
Cases on Preliminary Crimes
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Preliminary Crime Case Summaries. The defendant members of the ‘National Front’ had conducted a campaign against a Mr and Mrs W (a white couple) fostering black children. ...
Cassell v Riverside Health Authority
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant had been injured at birth due to the negligence of the defendant health authority, which had been responsible… ...
Cassidy v Daily Mirror Newspapers
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Libel; husband and wife; statement for per se defamatory. The claimant was known as the lawfully wedded wife of a famous race-horse owner and former General of the Mexican Army. ...
Cassidy v Ministry of Health 1951
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was a patient at a hospital run by the defendant who required routine treatment to set the bones in his wrist. Due to negligence on the part of one of the doctors, the operation caused his fingers to become stiff. ...
Castle v St Augustine’s Links
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was a taxi driver who had been driving on a road near the St Augstine’s Links course when he was hit in the eye by a golf ball. ...
Caswell v Powell Duffryn
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A mine worker was responsible for periodically cleaning the movable plates of a coal-transporting conveyor belt, instructed to ensure that… ...
Cattle v Stockton Waterworks
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Stockton Waterworks Co laid down one of their main roads along and under a turnpike road. Private property was either side of the road. The landowner employed Cattle to make a tunnel under the road so he could access his land on the other side of the road easily. ...
Caunce v Caunce [1969]
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
A husband and wife both made contributions to the purchase price for a property intended to act as the matrimonial home. The property in question was unregistered land, and the husband received sole legal title. ...
CCSU v Minister for the Civil Service
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In the 1980’s, with the United Kingdom under the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher, it was ruled that any and all employees of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) were prohibited from joining any trade union. ...
Central London Property Trust v High Trees House – 1947
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
In 1937, Central London Property Trust Ltd (CLPT) leased a block of flats in London to High Trees House Ltd (HTH) at £2,500 per year for 99 years. Due to the impact of World War II, there was a drastic under-occupancy of the flats in 1940. ...
Century Insurance v Northern Ireland Road Transport Board
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Employer’s vicarious liability for damages caused by the acts of an employee. A transport undertaking had a contract with a petroleum company for the carriage and delivery of their petrol in lorries, agreeing to insure the lorries against any spillage or fire of the petroleum. ...
Chadwick v British Railways Board – 1967
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant, Henry Chadwick (C) was described as a cheerful man who was active in his local community and ran a well-known window cleaning company. ...
Chahal v UK – Case Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
C, an Indian citizen, was given indefinite leave to remain in the UK after entering illegally. In 1984 he visited India and… ...
Chambers v DPP – 2012
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
A 26-year-old man learned that an airport from which he was due to travel was closed due to heavy snow-fall. He responded on Twitter by tweeting: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!” ...
Chan Pui Chun v Leung Kam Ho
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The complainant had worked with the defendant and a personal relationship had developed with him while he was ...
Chapelton v Barry Urban District Council – 1940
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Hire of deck chair; effect of purported exclusion of liability on ticket. Chapelton wished to hire a deck chair and approached a pile of chairs owned by Barry Urban District Council (BUDC). ...
Chaplin v Hicks – 1911
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Hicks was a famous actor and theatre manager. He invited women to enter a beauty contest by sending in photographs which would be placed in a newspaper. ...
Chappell and Co v Nestle Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Consideration need not have economic value. The defendants, Nestlé, contracted with a company manufacturing gramophone records to buy several recordings of music. ...
Chartered Trust plc v Davies
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Whether lease could be repudiated due to nuisance from adjoining premises ...
Chaudry v Prabhakar – 1989
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The plaintiff was seeking to purchase a car and asked the defendant, her friend, to assist her on the basis that he claimed to be knowledgeable on the subject. She purchased a car on the recommendation of the defendant. ...
Cheltenham & Gloucester v Krausz
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The respondent borrowers had fallen into arrears on their mortgage payments. They applied for an order suspending a warrant for possession… ...
Chen v Secretary of State for the Home Department
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Chen V. Secretary of State for the Home Department (2005) QB 325 case summary ...
Cheney v Conn – 1968
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant, Cheney, asserted that the tax obligations placed on British citizens by the Finance Act 1964 were unlawful… ...
Chester v Afshar – 2004
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Establishing causation following consent to medical treatment and subsequent injury. The claimant Chester, had managed with bad back pain for several years, which severely limited her ability to walk around and interfered with her ability to control her bladder. ...
Chhokar v Chhokar
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The parties, Mr and Mrs Chhokar lived in a house bought in the husband’s sole name. They both contributed to its purchase and upkeep. The marriage fell apart and the husband arranged to sell the house without telling his wife. ...
Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary v Shimmen
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant was spending time with four of his friends outside a shop in a generally jovial atmosphere. At one stage, the appellant… ...
Children and Local Authorities | Family Law Study Area | Law Teacher
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Children and Local Authorities. During the first half of the twentieth century the conventional wisdom was that parents knew best, and only in the most extreme cases would parents or society at large tolerate any interference in their… ...
Children and Their Welfare | Family Law Study Area | Law Teacher
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Children and Their Welfare. The Children Act 1989 was the result of a comprehensive review of the law as it affected children, and now encompasses almost the whole of the civil law in that area with the exception of that which ...
Chung Chi Cheung v R – 1939
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The appellant (C), a British subject, who was cabin boy on board a Chinese Maritime Customs cruiser – a foreign armed public ship… ...
Chwee Kin Keong v Digilandmall Pte Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Digilandmall.com Pte Ltd, were an online IT company that sold related software and hardware from Singapore. They were selling a HP laser printer and an employee accidently made a mistake as to the price of the printer on their website. ...
CIBC Mortgages Plc v Pitt – 1994
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The Pitts were husband and wife. The husband, putting her under pressure, convinced his wife to take out a loan on the security of their matrimonial… ...
City of London Building Society v Flegg
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Here, the Maxwell Browns purchased a property, attaining half of the cost form Mrs Maxell Brown’s parents, the Fleggs. The property was placed solely under the Maxwell Brown’s name with both the Browns and the Fleggs in actual occupancy. ...
City of London Building Society v Flegg – 1988
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Here, the Maxwell Browns purchased a property, attaining half of the cost form Mrs Maxell Brown’s parents, the Fleggs. The property was placed solely… ...
Cityland and Property (Holdings Ltd) v Dabrah
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The plaintiffs, Cityland, sold a house to a former tenant for £3,500. The tenant paid £600 in cash and took… ...
Clark Fixing Ltd v Dudley
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendant, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (Dudley MBC), appealed a decision that it was liable in negligence for damage caused by fire… ...
Clarke v Dickson – Summary
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The plaintiff claimed that he had been induced to invest in shares in a lead and copper mining company by the three defendants, who were directors of the… ...
Claughton v Charalambous
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The effect of exceptional circumstances on the rights of a beneficiary in actual occupation. ...
Clore v Theatrical Properties Ltd and Westby & Co Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Whether agreement lease or license; whether binding upon third party with notice ...
Clos Farming Estates Pty Ltd v Easton
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Clos Farming owned several lots including Lot 86 that was situated on vineyard estate land. ...
Co-operative Insurance v Argyll Stores
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The plaintiffs granted a lease to the defendant for the use of a unit in a shopping centre for the period of thirty-five years. A clause in the lease required a covenant to keep the premises open for trade during regular business hours in the local area. ...
Cohen v Cohen – 1929
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mrs Cohen was unsuccessful in her claim. There was no consideration given for the promise of Mr Cohen because the contract for… ...
Cole v Turner
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The relevance of the mental element in the tort of Battery. The case concerned an action brought before the court for trespass and battery. The Claimants were a husband and wife, both of who had allegedly suffered battery by the Defendant. ...
Collier v Collier – 2002
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Due to financial difficulties the respondent granted leases, with options to purchase, over two properties to the appellant (his daughter). ...
Collins v Godefroy – (1831)
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Performance of an existing duty is no consideration. Godefroy, the defendant, brought an action against an attorney for negligence and caused Collins, the plaintiff, to be subpoenaed to attend and give evidence. ...
Collins v Wilcock – 1984
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Definition of battery, unlawful touching when beyond scope of police authority. A police officer wished to question a woman in relation to her alleged activity as a prostitute. The woman decided to walk away, but the police officer was intent on stopping her and in order to do so. ...
Combe v Combe – 1951
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
During the divorce process, a husband promised to pay his wife a tax-free sum of £100 each year to represent a permanent maintenance payment. The wife was aware that the husband was not in a good financial state and made no claim to this payment. ...
Commonwealth of Australia v Verwayen
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
The plaintiff was a naval officer who was injured when two navy ships, the HMAS Voyager and the HMAS Melbourne… ...
Compagnie Noga v Abacha
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant Swiss company entered into a tripartite agreement with the defendant (the personal representative of the deceased former military… ...
Congreve v Home Office
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The acts of the executive amounted to the revoking of legally gained, fully paid for licences from the public, effectively forcing members to pay additional fees. ...
Consent Cases – Bodily Harm – ABH
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Cases on Consent. R v Wilson (1996) Times Law Report March 5 1996. The defendant had been charged with assault occasioning a.b.h. contrary to s47 of the O.A.P.A. 1861… ...
Consideration Case Summaries
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Re McArdle (1951) A wife and her three grown-up children lived together in a house. The wife of one of the children did some decorating and later the children promised to pay her £488 and they signed a document to this effect. ...
Contract Law Intention Case Summaries
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Contract law intention cases – social and domestic agreements, business / commercial agreements. Lens v Devonshire Club (1914) It was held that the winner of a competition held by a golf club could not sue for his prize ...
Contract Law Misrepresentation Cases
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The plaintiff purchased from the defendant two blocks of land for the purpose of sheep farming. During negotiations the defendant said that if the place was worked properly, it would carry 2,000 sheep. ...
Contract Law Mistake Case Summaries
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Mistake Cases covering common mistake, unilateral mistake, and mutual mistake contract law case summaries. ...
Conway v George Wimpey & Co Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
Conway (C) was on his way to work on an aerodrome when he hailed a lorry belonging to the George Wimpey & Co Ltd (W) and driven by one of their… ...
Cook v JL Kier and Co – 1970
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was a foreman who suffered severe brain damage when a spanner was dropped on to his head from a height whilst… ...
Cook v Square D Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The complainant was an electronics engineer that worked for Square D Ltd, a company based in the UK. He worked abroad sometimes and… ...
Cooke v MGN Ltd
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The defendants published an article which suggested that various landlords made significant profit from renting poor quality… ...
Cooper v Phibbs – 1867
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
It was held that the contract and lease that existed between the complainant and the defendant was voidable, rather than void. This was due to the claim being in equity, as Mr Cooper had beneficial ownership of the salmon fishery and not legal ownership. ...
Copeland v Greenhalf [1952]
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Copeland owned an orchard and adjoining house. Access to the orchard from the road was via a strip of land… ...
Corin v Patton
Example case summary. Last modified: 12th Oct 2018
Severance of joint tenancies and transfer of equitable interest in property. ...
Cork v Kirby Maclean
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The claimant was a factory worker who died when he had an epileptic seizure while working on a platform with no railings over 20 feet above the ground. His employers were not aware of his condition. ...
Cornish v Midland Bank plc
Example case summary. Last modified: 7th Mar 2018
The plaintiff’s husband made an application for a loan from the defendant bank, which the plaintiff consented to guarantee by signing a second… ...
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