Court of Appeal clarifies the test for striking out ‘warehoused’ proceedings In the recent case of BlackBerry Limited -v- Optiemus Infracom Limited,[1] the Court of Appeal clarified the key test for striking out ‘warehoused’ proceedings. The decision clarifies that, even where Grovit abuse is established, strike out is not automatic and remains a matter of judicial discretion. What is warehousing? [...]
The Building Safety Levy - an upcoming increase to the costs of Residential Development On 1 October 2026, the Building Safety Levy, introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022 and more particularly described in the Building Safety Levy (England) Regulations 2025 (“the Regulations”), will come into force. The government has published a detailed guidance note about the levy. Building Safety [...]
The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026 - Deadline 31 May 2026 There is less than a week until the deadline (i.e. by 31 May 2026) for landlords and their agents to provide “The Renters’ Rights Act Information Sheet 2026” (“Information Sheet”) to tenants. What is the Information Sheet? The Information Sheet is a document produced by the government for [...]
Renters’ Rights Act 2025 – Information and implementation Introduction The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 (“the Act”) has been enacted to provide significantly enhanced protection for tenants. The ground-breaking legislation is set to revolutionise the rental market by abolishing assured shorthold tenancies, removing a landlord’s right to “no-fault” evictions, allowing tenants more flexibility in terminating a tenancy and provides new rent [...]
New year, new procedures! On 1 January 2026, a new two-year pilot-scheme comes into play in the High Court. In legal talk, it’s known as “Practice Direction 51ZH – Access to Public Domain Documents” and it will initially operate in only a few (pilot) courts. In summary, both parties and non-parties to a case will be able to more easily [...]
Noel Clarke vs The Guardian: Key legal lessons The libel case of Noel Clarke -v- The Guardian has sparked widespread discussion about the boundaries of truth, and investigative journalism and the public interest defence, in the context of defamation. This article sets out the chronology of the proceedings and explores the key legal and media lessons from Mr Clarke’s failed [...]
Shared Appreciation, Unshared Burden: The Ethical Failure of Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank For nearly three decades, a large group of mostly elderly and vulnerable mortgage holders have endured the consequences of a financial product that promised security but delivered profound hardship. The Shared Appreciation Mortgage (SAM), sold in the late 1990s primarily by Bank of Scotland (now part [...]
Garfield.law & the ‘Robot Solicitor’ Sensation In May 2025, legal headlines across the UK proclaimed the arrival of the country’s “first robot solicitor” - a legal AI tool named Garfield.law. Described in the media as a revolutionary step toward automated justice, the reality was more modest: Garfield is a procedural software system with AI capability designed to help individuals pursue [...]
Moths and Replies to Enquiries – A Salutary Lesson Iya Patarkatsishvili (1) Yevhen Hunyak v William Woodward – Fisher [2025] EWHC 265 (Ch) The judgment of Mr Justice Fancourt sitting in the High Court of Justice on 10 February 2025 is an interesting one and provides a reminder to take care when answering enquiries as a seller. In this case [...]
Declaratory Judgments. YOU SHALL, NOT, MERGE! The common law doctrine of merger in judgment does not apply to declaratory judgments. So confirmed the UK Supreme Court when today it handed down its judgment in Nasir v Zavarco Plc [2025] UKSC 5. Lee Donoghue, Jessica Verrall, and Rabia Azam at Teacher Stern LLP acted for the Appellant Tan Sri Nasir, with [...]
