Insurance Law: BAI (Run Off) Ltd v Durham & Ors (SC) 28/3/12

Employers’ liability insurance policies covering employers for disease contracted or injury sustained during the relevant insurance period covered cases where mesothelioma was caused, not only when the disease manifested itself. The negligent exposure of an employee to asbestos could be described as having a sufficient causal link with subsequently arising mesothelioma.

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May 18, 2012   Posted in: Case Reports  No Comments

Intellectual Property Law: Comic Enterprise Ltd v Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp, Ch Div (Judge Birss QC), 22/3/12

T’s application to transfer a claim from the PCC to the High Court was granted. C was an SME which ran comedy venues and owned the trade mark THE GLEE CLUB. T produced the hit TV programme “Glee” and had registered a number of CTMs for GLEE. The court found that the claim was of very high value and that C had not approached the litigation as a PCC claim but had run it as if it were a full scale High Court action, including seeking an injunction which would have catastrophic consequences for T. The case could not be tried in two days under the PCC regime. The transferral was on conditions including that T undertook not to seek an order for security for costs exceeding ÂŁ50,000, and that the costs incurred prior to transfer would be awarded on the PCC scale.

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May 17, 2012   Posted in: Case Reports  No Comments

Book recommendation: ‘I Have to Move My Car: Tales of Unpersuasive Advocates and Injudicious Judges’ by Lord Pannick

“There are law books about constructive trusts, the Perpetuities and Accumulations Act 1964 and the rule in Foss v Harbottle. This is not one of them. David Pannick QC has always been much more interested in unpersuasive advocates and injudicious judges. In this collection of his fortnightly columns from The Times, David Pannick passes judgement on advocates who tell judges that their closing submissions to the jury will not take long because ‘I would like to move my car before 5 o’clock; and he sentences judges who claim to have invisible dwarf friends sitting with them on the Bench, who order the parties to ‘stay loose – as a goose’, and who signal their rejection of an advocate’s argument by flushing a miniature toilet on the bench. In making his submissions, David Pannick QC will entertain and inform you about judges, lawyers, legal entertainment and unusual litigation.”

Available from Amazon.co.uk

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May 16, 2012   Posted in: Books  No Comments

Zoo Dolphin Deaths ‘Caused By Party Drugs’

Two dolphins, named Shadow and Chelmers, died at Connyland Zoo in Lipperswil, Switzerland last November.  A toxicology report made available to Swiss media has shown that the heroin substitute, Buprenorphin, was present in the animal’s urine.

A weekend rave party hosted by the zoo, which was attended by many, was held near the dolphins’ training pool.  At first, cause of death was attributed to the loud music during the party which could have had an effect in the dolphins’ sonar and hearing, which are very delicate.  Another theory was that antibiotics administered by the zoo to the dolphins could have been the cause of death.

Cornelis van Elk, a dutch Marine Biologist, had said that when dolphins are exposed to opiates, it can cause some brain cells to switch off, making them doze off.  This can prove fatal since dolphins, which are mammals, need to be awake in order to breathe. Even while sleeping, just like in humans, breathing is automatically controlled by the brain. The opiates, might have caused this same brain cells not to function properly, thus causing the dolphins’ deaths.

Sky

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May 15, 2012   Posted in: News  No Comments

Monday morning with Alex Williams’ cartoons, 14th May 2012


This cartoon is by Alex Williams who draws the Queen’s Counsel cartoons for The Times and in numerous books including Lawyers Uncovered. He also does the cartoons for BabyBarista and has had two more excellent books published recently: 101 Ways to Leave the Law and 101 Uses for a Useless Banker. He offers almost all of his cartoons for sale at ÂŁ120 for originals and ÂŁ40 for copies and they can be obtained from this email infoatqccartoondotcom.

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May 14, 2012   Posted in: Cartoons  No Comments

Weekend video: ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’

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May 12, 2012   Posted in: Video  No Comments

Employment Law: Horwood v Lincoln County Council, EAT

When an employee unequivocally resigns on one date, with immediate effect, and her employer subsequently informs her that her resignation is to be taken as commencing on a later date, the effective date of termination (“EDT”) is the former date, i.e. the date that the employee resigns. The EAT observed that the EDT is not a term of contract law, but a statutory construct, specifically designed for the purposes of a legislative scheme of employment rights based on a personal contract. Ms Horwood had provided a clear letter of resignation, and the law does not allow the EDT to be based on uncertainties, such as whether the letter would have been read on the intended date of receipt or not. The employer could not unilaterally alter the EDT so that it became a later date, and thus the EDT was the date of the employee’s clear resignation.

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May 11, 2012   Posted in: Case Reports  No Comments

Intellectual Property Law: Merck Sharp Dohme Corp & Anr v Teva Pharma BV & Anr, Ch Div (Judge Birss QC), 15/3/12

M’s application was granted for an injunction restraining T from infringing its European patent pending trial. The patent for an anti-retroviral drug was due to expire in August 2013 and the SPC in November 2013. T had obtained a marketing authorisation for a generic form of the drug and refused to provide an undertaking not to market the product while the patent/SPC was in force. The court found that the obtaining of the marketing authorisation at an early stage, together with T’s refusal to disclose its plans for launch of the generic drug, provided a basis for inferring that T intended to launch the generic drug before the rights had expired. Such a launch would cause very substantial and irremediable harm to M and it was appropriate to grant the injunction supported by a cross undertaking.

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May 10, 2012   Posted in: Case Reports  No Comments

Book recommendation: ‘Theodore Boone: The Accused’ by John Grisham

“Theodore Boone is the thirteen year old who knows more about the law than most adult lawyers. He certainly never expected to be the victim of crime himself. But then his bike is vandalised, he’s attacked while doing his homework and, worst of all, framed for a robbery. When stolen computer equipment turns up in Theo’s school locker, the police start leaning on him hard. And he is the only suspect. What if he is found guilty? What about his dreams of becoming a lawyer? In a race against time, aided by his renegade uncle, Ike, Theo must find the real felon and reveal the true motivation behind the crimes of which he stands accused.”

Available from Amazon.co.uk

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May 9, 2012   Posted in: Books  No Comments

LA Slaps Speed Limit On ‘Bombing’ Skateboards

As the new “Bombing” hype gains popularity on the streets of California, authorities have been doing all they can to prevent impending disasters caused by this risky fad..

“Bombing” is the practice of darting downhill at high speeds, sometimes while weaving in and out of traffic. Now skateboarders have to abide a 25 kph limit as implemented by Los Angeles as city councilors.

It was Councillor Joe Buscaino who initiated the law, stating that it was a response to the two skateboarder’s deaths this past year. Now, skateboarders will have to abide by the same rules as cyclists, stopping at stop signs and giving way to vehicles and pedestrians.

The new law has been gathering praise from the community.  However Mike Horelick, owner of Santa Monica-based Tunnel Skateboards, expressed some concerns about it mostly because unlike motorists, skate boarders don’t have any way to measure their speed.

“Skateboarders can’t tell exactly how fast they’re going. If you’re driving, you look at the speedometer. But if you’re a skateboarder, you’re looking at the road in front of you,” he said.

Sky

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May 8, 2012   Posted in: News  No Comments