Month: December 2017

15.12.17

Chairman of Oriental Fine Arts Academy of London wins libel claim over embezzlement/corruption slurs

Selvaratnam Suresh, an honorary chairman, trustee and co-founder of the Oriental Fine Arts Academy of London (‘OFAAL’) has succeeded in his libel claim against Abdul Samad, Amirthalingam Nagarajah and Kajananan Sathananthan, after the defendants agreed to retract their allegations, apologise and pay compensation and costs.  The first two defendants are parents of pupils at the…

Forensic lab potential data manipulation casts doubt on thousands of criminal cases

Over 10,000 criminal cases are due to be reviewed by Police following an alleged manipulation of forensic data at Randox Testing, a laboratory in Manchester responsible for analysing evidence of drug driving, sexual offences and violent crimes. The Forensic Service Regulator and the Police were first notified of a potential issue arising from the test…

Can suicide break the chain of causation?

The principles of “causation” have been examined  in a recent trial at Bristol Crown Court last month. In this case, the prosecution have sought to argue that the act of the defendant throwing sulphuric acid over the victim, which resulted in catastrophic but not fatal injuries, constituted murder. The injuries sustained by the victim included…

Solicitor struck off for ‘outrageous plundering’ from vulnerable client

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (‘SDT’) have struck of Mr Stephen Acres and awarded £70,000 in costs to the Solicitors Regulation Authority following sustained misappropriation from the accounts of an ‘elderly and extremely vulnerable client’. Background Mr Acres (‘the Respondent’), a former partner of Stanley De Leon, obtained a Lasting Power of Attorney (‘LPA’) in 2013…

13.12.17

Celebrity blackmail victim obtains injunction restraining publication of allegation of serious criminality

In LJY v Persons Unknown [2017] EWHC 3230 (QB), Mr Justice Warby granted an interim injunction restraining unknown defendants from publishing serious allegations of criminality against a celebrity, anonymised in the proceedings as ‘LJY’. LJY is said to be well-known to the public due to his work in the entertainment industry. On 5 December 2017,…

12.12.17

Libel/Defamation: cogent evidence required to defeat the qualified privilege defence

In the case of David v Hosany [2017] EWHC 2787 (QB), His Honour Judge Moloney QC considered a libel claim brought by the claimant, a Governor of the East London Foundation NHS Trust, in respect of three publications by the defendant, another Governor of the same Trust. These publications alleged that the claimant had intimidated…

5.12.17

No fairness in cash forfeiture proceedings

In R (on the application of Desmond Campbell) v Bromley Magistrates’ Court [2017] EWCA 1161 the Court of Appeal were asked to adjudicate upon the jurisdiction of a Magistrates’ Court to entertain questions of lawfulness of conduct in the context of cash forfeiture proceedings. The Respondent to the application wanted to raise questions about the searches…