Law Essay Examples

Legal Research Record

Summary of problem(s)

Design and Dress Limited (DDL) has experienced problems due to the alleged harassment of one of their employees, Susie Baker, by another employee, Stephen Harding which, despite internal investigation, has now lead to a formal police report. Can DDL be held be liable for damages in respect of a possible civil claim for harassment; if so on what legal basis and to what degree.

Key words or phrases

Harassment
Protection from harassment
Employer's liability
Vicarious liability
Damages/sanctions in harassment cases

Obvious sources/areas of law

Halsbury's Laws
Practitioner texts
Statutes
Statutory Instruments
Case law […]

Custom Law Essay Example 1

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What is the correct test for liability for those who receive assets dissipated in breach of trust?

The area of law under consideration comprises the personal liability of a third party to a trust who has received and misapplied trust property. Where they have retained the property, or its proceeds are traceable, the deprived beneficiary may have a proprietary remedy. Where the property has been dissipated, however, no proprietary remedy is available and the beneficiary's claim is in the law of obligation, as a right in personam. It is this head of liability with which we are concerned for current purposes. This area of law is most controversial, with Birks and Lord Nicholls advocating the approach that the Australian courts have recently adopted in Say-Dee Pty Ltd v Farah Construction Pty Ltd, that of strict liability for unjust enrichment. Conversely, the English courts and Professor Lionel Smith take the opposing view that fault is required where a third party receives and misapplies trust property.

The traditional view of the English courts requires fault in such cases, imposing constructive trusteeship upon the "knowing recipient" if he is guilty in the eyes of equity. By this head of personal liability, once the requisite degree of fault has been found, the court has no relieving jurisdiction. The case law is confused on this matter; there is no unified body of jurisprudence determining the degree of fault required to give rise to the far-reaching personal obligations imposed by […]

Custom Law Essay Example 2

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The recognition of substantive legitimate expectations is to be welcomed, but the standard of review in such cases remains problematic. Discuss.

Fairness and legal certainty are two crucial factors to be seen in decisions made by public authorities; the doctrine of legitimate expectations is the tool used to try to ensure these are present. The doctrine comes into play when a public authority makes a declaration regarding its policy, or the manner in which it will exercise its discretion, and then seeks to retreat from this position. Those seeking to enforce such a doctrine will naturally be people who have relied on the former position, probably to their detriment, and often with their position now worsened due to the change in policy.

However there has been disagreement as to whether the doctrine is truly a valid one under English law. Indeed in Khan, the Home Office departed from a representation of policy as regards approval of adoption from abroad, it was held, however, that they could only depart from such a policy following a hearing and in the overriding public interest. Further in Unilever it was held that the Inland Revenue cold not depart from a practice which it had followed for 25 years without some prior warning. Perhaps the most obvious example was seen in Hamlbe Fisheries, here a company purchased two small vessels in order to transfer the licenses to a larger vessel they already owned, which […]

Custom Law Essay Example 3

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In the context of the acquisition of estates and interests in property, discuss the extent to which you consider that the Land Registration Act 2002 has been a success.

The sale of land has always been complex, time-consuming and difficult: registration is designed to ease the sale of land and, in particular, to make purchasers more certain that the title they are acquiring will be good title. The main issues concerning a purchaser are: whether the vendor truly owns the land (and therefore has the ability to transfer title under the nemo dat rule) and, whether there are in existence any adverse rights over the land which may affect the sale (for example easements). Prior to registration, finding the answer to these questions was not a simple process. The purchaser would have to sift through what often amounted to hundreds of title deeds, and there was no guarantee that they were a complete or accurate record of existing titles or interests over the land. The buyer was normally protected in regard to the first issue by the rule on adverse possession. In relation to the second, any equitable interests would only bind the purchaser if they had notice of them (thus requiring a detailed inspection of the land for evidence of such interests) but legal interests (s1 Law of Property Act 1925 dictates that the only legal estates in land are leases and fee simple (ownership)) would bind a […]

Custom Law Essay Example 4

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"It is always easier to justify conscientious objection than civil disobedience." Is it?

The two issues of civil disobedience and conscientious objection are very difficult; they seem to conflict immediately with the idea held by the average layman that one should obey the law. Therefore, their potential justification is likely to be a complex issue. What must be noted from the start is that the answer to this question is heavily dependent on what is meant by justification. It seems that there are two possible ways in which it can be examined. The first is simply that conscientious objection or civil disobedience is, in the circumstances, seen as the right thing to do i.e. it is correct behaviour. On this premise it would seem that it will be possible to find justifiable examples of both. The second, on the other hand, would be to say that such action is only justified where someone has a right to do it. If this is the case then whether the action is viewed as "correct" or not becomes irrelevant. This difference between the two types of "right" is something which is heavily emphasised by Dworkin. Both of these approaches to "justification" will be looked at.[…]

Custom Law Essay Example 5

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