136 / 336
arising from administrative action, the objectors
would have had a right to substantial compensation,
over and above the compulsory purchase compensa-
tion, they would have been entitled to in an ordinary
case for the loss of their land. Certainly they would
have had such a right had they suffered comparable
losses through the mistake of a private individual or
corporation, and it is putting public authorities in an-
indefensively privileged position when the balance is
always tipped in their favour, even by the weight of
their own errors. The Reading Supermarket should
have been moved back and the County Council should
have paid the price.
Summary of Recent English Decisions
Common Law
To establish liability to a trespassing child there
must be shown knowledge of facts which would fairly
lead a humane and sensible man to infer the likelihood
of a serious accident:
Penny v. Northamption
Borough
Council.
(1974) L.G.R. 733 C.A.
It is contrary to natural justice that a magistra'e
should hear a case in which he has such an interest
that there is a real likelihood of bias:
R.
Altrincham
Justices, ex p. Pennington.
Company and Commercial Law
In an action for allegedly unlawful withholding of
supplies, interlocutary injunctions will not be granted
against 'he defendant suppliers if they make out a
prima facie case that they had reasonable cause to
believe their goods to have been used as loss leaders:
J.J.B. (Sports) v. Milbro Sports
, (1975) I.C.R. 73.
Conveyancing and Property Law
A landlord is not bound to accept 'ender of rent
from a third party:
Richards
v.
De Freitas,
29 Prop.
E.C.R. (1974).
A demand for rent in the knowledge of the right to
forfeiture of the lease constitutes a waiver of that right:
Welch
v.
Birrane,
29 Prop. E.C.R. 102.
A juror leaving the jury room after the jury has
retired to consider its verdict constitutes a ma'erial
irregularity calling for the discharge of the jury and a
re-trial:
R.
v.
Goodson,
(1975) 1 All E.R. 760, C.A.
Criminal Law
Acts or words emanating from a person other than
the victim are capable of amounting to provocation as a
defence to a murder charge:
R.
v.
Davies (Peter),
(1975)
1 All E.R. 760, C.A.
There is no equity about a tax: per
ROWLATT J. ( 1 9 2 1)
Divorce and Family Law
An adult child of 19 years who assaul's his mother
can be excluled from his parents' home by injunction in
very grave circumstances:
Egan
v.
Egan,
(1975) 2
W.L.R. 503.
Practice
The majority decision of the Court of Appeal in the
Schorsch Meier
case that English courts have jurisdic-
tion to give judgement in foreign currencies was not
made per incuriam:
Miliangos
v.
George
Frank
(Textiles),
(1975) 1 All E.R. 1076 C.A.
It is a serious piece of maladministration for a clerk
to issue summonses without the information being laid
before a justice:
R.
v.
Brentford
Justices, ex p. Catlin,
( 1 9 7 5 )2 W.L.R. 506 Q.C.
Once a competent tribunal of fact has properly con-
sidered the question of fact whether the relationship of
master and servant exist between a driver and the
defendant, superior tribunals will not reconsider the
question on their own behalf:
Howard
v. G.
T. Jones
& Co.,
(1975) R.T.R. 150.
The courts have no jurisdiction to interfere with
findings of fact of the Price Commission unless such
findings appear to be based upon any misunderstand-
ing of the law or bad faith or are unsupported by the
evidence:
General Electric Co. v. Price
Commission,
(1975) I.C.R.
Road Traffic
In general, once a person takes a vehicle onto the
public road he remains in charge of it until he has
taken it off the road again:
Woodage
v.
Jones (No. 2),
(1975) R.T.R. 156.
It is not settled law that the person steering a towed
vehicle is the driver, and a jury should not be directed
to convict of an offence on that basis:
R.
v.
Shaw
(Kenneth),
(1975) R.T.R. 160.
There is no duty on the driver of a car who is driv-
ing at a reasonable speed to slow down or sound his
horn when passing a vehicle parked on his nearside:
Moore (An Infant) v. Poyner,
(1975) R.T.R. 127.
Wills
Where the essential object of a trust is to promote
by education the grantor's own political ideals, the
trust is political rather than educational and is accord-
ingly not charitable:
Re Bushnell (deed.); Uoyds
Bank
v. Murray,
(975) 1 All E.R. 721.
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