University of Reading Case Study

Transcription

1 University of Reading Case Study Researching Case Law Developments Online [Westlaw UK exercise] Formative assessment - Questions 1. Locate and read the case report for Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 on Westlaw UK. In which court was this case heard? a. County Court Court of Appeal (Civil Division) c. Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) d. High Court (Chancery Division) e. House of Lords f. Lands Tribunal 2. According to the court, might Burns v Burns have been decided differently if the parties had been married? a. Yes, the court would have had jurisdiction to make an order under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 No, the same legal principles in determining plaintiff s interest in the house would have applied irrespective of marital status c. It is not clear, because no opinion was given on this point 3. Using the Case Analysis information on Westlaw UK, which one of the following cases was NOT cited in Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? a. Bernard v Josephs [1982] Ch. 391 Diwell v Farnes [1959] 1 W.L.R. 624 c. Falconer v Falconer [1970] 1 W.L.R d. Gissing v Gissing [1971] A.C. 886 e. Hine v Hine [1962] 1 W.L.R 1124 f. Pettitt v Pettitt [1970] A.C. 777

2 4. Of the following cases, which was the earliest in which Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 was judicially cited? a. Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 K.B. 571 Bristol and West Building Society v Henning [1985] 1 W.L.R. 778 c. Gow v Grant [2012] UKSC 29 d. Grant v Edwards [1986] Ch. 638 e. Winkworth v Edward Baron Development Co Ltd (1986) 52 P. & C.R. 67 f. Young v Young (Equitable Interests) [1984] Fam. Law In which case was Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 distinguished? a. Balfour v Balfour [1919] 2 K.B. 571 Grant v Edwards [1986] Ch. 638 c. Layton v Martin [1986] 2 F.L.R. 227 d. Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 e. Windeler v Whitehall (1990) 154 J.P. 29 f. Young v Young (Equitable Interests) [1984] Fam. Law How many cases have applied Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? a. None 2 c. 3 d. 4 e. 20 f. 24

3 7. Can a formal law report of the judgment in Windeler v Whitehall (1990) 154 J.P. 29 be read on Westlaw UK? a. Yes, a formal law report of the judgment in this case can be read in full on Westlaw UK No, Westlaw UK does not provide the full-text of any of the formal law reports of this case to read 8. In total, how many House of Lords and Supreme Court cases have cited Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? a. None 1 c. 2 d. 3 e. 4 f How was the decision in Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 treated by the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17? a. It was overruled It was distinguished on the facts c. It was applied d. It was followed e. It was considered f. It was mentioned

4 1. Locate and read the case report for Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 on Westlaw UK. In which court was this case heard? Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Yes, correct. The report is of a civil case heard in the Court of Appeal, as stated both at the top of the case report and in the initial search result for the case. 2. According to the court, might Burns v Burns have been decided differently if the parties had been married? No, the same legal principles in determining plaintiff s interest in the house would have applied irrespective of marital status a. Yes, the court would have had jurisdiction to make an order under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 Sorry, incorrect. Read the judgments closely. In his judgment, Lord Justice Fox notes, "The court has no jurisdiction to make such order as it might think fair; the powers conferred by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 in relation to the property of married persons do not apply to unmarried couples." The same distinction is also drawn in the opening paragraph of Lord Justice May's judgment.

5 3. Using the Case Analysis information on Westlaw UK, which one of the following cases was NOT cited in Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? Diwell v Farnes [1959] 1 W.L.R. 624 e. Hine v Hine [1962] 1 W.L.R 1124 Sorry, incorrect. For the correct answer, make sure you are referring to the All Cases Cited listing in the Case Analysis, not the Significant Cases Cited or the Cases Citing. Neither Diwell v Farnes or Bernard v Josephs are listed in the Significant Cases Cited but both are included in the All Cases Cited listing. The correct answer, Hine v Hine, does not appear in the All Cases Cited listing. 4. Of the following cases, which was the earliest in which Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 was judicially cited? f. Young v Young (Equitable Interests) [1984] Fam. Law 271 f. Young v Young (Equitable Interests) [1984] Fam. Law 271 Yes, correct. The All Cases Citing listing is initially ordered by date, with the most recent case citing Burns v Burns at the top. The earliest cases therefore appear at the bottom of this listing, with Young v Young (Equitable Interests) second from bottom and the earliest to cite Burns v Burns of the options given. For your information, the judgment in the unreported case listed last - Philip Lowe (Chinese Restaurant) Limited v Sau Man Lee - is out of correct time sequence due to a database error, and was in fact not given until 9 July 1985.

6 5. In which case was Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 distinguished? Grant v Edwards [1986] Ch. 638 c. Layton v Martin [1986] 2 F.L.R. 227 Sorry, incorrect. The simplest way to get the correct answer is to sort the list of All Cases Citing by Judicial Treatment, with negative treatments grouped together first. On doing so, you'll see with a single case, Layton v Martin [1986] 2 F.L.R. 227, listed under the "Distinguished" heading at the top. 6. How many cases have applied Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? 20 e. 2 Sorry, incorrect. The simplest way to get the correct answer is to sort the list of All Cases Citing (24 cases at present) by Judicial Treatment. You'll then see cases grouped together by judicial treatment, with two cases under the heading "Applied": Windeler v Whitehall (1990) 154 J.P. 29 and Young v Young (Equitable Interests) [1984] Fam. Law 271.

7 7. Can a formal law report of the judgment in Windeler v Whitehall (1990) 154 J.P. 29 be read on Westlaw UK? No, Westlaw UK does not provide the full-text of any of the formal law reports of this case to read No, Westlaw UK does not provide the full-text of any of the formal law reports of this case to read Yes, correct. None of the three law report citations on the Case Analysis page for Windeler v Whitehall is an active link, meaning those particular reports are not provided on Westlaw UK. Only a brief case digest summarising the judgment is provided on the Case Analysis page. For your information, you'll find the Family Law Reports (F.L.R.) available on the Library's Family Law Online database, and both the Family Court Reports (F.C.R.) and Justice of the Peace Reports (J.P.) on LexisLibrary. 8. In total, how many House of Lords and Supreme Court cases have cited Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317? 4 e. 4 e. Yes, correct. Sorting All Cases Citing by Court shows Burns v Burns has been cited a total of 4 times in the House of Lords and Supreme Court, in Winkworth v Edward Baron Development Co Ltd [1986] 1 W.L.R. 1512, Lloyds Bank Plc v Rosset [1991] 1 A.C. 107, Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 and, most recently, Gow v Grant [2012] UKSC 29.

8 9. How was the decision in Burns v Burns [1984] Ch. 317 treated by the House of Lords in Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17? d. It was followed f. It was mentioned Sorry, incorrect. Look carefully down the All Cases Citing list for Burns v Burns for the entry relating to Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17. Above this entry, the indication of the nature of the judicial treatment in the case is stated in bold - "Mentioned by". To understand the legal reasoning and context in which the case was mentioned, and so assess any developments impacting on Burns v Burns in Stack v Dowden, you would need to read the actual judgment of the House of Lords in the case.