This page lists legal decisions of the House of Lords. Until 30 September 2009, the House of Lords was the highest appellate court for the United Kingdom. Cases were determined not by the House of Lords itself, but by its Judicial Committee, consisting of up to nine legally qualified peers, generally referred to as "Law Lords". On 1 October 2009 its functions were transferred to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
For a complete list of all legal cases heard by the House of Lords, see List of United Kingdom House of Lords cases.
| Case | Date | OSCOLA Citation | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donaldson v Beckett | 1774 | 1 E.R. 837 | Copyright could not be a right in perpetuity |
| Steel v Houghton | 1788 | 126 ER 32 | Establishes the nature of property which imports absolute enjoyment’ |
| Wright v Tatham | 1838 | 132 E.R. 877 | Hearsay |
| Dimes v Grand Junction Canal | 1852 | 3 HLC 759 | A judge with a financial interest in one of the parties to a case is debarred from deciding a case involving that party; applying the principle "Nobody should be a judge in their own cause". |
| Rylands v Fletcher | 1868 | LR 3 H.L. 330 | Liability could attach in tort for escape of materials from land |
| Hughes v Metropolitan Railway Co. | 1877 | 2 A.C. 439 | The first example of promissory estoppel being applied, although to delay rather than extinguish common-law rights. |
| Foakes v Beer | 1884 | L.R. 9 A.C. 605 | Part-payment of a debt, in the absence of consideration, will not extinguish the debt. |
| Wakelin v London & South Western Railway Co. | 1886 | 12 A.C. 41, 56 L.J.Q.B. 229 (H.L.) | A defendant's negligence must be causative of, rather than incidental to, damage to the plaintiff. |
| Derry v Peek | 1889 | 14 A.C. 337, 58 L.J. Ch. 864, 61 L.T. 265 (H.L.) | There exists no general duty to use care and skill in issuing a prospectus for a business venture |
| Browne v Dunn | 1893 | 6 R. 67 (H.L.) | An advocate must raise in Cross examination issues that are in dispute otherwise reliance on those issues will be prohibited. |
| Reddaway v Banham | 1896 | A.C. 199 | Passing off |
| Salomon v A Salomon & Co Ltd | 1897 | A.C. 22 | Recognized a corporation as a separate entity. |
| Walter v Lane | 1900 | A.C. 539 H.L. | Fixation by journalist creates copyright by publisher. |
| Heilbut, Symons & Co. v Buckleton | 1913 | A.C. 30 | Innocent misrepresentation in contract gives no right to damages. |
| Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd | 1915 | A.C. 705 | Alter-ego theory of corporate liability, establishing that directors are the controlling minds of the company and therefore the company is liable for their misdeeds. |
| Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre v Selfridge and Co. Ltd. | 1915 | A.C. 847 | Privity in contract law |
| Herd v Weardale Steel Coal & Coke Ltd. | 1915 | A.C. 67, 84 L.J.K.B. 121 (H.L.) | Unlawful imprisonment |
| Adam v Ward | 1917 | All E.R. 151 | Definition of qualified privilege |
| Donoghue v Stevenson | 1932 | A.C. 532 | Lord Atkin's famous statement about duty of care in the tort of negligence. |
| Bell v Lever Brothers | 1932 | A.C. 161 | Mutual mistake at common law |
| Hillas v Arcos | 1932 | All E.R. 494 | The court may imply terms into a contract based on the previous business dealings of the parties. |
| Woolmington v DPP | 1935 | A.C. 462 H.L.(E) | It is always incumbent on the prosecution in a criminal case to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. |
| Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbairn Lawson Combe Barbour | 1942 | 2 All E.R. 122, 1943 A.C. 32 | Frustration in contract law |
| Hay v Young | 1943 | A.C. 92 | Nervous shock |
| Bolton v Stone | 1951 | A.C. 850, 1 All E.R. 1078 (H.L.) | Breach of duty of care. |
| Silkin v Beaverbrook Newspapers Ltd. | 1958 | 1 W.L.R. 743 | Freedom of speech. |
| Cavanagh v Ulster Weaving Co. Ltd. | 1960 | A.C. 1959 2 All E.R. (H.L.) | |
| Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd | 1961 | 2 Lloyd's Rep. 365 (H.L.) | |
| White & Carter (Councils) Ltd. v McGregor | 1961 | All E.R. 1178 | |
| Hughes v Lord Advocate | 1963 | All E.R. 705 (H.L.) | Manner of occurrence in tort of negligence (remoteness). |
| Hedley Byrne v Heller | 1963 | 2 All E.R. 575 | Economic compensation in tort. |
| Ridge v Baldwin | 1964 | A.C. 40 | Judicial review, natural justice and fair hearing. |
| Practice Statement | 1966 | Change of practise regarding precedent, allowing the House of Lords to overrule its own previous decisions in exceptional circumstances. | |
| Suisse Atlantique case | 1966 | 2 All E.R. 61 | |
| Regal (Hastings) v Gulliver | 1967 | 2 A.C. 134 | |
| Anisminic v Foreign Compensation Commission | 1969 | 2 A.C. 147 | Judicial review, error of law |
| Home Office v Dorset Yacht Co. | 1970 | 2 All E.R. 294 | Tort, duty of care |
| Saunders v Anglia Building Society | 1971 | A.C. 1004 | Importance of signature. |
| Tesco Supermarkets v Nattrass | 1972 | A.C. 153 | Directing mind of corporation. |
| McGhee v National Coal Board | 1972 | 3 All E.R. 1008 (H.L.) | Causation in tort. |
| Haughton v Smith | 1975; 1973; 1974 | AC 476; 3 All ER 1109; 3 W.L.R. | Attempted crimes, subsequently overturned by Criminal Attempts Act 1981 |
| American Cyanamid Co. v Ethicon Ltd. | 1975 | A.C. 396 H.L.(E) | |
| Miliangos v George Frank Ltd | 1976 | A.C. 443 | UK courts were entitled to make awards of damages specified in foreign currency. |
| Anns v Merton London Borough Council | 1978; 1977 | A.C. 728; 2 All E.R. (H.L.) | Compensation of economic loss caused by negligence; overruled by Murphy v Brentwood District Council. |
| Securicor Transport Ltd. v Photo Production Ltd. | 1980 | 2 W.L.R. 283 | |
| Ramsay v IRC | 1982 A.C. 300 | ||
| Catnic Components Ltd. v Hill & Smith Ltd. | 1982 | R.P.C. 183 | |
| Brinkibon Ltd v Stahag Stahl und Stahlwarenhandelsgesellschaft mbH | 1983 | 2 A.C. 34 | Contract law, instantaneous communication, approving Entores v Miles Far East Co. |
| Amin Rasheed Shipping Corp. v Kuwait Insurance Co. | 1984 | 1 App Cas 50 | |
| Furniss v Dawson | 1984 | A.C. 474 | |
| Spiliada Maritime Corp v Cansulex Ltd | 1987 | A.C. 460 | |
| Caparo Industries Plc. v Dickman | 1990 | Pure economic loss in tort. | |
| Attorney-General v Guardian Newspapers Ltd. (No. 2) | 1990 | 1 AC 109 | "Everybody is free to do anything, subject only to the provisions of the law". |
| Copac v Wright | 1991 | ||
| R v Brown | 1993 | 2 W.L.R. 556 | Sadomasochism and consent in criminal law. |
| Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd. | 1999 | Freedom of expression and defamation. | |
| White v White | 2000 | ||
| Fairchild v Glenhaven Funeral Services Ltd | 2002 | UKHL 22 | Exposure to asbestos; multiple tortfeasors. |
| Campbell v MGN Ltd. | 2004 | ||
| Regina v Special Adjudicator | 2004 | UKHL 26 | |
| Kirin-Amgen v Hoechst Marion Roussel | 2004 | UKHL 46 | |
| A and Others v Secretary of State for the Home Department | 2005 | Imprisonment without trial for terrorism suspects | |
| R v Jones | 2006 | UKHL 16 | Iraq war; international law |
| Barker v Corus | 2006 | UKHL 20 | Exposure to asbestos; "proportionate liability" of multiple tortfeasors |
| A v Hoare | 2008 | UKHL 6 | Tort law; limitation period of personal injuries claims; Limitation Act 1980. |
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, notable, united, kingdom, house, lords and/or cases:
“Do your children view themselves as successes or failures? Are they being encouraged to be inquisitive or passive? Are they afraid to challenge authority and to question assumptions? Do they feel comfortable adapting to change? Are they easily discouraged if they cannot arrive at a solution to a problem? The answers to those questions will give you a better appraisal of their education than any list of courses, grades, or test scores.”
—Lawrence Kutner (20th century)
“I made a list of things I have
to remember and a list
of things I want to forget,
but I see they are the same list.”
—Linda Pastan (b. 1932)
“a notable prince that was called King John;
And he ruled England with main and with might,
For he did great wrong, and maintained little right.”
—Unknown. King John and the Abbot of Canterbury (l. 2–4)
“There was no speculation so promising, or at the same time so praisworthy, as the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.”
—Charles Dickens (1812–1870)
“He is a strong man who can hold down his opinion. A man cannot utter two or three sentences, without disclosing to intelligent ears precisely where he stands in life and thought, namely, whether in the kingdom of the senses and the understanding, or, in that of ideas and imagination, in the realm of intuitions and duty.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Is not the whole world a vast house of assignation of which the filing system has been lost?”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“There are some cases ... in which the sense of injury breeds—not the will to inflict injuries and climb over them as a ladder, but—a hatred of all injury.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)