59-683: Newport Association Football Club Ltd and others v Football Association of Wales Ltd [1995] 2 ALL ER 87 is a High Court of Justice court case between Newport A.F.C. and the Football Association of Wales (FAW). The case resolved around the Football Association of Wales refusing to allow Newport A.F.C. to play the club's home games in Wales owing to them choosing to remain in the English football pyramid instead of joining
118-517: A divisional court —a bench of two or more judges. Exceptionally the court may sit with a jury, but in practice normally only in defamation cases or cases against the police. Litigants are normally represented by counsel but may be represented by solicitors qualified to hold a right of audience, or they may act in person. In principle, the High Court is bound by its own previous decisions, but there are conflicting authorities as to what extent this
177-430: A cease-and-desist letter, the recipient may seek a tactical advantage by instituting declaratory-judgment litigation in a more favorable jurisdiction. Sometimes the parties agree in advance of discussions that no declaratory-judgment lawsuit will be filed while the negotiations are continuing. Sometimes a lawsuit is filed, but not served, before sending such a notice, to preserve a jurisdiction advantage without engaging
236-439: A claim for declaratory judgment in a situation where a patent dispute may exist or develop, the claimant must establish that an actual controversy exists. If there is a substantial controversy of sufficient immediacy and reality, the court will generally proceed with the declaratory-judgment action. The court may even hear the action if the patentee has not filed a cease and desist letter. The standard for an actual controversy
295-545: A court to conclusively rule on and affirm the rights, duties, or obligations of one or more parties in a civil dispute (subject to any appeal ). The declaratory judgment is generally considered a statutory remedy and not an equitable remedy in the United States , and is thus not subject to equitable requirements, though there are analogies that can be found in the remedies granted by courts of equity . A declaratory judgment does not by itself order any action by
354-437: A customer or supplier), may file for a declaratory judgment in their own jurisdiction , or sue for minor damages in the law of unjustified threats. This may require the sender to appear in a distant court, at their own expense. So sending a cease-and-desist letter presents a dilemma to the sender, as it would be desirable to be able to address the issues at hand in a candid manner without the need for litigation. Upon receiving
413-532: A declaratory judgment is filed because the statute of limitations against a potential defendant may pass before the plaintiff incurs damage (for example, a malpractice statute applicable to a certified public accountant may be shorter than the time period the IRS has to assess a taxpayer for additional tax due to bad advice given by the CPA). Declaratory judgments are authorized by statute in most common-law jurisdictions. In
472-460: A party, or imply damages or an injunction , although it may be accompanied by one or more other remedies. A declaratory judgment is generally distinguished from an advisory opinion because the latter does not resolve an actual case or controversy . Declaratory judgments can provide legal certainty to each party in a matter when this could resolve or assist in a disagreement. Often an early resolution of legal rights will resolve some or all of
531-444: A patent owner does suggest that there is patent coverage of what an alleged infringer is doing or planning to do, the alleged infringer may bring suit. The alleged infringer, as the plaintiff in the suit, can choose the venue subject to constitutional restrictions and the state long-arm statute of the forum in question. The suit can be brought in any forum if the local federal district court can properly obtain personal jurisdiction over
590-431: A product or service that may be a business's focal point. For example, in a typical patent-infringement claim, when a patent owner becomes aware of an infringer, the owner can simply wait until he pleases to bring an infringement suit. Meanwhile, the monetary damages continuously accrue – with no effort expended by the patent owner, apart from marking the patent number on products the patent owner sold or licensed. On
649-623: Is now organised into three divisions: the King's Bench Division, the Chancery Division, and the Family Division. A list of hearings in the High Court's divisions is published daily. The King's Bench Division (KBD) – or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female – hears a wide range of common law cases and also has special responsibility as a supervisory court. It includes subdivisions such as
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#1732779866826708-716: Is so. Appeal from the High Court in civil matters normally lies to the Court of Appeal, and thence in cases of importance to the Supreme Court (the House of Lords before 2009); in some cases a "leapfrog" appeal may be made directly to the Supreme Court. In criminal matters, appeals from the King's Bench Divisional Court are made directly to the Supreme Court. The High Court is based at the Royal Courts of Justice on
767-828: The 1994–95 season , opting to join the League of Wales despite the ruling. Colwyn Bay would follow suit in 2019, leaving the Northern Premier League Division One West to join the FAW's Cymru North . High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London , known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England , together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court , are
826-621: The Companies Court ) which deal with patents and registered designs and company law matters respectively. All tax appeals are assigned to the Chancery Division. Until 2005, the Lord Chancellor was the de jure head of the Chancery Division, but appointed a Vice-Chancellor who nominally acted as his deputy. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 renamed the Vice-Chancellor to Chancellor of the High Court and made him
885-621: The Court of Exchequer , the High Court of Admiralty , the Court of Probate , the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes , and the London Court of Bankruptcy – into a new Supreme Court of Judicature (now known as the Senior Courts of England and Wales ). The new Supreme Court was divided into the Court of Appeal , which exercised appellate jurisdiction , and the High Court, which exercised original jurisdiction . Originally,
944-626: The King's Bench Division , the Chancery Division and the Family Division . Their jurisdictions overlap in some cases, and cases started in one division may be transferred by court order to another where appropriate. The differences of procedure and practice between divisions are partly historical, derived from the separate courts which were merged into the single High Court by the 19th-century Judicature Acts , but are mainly driven by
1003-491: The Senior Courts of England and Wales . Its name is abbreviated as EWHC ( England and Wales High Court) for legal citation purposes. The High Court deals at first instance with all high-value and high-importance civil law (non- criminal ) cases; it also has a supervisory jurisdiction over all subordinate courts and tribunals, with a few statutory exceptions, though there are debates as to whether these exceptions are effective. The High Court consists of three divisions:
1062-519: The Strand in the City of Westminster , London. It has district registries across England and Wales ; almost all High Court proceedings may be issued and heard at a district registry. The High Court of Justice was established in 1875 by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 . The Act merged eight existing English courts – the Court of Chancery , the Court of King's Bench , the Court of Common Pleas ,
1121-415: The United States , the federal government and most states enacted statutes in the 1920s and 1930s authorizing their courts to issue declaratory judgments. The filing of a declaratory judgment lawsuit can follow the sending by one party of a cease-and-desist letter to another party. A party contemplating sending such a letter risks that the recipient, or a party related to the recipient (i.e. such as
1180-1077: The Administrative Court, the Commercial Court, the Technology and Construction Court, and the Admiralty Court. Until 2005, the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales was the head of the Division. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 created a President of the Queen's Bench Division . The Chancery Division (housed in the Rolls Building ) deals with business law , trusts law, probate law, insolvency, and land law in relation to issues of equity . It has specialist courts (the Patents Court and
1239-586: The FAW created the League of Wales and invited Newport to join. The club declined and although the FAW had granted permission for them to continue to play in the English leagues, they banned them and any other Welsh club playing in the English leagues below the Football League from playing their scheduled matches at home in Wales. The legal reasoning for being able to do the action was not revealed though it
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#17327798668261298-557: The FAW had no such rules. Following the revelation, The FA would assert disciplinary jurisdiction over Welsh clubs playing in the English Football League. Newport would subsequently repurchase the trademark for their previous club's name and would compete as Newport County A.F.C., winning promotion to the Football League in 2013. Caernarfon Town would resign from the Northern Premier League after
1357-474: The FAW on the grounds of restraint of trade in what had been stated as the first occasion where an individual football club has taken its football association to court. The club cited inconsistencies in application as Merthyr Tydfil played in the Football Conference yet were allowed to play the club's home games in Wales and had permission to continue to play in Wales if they were relegated. This
1416-411: The FAW's ban on playing in Wales was an "unlawful and unreasonable restraint of trade" and granted judgment in favour of Newport and the other clubs, allowing them to play at home in Wales. He granted the injunction to prohibit the FAW from banning clubs playing in Wales if they played in the English league. The breach of contract compensation claims were denied. Despite the judgment in favour of Newport,
1475-470: The Family Division sit at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, while District Judges of the Family Division sit at First Avenue House, Holborn, London. The Family Division is comparatively modern. The Judicature Acts first combined the Court of Probate , the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes and the High Court of Admiralty into the then Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of
1534-542: The High Court consisted of five divisions, the King's Bench, Common Pleas, Exchequer, Chancery, and Probate, Divorce and Admiralty divisions. In 1880, the Common Pleas and Exchequer divisions were abolished, leaving three divisions. The Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division was renamed to the Family Division by the Administration of Justice Act 1970 , and its jurisdiction reorganised accordingly. The High Court
1593-529: The High Court has used seven circuits, listed below, which are identical to the Crown Court regions. The Senior Courts Costs Office, which quantifies legal costs pursuant to orders for costs, serves all divisions. The Costs Office is part of the High Court, so generally all detailed assessment proceedings commenced in the Costs Office are subject to provisional assessment. Exceptions from provisional assessment are detailed assessment proceedings in which
1652-494: The High Court to hear particular cases, and while sitting are addressed as though they were full High Court judges. Trials in London are also conducted by Insolvency and Companies Court Judges and Masters, who have almost identical trial jurisdiction to full High Court judges but who do not hear committals to prison, criminal cases, or judicial review and do not travel 'on circuit' to outlying courts. High Court justices (usually from
1711-482: The High Court, or The Court of Wills, Wives and Wrecks , as it was informally called. That was renamed the Family Division in 1971 when the admiralty and contentious probate business were transferred elsewhere. The Family Division has faced criticism by allowing allegedly abusive partners to cross-examine their former partners; a procedure already banned in criminal procedure. Peter Kyle , MP for Hove , claimed this amounted to "abuse and brutalisation", and called for
1770-461: The King's Bench Division under the names of the Admiralty Court, the Commercial Court, and the Technology and Construction Court, and in the Chancery Division under the lists for business, company and insolvency law, competition, finance, intellectual property, revenue, and trusts and probate. The change was meant to enable judges who have suitable expertise and experience in the specialist business and property jurisdictions to be cross-deployed to sit in
1829-474: The King's Bench Division) also sit in the Crown Court , which try the more significant criminal cases, but High Court Judges only hear the most serious and important cases, with circuit judges and recorders hearing the majority. Historically the ultimate source of all justice in England was the monarch. All judges sit in judgment on the monarch's behalf (hence they have the royal coat of arms displayed behind them) and criminal prosecutions are generally made in
Newport Association Football Club Ltd and others v Football Association of Wales Ltd - Misplaced Pages Continue
1888-462: The Welsh press as the "Irate Eight". Four of the affected clubs joined the League of Wales, but Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Caernarfon Town, and Colwyn Bay remained. The latter three appealed the FAW's decision but their appeal was rejected after a hearing. After an attempt at obtaining arbitration that failed and due to the excessive costs of playing 80 miles (130 kilometres) away in England, Newport sued
1947-497: The bans were later rescinded in favour of a requirement that the clubs join the League of Wales by 1997, which never occurred. In 1997, FIFA did not attempt to enforce the requirement. Though the clubs played in leagues governed by The FA, jurisdiction for disciplinary matters relating for the Welsh clubs in English leagues remained with the FAW. The situation continued until 2011 when it was revealed that Cardiff City could not be punished for breaching FA third-party ownership rules as
2006-463: The case based upon the case of Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Dickson . He ruled on 11 April that the FAW's ruling had been a restraint of trade but considered whether this was a justified one. He ruled that it was not as it was not necessary to protect recognition of the new League of Wales by UEFA and the FAW ruling was done specifically to get the clubs to play in the Welsh league system. He also ruled that UEFA had never offered an opinion on
2065-505: The colour of their formal robes, in contrast to the junior circuit judges who are referred to as purple judges for the same reason. Masters (also judges in the High Court) are addressed as 'Master', regardless of gender, or 'Judge' and they wear dark blue gowns with pink tabs echoing the red of the High Court justices' robes. Within the Chancery Division of the High Court, there are also Insolvency and Companies Court Judges , who hear
2124-509: The continued independence of the judiciary", and both Houses of Parliament have standing orders to similar effect. High Court justices may be removed before their statutory retirement age only by a procedure requiring the approval of both Houses of Parliament. In addition to full High Court justices, other qualified persons such as retired judges, circuit judges from the County Court , and barristers are appointed to sit as deputy judges of
2183-433: The costs claimed are large (greater than £75,000) or in which the potential paying party does not respond to the notice of assessment. Declaratory judgement A declaratory judgment , also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants . It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal matter can ask
2242-535: The council viewed the new company as a continuation of the old and asserted they owed back rent for the ground. Whereas the FAW ruled they were a new club with no connection to Newport County. The club's stated aim was to regain Football League status, and as such, they started in the Hellenic League , which as part of the English football league system allowed eventual promotion back to that level and as Wales had historically had no national league. In 1992,
2301-534: The country in set 'circuits', where they hear cases in the 'district registries' of the High Court. The 'main' High Court (in the City of Westminster, London) is not itself a High Court district registry. The High Court previously divided England and Wales into six circuits namely the Midlands, Northern England, North Eastern England, South Eastern England, Wales (including Cheshire ), and Western England. Since 2005,
2360-547: The expense of not playing at home." The FAW responded saying the court had no jurisdiction to grant an injunction without the declaratory judgement. The FAW claimed that the ban was needed in order to protect Welsh clubs' representation in order to partake in UEFA run European competitions. The court had previously ruled in August 1994 that it did have the power to issue such an injunction if it wished. Mr Justice Blackburne considered
2419-574: The financial markets. The procedure was introduced to enable fast, efficient and high quality dispute resolution of claims related to the financial markets. The formation within the High Court of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales was announced in March 2017, and launched in London in July 2017. The courts would in future administer the specialist jurisdictions previously administered in
Newport Association Football Club Ltd and others v Football Association of Wales Ltd - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-637: The head of the Division. Cases heard before the Chancery Division are reported in the Chancery Division law reports. In practice, there is some overlap of jurisdiction with the KBD. From October 2015, the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court have maintained the Financial List for cases which would benefit from being heard by judges with suitable expertise and experience in the financial markets or which raise issues of general importance to
2537-410: The judicial process fully. Some parties send cease-and-desist letters that make "an oblique suggestion of possible infringement" to lower the risk of the recipient filing a declaratory-judgment lawsuit. Declaratory judgments are common in patent litigation, as well as in other areas of intellectual property litigation, because declaratory judgments allow an alleged infringer to "clear the air" about
2596-574: The majority of High Court insolvency (both personal and corporate) and company law cases and trials, together with some appeals from the County Court. They too wear dark blue gowns with pink tabs and are addressed as 'Judge' in court. Justices of the High Court, Insolvency and Companies Court Judges and Masters are appointed by the King on the recommendation of Judicial Appointments Commission , from qualified lawyers. The Lord Chancellor, and all government ministers, are statutorily required to "uphold
2655-491: The majority of the Southern League became the new Third Division of the Football League . In 1989, having been automatically relegated out of the Football League the previous season, the club was liquidated with debts of £330,000 (equivalent to £1,037,013 in 2023). Fans created Newport A.F.C. as a phoenix club , however, they were barred by Newport City Council from using the club's old Somerton Park ground as
2714-412: The matter, the FAW had provided no evidence that UEFA would discriminate against Welsh clubs and the fact that the FAW had permitted the clubs to continue to play in the English leagues had not prevented UEFA recognising the league. Blackburne recognised that there was a genuine risk that the clubs could cease to exist, if they played another season away from home, due to the financial burdens. He ruled that
2773-444: The monarch's name. Historically, local magnates administered justice in manorial courts and other ways. Inevitably, the justice administered was patchy and appeals were made direct to the monarch. The monarch's travelling representatives (whose primary purpose was tax collection) acted on behalf of the monarch to make the administration of justice more even (see Royal justice ) . The tradition continues of judges travelling around
2832-492: The newly formed League of Wales . Newport appealed this as a restraint of trade . The court found in favour of Newport and issued an injunction preventing the FAW stopping Newport from playing in Wales. Newport County A.F.C. were originally founded in 1912 and were one of a number of football clubs in industrial South Wales invited to join the Southern Football League . At the end of the 1919–20 season
2891-536: The other hand, the alleged infringer could do nothing to rectify the situation if no declaratory judgment existed. The alleged infringer would be forced to continue to operate his business with the cloud of a lawsuit over his head. The declaratory-judgment procedure allows the alleged infringer to proactively bring suit to resolve the situation and eliminate the cloud of uncertainty looming overhead. Common claims for declaratory judgment in patent cases are non-infringement, patent invalidity, and un-enforceability. To bring
2950-461: The other issues in a matter. A declaratory judgment is typically requested when a party is threatened with a lawsuit but the lawsuit has not yet been filed; or when a party or parties believe that their rights under law and/or contract might conflict; or as part of a counterclaim to prevent further lawsuits from the same plaintiff (for example, when only a contract claim is filed, but a copyright claim might also be applicable). In some instances,
3009-509: The parents' consent. In 2002 it made a landmark judgement in the case of Ms B v An NHS Hospital Trust regarding the right of mentally competent patients to withdraw from life-saving treatment. The Family Division exercises jurisdiction to hear all cases relating to children's welfare, and has an exclusive jurisdiction in wardship cases. Its head is the President of the Family Division , currently Sir Andrew McFarlane . High Court Judges of
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#17327798668263068-510: The patent owner has claimed that such activities by claimant will result in patent infringement. An express threat of litigation is not needed, nor is it a guarantee that jurisdiction will be granted. Some factors courts have considered in this analysis are whether a patent owner has asserted its rights against an alleged infringer in a royalty dispute, whether the owner has sued a customer of an alleged infringer, or whether an owner has made statements regarding its patents in trade magazines. If
3127-436: The specialist courts, while continuing existing practices for cases that proceed in them. The Family Division deals with personal human matters such as divorce, children, probate and medical treatment . Its decisions are often of great importance only to the parties, but may concern life and death and are perhaps inevitably regarded as controversial. For example, it permitted a hospital to separate conjoined twins without
3186-947: The system to be changed. Liz Truss , when she was Lord Chancellor , announced plans to end this practice, and proposals were contained in Clause 47 of the Prisons and Courts Bill before Parliament was prorogued for the 2017 general election . The High Court only operates within four traditional periods in the year, known as sittings : The Justices of His Majesty's High Court of Justice are informally known as High Court judges , and in judicial matters are formally styled "The Honourable Mr(s) Justice (Forename) Surname", abbreviated in writing to "Surname J". In court, they are properly addressed as My Lord or My Lady . Since by convention they are knighted upon appointment, socially they are addressed as Sir Forename or Dame Forename . High Court judges are sometimes referred to as red judges after
3245-401: The usual nature of their work, for example, conflicting evidence of fact is quite commonly given in person in the King's Bench Division, but evidence by affidavit is more usual in the Chancery Division which is primarily concerned with points of law. Most High Court proceedings are heard by a single judge, but certain kinds of proceedings, especially in the King's Bench Division, are assigned to
3304-420: The world football governing body FIFA announced that they would seek to ban the 3 clubs from playing as a punishment for suing the FAW, 10 days after the ruling. FIFA informed The Football Association (The FA) that all three were banned from football indefinitely with the club officials behind the lawsuit all receiving two year bans. In December 1995, following a request from the FAW "in the interests of peace",
3363-627: Was due to Merthyr Tidfil being successful in an independent FAW appeal. The case was heard at the High Court in London before Mr Justice William Blackburne in April 1995. The clubs requested an urgent injunction to allow them to play in Wales during the case and sought a declaratory judgement that the FAW's decision to ban them from playing in Wales was an "unreasonable" restraint of trade and requested £300,000 (equivalent to £728,444 in 2023) each in compensation for breach of contract. The clubs stated "they would not be able to continue to operate due to
3422-563: Was most recently addressed by the Supreme Court in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. , 549 U.S. 118 (2007). But even if an actual controversy exists, the declaratory-judgment statute is permissive—a district court , in its discretion, may decline to hear a declaratory-judgment action. Usually the claimant is actually making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing, or is prepared to actually make, use or sell, offer to sell or import an allegedly infringing device or method, and usually
3481-625: Was stated that "it was designed to promote the League of Wales, despite no contractual obligations between the FAW and Newport requiring member clubs to join existing." The action resulted in Newport having to groundshare with Moreton Town F.C. in Gloucestershire . The decision affected seven other Welsh clubs that played in the English football pyramid, Bangor City , Barry Town , Caernarfon Town , Colwyn Bay , Merthyr Tydfil , Newtown , and Rhyl , whom began to collectively be referred to by
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