| Case | Date | OSCOLA Citation | Summary |
|---|
| Pinchon's case | 1611 | | Early assumpsit and contract liability precedent |
| Sprat v Agar | 1658 | | Early case on in third party contract law |
| Duke of Norfolk's Case | 1682 | 3 Ch. Cas. 1, 22 E.R. 931 | Rule against perpetuities |
| Mason v Keeling | 1700 | 1 Ld Raym 606; 91 ER 1305 | |
| Donaldson v Beckett | 1774 | 1 E.R. 837 | Copyright could not be a right in perpetuity |
| Hambly v. Trott | 1776 | | Case in conversion and trover |
| Bach v Longman | 1777 | | Early case in copyright law |
| Worlledge v Manning | 1786 | | Case establishing modern concept of property |
| Steel v Houghton | 1788 | 126 ER 32 | Establishes the nature of property which imports absolute enjoyment' |
| Gee v Pritchard | 1818 | | Precedent in copyright law |
| 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". |
| Hyde v Hyde | 1866 | | - established common law definition of marriage
- institutions in foreign countries cannot be considered as valid under English law, unless they resemble the equivalent English institution
|
| 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. |
| Wennhak v Morgan | 1888 | | Leading deformation case |
| Hotson v East Berkshire Health | | | |
| Derry v Peek | 1889 | 14 A.C. 337, 58 L.J. Ch. 864, 61 L.T. 265 (H.L.) | Fraud and negligent misstatement. |
| Phillips v Homfray | 1892 | | precedent in of restitution. |
| 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.) | Evidence of trade practice is not determinative of whether there had been negligence on the facts. |
| Scruttons Ltd v Midland Silicones Ltd | 1961 | 2 Lloyd's Rep. 365 (H.L.) | Privity of contract and the agency exception. |
| 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 loss in tort. Negligent misstatement. |
| 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 | Fiduciary duties of company directors. |
| 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) | Injunctions |
| 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 | Exclusion clauses. |
| Ramsay v IRC | 1982 | A.C. 300 | Disregarding artificial transactions designed solely to avoid tax. |
| 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 | Choice of law in contract, renvoi. |
| Furniss v Dawson | 1984 | A.C. 474 | |
| Spiliada Maritime Corp v Cansulex Ltd | 1987 | A.C. 460 | Forum non conveniens . |
| Hotson v East Berkshire Health Authority | 1988 | UKHL 1 | Claims under the 'loss of a chance' doctrine in medical negligence are actionable only where it is more likely than not (>50% likely) that the defendant's negligence caused the plaintiff to lose the chance of recovery. |
| Caparo Industries Plc. v Dickman | 1990 | | Pure economic loss in tort. Duty of care. |
| Attorney-General v Guardian Newspapers Ltd. (No. 2) | 1990 | 1 AC 109 | Confidentiality and public interest. |
| 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 | 1 A.C. 596 | 'Yardstick of equality' in division of matrimonial assets between spouses in ancillary relief proceedings |
| 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. |
