Isaac Smith v Network Holmes Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1631
The Court of Appeal (Lord Justice Stuart Smith, Lord Justice Birss and Lord Justice Edis) gave guidance when considering the correctness of a decision to commit the Appellant to prison for contempt of Court.
The Appellant, Isaac Smith, is physically disabled. The Equality Act 2010 Considerations & Proportionality Assessment Form dated June 2021 noted that he spent most of his time in the living room due to his disability and played music to manage the quality of his life. Following complaints from neighbours, including an allegation of a threat of violence, the Court granted an injunction to his landlord, Network Homes Ltd, pursuant to the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. Network Homes Ltd sought an order for committal based on various alleged breaches of the injunction. The Deputy District Judge found 9 of the 10 breaches of the injunction proved and sentenced the Appellant to a 12-week custodial sentence suspended for a period of 12 months.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal on this aspect of the appeal by reducing the sentence to a one-month custodial sentence suspended for the same period. The Court of Appeal proceeded to provide the following guidance:
Arfan Khan appeared for Mr Isaac Smith and did not appear below.
The full judgment can be found here.
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