Business Services News

Mediation Failure Leads to Court Date
22 May 2013
When work carried out by a building contractor during a redevelopment project caused damage to the facade of the building being redeveloped, the owner sued the building contractor for the cost of the... - Read

PAYE Changes for Domestics
21 May 2013
If you employ a nanny, gardener or other household staff, from April 2013 you are required to join the ‘real time information’ (RTI) scheme set up by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). At the same time, the... - Read

Unclear Drafting Leads to Court Appearance to Allocate Repair Bills
20 May 2013
When a landlord granted a lease over a maisonette to a tenant then subsequently alleged that the lease was drafted incorrectly, it took the intervention of the court to decide who was to pay how much for repairs... - Read

Increase in the Entitlement to Parental Leave
20 May 2013
Employers are reminded that the right to unpaid parental leave has been extended in order to comply with EU Directive 2010/18. The Parental Leave (EU Directive) Regulations 2013 implement changes to the... - Read

Occasional Use Sufficient to Preserve Access Right
20 May 2013
When a road or pathway is regularly used by people and the owner takes no active steps to prevent this or assert control over the land concerned, an ‘easement by prescription’ can be created under which the... - Read

Lease Break Error Proves Costly for Tenant
16 May 2013
When a tenant’s lease has a break clause, normally all rent due must be paid in full before the break clause can be activated – even if the rent paid runs beyond the break date. If a tenant decides to pay... - Read

Lack of Causation Stymies Claim for Loss Due to Negligence
16 May 2013
It is a fundamental principle that for a claim for damages for professional negligence to succeed, it is essential for the claimant to show that they would have acted otherwise had they been properly advised... - Read

Patent Infringement Claim Denied on Multiple Grounds
15 May 2013
A patent can only be granted when there is novelty in the thing for which the patent is sought. This is why it is critical that one’s novel designs do not become public knowledge: once they do, a patent... - Read

Guarantor Liable for Insolvent Tenant’s Lease, Rules Court
10 May 2013
A firm that guaranteed the lease of its tenant has been left to count the cost, following a recent decision by the High Court. The tenant became insolvent and went into liquidation. The liquidator disclaimed the... - Read

Owner Not the Same as Member, Rules Court
09 May 2013
Who can challenge a company’s decision that has been improperly made? This question was the subject of a court hearing recently, when the owners of the ‘ultimate economic interest’ in shares in a company... - Read

Vendors Not Liable for Dangerous House
07 May 2013
An entrepreneur who claimed that he bought a ‘luxury’ £1.1 million home that turned out to be in such a defective condition that it had to be demolished has failed to convince the High Court that he was a victim... - Read

Eviction Disproportionate When Current Behaviour Acceptable
06 May 2013
When a council tenant is a significant nuisance to their neighbours, it is common for the council to seek possession of the tenant’s property. Where the tenant’s behaviour is sufficiently objectionable, a possession... - Read

Natural Meaning of Contract Term Prevails
03 May 2013
In the context of an agreement for the sale of an estate agency business, the Court of Appeal has ruled that a contractual clause should be interpreted in line with its ‘natural meaning’. Notwithstanding the... - Read

Borrowed Time - When firearms may be used without holding a certificate
01 May 2013
Generally it is an offence to have possession of a firearm or shotgun without holding the appropriate certificate. There are, however, a limited number of well-known exceptions to the usual rules that allow... - Read

Covenant Prevents School Development
30 Apr 2013
When a covenant applying to land is in existence, it applies for the benefit of the land and requires the owners of other land (called the ‘burdened land’) to provide the covenanted benefit. The law relating to... - Read

HMRC Can See Accountants’ Tax Advice to Client
29 Apr 2013
A major principle on which the legal system in England and Wales relies is that the communication between a client and his or her lawyer is private. The courts cannot force the disclosure of the... - Read

Fair Comment Still Comes at a Cost
26 Apr 2013
When a businessman voiced his opinion on planning matters by joining a planning action group which opposed the construction of two biomass power plants, he did not expect his past business record to... - Read

In-Brief Conditional Contract Produces Covenant Enforcement Impasse
24 Apr 2013
If a person owns a property, either outright or by lease, which is bound by a positive obligation to observe a covenant and the property is then sold on, the obligation on the original owner will normally... - Read

Old Wooden Gate Proves Decisive in Boundary War
24 Apr 2013
A 15-year-long boundary dispute between neighbours on an island in the middle of the River Thames, concerning a strip of land measuring just 10 feet in width, has been resolved by a judge who treated the... - Read

Data Processing Law to be Strengthened
23 Apr 2013
Under proposals put to the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, data protection law looks set to be reformed such that the use of ‘pre-ticked’ boxes will no longer be permitted... - Read

Complete Exclusion Necessary to Justify Claim of Possession
18 Apr 2013
When a tenant takes a lease, one of the things that they are almost invariably required to agree not to do is part with possession of the let premises without the written agreement of the landlord. However... - Read

Copyright Law Defeats Cloth Copiers
17 Apr 2013
When a cloth pattern was copied and used by another business for its own fabrics, the woollen mill which owns the pattern took action to stop it. The pattern was not a registered trade mark so the action was... - Read

Changes in Tribunal Awards
15 Apr 2013
Employers are reminded that the limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal has increased from £72,300 to £74,200 where the event which triggered the claim fell on or after 1 February 2013. However... - Read

Severable Decision Enforceable, Rules Court
15 Apr 2013
When an adjudicator in a construction dispute exceeds his jurisdiction, his decision will normally be unenforceable. However, when the decision is in parts, these may be able to be ‘severed’ from one another... - Read

Administration Charge for Sub-Letting Consent is Reasonable
12 Apr 2013
In an important decision for residential landlords, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has ruled that it is legitimate to levy reasonable administration charges (£165 in this case) on tenants to cover the costs entailed in... - Read

Copyright Law Changes in the Pipeline
11 Apr 2013
Following the publication of the Hargreaves review on copyright law, the Government has published proposals to modernise copyright law in order to bring it up to date in the light of modern technology. It... - Read

Benefit Limitation Did Not Discriminate Against Gypsies
10 Apr 2013
When a group of gypsies found that the housing benefit they received did not cover the full cost of their caravan pitches on a private caravan site, they claimed that it should and that the failure of the council to... - Read

Adjudicator Cannot Change Mind, Rules Court
08 Apr 2013
In the context of a dispute between parties to a building demolition contract, the High Court has ruled that an adjudicator was not entitled to change his mind after reaching a final decision and that, subject to... - Read

Cookies – Implied Consent OK
05 Apr 2013
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a statement re-emphasising that awareness of Internet ‘cookies’ has increased to such an extent that it is now ‘appropriate...to rely on a responsible... - Read

Wrongfully Evicted Tenant Wins Her Money Back
04 Apr 2013
A tenant who was wrongfully evicted from shop premises can recover from her landlords the premium that she paid in respect of the acquisition of business goodwill on execution of the lease, the Court of Appeal... - Read

Court Provides Resolution to Potential Problem
04 Apr 2013
Facing the possibility of a development on neighbouring land that will reduce your light is never welcome and the threat of such a development is not something you might care to have hanging over you. A recent... - Read

Acas Guidance on Handling Redundancies
03 Apr 2013
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) provides useful advice and guidance on various stages of the redundancy process. Hitherto overlooked, however, has been the role of those who have the... - Read

‘We Can’t Afford It’ No Excuse for Council
02 Apr 2013
A local authority has a legal obligation to provide accommodation for the unintentionally homeless. When Cornwall Council claimed that its power to acquire property for the homeless was a power to acquire property... - Read

Accounting Error Leads to Damages for Buyers
01 Apr 2013
A case has been decided which arose because accounting errors were made by a company which was bought by another company. Some of the management of the company which was sold invested in the buying... - Read

Court Must Apply Current Standards
31 Mar 2013
A separated Jewish couple who have divergent views on the best kind of education for their children have had the issue decided by the Court of Appeal. The father, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, wished the children to... - Read

Use Not Appearance Determines Whether Property Qualifies as a House
30 Mar 2013
The meaning of the word ‘house’ has been the subject of legal debate on many occasions. Many of the debates have had their origin in the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, which gives leaseholders the right to buy... - Read

Improper Amendment Void, Rules Court
29 Mar 2013 - Read

Changes to the Delivery Method of Workplace Health and Safety Advice
26 Mar 2013
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has made changes to the way small businesses access official advice and resources regarding health and safety matters. A new Health and Safety Toolbox is the latest in a package... - Read

Rent Surplus Not to be Ring Fenced
24 Mar 2013
The circumstances under which a landlord can recover a property let under a commercial lease when the lease is up for renewal are limited when the lease is governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. In... - Read

Squatters – What to Do Now
24 Mar 2013
Although it has been widely reported that recent changes to the law make squatting in residential premises a criminal offence for the first time, this is not strictly true. Refusing to leave a property when... - Read

Council Charge for Use of Private Road Outlawed
23 Mar 2013
A local authority has suffered defeat in a dispute with a property developer after it tried to charge him £5,000 a year to use a private road which provides access to the rear of his property. The Court of Appeal... - Read

Fraudulent Trading Knows No Boundaries
20 Mar 2013
Trading with the intent to defraud creditors is an offence under the Insolvency Act 1986 (Section 213). Proceedings can be brought against the directors (including ‘shadow directors’ – people who run the company... - Read

Relaxation of Planning Law for Ancillary Space
18 Mar 2013
Owners of commercial premises are reminded that, as from 1 October, ancillary space which is categorised as retail or financial and professional no longer requires express planning permission to be converted for... - Read

Corrupt Charity Officials Jailed
17 Mar 2013
Six men who between them stole millions of pounds from a charity set up to assist asylum seekers were recently jailed for terms of up to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court. The six were found... - Read

Protection for Developers Proposed
15 Mar 2013
Property developers often spend very considerable sums in advance of seeking and obtaining planning permissions, let alone before any work on the development site commences. Recently, several residents’... - Read

Who Owns the Email?
14 Mar 2013
If a member of staff uses your computer system to exchange emails, does the content of the email become the property of your business? This question was addressed recently in a court case concerning a dispute... - Read

Whistleblowing Partner Not Protected, Rules Court of Appeal
11 Mar 2013
A ‘worker’ who acts as a ‘whistleblower’ – disclosing breaches of the law – receives statutory protection under the law if he or she suffers detrimental treatment as a result of having made the disclosure to the... - Read

Tyre Fire Case May Reflect Liability Law Change
10 Mar 2013
A tyre trader has been cleared of liability for a fire that caused £250,000 of damage after the Court of Appeal considered legal issues arising from as far back as the Great Fire of London in 1666 in a bid to determine the... - Read

Payment Cannot Be Demanded for Unenforceable Decision
09 Mar 2013
A recent ruling of the Court of Appeal confirmed a decision of the lower court that an adjudicator who made a decision that turned out to be unenforceable could not seek payment for his work. The case stemmed from... - Read

Unfair Dismissal – Redundancy Selection Criteria
08 Mar 2013
In a case concerning redundancy dismissal (Mitchells of Lancaster (Brewers) Ltd. v Tattersall), the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dismissed the employer’s appeal against a finding of unfair dismissal, but... - Read

Off Roaders Denied by Map Flaw
06 Mar 2013
When off roaders belonging to the Trail Riders Association sought to obtain rights of way over five countryside byways, so that they could be used by 4X4 vehicles, Dorset County Council opposed the move... - Read

In Brief - Ban on Cowboy Wheel Clampers
04 Mar 2013
Police have been given a new power to protect the public from unscrupulous wheel clampers. Under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, it is now a criminal offence to clamp or tow away a vehicle on private land... - Read

Multiple Rent Clauses – What About the VAT?
02 Mar 2013
Tenants of commercial premises know that rent is not a taxable supply for VAT purposes. However, there are other sorts of supply (such as cleaning) that are, in principle, taxable supplies and thus subject to VAT. - Read

The Whole is More Than the Sum of the Parts
27 Feb 2013
When considering a trade mark, it is the mark as a whole which needs to be looked at. The obviousness of this point was illustrated by a recent case in the General Court of the European Union. The Court had to... - Read

Tax Return Not Definitive for Assessing Income for Child Support
27 Feb 2013
When a child maintenance assessment is made, the court is entitled to rely on all the information available to it to set the appropriate liability to pay maintenance. This may or may not mean relying on... - Read

Loss of Easement Claim Reduced
25 Feb 2013
A shop owner has failed to convince the Upper Tribunal that he is entitled to local authority compensation on a ‘ransom value’ basis after a right of way benefiting his property was closed off by a new development... - Read

Termination Payments Taxable if Not Damages
24 Feb 2013
When a new executive fell out with the chief executive officer of the company he worked for, his employment was terminated without notice. In such circumstances, a breach of contract occurs. The executive’s contract... - Read

Charity Treasurer Jailed for Theft
22 Feb 2013
The treasurer of a Christian charity has been jailed after he stole more than £500,000 from two charities. Accountant Steven Methuen was responsible for the finances of Amblecote Christian Centre in Stourbridge... - Read

Supply of Goods and Services Act Does Not Cover Professional Negligence
21 Feb 2013
When chocolate giant Cadbury sought to use the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (SOGA) to make the firm that designed, built and installed a fire detection and control system that failed to prevent a major... - Read

Lease Surrender Relieves Obligation to Reinstate
19 Feb 2013
The post-Christmas period is traditionally a tough one for retailers, and commercial landlords are well aware of the likelihood that tenants will have difficulty in the winter months. Where these problems result in the... - Read

Non-Compliance With Court Order Leads to Fine
18 Feb 2013
A dispute between two landowners that lasted several years seems to have finally ended, with one of them being fined for failing to comply with a court order. The two neighbours had been in a long-term... - Read

Scrapyard Wins Noise Claim
16 Feb 2013
The operators of a metal waste disposal and reclamation yard have triumphed in their High Court fight to overturn an Environment Agency notice suspending its activities on noise pollution grounds. Numerous... - Read

Landlord Counts Cost of Failure to Observe Covenants
12 Feb 2013
When a landlord failed to comply strictly with its obligations under a lease, it was left to count the cost of the failure. The landlord was required to insure the building it let out to four tenants and to hold the insurance... - Read

Landlord Liability Limited by Act
10 Feb 2013
A landlord normally has a responsibility to a tenant for certain aspects of the safety of the let premises. Commonly, the terms of the lease specify that the landlord is responsible for the external and common areas... - Read

Market Turmoil Does Not Mean Negligence Claim Avoidable
10 Feb 2013
Investment advice that turns out to be bad has always been a fruitful area for argument in the courts and numerous cases have arisen over the years. In a recent case, an investor whose bank gave him advice, a... - Read

Patent Protection Basics
09 Feb 2013
Some people may think that once you have obtained patent protection for your product, you need do nothing further to protect your rights against infringement or to claim damages from an infringer... - Read

Adverse weather and employee rights
07 Feb 2013
As forecasters warn of snow showers hitting the UK once again, employers and employees should consider how this may impact on the workplace... - Read

Forwarding Renewal Notice is Sufficient Demand, Rules Court
07 Feb 2013
When a tenant sought to dispute the validity of a demand for payment of the insurance due on his premises, on the basis that the landlord had not sent him a formal demand but had instead forwarded the renewal... - Read

Non-Competition Clause Reasonable
06 Feb 2013
A company director who lured customers away from his former employer after he had resigned from his post has been ordered to pay £50,000 in damages for breach of a non-solicitation clause in his employment... - Read

Name Confusion Puts Trade Mark at Risk
03 Feb 2013
When a business profits because it gives the appearance of being (or its products appear to be those of) another business, it is effectively taking the goodwill of the other company. This is called ‘passing off’ in legal... - Read

Uninsured Drivers and ‘Proportionate Damages’
02 Feb 2013
Most people know that when someone is injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver, compensation is still available. However, when an insured person has given an uninsured person permission... - Read

Insurers Fail in Attempt to Limit Theft Claim
31 Jan 2013
Employee theft is often an exclusion in commercial insurance policies. When fashion retailer Ted Baker found that it had suffered a major loss due to employee theft of stock, AXA, the company’s insurer, declined... - Read

Developer Who Tried to Turn Nine into Eleven Hit With Demolition Demand
30 Jan 2013
When a developer built a block of 11 flats when he had only been granted planning permission to build nine, he was unable to convince the High Court that he should escape having to demolish the top floor of the... - Read

Inaccurate Sale Particulars Lead to Repayment Order
29 Jan 2013
In a ruling which illustrates the pitfalls of inaccurate land sale particulars, members of a family who sold their vegetable patch to a developer for more than £150,000 have been ordered to repay the money by a... - Read

In Brief - Changes to the Money Laundering Regulations
26 Jan 2013
Readers are reminded that on 1 October 2012, changes to the Money Laundering Regulations came into force that will affect many businesses, particularly those that engage in high-value transactions or that... - Read

Court Guidance on Valuing Leasehold Purchase Prices
23 Jan 2013
When valuing a reversionary interest in land, the concept of ‘deferment rate’ is often used. The deferment rate is the annual discount that should be applied, on a compound basis, to the anticipated future receipt in... - Read

‘Facilitation’ of Abuse Means Liability Shared
21 Jan 2013
The Supreme Court has ruled that when an unincorporated association supplied teachers to a Catholic school, the association was ‘vicariously liable’ for the actions of the teachers supplied, despite the fact... - Read

Ignoring Contract Implications Spells Trouble
20 Jan 2013
A recent case involving supermarket chain Somerfield (now part of the Co-Op) shows the wisdom of thinking through the implications of a contract before undertaking it. The supermarket chain made an... - Read

£5.60 a Year for Claimant Whose Behaviour ‘Did His Case No Good’
18 Jan 2013
The son of a baronet who has fought his father through the courts for years over the sale of the family’s estate and his alleged right to support from family trusts has at last won a court decision in his favour. In... - Read

Careless Talk Costs Land
18 Jan 2013
A recent High Court case shows the dangers of negotiating in a dispute without legal representation. It also illustrates that an agreement which disposes of an interest in land does not have to be in writing if... - Read

Fresh Hearing for Dismissed Care Home Managers
17 Jan 2013
Two care home managers are to have their cases reheard by the Employment Tribunal (ET) after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that not every piece of information held by an employer is confidential... - Read

Contract Cancellation Fails
14 Jan 2013
Just because a term in a contract is breached does not necessarily mean that the contract can be rescinded, as was demonstrated by a dispute between a company that owned land and a wind farm... - Read

Cost to Taxpayer is Legitimate Planning Consideration
12 Jan 2013
When a council proposes to revoke or modify a planning permission already given, it faces a difficult situation. The developer that has been granted the permission may well have committed to considerable expenditure as... - Read

The Perils of Incautious Auction Purchase
12 Jan 2013
A High Court ruling has underlined the dangers inherent in purchasing property at auction without taking proper legal advice. A disabled woman is facing a financial catastrophe after she made a successful... - Read

Building Not Divisible for Business Rates Purposes
09 Jan 2013
About the only plus point of empty commercial premises is that they attract relief from rates for a minimum of three months (six months in the case of industrial premises). Following a recent case in which minimal use of... - Read

‘Family of Trade Marks’ Argument Prevents New Trade Mark Registration
08 Jan 2013
There have been many cases over the years which deal with ‘family names’ in trade marks – ‘easyJet’ having brought some of the more memorable ones. Recently, US banking giant Citibank opposed a registration - Read

Court Backs Spanish Property Negligence Claim
07 Jan 2013
Many people have suffered losses because of the collapse of property values in Spain. In a recent case, a woman who found herself with a mortgage she could not afford to repay sought redress on the basis... - Read

Worker Who Misused Employer’s Taxi Account Loses Unfair Dismissal Claim
30 Dec 2012
A postman who was dismissed by Royal Mail Group Ltd. after running up bills for almost £2,500 on the company’s taxi account has failed in an unfair dismissal claim (McCafferty v Royal Mail Group Ltd.). Thomas... - Read

Temporary Occupation Justifies Multiple Rate Relief Claim
30 Dec 2012
A vacant commercial property qualifies for 100 per cent rate relief for the first three months after it becomes empty (six months if it is an industrial property). Once it has been occupied for six weeks, the... - Read

Undeliverable Goods Claim Succeeds Despite Insurer’s Arguments
29 Dec 2012
When the owners of a Moroccan factory disappeared, leaving their workers unpaid, production ground to a halt. This left a UK-based customer facing a business emergency. The company got in contact with the... - Read

Wrongly Accused Grandparents Foot Bill for Clearing Names
28 Dec 2012
When grandparents were wrongly accused during care proceedings of colluding in the sexual abuse of their grandchildren, they denied the claims and were subsequently exonerated by the judge after an... - Read

Rights of Way and Their Extent
28 Dec 2012
It is common for rights of way over property to be reserved if the seller retains other land in the vicinity of the sold land to which he wishes to gain access. A recent Court of Appeal case clarifies and restates the... - Read

Unfair Dismissal – Redundancy Selection
27 Dec 2012
In a case concerning redundancy dismissal (Mitchells of Lancaster (Brewers) Ltd. v Tattersall), the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dismissed the employer’s appeal against a finding of unfair dismissal... - Read

TUPE – What Constitutes an ‘Organised Grouping of Employees’?
23 Dec 2012
A service provision change under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) takes place when, immediately before the transfer, there is an ‘organised grouping of... - Read

Trade Mark Challenges to Become Easier?
22 Dec 2012
A recent decision of the General Court of the European Union (GCEU) has seemingly altered the previously understood position as regards the use of similar trade marks. The case involved an attempt to block the... - Read

Student Accommodation Development Receives Green Light
22 Dec 2012
A judge has underlined the importance of local employment opportunities as a factor to be taken into account when considering the grant of planning permission, in this instance for a multi-storey development... - Read

TUPE – Service Provision Changes
20 Dec 2012
In Taurus Group Ltd. v Crofts and Another, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was obliged to follow its earlier decision in the case of Hunter v McCarrick, in which it was held that for there to be a service... - Read

Judge Stands For No Bull in Trade Mark Case
19 Dec 2012
Energy drinks company Red Bull GmbH has triumphed in a High Court trade mark dispute after taking exception to the strap line ‘NO BULL IN THIS CAN’ being used on cans of a rival brew. The company had... - Read

The ACAS Annual Report and Pre-Claim Conciliation
18 Dec 2012
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has published its annual report and accounts for the year 2011/2012. This shows that demand for its Pre-Claim Conciliation (PCC) service rose by 34 per... - Read

Supreme Court Rules That Daughter Cannot Claim Tenancy
17 Dec 2012
The Supreme Court has ruled that a daughter cannot succeed to a tenancy after the death of her mother because the right of succession belongs to her estranged father. The woman’s parents became tenants... - Read

Storage Company Convicted of Corporate Manslaughter
16 Dec 2012
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, an organisation is guilty of the offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate culpable homicide in Scotland) if the way in which it... - Read

Separate Issues Severable When Dispute Not Crystallised
16 Dec 2012
Construction disputes are common and the use of arbitration proceedings represents an attempt to make resolution of such disagreements easier. However, arguments about the legal right of the arbitrator to... - Read

In Brief - Revenue Blitz Increases CGT Recovery
15 Dec 2012
A blitz on Capital Gains Tax (CGT) evasion in 2011 has led to a huge increase in the amount of unpaid CGT identified. More than £105 million of unpaid CGT was uncovered – an increase of more than £30 million... - Read

Reasonable Decision Confirmed by Court of Appeal in House Defects Case
14 Dec 2012
When the owners of houses that were built on piles discovered that the walls of their properties were cracking, they established that the reason for the problem was that the piles underpinning their houses had... - Read

Sex Discrimination Claim Goes to Appeal
13 Dec 2012
A sales consultant who was accused by her manager of lying about having had a miscarriage has been granted leave to appeal against the finding that she was not the victim of sex discrimination... - Read

In Brief - Read Before You Prune
12 Dec 2012
If you are considering felling or cropping a tree on your property that is covered by a tree protection order (TPO), you should take care to familiarise yourself with the changes to the Town and Country Planning... - Read

Redundancy – Fair Selection Procedures
11 Dec 2012
In Nicholls v Rockwell Automation Ltd., the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had erred in law when it embarked on a ‘detailed critique of certain individual items of... - Read

How Much Better Are Best Endeavours Than Reasonable Endeavours?
10 Dec 2012
Clauses requiring a party to a contract to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ or ‘best endeavours’ in its performance are common, and while ‘best’ clearly implies something beyond ‘reasonable’, the lack of... - Read

Ownership of Joint Account on Death Determined by Court
09 Dec 2012
The need for clear thinking about the ownership of bank and other accounts held in joint names was illustrated recently by a case concerning a dispute over an account following the death of one of the joint... - Read

Property Company Claims £3 Million in Compensation for Sewage Pipes
09 Dec 2012
A property company which claims that a major housing scheme was thwarted by Welsh Water laying sewage pipes across its land has won a key ruling in its battle for £3.37 million in compensation. Eaden... - Read

Paid Holiday for Workers on Long-Term Sick Leave
08 Dec 2012
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the entitlement to paid annual leave of a worker who is absent for a whole year owing to sickness does not depend on that person submitting a request for the leave before... - Read

In Brief - Directors’ Remuneration – Announcement
07 Dec 2012
The Government has published its draft rules on directors’ remuneration, which are scheduled to apply from October 2013 to stock-exchange listed (not AIM) companies and companies listed on specified... - Read

Acquiring the Freehold
07 Dec 2012
In October 2012, the Supreme Court finally handed down its decision in the joint cases of Day and another v Hosebay Ltd and Howard de Walden Estates Ltd v LexGorge Ltd; collectively known as “Hosebay”. The cases related to leasehold enfranchisement and... - Read

Keeping The Law in Your Sights
07 Dec 2012
“If I break wind in Wittenberg they smell it in Rome,” complained Martin Luther. He had cause to worry. He was challenging the authority of the all-powerful Catholic Church at the time of the Spanish Inquisition. For those who enjoy shooting, a certain amount of paranoia... - Read

No Compensation for Woman Who Volunteered for Dangerous Activity
06 Dec 2012
The Court of Appeal has rejected a claim for damages by a woman climber who was injured when a stunt being filmed for a television production went wrong. The woman was on a climbing expedition in Ecuador... - Read

Unreasonable Delay Breaks Contract
06 Dec 2012
In troubled times, a purchase ‘off plan’ can be risky, as a recent case that arose after a contractor went into administration illustrates. In 2007, a developer contracted with a number of people to sell flats that... - Read

In Brief - New Minimum Wage Rates
05 Dec 2012
Employers are reminded that, in accordance with the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, the adult hourly rate of the National Minimum Wage increases from £6.08 to £6.19 on 1 October 2012... - Read

Rent Free Staff Occupancy – VAT Recovery Confirmed
04 Dec 2012
Owners of business properties occupied rent free by employees will breathe a sigh of relief following a recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In an action brought by the state of... - Read

New Employment Law Reforms
03 Dec 2012
As part of its ongoing Employment Law Review programme, the Government has announced a package of reforms for consultation entitled ‘Ending the Employment Relationship’... - Read

No Claim If No Loss Demonstrated
03 Dec 2012
Mistakes are mistakes, but in law, when a legal claim is made, the fact that a mistake was made is only the first step to obtaining damages. The second step is to prove that a loss has been suffered. This point... - Read

Ignore Environmental Law At Your Peril Ignore Environmental Law At Your Peril
01 Dec 2012
With times being tough, complying with environmental law relating to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme may be near the bottom of the ‘to do’ list for many businesses, but the... - Read

Park Regeneration Goes Ahead Despite Bat Colony
01 Dec 2012
A group of residents in South London have failed to block two housing developments planned for the park at Crystal Palace, which Bromley Borough Council hopes will help fund the site’s £68 million regeneration... - Read

Mental Health Charity Defeats Disability Discrimination Claim
30 Nov 2012
A disabled charity worker has had his disability discrimination claim struck out after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that there were no reasonable adjustments that his employer could have... - Read

Judge Rules on Recession-Hit Developers’ Contract Dispute
29 Nov 2012
Property developers who fell out when a large-scale residential and commercial project was hit by the credit crunch have had their contract dispute resolved by a High Court judge. The claimant and the defendant... - Read

Injunction Success Brings Legal Costs Bill
29 Nov 2012
Injunctions are often difficult and expensive to obtain, and a recent decision on the payment of legal costs relating to the granting of an interim injunction in a property dispute may cause anyone considering... - Read

Maths Teacher’s Unfair Dismissal Claim Must Be Reheard
28 Nov 2012
A maths teacher who brought claims for wrongful and unfair dismissal after she was dismissed for allegedly assaulting a pupil has won the right to have her case reheard after the Employment Appeal... - Read

Construction Firms Fined After Worker’s Death Construction Firms Fined After Worker’s Death
27 Nov 2012
A recent case, in which two companies were fined after a construction worker was killed when a lorry overturned onto his vehicle, illustrates the importance of managing transport activities during construction... - Read

In Brief - Low Pay Commission Focuses on the Accommodation Offset
25 Nov 2012
As part of the Low Pay Commission’s remit for its 2013 report on National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates and other related issues, the Government requested a review of the regulations that apply where... - Read

Failure to Observe Costs Rules Means Winner Loses Out
24 Nov 2012
The general rule that in litigation the loser pays the winner’s legal costs does not always apply, as a successful claimant found recently. The claim was made in the wake of defamatory articles, found in a... - Read

No Environmental Assessment Required for Bowls Club Development
24 Nov 2012
The Court of Appeal has given guidance on the circumstances in which an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required before a planning permission is granted. The campaigner who brought the... - Read

HSE Publishes Latest Fatal Injury Statistics
23 Nov 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional statistics for fatal workplace injuries in Britain for the year April 2011 to March 2012. The total number of deaths remains largely unchanged... - Read

Confidential Document Leak Lands Executive in Court
22 Nov 2012
An executive has been found in breach of his contract of employment with his former employer after he leaked a confidential report during a luncheon appointment with a business contact. Shortly after leaving... - Read

HSE Cost Recovery Scheme
20 Nov 2012
On 1 October 2012, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) introduces its ‘Fee for Intervention’ (FFI) scheme, whereby it will attempt to recover the costs of its intervention activity when employers are found... - Read

Gambler Who Couldn’t Lose Stripped of Winnings
20 Nov 2012
An Italian man who thought he had won £650,000 playing an online game that turned out to be affected by a software bug will get none of his winnings after a judge ruled that Surrey-based Eurobet UK Ltd... - Read

Good Faith Clauses – Ignore Them At Your Peril
19 Nov 2012
In 2008, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust awarded Medirest a contract to supply catering services for seven years. Payment for the catering services was by way of monthly payments, which could be... - Read

Human Rights Do Not Justify Possession of Property by Trespasser
19 Nov 2012
When a council tenant who suffers from depression moved into his late brother’s council flat after he had died, the council was none the wiser for a considerable period of time. When it did discover the circumstances... - Read

In Brief - HSE Consults on Simplifying RIDDOR Requirements
18 Nov 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is consulting on proposals to simplify and clarify how businesses comply with the requirements under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences... - Read

Licensee Counts Cost of Wording of Agreement
18 Nov 2012
When a tenant assigned its lease by way of a licence to another tenant, with the permission of the landlord, all was well until the new tenant wished to give notice to quit the premises. The new tenant... - Read

Exaggeration of Claim Not Sufficient for Case to be Struck Out
17 Nov 2012
Where a claim has no serious chance of success, the court may order it to be ‘struck out’. When this occurs, the claim fails absolutely. The court has the right to strike out a claim at any stage in the proceedings... - Read

Guidance for Employers on Maternity Rights and Redundancy
15 Nov 2012
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), in partnership with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has published new guidance to help employers understand the rights of women who... - Read

Company Collapse – HBOS Must Share Blame
14 Nov 2012
The collapse of Farepak in 2006 received widespread press coverage, with thousands of families facing the loss of their ‘Christmas Club’ savings. In all, more than 100,000 investors lost a total of more than... - Read

Fresh Hearing for Dismissed Care Home Managers
12 Nov 2012
Two care home managers are to have their cases reheard by the Employment Tribunal (ET) after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that not every piece of information held by an employer is... - Read

Director Liable to Charity for Company’s Failings
11 Nov 2012
A company director whose company provided services to a charity of which he was a trustee found himself faced with a claim from the charity that he was liable to it when the company failed to fulfil its obligations... - Read

Court of Appeal Says Yes to Successive Freehold Applications
11 Nov 2012
Tenants wanting to acquire the freehold of their properties under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 may now be permitted to make more than one application, following a... - Read

Employment Tribunal Statistics for 2011/2012
09 Nov 2012
Statistics published by the Tribunals Service show that for the period from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 there was a 15 per cent reduction in the number of Employment Tribunal (ET) claims received compared... - Read

Changes in Capital Allowances and Property
08 Nov 2012
As the law stood before April 2012, it was possible for the purchaser of a commercial building to claim capital allowances in respect of plant etc. even if the previous owner had not made a claim. Rather... - Read

Employment Tribunal Fees
07 Nov 2012
Currently, bringing an employment tribunal (ET) claim is free of charge. However, the cost of running the ET service is £84 million per annum. Earlier this year, as part of the Government’s Employment Law... - Read

Bankrupt Cannot Secure Pension Benefits
06 Nov 2012
A bankrupt who is entitled to obtain a pension simply by asking for it cannot seek to have it protected from his creditors, the High Court ruled recently. The bankrupt had a pension policy which he was entitled... - Read

How to Establish Adverse Possession of Land
06 Nov 2012
Many people are aware that it is possible for an unauthorised occupier of unregistered land owned by another person to gain ownership of it if the occupier is able to show ‘adverse possession’ of the land for... - Read

Employees Who Fall Sick Whilst on Annual Leave
05 Nov 2012
On more than one occasion, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the purpose of the entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable a worker to rest and to enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure... - Read

Breach of Trade Mark – Improper Behaviour by Trade Mark Owner Not a Defence
04 Nov 2012
When a supplier sought to protect its trade mark against a company that was breaching its right to control the first sale of its products in Europe, the claim was disputed on the ground that the trade mark... - Read

Councillors Entitled to Take an Overall View of Planning Obligations
04 Nov 2012
Campaigners determined to block construction of a motorway service station on the edge of the Cotswolds have failed to convince the Court of Appeal that planning permission granted for the project... - Read

Court of Appeal Rules on Definition of ‘Worker’
02 Nov 2012
The level of protection afforded to those who carry out work for someone else is not provided on a uniform basis. Some employment rights are conferred only on employees, whereas other rights are available... - Read

Court of Appeal Marks Sea Change in Law Relating to Vicarious Liability
31 Oct 2012
The Court of Appeal has concluded that the time has come ‘emphatically to announce’ a sea change in the law relating to vicarious liability (JGE v The Trustees of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust). The... - Read

Developer Stymied in Attempt to Move Allocated Parking
30 Oct 2012
When the developer of a block of flats (who owned the freehold) decided to relocate the parking spaces allocated to the tenants so that it could build another block of flats on the car park, the tenants took a... - Read

Agreement Set Aside When Only One Side Meets Obligations
29 Oct 2012
When two young men who were friends and sometime business associates decided to buy a flat together in 1997, they arranged it so that the property was registered in the name of the one who had paid the... - Read

Contractual PILON and Gross Misconduct Discovered Post Termination
28 Oct 2012
When a company has exercised its contractual power to terminate an employee’s contract of employment with pay in lieu of notice (PILON) then subsequently discovers gross misconduct on the part of the employee... - Read

‘Right to Buy’ Application Reinstated by Court of Appeal
27 Oct 2012
The Court of Appeal has overturned a decision of the High Court that the tenants of a property in London could not apply to buy the freehold under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act... - Read

Council Planning Procedures Slated as Court Overturns Planning Application
27 Oct 2012
‘Misleading’ reasons for granting planning permission and legal flaws in the way Waverley Council took the decision to approve a planning application to allow the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to be... - Read

Changes to the EDT
25 Oct 2012
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that a decision reached at an internal appeal is part of what happened between the parties for the purposes of establishing an employee’s effective date of termination... - Read

Negligent Advice Highlights Need for Care
24 Oct 2012
When a leather testing company negligently made incorrect representations that a chemical used to prevent mould forming on leather furniture was safe, it became liable to the retailers who then sold the... - Read

Assignment of Lease Alone Not a TUPE Transfer
23 Oct 2012
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled (Lom Management Ltd. v Sweeney) that although the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) may apply when the lease of a... - Read

Council Not Liable for Tree Roots Subsidence
23 Oct 2012
A property owner whose Victorian townhouse was severely affected by subsidence has failed to convince the Court of Appeal that the local authority and a housing association (the respondents) should be held... - Read

Adjudication Can Be Settled Issue by Issue
22 Oct 2012
A contractor which claimed that a dispute could not be adjudicated before the payment which was in dispute became due found its argument rejected by the High Court recently. The contractor had placed a... - Read

‘Passing Off’ Tests
21 Oct 2012
When another firm uses a trading style that you think is a copy of yours, you might consider that an action for ‘passing off’ is appropriate. Passing off occurs when a business represents itself in a way that... - Read

Apprenticeship Agreements
20 Oct 2012
Traditionally, contracts of apprenticeship placed a heavier burden on an employer than an ordinary contract of employment as the primary purpose of the apprenticeship was seen as the provision of training... - Read

Buyer Not Bound by Uncorroborated Verbal Agreement
20 Oct 2012
Yet another case involving a dispute over a verbal agreement was decided recently. It involved a company that was the owner of three properties, which it intended to sell at auction. It had made an agreement... - Read

A Well-Earned Retirement?
18 Oct 2012
On 25 April, the Supreme Court gave judgment in Seldon -v- Clarkson Wright & Jakes (a partnership) [2012 UKSC 16]. The case concerned the circumstances in which a partnership could force retirement on a partner. So has the case given us clear guidance... - Read

Law Commission Game for a Wildlife Review
17 Oct 2012
The Law Commission is recommending root and branch reform of wildlife legislation in England and Wales. Responses are invited by 30 November 2012, to a Consultation Paper setting out their proposals. - Read

Sanctioning an employee for wrongful use of social media
15 Oct 2012
As a result of constantly evolving technology and the growing mainstream use of social media, it is not surprising that it has become a recurring topic when it comes to disciplinary action against employees... - Read

Refusal to Allow Rectification Means Claim Too Late
28 Sep 2012
A recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that limitation clauses in a contract are given sufficient attention. The case was brought against a roofing contractor that had done work for another firm... - Read

Consumer Insurance Reform on the Way
27 Sep 2012
Insurers do not always pay claims promptly and without question. Indeed, the courts deal on a regular basis with disputes between claimants who have made a claim under their insurance policies and insurers that... - Read

Trustees Who Failed to Manage Conflict of Interest Banned
26 Sep 2012
Three pension trustees who undertook property transactions in breach of their obligations as trustees of a pension fund have been banned from acting as pension trustees by the Pensions Regulator. The trustees... - Read

Pre-Administration Rents Not Expenses of Administration
25 Sep 2012
When a tenant becomes insolvent and the administrator intends to carry on trading from the rented premises, the administrator takes over responsibility for the payment of rent to the landlord from the commencement... - Read

Reverse Takeover Agreement Upheld in Part
21 Sep 2012
Failure of a single term does not necessarily cause the whole agreement to fall down, as a recent High Court judgment shows. ParOS plc and Worldlink Group plc entered into an outline agreement for a type of merger... - Read

Social networking media in employment – who owns what?
21 Sep 2012
An issue that is becoming more and more prevalent for employers and employees, both during employment and on the termination of employment, is the issue of information on professional networking... - Read

A Tooth for a Tooth
20 Sep 2012
New, tougher penalties for owners of dangerous dogs are to be welcomed, says Tim Ryan but he warns that the new guidelines do not mean courts will be lenient when robust action is taken to defend livestock - Read

Government Consults on Repeal of Third Party Harassment Provisions
20 Sep 2012
The Government is seeking views on the removal of the third party harassment provisions in the Equality Act 2010, as proposed in the ‘Plan for Growth’ published in March 2011. The provisions make employers liable... - Read

Time to Let Sleeping Dogs Lie?
20 Sep 2012
In early Autumn 2011, DEFRA announced that in the New Year it would be launching a consultation over possible reform of Section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971. To those who practise in the area of liability for animals, this news had more than a sense of deja vu about it... - Read

Planning Laws and New Developments
19 Sep 2012
Whether you are planning to refurbish and sell a house or to construct a whole new apartment block, almost all your plans will be governed by planning laws and any local restrictions. Planning restrictions are more... - Read

VAT Refunds Taxable, Tribunal Rules
19 Sep 2012
If you discover that you have overpaid VAT, you may be entitled to a refund. However, this raises the question of the tax status of the additional profit generated by the refund. Is it taxable or not? This point was... - Read

Registration Error Plus Day-to-Day Use Hands Land to Neighbour
18 Sep 2012
Sometimes, the reasons why a decision was taken are a lot less important than the decision itself, and a recent case fits that description perfectly. It involved the owners of two adjacent properties. An area of land... - Read

Policy Term Adherence Important!
17 Sep 2012
When a serious fire damaged an aggregate processing plant near London, the owner brought a claim against a company that had been carrying out ‘hot works’ just prior to the fire. The company denied liability... - Read

Landlord’s Failure to Extend Its Lease Leaves Subtenant in Place
13 Sep 2012
When a lease on commercial premises comes under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA), the grounds on which the landlord may oppose the tenant’s application for a new lease when the lease expires are... - Read

A Happy Retirement?
13 Sep 2012
In April, the Supreme Court gave judgment in the case of Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes. The case concerned the circumstances in which a partnership could force retirement on a partner. So has the case given us clear guidance?... - Read

How to buy a horse
13 Sep 2012
There are very few transactions where you spend thousands of pounds simply on the basis of a verbal agreement. Nonetheless, this is still how the purchase of most horses is carried out. This is fine – until something... - Read

Pension Deficit Dooms Museum
11 Sep 2012
When a museum came up short in its ability to fund a pension scheme deficit, the question of the status of the museum’s exhibits became of interest: if they belonged to the museum trust, they could be sold to fund... - Read

Evidence the Key in Establishing Liability
10 Sep 2012
When a road traffic accident results from the road being in a dangerous condition due to being in poor repair, the court is required to consider the extent of the danger and whether it results from a failure by the... - Read

Informal Agreement on Lease Leads to Court Appearance
07 Sep 2012
When a tenant fails to adhere to its obligations (usually when it fails to pay the rent due), it is usual for the landlord to be able to have the lease forfeited and to re-enter and take possession of the premises. Forfeiture... - Read

Parent Company Carries Can for Subsidiary
05 Sep 2012
When a man who was diagnosed with asbestosis sought compensation from his former employer, he discovered that the company was no longer in existence and its insurance policy had included an exception... - Read

Hire Purchase Waivers
03 Sep 2012
If you are a commercial tenant and are considering entering into a hire purchase (HP) agreement for fittings or other assets that will be kept at your premises, you should not be surprised if the HP company contacts... - Read

No Right to Use IP Created for Another
30 Aug 2012
When a Formula One (F1) team failed to pay its debts to a design company, which then used computer aided design (CAD) files that were the property of the F1 team to do design work for a competitor team, both... - Read

Forfeited Leases – Practical Issues
28 Aug 2012
When a landlord wishes to re-let a property that it has repossessed by ‘forfeiture’ because the tenant is in arrears with its rent payments, there is a potential problem in the form of the right a tenant has to apply... - Read

Court Acts to Prevent Trust Delay
27 Aug 2012
A recent case shows how a person who is intent on being difficult can obstruct matters for a long period. In the case in point, the court (after a legal battle lasting eight years and involving 25 court hearings) eventually... - Read

No Damages When Contract Breach Follows Allegation
24 Aug 2012
When a sporting goods distributor terminated its distribution/licensing agreement with a manufacturer, the distributor claimed that the termination was because the contract had been repudiated by the manufacturer... - Read

Failure to Pay Deposit is Breach of Contract
23 Aug 2012
When a property purchase does not proceed to completion, a dispute over the deposit is not uncommon. Recently, a case reached court over whether a purchaser’s failure to pay the deposit by the agreed date constituted... - Read

Supreme Court Clarifies Liability for Injury
22 Aug 2012
A Supreme Court ruling has brought clarity to the long-running debate over the liability of employers for damages payable to employees who contract mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is an aggressive and fatal cancer... - Read

New Minimum Wage Rates
21 Aug 2012
The Government has announced that it has accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission on the rates for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) that will apply from 1 October 2012. The rates are as follows... - Read

Failure to Observe Agreement Terms Invalidates Break Notice
17 Aug 2012
A tenant wished to break its lease and served the appropriate notice on its landlord. However, the tenant had taken a supplemental lease on the adjacent premises after entering into the first lease, and the initial... - Read

Reasonable Access Depends on Usage
15 Aug 2012
When a landowner erected a fence and a wall that impinged on a right of way and made it impossible for a farmer to get his hay baler into a field, trouble was inevitable. After the wall and fence were put in place... - Read

New Cookie Law – A Reminder
15 Aug 2012
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 require consent to be obtained for the use of cookies and similar technologies for storing information, and accessing information... - Read

Non-Compliance With Court Orders is a Dangerous Game
14 Aug 2012
When a company accused of selling counterfeit goods failed to comply with repeated court orders to produce information, only an optimist could have expected anything other than a rough ride in the Court of... - Read

Decision Based on Evidence Means Planning Application Fails
13 Aug 2012
When a local authority refused to approve a plan to build a 19-turbine wind farm on a peat bog near Swansea, the applicant – energy giant Npower – appealed. The planning appeal was dealt with by way of an... - Read

More PAYE Code Changes Loom
09 Aug 2012
The very same day that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales was inviting comment from its members on PAYE coding notice problems because ‘We know from your feedback that there... - Read

Covenant Limited to Land, Not Personal
07 Aug 2012
When a developer obtained planning permission to demolish the existing house on a site overlooking the sea and to build three new detached houses, he had to apply for a variation to a 1955 restrictive covenant... - Read

iPhone is Not a Computer
03 Aug 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have accepted that smartphones supplied by employers are not computers and thus a 2006 statement of practice that these would be subject to the benefits in kind regime... - Read

Employers’ Liability Database – Employer Reference Number Required
02 Aug 2012
When someone develops an industrial disease such as mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer of the lining of the lungs that has an unusually long gestation period, it is often difficult to trace the company that... - Read

Court Insists Status Quo Maintained as Tenant Aims for Deeper and Down
01 Aug 2012
When a ground-floor tenant needs more space, it will often seek to expand sideways by obtaining space in an adjacent property. However, when a tenant wished instead to gain more space by ‘going underground... - Read

Court Backs Lord of Manor Over Land But Not Title
31 Jul 2012
A recent High Court case provided a lesson in medieval land law for those involved, and featured a reputed Lord of the Manor in dispute with his villagers. In 2000, Peter Burton, a retired banker, and his... - Read

HMRC Draw on Powers to Seize Assets When VAT is Unpaid
30 Jul 2012
Figures obtained by independent IT finance provider Syscap indicate that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are increasingly using their powers of distraint to seize the assets of businesses with unpaid VAT bills... - Read

How to Keep on the Right Side of the Law when Operating a Shoot
30 Jul 2012
Legislation has encroached further into all of our lives in recent years and here Tim Ryan offers advice to shoot managers on how to avoid prosecution... - Read

Council Forces Developer to Pay for Remedial Works
26 Jul 2012
Failing to keep buildings in a safe condition can turn out to be expensive, as a recent case demonstrates. A property developer that owns a historic building in Swindon has been ordered by the High Court to pay... - Read

Appeal against Conviction - Regina v Ivan Peter Crane
26 Jul 2012
On 12 July 2012, Ivan Crane appeared before His Honour Judge Tony Mitchell and two magistrates at Nottingham Crown Court, to appeal against his conviction on 30 January 2012 of 3 offences under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981... - Read

First to File Gains Trade Mark
24 Jul 2012
When an agricultural equipment manufacturer found that another company had registered a Community Trade Mark (CTM) that was similar to one of its own brand names, it opposed the registration, arguing that... - Read

Changes to Tenancy Deposit Rules
23 Jul 2012
Landlords and tenants should be aware of changes to the law relating to tenancy deposits paid under shorthold tenancies. These came into effect on 6 April 2012. Previously, measures introduced in April 2007... - Read

Firms Urged to Pull the Plug on Unnecessary Electrical Safety Tests
19 Jul 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued revised guidance on portable appliance testing in an attempt to dispel the myth that every portable electrical appliance in the workplace needs to be tested... - Read

Argument Over Who Pays for Repairs Proves Costly
17 Jul 2012
Failing to settle a dispute out of court has cost a group of tenants in Sussex dear in a case decided recently. The dispute arose when a block of flats suffered water penetration. The tenants were obliged to... - Read

Failure to Create Clear Terms Means Copyright Shared
13 Jul 2012
How many times has the adage ‘get it in writing’ been ignored to the cost of one or more of the parties to a contract? Recently, a failure to make clear contractual terms over who owned the copyright in a film, which... - Read

Agreement in Principle Insufficient to Create Binding Agreement
11 Jul 2012
A recent case, which turned on the exact wording of an agreement between a prospective tenant and its landlord, shows the importance not only of complying with the precise terms of an agreement but also of... - Read

Bank Cleared of Liability for Losses Due to Reasonable Suspicion
09 Jul 2012
Money laundering legislation requires banks to freeze transactions pending clearance if there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the funds concerned in the transaction may be the proceeds of... - Read

Address of Landlord’s Agent Insufficient for Valid Notice
06 Jul 2012
Landlords and their agents should take note of a recent decision in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) concerning the technicalities involved in serving notices on a tenant. Beitov Properties Ltd. was the owner... - Read

Court Has Right to Protect Vulnerable Adults Not Covered by Mental Capacity Act
05 Jul 2012
When a local authority could see that an elderly woman had been browbeaten into going into a care home against her will, it considered that she had not given a valid consent and challenged the move. The woman’s... - Read

Are You Self-Employed? Revised Guidance for Service Companies
04 Jul 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have published new guidance intended to help personal service companies determine their correct employment status. HMRC will take a risk-based approach to consider... - Read

Weasel Words’ Can Make Planning Consent Fail
02 Jul 2012
If you are a trader with a planning consent that says you cannot trade outside specified hours, ‘unless agreed by’ or ‘without the prior written consent of’ your local planning authority, a recent case should be... - Read

Unpaid Invoice Does Not Prevent Break Notice
29 Jun 2012
The exercise of a break clause in a lease is an action that can have many pitfalls and should always be undertaken with timely professional advice. When a tenant wishes to exercise its right to break a lease, it is important to... - Read

Property Manager Fined for Failing to Manage Asbestos
28 Jun 2012
A property manager from Cardiff has been fined for failing to comply with the duty to manage the risks from asbestos at premises on the Penygraig Industrial Estate, Rhondda. Richard Hayward, trading as Richard... - Read

Pensions Deadline for Small Businesses Delayed
26 Jun 2012
The Government has announced that businesses are to be given more time to comply with the requirement to enrol employees into a pension scheme. Amid concerns about whether people are making adequate provision... - Read

Unforeseen Consequences Lead to Court Appearance
22 Jun 2012
The careful drafting of documents is a necessity if disputes are to be avoided, as a recent dispute between a landlord and tenant shows. The tenant had an existing agricultural tenancy and agreed with the landlord to... - Read

Lump Sum Option for Small Pension Plans
20 Jun 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have announced changes to pensions rules to allow those aged 60 or over to take a lump sum from personal pensions with a value of £2,000 or less. Although pension plans are designed... - Read

Insolvency and TUPE
18 Jun 2012
Whilst the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) operate to protect the employment law rights of employees when there is a relevant transfer of a business or part of a business... - Read

Covenant Not Overridden by Planning Permission
18 Jun 2012
When homeowners wished to build a first-floor extension over their garage, they obtained planning permission to do so. They were not best pleased, therefore, when the estate management trust for their estate refused to allow the alteration... - Read

Undemanded Liability Scuppers Break
15 Jun 2012
A recent dispute involving the validity of a break notice given by a tenant should sound warning bells for both landlords and tenants. The tenant had a history of occasional late payment of rent. The landlord had not made... - Read

HMRC In Line for £160 Million Windfall After Salary Sacrifice Scheme Rejected
11 Jun 2012
When a member of staff is on a temporary assignment, they are allowed to receive travel and subsistence payments (within certain limits) free of Income Tax (IT) and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) for up to... - Read

Technicality Insufficient to Deregister Village Green
08 Jun 2012
A recent ruling in which ‘village green’ status was withdrawn from an area of land in Dorset highlights the fact that the granting of village green status does not necessarily mean that the land will remain free from... - Read

Hospital Must Detain Suicidal Patient
08 Jun 2012
When a severely depressed woman attended hospital as a voluntary patient but then discharged herself and subsequently committed suicide, did the hospital breach her human rights by permitting her to leave? The Supreme Court... - Read

Further Clarity on Optical Trade Mark Case
06 Jun 2012
A recent case dealt with the vexed question of how similar one’s advertising can be to the trade marks of another company before this constitutes an infringement of its intellectual property rights. When supermarket giant... - Read

Social Housing Company Loses Part of £3 Million Benefits Appeal
01 Jun 2012
Can a landlord exercise an independent right of appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (FTT) against a local authority housing benefit decision? This was the question raised in the Court of Appeal in a case involving voluntary... - Read

A Happy Retirement?
30 May 2012
On 25 April 2012, the Supreme Court gave judgment in the long awaited case of Seldon -v- Clarkson Wright & Jakes (a partnership). The case concerned the circumstances in which an employer (or partnership in this case) could force retirement on a member of staff... - Read

Fraud and the Director
29 May 2012
With the economy still struggling, dubious business practices can be expected to be more common than normal, as is evidenced by the expulsion from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales of two... - Read

Tenant Fails in Claim for Three Times His Deposit
29 May 2012
A former tenant has failed in a claim for damages over and above the return of his deposit, in a ruling that has demonstrated the limitations placed on tenants’ rights under Section 214 of the Housing Act 2004. This legislation gives... - Read

Time Runs Out for Claim
28 May 2012
A recent case shows how important it is to make sure that when a time limit for taking action is specified, it is not inadvertently breached. When a company was sold, the purchase agreement specified that some of the... - Read

Services – Should the Landlord Charge VAT?
25 May 2012
In general, rents on property are exempt supplies for VAT purposes. However, a landlord often supplies other services to tenants, such as cleaning and maintenance. These services are usually subject to VAT. When... - Read

FSA Fines Three Over Share Dealing
24 May 2012
When a transaction occurred that should have aroused suspicion, the subsequent investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) led to fines for three of the people involved. The transaction involved... - Read

EU Proposals for Data Protection Reform
21 May 2012
The European Commission has published its framework for modernising data protection legislation across the EU. The General Data Protection Regulation will replace the EC Data Protection Directive, which is implemented in... - Read

Ownership Not Necessary for APR Claim
18 May 2012
Agricultural Property Relief (APR) is a relief that applies for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. It is similar to Business Property Relief (BPR). Both operate to reduce the value of the property for the purposes of... - Read

Estate Agent Fined After Contractor Killed in Fall
16 May 2012
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined a firm of estate agents after a contractor who was working for them was killed when he fell from a roof. Roger Jary, 79, was a contractor for Morris, Marshall & Poole (MMP)... - Read

Housing Law Changes
11 May 2012
The Localism Act 2011 is expected to come fully into force in April 2012 and will usher in some significant changes to social housing law. The Act will give local authorities greater freedom to manage their waiting lists for social... - Read

Discrimination Law Trumps Religious Convictions
10 May 2012
The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the High Court that a Christian couple who refused to allow a homosexual couple to share a bed at their hotel had unlawfully discriminated against them. The hotel owners... - Read

Family of Girl Injured in Crash Wins Multi-Million Pound Award
09 May 2012
The family of a girl who sustained horrific injuries in a car crash as a baby has been awarded a multi-million pound settlement in compensation. Cerys Edwards was just 11 months old when she was injured in an... - Read

Gas Bill Victory a Warning for Property Managers
07 May 2012
A mix-up over the gas bill relating to the swimming pool of a residential estate led to a case reaching the Upper Tribunal. The swimming pool was heated by gas. The property management company paid the gas bills, which... - Read

Undisclosed Arrangement Between Friends Scuppers IVA
04 May 2012
When a man was worried that his creditors would not approve his proposals for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), he took innovative steps to ensure that when the meeting of creditors was held a majority... - Read

Village Greens – Latest Decisions
03 May 2012
A recent ruling in which ‘village green’ status was withdrawn from an area of land in Dorset highlights the fact that the granting of village green status does not necessarily mean that the land will be free from the risk of development in perpetuity... - Read

Companies Take Note – Dividends Can Be Proceeds of Crime
02 May 2012
Problems with doing ‘clean’ business in some jurisdictions are almost insurmountable, yet the Bribery Act 2010 is clear that offering inducements can easily amount to unlawful activity. It may be thought that where such... - Read

Failure to Register Renders Property Inaccessible
30 Apr 2012
When the owner of a property failed to register a right of access, trouble was in store. The claimant owned a property (number 37) which was separated from the property next door (number 35) by an alleyway. This... - Read

Contract With Mortgage Broker Does Not Guarantee Funds
27 Apr 2012
When a mortgage brokerage agrees to arrange finance for a customer, does that mean that it has provided a guarantee that the required funding will be found? This question was the subject of a recent case in the Court... - Read

Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas
25 Apr 2012
Since the Civic Amenities Act of 1967, over 9,000 conservation areas have been designated as areas of special architectural or historic interest in England alone. Planning law and local requirements apply wherever you live... - Read

Client Poaching Claim Fails
24 Apr 2012
A £6 million claim against former employees accused of ‘poaching’ clients for the firm they joined after their former employer was taken over has been lost in the High Court. Seven insurance brokers were sued for... - Read

Failure to Follow Agreed Schedule Not Ground for Damages
23 Apr 2012
Many people have experienced the frustration of having builders who turn up, partially complete the work they have been contracted to do and then seemingly lose interest, with the result that the original expectations as... - Read

Charity Undertakes to Comply with Data Protection Obligations
18 Apr 2012
A Scottish charity, Enable Scotland, has given an undertaking to take specific action to improve its compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) after two unencrypted memory sticks and papers containing the... - Read

Benefit to Parents Not Sufficient Benefit to Their Son, Rules Court
17 Apr 2012
The Court of Protection has refused a request to make financial arrangements for a young man lacking mental capacity because there was no clear benefit to him of the proposed arrangements. The young man, now 21... - Read

Evidence Neglected Not Good Reason for New Hearing
16 Apr 2012
When Bristol City Council wished to redevelop parts of the city centre, it was necessary to compulsorily purchase many properties, one of which was an 18-storey office block. This was taken into possession by the Council... - Read

Argument Over Strip of Land Settled by Court of Appeal
13 Apr 2012
A recent case in the Court of Appeal illustrates the extent to which property owners will go to protect what they perceive to be the boundaries of their property, which in this instance led Lord Justice Mummery to refer to... - Read

When it is Time for the Young Ones to Take Over
12 Apr 2012
In any family business, when the owners wish to retire and pass the business on to the next generation, as opposed to selling it, there are many aspects to consider. In general, planning for this eventuality cannot... - Read

ACAS Guidance for Employers on the Olympic Games
10 Apr 2012
With only a few months to go before the London 2012 Olympic Games commence on 27 July 2012, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has issued guidance for employers on some of the issues that... - Read

Animal Welfare Act: five successful years?
10 Apr 2012
The Act was hailed as a revolutionary step forward in animal welfare law and, for once, parliament appears to have got it right, says Tim Ryan. - Read

Breaches of Rights of Access
09 Apr 2012
When a landowner has land with an easement over it (i.e. others have the right to pass over the land) and the easement is abused by one of the people with that right, what can the landowner do? This question was... - Read

Take Care on Business Disposals
06 Apr 2012
Business owners will be aware that entrepreneur’s relief operates to reduce the Capital Gains Tax on qualifying business assets and that the availability of the relief can be crucial in obtaining a low-tax exit when a family... - Read

Acceptance of Risk is Absolute
06 Apr 2012
The Court of Appeal has issued a judgment in a personal injury case which has particular relevance for owners of horses. The case involved a woman who was injured while out riding. Her horse became scared and reared... - Read

‘I Didn’t Know What I Was Signing’ is a Valid Defence
04 Apr 2012
A company director who was misled into signing a guarantee over a lease, when he thought he was merely witnessing his fellow director’s signature, has escaped liability under the guarantee. Joshua Yardley signed... - Read

Breach of Planning Permission Negates Commencement of Development
02 Apr 2012
When a developer sought to make use of a 37-year-old planning permission because it had ‘commenced building work’ within five years of the permission being granted, the Court of Appeal was unimpressed. In 1974, the... - Read

Who Gives You Advice is Important
30 Mar 2012
When a financial services company went into administration and came under investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the emails of one of its directors were copied by the FSA, which wished to use... - Read

Human Rights Not Breached by ‘Unfair’ Decision
30 Mar 2012
The High Court recently ruled that a local authority that removed a child from a couple with whom he had been placed for adoption and took him back into care did not breach the family’s human rights, even though the... - Read

Unenforceable Decision Still Has to be Paid For
28 Mar 2012
An adjudicator in a property dispute who made an error that meant that his decision was unenforceable might be thought to have showed a degree of boldness in seeking to charge for the work. However, a recent case in the... - Read

Unauthorised Database Use to Cost Companies
27 Mar 2012
Creating a commercial database and keeping it up to date is an expensive business and owners of such databases often take precautions to make sure they are not used without permission. One method of... - Read

Tribunal Confirms No Compensation for Rock Shareholders
26 Mar 2012
The scheme set up by the Government to assess the value of Northern Rock shares, for the purposes of deciding whether or not compensation was due to shareholders, concluded that without government support... - Read

Tribunal Can Decide Only on Issues Referred To It
23 Mar 2012
When the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) had to decide on a complaint over the charges for insurance levied on tenants by a landlord, decide it did…but it also proceeded to reach a conclusion about other charges that... - Read

FSA Stamps Down on Manipulative Trades
23 Mar 2012
When a securities trader exploited a defect in automated trading software to make a considerable profit on a series of small trades made over a year, he probably thought he was doing nothing wrong…and... - Read

Careless Talk Costs Cash
22 Mar 2012
The renovation of a listed building presents particular issues and can be fraught with difficulties. A recent case illustrates the additional problems that can be caused when legal agreements are created orally. When a... - Read

Swiss Bank Accounts – 6,000 Letters on the Way
21 Mar 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be targeting 6,000 Swiss bank accounts for further enquiry following the completion of the preliminary review resulting from the co-operation agreement in the area of taxation... - Read

Tenant Pays Price for Incomplete Paperwork
19 Mar 2012
The wisdom of making sure that agreements are finalised in good time and not left hanging in abeyance is illustrated by a recent case. It involved a local authority and a shopkeeper tenant who ran a convenience store... - Read

Storage Company Charged With Corporate Manslaughter
16 Mar 2012
Under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, an organisation is guilty of the offence of corporate manslaughter (corporate culpable homicide in Scotland) if the way in which it manages or organises... - Read

Employer Health and Safety Obligations Clarified by Court of Appeal
14 Mar 2012
When an accident at work leads to a court case, the burden of proof that it is not responsible (on the balance of probabilities) for the injury lies with the employer, but only after the claimant has shown that the employer... - Read

Squatter Law Proposals Announced
14 Mar 2012
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now published its response to the recent consultation on proposals to criminalise squatting. The consultation paper, entitled ‘Options for dealing with squatting’, received over... - Read

Stress the Most Common Cause of Long-Term Sickness Absence
14 Mar 2012
The 12th edition of the Absence Survey management report has been produced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), in conjunction with healthcare provider Simplyhealth. As one might expect... - Read

Restaurants Now in HMRC’s Sights
13 Mar 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have recently set up a taskforce to investigate under-declarations of tax in the restaurant trade. The taskforce is one of a number of specialist teams set up to tackle tax evasion in specific... - Read

Dismissal for Comments on Facebook Unfair
12 Mar 2012
A recent case (Whitham v Club 24 Ltd. t/a Ventura) sheds further light on how an employer should respond if an employee makes derogatory remarks concerning the workplace on a social networking site. Mrs Whitham... - Read

School’s Delegation of Responsibility Reasonable, Rules Court
12 Mar 2012
Employers are normally responsible for the actions of their employees when at work…this is called ‘vicarious liability’. However, the concept does not necessarily extend to people who assume positions of responsibility... - Read

Meaning of Words Crucial in Enfranchisement Claim
09 Mar 2012
The legislation which gives tenants the right to acquire the freeholds of their properties (‘leasehold enfranchisement’) has led to many legal disputes. There have also been numerous legal cases over the years... - Read

Patents Made Simple
08 Mar 2012
In response to representations regarding the cost of obtaining intellectual property protection in the UK, the Intellectual Property Office has introduced a new online patent system called Ipsum. Ipsum will allow... - Read

FSA Proposes Tighter Rules on Packaged Account Insurance
07 Mar 2012
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that it is proposing to introduce new rules governing the sale of insurance as part of ‘packaged’ accounts. Packaged accounts are current accounts which include a... - Read

Mandatory Eviction Powers for Local Authorities?
06 Mar 2012
A consultation on ways of making it easier for social housing providers to evict problem tenants has recently closed. It is proposed that landlords be given the right, in appropriate circumstances, to evict tenants who... - Read

Partnership Challenge Fails When Evidence Insufficient
05 Mar 2012
It may seem self-evident that the partners in a partnership own all the assets and thus own the goodwill. However, problems can arise when there are partners of different types and a dispute arises, as happened... - Read

Exaggeration of Symptoms Does Not Prevent Costs Claim
05 Mar 2012
When a man claimed more than £250,000 from his employer in respect of injuries to his back as a result of an accident at work, the employer’s insurance company took a keen interest in the claim. Firstly, it opposed the... - Read

Local Authority Successful in Multi-Million Pound Claim
01 Mar 2012
When a landlord wishes to undertake major works on a tenanted property, there is a complex set of consultation procedures that must be negotiated if the cost of the works is to be passed on to the tenants. Failure to... - Read

Overall Impression Crucial in Design Right
28 Feb 2012
Design rights are not the same as copyright, but are valuable intellectual property assets nonetheless. Consider the traditional Coca-Cola bottle, which instantly conveys the brand image to the consumer. Accordingly... - Read

Creditors Benefit When Paperwork Incomplete
28 Feb 2012
When changes in the ownership of a property are contemplated, it is essential that the appropriate documentation is produced to substantiate the new ownership. In a recent case involving an insolvent estate... - Read

Owner Must Take Concrete Steps to Preserve Title to Land
27 Feb 2012
Even if the Government does take action to end the ancient law of adverse possession (‘squatters’ rights’), cases based on the law before any change will continue to come before the courts for several years. The common... - Read

Open Dealing Means No Breach of Duty
23 Feb 2012
Following a recent case in which a director was found to be in breach of his obligations to his company for accepting the loan of a digger comes another in which the actions of a director have been challenged – but... - Read

Holiday Lettings – Get Ready for New Rules
21 Feb 2012
Owners of furnished holiday letting (FHL) properties are reminded that new rules come into effect in April 2012 for which preparations should now be being made. The important changes relate to the actual letting of the... - Read

If You Do Not Understand It, Take Advice
20 Feb 2012
The wave of litigation which has followed the turmoil in the financial markets as a result of the credit crunch has led to many decisions that have resulted in those suing financial institutions being left to lick their wounds... - Read

Online Payment of VAT – A Reminder
17 Feb 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have issued a reminder that from 1 April 2012 all VAT-registered businesses must file their VAT returns online and pay their VAT electronically. At present, only newly-registered... - Read

Claim Successful Despite Cause Not Being Proved
17 Feb 2012
When a claim is made for a personal injury, you would normally think it necessary to prove that the injury was caused by the action of the person or business claimed against for the claim to succeed. However, a recent... - Read

HMRC and ICAEW Announcements – Landlords Take Note
15 Feb 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have announced that the Mortgage Verification Scheme (MVS), which was developed in co-operation with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Building Societies Association and run... - Read

OFT Rejects Predatory Pricing Claim
14 Feb 2012
When a company engages in below-cost pricing or other ‘predatory’ practices, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is often called upon to investigate. Where anti-competitive practice is confirmed, the fines can be substantial... - Read

Failure to Provide Deposit Protection Details Costs Landlord
10 Feb 2012
A landlord who receives a deposit from a tenant in respect of an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is obliged to protect the tenant’s deposit using one of three government-approved deposit protection schemes. A... - Read

In Brief - New Business Tax Breaks
09 Feb 2012
People starting new businesses are reminded that the Regional Employer National Insurance Holiday Scheme provides a 12-month National Insurance holiday for each of the first ten employees taken on in the first year... - Read

Buyer Beware Principle Still Applies
09 Feb 2012
A recent case in the Court of Appeal shows that ‘buyer beware’ is still a valid principle. Just because someone is paid for introducing you to someone else does not necessarily impose on them a duty to inform you of the... - Read

Failure to Establish Right Prevents Enfranchisement Claim
07 Feb 2012
The law relating to the enfranchisement of leaseholds (the name for the process by which tenants exercise the right to buy) is complex. One of the rules is that a tenant who participates in an enfranchisement application... - Read

First Conviction Under the Bribery Act
06 Feb 2012
A former Magistrates’ Court clerk has become the first person to be convicted under the Bribery Act 2010. Munir Yakub Patel pleaded guilty to bribery and misconduct in public office. He admitted taking a £500 bribe from a... - Read

Information Withheld Allows Contract to be Rescinded
03 Feb 2012
It is surprising indeed when a standard and widely used contract term is held to be unreasonable, but that is precisely what happened recently when the particular facts of a case meant that the contract for a property... - Read

Costs Spiral When Fight Prolonged
03 Feb 2012
When legal fees of £105 million were claimed in respect of a claim for injury to more than 30,000 people resulting from the dumping of toxic materials that was settled for £30 million, the dispute was inevitably going to drag... - Read

Facts Determine if Adjudicator’s Decision Must be Revisited
02 Feb 2012
When the construction of a village hall did not proceed as planned, the commissioning town council and the builders fell into dispute over a number of issues. As a result, the builders issued a notice of adjudication to... - Read

Expertise Critical to Avoid Negligence
31 Jan 2012
A recent case shows the lack of wisdom of undertaking expert work unless you have the necessary expertise. It is generally accepted that property valuation is an imprecise science. Accordingly, when the accuracy of... - Read

Amateur Footballer’s Compensation Award – Council Appeals
31 Jan 2012
An amateur footballer who was seriously injured while playing on a poorly maintained pitch was recently awarded £22,700 in compensation at Dewsbury County Court. Paul Zoledziejewski, a 33-year-old mechanic, was playing... - Read

Here Comes the Sun (and Electricity)
30 Jan 2012
Many leases contain stipulations that tenants may make alterations to their let property with the consent of the landlord and that such consent ‘will not be unreasonably withheld’. With the economic benefits attaching to... - Read

Contract Terms Decide Commission Entitlement
27 Jan 2012
When an agent finds a buyer for a property, the vendor must pay the estate agent’s fee. That would seem to be a straightforward enough proposition, but a recent case shows how important it is to make sure that the... - Read

Acceptance of Risk Negates Claim
26 Jan 2012
Injuries by animals present a particular problem when assessing liability in personal injury cases and the lack of clarity of the Animals Act 1971 is unfortunate in that respect. A recent decision, however, affirms the position... - Read

Directors Who Misled Creditor Personally Liable
25 Jan 2012
When a supplier to a marquee company was not paid for goods it had supplied, the directors told the supplier that the company was waiting for an insurance claim to be settled, after which payments would be made as... - Read

Construction Dispute Confirms Adjudication Allows Broad Brush Approach
23 Jan 2012
When a construction dispute over three separate contracts arose, both sides to the dispute (a contractor and a sub-contractor) agreed to the appointment of an adjudicator. The adjudicator was appointed by the firm... - Read

Court Refuses HMRC Right of Appeal in Tax Avoidance Case
20 Jan 2012
The Supreme Court has denied HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) the right of appeal in a tax case involving a series of transactions that were carried out for no commercial purpose but which led to a tax saving by the... - Read

Beware What You Say on the Web!
20 Jan 2012
The laws relating to defamation apply just as much to material posted on the Internet as they do to articles in newspapers and magazines. It is therefore risky to post comments that can be construed as defamatory on the... - Read

Landlords Lazy Over Cost Control
18 Jan 2012
According to a recent ‘Which?’ report, landlords are lazy when it comes to making sure that costs such as insurance premiums and the like, that are passed on to their tenants, represent good value for money... - Read

Court Acts to Protect Majority Shareholder
17 Jan 2012
When the directors of a small company fall out, things can get difficult: when they are also the sole shareholders, the result is usually an impasse. In a recent case, this happened and the director who was the majority... - Read

Former Gambling Worker Pleads Guilty to Data Protection Breach
17 Jan 2012
According to the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, the unlawful trade in personal information is ‘unfortunately still a thriving and lucrative activity’. Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), the theft of... - Read

Tenant Must Prove Improvement Claim
16 Jan 2012
When a tenant wishes to undertake works to the property they rent, the consent of the landlord is normally required. A lease will normally contain a clause outlining how a tenant’s improvements are to be treated for... - Read

Information Failure Costs Landlord
13 Jan 2012
If you are the owner of a ‘buy to let’ property, a recent case highlights the dangers that may result from offering shorthold tenancies that fail to comply with the regulations relating to tenants’ deposits. Most landlords... - Read

Commerciality the Key in Contract Interpretation
12 Jan 2012
When a dispute arises concerning the meaning of a contract term that is capable of being interpreted in more than one way, the resolution is normally to be found in the interpretation which is most consistent with common... - Read

Unclear Lease Terms Cost Subtenant
31 Dec 2011
When rental values fall, a variety of approaches can be adopted if a tenant, locked into a lease at a rental which is above the current market rental, wishes to sublet all or part of the let premises. One method is to pay a... - Read

The Agency Workers Regulations – Calculating the 12-Week Qualifying Period
30 Dec 2011
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (AWR), which are scheduled to come into force on 1 October 2011, agency workers will be entitled to have the same basic terms and conditions of employment as if they had been employed... - Read

In Brief - Your Email May Create a Contract
29 Dec 2011
Emails are often not thought of as having ‘weight’, in the sense of creating contractual relations, but a recent case shows how unwise it is to be less than careful about what you put in your email correspondence. Two... - Read

The Transfer of Undertakings and Service Provision Changes
28 Dec 2011
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) apply to any size of business and protect the employment rights of employees when their employer changes as a result of a relevant transfer. This... - Read

Builder Secures Additional Payment Despite Poorly Worded Contract
27 Dec 2011
When entering into a contract for building or other trade services, it is advisable to seek professional advice at the outset to avoid finding oneself involved in costly, complex and lengthy litigation over a poorly drafted contract later... - Read

The Truth, the Whole Truth
25 Dec 2011
The importance of making full disclosure of relevant facts when negotiating is hard to over-emphasise, as a recent case shows. The case arose when a company made an agreement to sell a subsidiary to another company... - Read

Court Rejects Flawed Planning Decision
24 Dec 2011
When a planning committee fails to hear all the evidence put before it, the potential for a challenge to its decision on procedural grounds is obvious. Recently, a council found itself in court after an application to build an... - Read

Statutory Obligations Must be Carried Out in Good Faith
23 Dec 2011
A case concerning an employer’s duty to consider a request from an employee who wished to work beyond the statutory retirement age of 65 that was in force at the time (Ayodele v Compass Group plc) illustrates that employers... - Read

Tenants Warned Over Compliance with Lease Terms
22 Dec 2011
When you are required to transfer a property once it is sold or at the end of the lease, you are required to give the new occupant vacant possession. This is a strict requirement, meaning that the property must be capable of... - Read

Human Rights Claim for Compensation Succeeds for House Owners
21 Dec 2011
It is unusual indeed to see a claim under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) brought as a result of a development, but recently a group of homeowners was successful in a claim based on the provision in Article 1 that... - Read

Sexual Orientation Discrimination
20 Dec 2011
If an individual chooses to make certain aspects of his or her private life generally known in the workplace, if that information is then discussed, even in idle gossip, provided there was no hostile intent, that would not make disclosure... - Read

Salary Sacrifice – VAT Changes
19 Dec 2011
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have announced that, from 1 January 2012, supplies made by employers under salary sacrifice schemes (schemes whereby an employee accepts a lower salary in return for receiving... - Read

Tenant Must Prove Improvement Claim
18 Dec 2011
When a tenant wishes to undertake works to the property they rent, the consent of the landlord is normally required. A lease will normally contain a clause outlining how a tenant’s improvements are to be treated for... - Read

Selection for Redundancy
17 Dec 2011
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that where all members of a ‘pool’ are redundant, the employer does not have to undertake a formal redundancy selection process (Zeff v Lewis Day Transport plc). Mr Zeff worked... - Read

Offer Must Stand, Rules Court of Appeal
16 Dec 2011
When making an offer to settle a legal claim before it reaches court, a formal offer is made which is called, in legal circles, a ‘Part 36 offer’, after the section of the Civil Procedure Rules that governs the making of offers to settle... - Read

The Winner Takes It All (or Not)
15 Dec 2011
It is well known that in the UK, the loser in a court case pays the legal costs of the winner. It is often assumed that if, say, your legal costs are £5,000 and you win your case, you will get the £5,000 reimbursed. However, this is... - Read

Religious Discrimination – Refusal to Allow Time Off Work to Attend Mosque
14 Dec 2011
Under the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003, now superseded by the Equality Act 2010, indirect discrimination occurs when an employer applies a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ (PCP) which puts or would... - Read

In Brief - Not New, Not Individual Means Not Protected
13 Dec 2011
Patents and registered designs give their owners protection from infringement of their intellectual property. However, one essential for both is that in order to be registered they must be new, not something which is... - Read

Court Decides Limits of Expert’s Responsibilities in Claim
12 Dec 2011
When an elderly woman passed away, her daughter, who was her personal representative, realised that some of her late mother’s land was occupied unlawfully by three people. She brought an action against them, seeking... - Read

Redundancy – Suitable Alternative Employment
11 Dec 2011
Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee who is dismissed by reason of redundancy will not be entitled to statutory redundancy pay if he or she unreasonably refuses the employer’s offer of suitable alternative employment... - Read

Money Saving Expert Wins Trade Mark Battle
10 Dec 2011
MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) founder Martin Lewis has won summary judgment in the High Court – against a cold calling company – for infringement of his trade marks. This means that Mr Lewis does not have to run to the... - Read

Unfair Dismissal – Reasonableness of Decision to Dismiss
09 Dec 2011
In Wincanton plc v Atkinson and another, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether it was reasonable or unreasonable for the haulage company to dismiss two of its drivers who continued to perform their duties... - Read

Vacant Possession Means What It Says
08 Dec 2011
When does a commercial property become vacant under a lease agreement? This was the question considered in a recent hearing in the Court of Appeal. The appeal was brought by haulage and storage firm NYK... - Read

Reasonable Adjustments – Employer’s Knowledge of Disability
07 Dec 2011
Employers will be aware that, under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), now superseded by the Equality Act 2010, where the working practices or physical features of the workplace put a disabled employee at a substantial... - Read

Licensing Appeal – New Evidence Allowed
06 Dec 2011
Supermarket owner Noor Mohammed Khan has lost his appeal against a decision by Coventry Magistrates’ Court, which upheld a decision by the local licensing committee to withdraw his licence to sell alcohol. He claimed that the.. - Read

Late Legal Representation Proves Expensive
03 Dec 2011
The director of a company who decided to defend his company himself against a copyright infringement claim has found that failing to take legal advice early on in the proceedings has cost his company dear. The company had... - Read

Tenant Insolvency Does Not Stymie Repossession Proceedings
02 Dec 2011
When a person is made bankrupt, or has been granted a debt relief order (DRO), their creditors must all receive equal treatment. Bankruptcy is a well- known procedure and, in effect, allows a debtor’s slate to be wiped... - Read

Paid Holiday for Workers on Long-Term Sick Leave – The Timing of Requests
30 Nov 2011
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the entitlement to paid annual leave of a worker who is absent for a whole year owing to sickness does not depend on that person submitting a request for the leave before... - Read

Jockey’s Attempt to Breach Covenant Falls at Second Fence
29 Nov 2011
A covenant can either represent a commitment to do something or a commitment not to do something. In either case, the party faced with a breach of the covenant has a range of options available to them for obtaining a legal... - Read

Solid Obstruction in Road Is Authority’s Responsibility
28 Nov 2011
Most people probably do not realise that a highway authority’s responsibility for keeping the roads safe to use is very limited. In practical terms, so many things can happen to a road that it would be unreasonable for the authority... - Read

Overseas Workers and Unfair Dismissal
27 Nov 2011
In March this year, the Supreme Court overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal and ruled that the use of successive fixed-term contracts in the case of teachers seconded to work in one of the European Schools – official... - Read

Investment Partners Entitled to View Documents
26 Nov 2011
Is an investor in a co-investment venture that is owned and managed by connected companies entitled to find out what has happened to its money beyond what is reported to it? This question was raised in a recent case in... - Read

Temporary Nuisance Defeats Application to Vary ‘No Build’ Covenant
24 Nov 2011
When a developer carries out a development under a building scheme, it is normal for restrictive covenants to be created which affect the properties in the scheme. Under a building scheme, each property derives its title from a single... - Read

In Brief - Integrating the Operation of Income Tax and NICs
22 Nov 2011
The Government is proposing to integrate the operation of the Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions systems, as announced in the 2011 Budget. Following an initial consultation with businesses and other interested... - Read

Reasonably Safe Does Not Mean Free from Risk
21 Nov 2011
A landowner’s duty of care with regard to land used by members of the public was the subject of a recent case in the High Court. The limits of legal responsibility in such circumstances are established generally by the law of tort (civil injury... - Read

New Minimum Wage Rates
20 Nov 2011
Employers are reminded that new National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates come into force on 1 October 2011. The revised rates are as follows:... - Read

HM Revenue and Customs Seek Loss Relief Restrictions
19 Nov 2011
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are consulting on the uses to which trading losses can be put for tax purposes. The consultation arose because of concern about the extent to which losses are being used as a tax... - Read

Procedural Flaw Opens Up Village Green for Potential Development
17 Nov 2011
Hard on the heels of several cases in which developers’ plans have been stymied by local residents making use of the law that allows an area to be designated as a village green has come another case which shows that... - Read

Guarantee Follows Contract, Says High Court
15 Nov 2011
Much trade is multinational and it is normal for contracts to specify the legal jurisdiction under which any dispute will be resolved. EU legislation has ‘tie breakers’ to ascertain the applicable law when the contract fails to specify... - Read

Possession Order Remains in Force Despite Debt Consolidation
14 Nov 2011
Law student Justin Zinda has lost his appeal against enforcement of a suspended possession order after he fell into arrears for a second time on his £133,000 mortgage. The case arose from a mortgage deed executed by Mr Zinda... - Read

Service Charge Accounts – What Can You Do?
12 Nov 2011
It is common for service charges to be paid ‘on account’ of the annual cost, based on estimates, and a final account to be made up some time after the year end, based on the actual costs incurred... - Read

Get it in Writing!
12 Nov 2011
A recent case concerning a lease over a property in Manchester illustrates yet again the importance of making sure that any matters under negotiation which are crucial are agreed in writing and unequivocal. The problem... - Read

Pyrrhic Victory in Boundary Dispute
11 Nov 2011
When applying to register land for the first time, a man who knew that a small piece of the land had been the subject of an ownership dispute failed to inform the Land Registry of this fact. There had been extensive correspondence...r - Read

Failing to Prevent Bribery – Are You at Risk?
09 Nov 2011
The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011. It created a new offence which can be committed by a commercial organisation if it fails to prevent persons associated with it from committing bribery on its behalf. A... - Read

European Court Takes Steps Against Counterfeiters
06 Nov 2011
In a case brought in order to reduce the quantity of counterfeit branded goods sold on online auction sites, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has indicated that the companies running the sites may be found guilty of trade... - Read

Compulsory Purchase – Appropriate Compensation
05 Nov 2011
When a compulsory purchase order is made, the acquirer must make a fair valuation of the property being acquired so that appropriate compensation can be paid. In making the valuation, all relevant circumstances... - Read

Domicile and Residence Checklist
03 Nov 2011
The Government intends to simplify the legislation relating to the taxation of people who are not domiciled in the UK and to make decisions on tax residence statutory. The proposed changes are seen as necessary in view of an... - Read

NS&I Withdraws Savings Certificates
02 Nov 2011
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has withdrawn its Savings Certificates from sale. The move was necessary in order to ensure that it meets its Net Financing target for 2011-2012 of £2 billion. NS&I’s Savings Certificates come... - Read

Distance Selling Tax Complications
31 Oct 2011
Although it is strictly a breach of copyright, copying material from one medium to another for private use (for example, copying a CD to an MP3 player) is commonplace. This clearly costs the performers a great deal in lost... - Read

Director Pays Price for Private Arrangement with Customer
28 Oct 2011
The law relating to the fiduciary duties of directors is stricter than many company directors might think, as a recent case illustrates. The director of a company was given the loan of ‘a second-hand excavator and dumper’... - Read

Permanence Key Feature of Assured Tenancy
27 Oct 2011
Assured tenants have significant rights as regards the properties they live in, the most important of which is the right to remain in occupation unless the landlord has sufficient grounds for repossession. The landlord of an assured tenant does not have an automatic right to recover the property... - Read

Plans Not Definitive in Property Rights
26 Oct 2011
A dispute between neighbours illustrates the significance of two important facts about property. Firstly, to prevent another person from obtaining a legal ‘easement’ (the right to use) or legal title to land that belongs to you... - Read

Contract Terms Defeat Farmers When Rocket Fails to Fire
24 Oct 2011
Although strong consumer protection law exists with regard to retail sales and sales which have long-term implications (mainly insurance contracts and ‘doorstep’ sales), in business, when a product doesn’t come up to... - Read

Company Must Follow Rules
21 Oct 2011
When a company is in financial difficulties, the details of its internal regulations tend to be near the bottom of the list of considerations when directors are making decisions. Regrettably, company law does not make allowances... - Read

Building Contract Damages Flow from Unsuitable Valve Supply
20 Oct 2011
When supplying goods, there is a general assumption that the goods supplied must be fit for the purpose for which they have been bought. Where a purchaser makes it clear to a seller that the goods are to be used... - Read

Companies Fined After Death From Fall at Work
18 Oct 2011
Two companies have been fined a total of £450,000 and ordered to pay costs after health and safety failures led to a maintenance worker falling to his death. Christopher Booker, 49, was working at Aberthaw Power Station... - Read

Clippings Service Breached Copyright, Rules Court of Appeal
14 Oct 2011
Do you use a ‘clippings’ service and then republish the clippings, or make use of material created by others on your website? If so, make sure you have the appropriate permission to use the material. A recent case dealt with... - Read

Government Announces Ban on Referral Fees
13 Oct 2011
As part of the Government’s bid to tackle the growth of a ‘compensation culture’, the Ministry of Justice has announced that the payment of referral fees in personal injury cases is to be banned. At present, referral fees are commonly... - Read

Companies Fined for Fish Farm Deaths
12 Oct 2011
Two companies have been fined a total of £640,000 after an accident during work to repair a hydraulic crane on a barge moored at a salmon farm on Loch Creran, Argyll and Bute. Two fish farm workers died after going to the... - Read

Case Shows Difficulty of Removing an Administrator
11 Oct 2011
If a creditor of an insolvent business believes that their position could be improved by the administrator of the business taking legal action, but the administrator refuses to do so, relations between the administrator and... - Read

How Things Appear Is Important
10 Oct 2011
An adjudicator in a construction dispute who issued a statement of ‘preliminary view and findings of fact’ without having received the evidence of the respondent was found by the court to have offended... - Read

ACAS Issues Guidance on Social Networking
09 Oct 2011
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has issued several factsheets offering practical tips for employers on how to manage the impact of the use of social networking tools at work... - Read

Collective Redundancy – The Election of Employee Representatives
09 Oct 2011
If an employer is ‘proposing to dismiss as redundant’ 20 or more employees at one establishment, within a period of 90 days, the collective consultation provisions of Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations... - Read

AWP Refunds Not Safe Yet!
08 Oct 2011
Operators of Amusement With Prizes (AWP) machines who receive VAT refunds as a result of a review carried out by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the wake of a court reverse in 2009 are advised to ensure that they... - Read

Undertaking Enforceable When Given Voluntarily
07 Oct 2011
In order to obtain planning permission for a development, a developer will often agree to carry out other works or development wanted by the local council. Recently, an agreement of this type led to court... - Read

I Hear You Knocking (and Drilling and Sawing…)
06 Oct 2011
Noisy neighbours can be the bane of one’s existence, so it is no real surprise that a lesbian couple finally lost patience with their adjoining next-door neighbours after they had workmen carrying out extensive building work on their... - Read

Arbitrators Not Employees
05 Oct 2011
The Supreme Court has overturned the controversial decision of the Court of Appeal in Jivraj v Hashwani and ruled that arbitrators are not employees for the purposes of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief)... - Read

The Bribery Act 2010
04 Oct 2011
The Bribery Act 2010 came into force on 1 July 2011 to replace various common law principles and creates various offences of bribery, with penalties in place for those found guilty under the Act. It can have far-reaching implications for your business and you should be aware of how to protect against these... - Read

Varying Employees’ Contracts of Employment
04 Oct 2011
With economic prospects still looking gloomy, many employers are seeking ways to reduce staff costs and an alternative to making redundancies is to reorganise employees’ patterns of working. It is important to remember, however, that where this would necessitate adverse changes to employees’ existing... - Read

Construction Act Changes
04 Oct 2011
On 1 October 2011, changes to the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (normally called the Construction Act) come into force. These will apply to all relevant contracts entered into from that date... - Read

Coming out from the shadows
04 Oct 2011 - Read

Are Your Website Images Legal?
04 Oct 2011
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has reported a noticeable increase in calls to its helpline from businesses that inadvertently included on their websites images that are protected by copyright and subsequently... - Read

Amenity Value of Land Stops Development
03 Oct 2011
A recent case serves as a warning to developers who regard covenants as inconveniences rather than serious impediments. Builder Wimpey had secured land in Gloucestershire and proposed to... - Read

Acceptable Risk Does Not Remove Need for Risk Assessment
01 Oct 2011
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a decision of a lower court that a small risk of serious injury was ‘acceptable’, and thus the failure to carry out a risk assessment was not a contributory factor to a serious injury, was... - Read

Village Green Status Fails to Prevent Development
30 Sep 2011
When an unpopular development is planned in the countryside, it is often opposed by an attempt to get the land in question designated as a village green. If successful, this will prevent the granting of planning permission, because it prevents the owner of the... - Read

Take Care Using Keywords
29 Sep 2011
Those who use ‘keywords’ for the purposes of improving the results of searches on the Internet should take note of the recent opinion of the Advocate General on this issue. The case involved Interflora and Marks and Spencer (M&S). The latter had used... - Read

Supreme Court Backs HMRC in Tax Avoidance Case
27 Sep 2011
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have won a major battle in the Supreme Court which may have severe implications for tax planning exercises. HMRC have persuaded the Court that a tax avoidance scheme, which was based on the wide definitions that apply to the... - Read

Unfair Trading Legislation Stops Bogus Prize Draws
27 Sep 2011
Not many prosecutions are brought under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, which are designed to protect consumers from the activities of unscrupulous traders. Recently, however, several companies were taken to court by... - Read

Tenant Faces Costs Order
26 Sep 2011
A tenant who claimed a beneficial interest in the property in which he lived faced an order to pay his landlord’s costs when the court rejected his claim recently. The landlord had applied for an eviction order on the ground of non-payment of rent. The order was... - Read

Statistically Invalid Estimate Still Enforceable, Rules Tribunal
22 Sep 2011
When it comes to contesting tax assessments, the playing field is far from level, as a recent VAT case shows. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) made assessments on a trader based on discrepancies between recorded sales and cash in the tills on two visits. The... - Read

Supreme Court Rejects House Disguised as a Barn
22 Sep 2011
The man who disguised his house as a barn and then claimed that the local council was ‘out of time’ to take action with regard to the breach of the planning permission has lost his case in the Supreme Court. Having obtained planning permission to build a barn, the man... - Read

Superior Clause in Contract Absolves Subcontractor
21 Sep 2011
Building contracts often involve a multiplicity of documents, which sometimes have conflicting terms. In such cases, the liabilities under the contracts will depend on which of the various contractual terms has primacy over the others. In a recent contractual dispute... - Read

Small Company Not Required to be ‘Up to the Minute’ on Safety Regulations
19 Sep 2011
Ever since the passing of the Factories Act 1961, employers have had a particular duty to provide a safe working environment for their employees. However, a large employer could reasonably be expected to be more ‘on the ball’ as regards developments in health... - Read

Reasonable Excuse for Non-Attendance Foils Possession Claim
16 Sep 2011
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a tenant who had a reasonable excuse for failing to attend a hearing at which a possession order was made for the flat in which he lived, and who had a ‘reasonable prospect of success’ in his opposition to it, was able to... - Read

The Detention of Vulnerable People – Father Wins Landmark Case
16 Sep 2011
A father recently won his battle against Hillingdon Council to be allowed to care for his son at home, and received a public apology from the director of social care for the Council’s errors of judgment. In December 2009, 21-year-old Steven Neary, who is autistic, was booked... - Read

Site Death Leads to Three Prosecutions
14 Sep 2011
A plant hire company has been fined £7,000 and ordered to pay costs of £10,000 following an accident on a building site in which an excavator bucket filled with concrete fell off the arm of the machine supplied by the company and crushed the site foreman to death... - Read

Protection of a Caravan’s ‘Pitch’ Limited, Says Court of Appeal
12 Sep 2011
A woman found recently that the protection offered to mobile home occupiers under the Mobile Homes Act 1983 is limited to the pitch of the mobile home. The site in question was let in 1975 to a Mr Barrett on an oral weekly tenancy. It consisted of 1.7 acres of... - Read

In Brief - Signatures of Directors Mean Document Executed
09 Sep 2011
A purchaser that had second thoughts about buying a property from a company and sought to avoid the contract for sale, because the document was neither sealed with the company seal nor signed ‘by or on behalf of’ the company, was given short shrift by the... - Read

Nuisance Claims Failure Shows Need for Care
09 Sep 2011
When residents of a Hertfordshire estate found their lives blighted by the smell emanating from a landfill site, they went to court to force the company operating the site to cease making the nuisance, bringing more than 30 claims in all. In a ruling which... - Read

Problems with Insolvent Landlords
07 Sep 2011
It is not only tenants that go broke: increasingly, overstretched landlords are in danger of becoming insolvent. If you are a commercial tenant and have a rent review coming up, it makes sense to do some research into your landlord’s finances and to make sure... - Read

Scottish Court Upholds Law on Asbestos-Related Conditions
06 Sep 2011
Insurance companies have failed in their attempt to overturn a law in Scotland that allows those diagnosed with pleural plaques and other benign asbestos-related conditions to bring claims for compensation. Pleural plaques are a form of scarring of the lungs... - Read

Page Three Settlement Costs News Group
02 Sep 2011
When the Sun newspaper agreed with a board game company to base a game on its well-known ‘Page Three’ and then abruptly decided to cancel the contract, a dispute was inevitable. The board game’s creators estimated that sales of the game would... - Read

Landlords Face Costs in Disputes
01 Sep 2011
The general principle that ‘the loser pays the costs of the winner’ does not apply to disputes brought before the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT). The maximum amount the LVT can require the loser to pay is £500, and only then in exceptional circumstances... - Read

Injured Driver Wins Right to Compensation Claim Rehearing
31 Aug 2011
A driver who was seriously injured in a road accident caused by a suicide on a six-lane dual carriageway has won the right to have his claim for criminal compensation reconsidered. In January 2005, Gareth Jones was driving a gritter lorry along the carriageway of... - Read

Oversight Prevents EIS Relief
30 Aug 2011
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) look carefully at the documentation supporting all investment schemes that have a tax advantage, such as the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS). One of the rules for an investment to qualify for EIS relief is that the... - Read

Indemnity Ineffective if Actual Liability Not Ascertained
26 Aug 2011
If a claim is not defended, is a person indemnifying the defendant required to meet the claim in full? This question was at the core of a recent legal case involving a property development. The developer contracted with a subcontractor to carry out geophysical work... - Read

No-Shows – ECJ Rules No VAT Due
25 Aug 2011
A recent decision of the European Court of Justice will come as good news for hard-pressed hoteliers and has led to HM Revenue and Customs issuing new guidance on deposits. The decision confirms that there is no relationship between a deposit taken for a... - Read

Property Must be Different for Defective Premises Law to Apply
25 Aug 2011
Under the Defective Premises Act 1972, a builder owes a duty of care to a person for whom they have built a dwelling (and to every person who acquires an interest in the dwelling) that it will be fit for habitation when completed. The Act applies with regard to new... - Read

Helping Out in Court – The McKenzie Friend
24 Aug 2011
A ‘McKenzie Friend’, named after the case which established the legal principles in 1970, is a person who assists another person in legal proceedings in open court when the person who is party to the proceedings requires support – for example, on account of a physical... - Read

New Rules on Privacy and Electronic Communications
22 Aug 2011
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011, which came into force on 26 May 2011, make certain changes to the laws that cover direct marketing by electronic means. Serious breaches of the rules surrounding the... - Read

Developer Cannot Avoid Liability by Failing to Market Development
18 Aug 2011
When development contracts are entered into, there is often an element of ‘profit sharing’ between the different parties involved in the development. Commonly, a vendor of land will negotiate an ‘overage’ agreement with a developer, which gives the vendor... - Read

London Boroughs Win Right to Collective Procurement
17 Aug 2011
The Supreme Court has ruled that local authorities that awarded insurance contracts to a mutual insurance company they had set up for the purpose were entitled to do so without being obliged to put the contracts out to private tender. In October 2006, the... - Read

LLP Case Shows Need for Members’ Agreement
15 Aug 2011
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are becoming increasingly common. For example, all of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms have been LLPs for several years now. Recently, the acrimonious bust-up of an LLP led to one of the ex-members suing the others for unfair... - Read

Claim Procedure Reforms Will Affect Smaller Claims
15 Aug 2011
With all the recent publicity surrounding the proposed changes to the ‘no win, no fee’ regime, another set of proposals, which may well be of greater importance to many people, has slipped under the radar of the popular press. A new consultation paper proposes... - Read

Demolition Requires Planning Permission
12 Aug 2011
New developments require planning permission, as is well known: so do projects that affect the environment. But can demolition of an existing building be considered to be a project affecting the environment, thus meaning planning permission is required? The... - Read

Landmark Decision Ends Expert Witness Immunity
10 Aug 2011
In a landmark decision (Jones v Kaney), the Supreme Court has overturned the long-established principle that an expert witness is immune from being sued for negligence over evidence given in court. The decision was reached in relation to a personal... - Read

Negligence – The Duty of Care
10 Aug 2011
In an increasingly litigious society, many claimants try to find a culpable defendant to recompense them for injuries sustained. An extreme example of such an attempt occurred when the claimant, who was well-known to the police... - Read

Defective Wording Does Not Remove Liability
08 Aug 2011
When a document contains errors, the court will often act to ensure that commercial common sense dictates its interpretation. In a recent case, a farmer sought to avoid an estate rentcharge for roads and sewers on the farm estate when the covenants in the... - Read

Charity Trustees – Watch Out for Scams
08 Aug 2011
Charity trustees have been reminded of the need to be aware of the possibility that their charity may be used for financial crime. The National Fraud Authority has estimated that annual losses due to financial crime involving charities amount to more than 2 per... - Read

Internet Hosting Case Referred to European Court of Justice
05 Aug 2011
The recent case in which the High Court held that the place at which material on the Internet is ‘made available’ is where the server containing the data is situated has been referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a ruling on this point. The argument... - Read

Court of Protection Comes to Rescue of Problem Tenant
03 Aug 2011
Dealing with tenants who cause serious nuisance to other tenants is a common problem for social landlords. One of the most difficult situations to deal with is when a tenant develops a ‘hoarding habit’ and becomes obsessed with amassing refuse... - Read

How Do I Enforce My Copyright?
02 Aug 2011
Copyright is a right that exists as soon as you create the copyright material. You do not have to apply for it. There are some exceptions to copyright, but unless one of these applies, anyone else using your material without your permission is infringing your... - Read

Council Possession Orders Vindicated
29 Jul 2011
Where a person commences a social tenancy, it is common for the landlord to use an introductory tenancy agreement. An introductory tenancy is a 12-month probationary tenancy. Provided the tenant meets the conditions of their tenancy agreement, a secure tenancy... - Read

In Brief - Foreign Lawbreaking Prevents Claim
28 Jul 2011
English law does not permit a person to benefit from their own illegality. This well-established principle prevents, for example, the recovery of damages if the contract under which damages are sought is illegal. The principle applies equally when the business itself is unlawful... - Read

Banks Receive PPI Compensation Setback
28 Jul 2011
The long-running battle between banks and their customers over alleged mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) plans took another step forward recently when the High Court dismissed a challenge brought by the banks on the basis that guidance... - Read

Misplaced Fence Leads to £20,000 Legal Bill
26 Jul 2011
A fence put up by a Devon couple will cost them more than £20,000 in legal fees and re-erection costs after the court decided that it was built a few inches the wrong side of their boundary with their next-door neighbours. The court case was necessary because... - Read

Email Terms Apply Despite Lack of Written Contract
25 Jul 2011
A recent case in the Court of Appeal has demonstrated that terms agreed by email can amount to a contract despite a formal contract referred to in the emails remaining unsigned. The case concerned a commodities trader and a fuel storage company that had... - Read

Council Has Right to Adjourn if Information Insufficient
22 Jul 2011
When a licensing application cannot be heard because insufficient information has been supplied relating to the primary use of the premises, the licensing authority must decide whether to grant the licence and deal with any issues through enforcement action... - Read

Animal Owners and the Law
21 Jul 2011
Damage by animals is not common, despite the lurid headlines one sees in the popular press. However, if your animal does cause damage or injury to someone else, what is the extent of your liability? As well as a remedy in tort (the general law of damages), there is... - Read

Economic Upswing No Reason to Abandon Good Credit Control
20 Jul 2011
The faltering steps the economy is taking towards recovery seem to be breeding a degree of overconfidence on the part of some businesses, but there is no reason to abandon good credit control practice. According to a recent report from Creditsafe, more than half... - Read

Competition Law Challenge on Landlord Fails
19 Jul 2011
The law seeks to prevent a dominant position in contractual negotiations from being used abusively. However, just because the negotiating positions of two parties are not equal does not mean that redress will be available to the ‘weaker’ party. In a landlord and... - Read

Directors Safe from Competition Law Challenge
15 Jul 2011
Competition law provides stiff penalties for those who transgress. Where the transgressor is a company, the question was recently asked as to whether the company could recover the cost of legal sanctions applied by the court from the directors who made the... - Read

Court Condemns Unfair Product Comparison
13 Jul 2011
When an insulation manufacturer created a road show to demonstrate its products in comparison with those of a competitor, there was always likely to be trouble. The comparison consisted of a series of fire tests, which were intended to demonstrate the... - Read

Competition Act Extended to Land
12 Jul 2011
From 6 April 2011, the Competition Act 1998 has been extended to cover agreements made with regard to land. Such agreements were previously excluded from the scope of the Act. The Act seeks to prohibit agreements etc. that prevent, restrict or distort... - Read

An End for the Hired Gun?
12 Jul 2011
In a groundbreaking decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that an expert witness who is negligent in respect of their work can be sued. Until the decision, the rule was that experts were immune from being sued for negligence in relation to evidence given in civil... - Read

In Brief - Community Trade Mark Rulings Apply Throughout EU
08 Jul 2011
The European Court of Justice has confirmed that a decision regarding a Community Trade Mark (CTM) reached by a trade mark court in one member state of the EU should normally be binding throughout the rest of the EU... - Read

‘Enjoyment’ Has Limited Meaning for Tenant
07 Jul 2011
A tenancy agreement will grant the tenant the right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the let premises and will normally require the tenant to keep them in a reasonably good state. When the tenant is unable to keep the premises in good decorative order, a social landlord will... - Read

Tenant’s Improvements Did Not Increase Ground Rent
06 Jul 2011
A landlord’s attempt to obtain a rent based on the uplifted value of a property was rebuffed by the court because a term in the lease, which was worded in such a way that the rent set by the rent reviews would not take into account improvements made by a tenant... - Read

Bribery Act Guidance Published
05 Jul 2011
The Government has now published final guidance for businesses on complying with the Bribery Act 2010. The implementation of the Act, originally scheduled for April this year, was delayed to allow time for the guidance to be finalised. The Act comes into force... - Read

‘Set Up’ Accident Claimant Ordered to Pay Court Costs
05 Jul 2011
Insurance giant AXA has sent out a message to accident cheats that it will resist claims which it believes to be fraudulent. In a recent case, the insurer took court action over a relatively small claim of £1,500. Alleging that the claim had been contrived by the claimant... - Read

£5 Million for Loss of Profits of Business Still on the Drawing Board
01 Jul 2011
When a claim for damages is made on the basis of ‘loss of a chance’, having good quality expert evidence is essential. Most people know that it is possible to claim damages, where appropriate, for the loss of future earnings. Normally, such claims are calculated using... - Read

In Brief - Where is a Website?
30 Jun 2011
When considering legal action regarding material which is on the Internet, often one of the most difficult questions one has to face is that of where the material is ‘made available’. Since a website can be physically situated anywhere, where ‘is’ the website... - Read

International Network of Business Lawyers Continues to Expand
28 Jun 2011
Readers may be aware that Warners is one of the founder members of ABL, which is an international network of business lawyers. One of the main purposes of the organisation is for members to be able to refer clients who want to do business... - Read

Winding Up Your Company – Warning
27 Jun 2011
There are hundreds – possibly thousands – of companies listed as ‘dormant’ at Companies House and often these are retained rather than wound up because although they do not trade, they do contain assets. For more than a quarter of a century it has been... - Read

OFT Guidance on Director Disqualification and Competition Law
23 Jun 2011
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has the power to apply for an order banning a person from being a director in cases in which competition law is breached. Orders are granted under the Directors Disqualification Act 1986 and are issued when the conduct of a director... - Read

Manufacturing Company Fined After Drilling Machine Accident
22 Jun 2011
A manufacturing company based in Wigan has been fined £12,500 and ordered to pay costs of £1,703 after a worker lost part of his index finger whilst operating a drilling machine. The 46-year-old employee was drilling holes through an iron bar when his right hand... - Read

Your Right to E-Privacy
21 Jun 2011
Many websites only allow full access to features if ‘cookies’ are enabled on your web browser. A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer which allows the site visited to identify you (strictly, the computer user) on future visits to the site... - Read

Badly Drafted Documents Foil Guarantee Claim
21 Jun 2011
A recent case confirms the doctrine that for a guarantee to be valid, it must be in writing and clear. It involved an extremely badly drafted document in which a man purported to guarantee the performance of a management agreement relating to a number of flats... - Read

Preventing Competition in Land Deals
21 Jun 2011
As from the 6 April 2011, the Competition Act 1998 now also applies to land transactions. Until then, land agreements were excluded, so that land owners were free to impose restrictive covenants and other restrictions in leases, transfers and development agreements... - Read

Agent’s Acceptance Binds Landlord
20 Jun 2011
A tenant that served a break notice on its lease to the wrong person had a lucky escape recently when the court ruled that the notice was valid because the landlord’s agent had accepted it and this had the effect of waiving the defects in serving it. The tenant... - Read

Removal Firms Pay for Misuse of Trade Association Marks
16 Jun 2011
In a recent case, firms which used trade marks to which they were not entitled felt the wrath of the court. The case concerned the National Guild of Removers & Storers (NGRS), a trade association for businesses in the removal and storage industry. NGRS owns various... - Read

Tax for Contractors – Is the Pendulum Swinging?
14 Jun 2011
The guidance relating to the tax legislation that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) use to determine whether a contractor who uses a limited company to carry out contracts should be treated as employed by the end-user client is contained in HMRC leaflet IR35... - Read

In Brief - Graphical User Interface Copyright Decision
24 May 2011
Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) are the pictorial means by which computer users can interact with their machines and, as such, they are often designed with great care and at great expense. It is no surprise, therefore, that the creators of GUIs wish to... - Read

Airspace – Is It a Right?
13 May 2011
Who has the right to the airspace above a flat? This question was at the centre of a recent legal dispute involving a block of flats. The block of flats was wider at the bottom than on the upper floors, narrowing at the 6th. The 6th floor tenant obtained permission for... - Read

Charity Trustees – Balancing Financial Return and Social Return on Investment
12 May 2011
One of the more frequent problems faced by charity trustees is that of balancing the need for charity investments to produce financial benefits with the desire for them to also produce social benefits. Fortunately, the Charity Commission has now updated its guidance... - Read

OFT Cold-Calling Crackdown
05 Apr 2011
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently warned the debt management industry to cease from using unsolicited and misleading cold-calling practices to generate client leads. As part of its crackdown on illegal cold-calling in the sector, the OFT has recently revoked the consumer... - Read

In Brief Two Tenants, One Notice
30 Mar 2011
The High Court has confirmed the principle that where a lease for a dwelling is held by two tenants, either tenant can give a valid notice to terminate the tenancy. The effect of such a notice is that both tenants will be required to vacate the premises at the expiry of the... - Read

In Brief Ombudsman or Court, Not Both
25 Mar 2011
A recent case has confirmed the position that if a complainant accepts recompense ordered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), further recompense will not be available by way of court proceedings. Although the FOS is free, the Ombudsman can only award... - Read

Alliance of Business Lawyers continues to grow
14 Mar 2011
As many of you may be aware Warners is one of the founding firms of the Alliance of Business Lawyers (ABL) which is a network of law firms with international reach. One of the main purposes of the network is to enable member firms to be able... - Read

Assured Tenancy Changes – Information for Landlords
14 Mar 2011
On 1 October 2010, the threshold rent for the ‘assured tenancy’ regulations to apply to a property rose to £100,000 per year. The change affects both new and existing tenancies. The previous limit, which had remained unchanged for more than two decades, was £25,000... - Read

Business Owners – Read on...
14 Mar 2011
Being part of a successful business means overcoming constant challenges. When things go well thanks to the skills and efforts of the owners and employees it can be very rewarding. However if something goes wrong, perhaps if a business owner dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness, the financial security of the business, co-owners and the families involved could be at stake more... - Read

Compromise Agreements – Tax Rule Changes
14 Mar 2011
Employers making employees redundant and intending to use compromise agreements should note that from 6 April 2011 the operation of PAYE changes in relation to payments made after an employee has been issued with their P45... - Read

Exclusion Clauses Fail to Protect IT Consultants
14 Mar 2011
Clauses limiting liability under contracts have always been contentious, so a recent decision is to be welcomed because it sets out clearly the limitations which apply to exclusion clauses... - Read

Government Review of Employment Law – The Next Steps
14 Mar 2011
As part of its comprehensive review of employment legislation, the Government has published a consultation document, ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’. This seeks views on measures designed to improve the Employment Tribunal... - Read

Property Owners Must Pay Council Tax Despite Six Year Delay
07 Mar 2011
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that when a local authority has obtained a liability order to claim unpaid council tax and wishes to enforce it using insolvency proceedings, the authority does not have to do so within six years of the granting of the order. This is because... - Read

Council Obliged to Oppose Unauthorised Development
23 Feb 2011
When a development plan is passed which should have been subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) but was not, does the granting of a retrospective consent for EIA development have force or is the planning authority obliged to take action against... - Read

OFT Consultation on Competition Compliance Guidance
22 Feb 2011
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published for consultation two guidance documents that aim to help businesses and company directors comply with competition law. The first document, How Your Business Can Achieve Compliance, has been developed for businesses and... - Read

Communications Needed to Understand the ‘Factual Matrix’ Are Admissible
10 Feb 2011
‘Without prejudice’ communications, made when negotiating legal disputes in order to aid agreement, are not normally admissible in court. The idea behind them is to allow the parties to explore possible areas of agreement and make suggestions and admissions which they would... - Read

In Brief - Guidance on the VAT Rate Change
03 Feb 2011
As heralded by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement in the June 2010 Budget, the standard rate of VAT rose to 20 per cent on 4 January 2011. HM Revenue and Customs have published guidance on the change, which is available... - Read

OFT Consultation on Competition Compliance Guidance
02 Feb 2011
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published for consultation two guidance documents that aim to help businesses and company directors comply with competition law. The first document, How Your Business Can Achieve Compliance, has been developed for businesses... - Read

First Monetary Penalties for Serious Data Protection Breaches
20 Jan 2011
The Information Commissioner has served the first monetary penalties for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). In the first case, Hertfordshire County Council was issued with a penalty of £100,000 for two serious incidents where Council employees faxed... - Read

Loss of Light – Demolition Ordered
17 Jan 2011
Loss of light can be a major irritation and the law provides two remedies where it occurs. The usual remedy is for the developer of the structure responsible for the loss of light to make a payment to the person whose property’s light is impaired. The other, less commonly... - Read

Default retirement age of 65 will be abolished
13 Jan 2011
As anticipated, the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills has today confirmed that the default retirement age of 65 will be abolished from 1st October 2011. The coalition government's Response to Consultation Paper responds... - Read

Income Splitting – Another HMRC Attack
12 Jan 2011
A case involving a ‘multiple shares’ company, in which different classes of shares were created, with different rights and varying dividends paid to the shareholders over time, illustrates the baleful look that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) give to such schemes. A husband and... - Read

Undervalue Leaves Valuers in Firing Line
11 Jan 2011
A builder who entered the ‘buy to let’ market after acting on a negligent valuation has been awarded more than £70,000 by the court. He intended to buy a property to let it out and engaged a firm of surveyors to value the property and to advise on the expected... - Read

Unknown Liability Not Actionable
10 Jan 2011
One of the prime objectives of the due diligence process carried out by the prospective buyer of a business is to ensure that there are no skeletons in the cupboard of the business being bought. Warranties and indemnities are important safeguards, of course, but it is far better... - Read

No Break if Wrong Party Served
07 Jan 2011
A recent case highlights the importance of making sure that procedural issues are dealt with correctly in the giving of formal notices. When a tenant wished to terminate its lease, it served the relevant notice on the landlord. At least, that is what it thought it had done... - Read

When is a Breach Not a Breach?
29 Dec 2010
Virtually all contracts contain provisions which allow the parties concerned to cancel the contract in the event that the other party breaches it. However, with many contracts being complex and imposing a variety of obligations of varying importance on the parties to... - Read

Clear Drag-Along Clause is Binding
23 Dec 2010
Getting into business is easy. Getting out of business is often where the real problems start. That is why it makes sense to have a partnership agreement (or a shareholders’ agreement if the business is a company) in place from day one. A shareholders’ agreement will normally... - Read

In Brief - New Standard Terms for Architects
20 Dec 2010
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) standard agreement forms have recently been updated. The new forms replace the 2007 versions and are available from the RIBA bookshop at... - Read

Valuer Not Liable for Valuation Inaccuracy
13 Dec 2010
Valuation, as any valuer will tell you, is an imprecise art. Claims against valuers for negligent valuations are therefore notoriously difficult to sustain. Recently, the court heard a claim brought by investors in hotels that a valuer had neglected to take into account a ‘turnover... - Read

OFCOM Proposals to Get Tough Over Copyright Violations
06 Dec 2010
OFCOM has consulted on a draft initial obligations code of practice designed to prevent online copyright infringement. The code, entitled ‘Online Infringement of Copyright and the Digital Economy Act 2010’ will:... - Read

Competition Law – OFT Gets Tough with Directors
26 Nov 2010
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has published revised guidance on Competition Disqualification Orders (CDOs), which are orders under which company directors are disqualified from acting as directors where the company of which they are a director is in breach of UK... - Read

When You Agree Terms and Conditions
17 Nov 2010
When you do business with someone else, it is important to agree the applicable terms and conditions – merely exchanging terms can be a recipe for dispute, as a recent case shows. The case involved a US company, which ordered goods from a British company... - Read

Second Notice Served Late Means Lease Not Ended
12 Nov 2010
A tenant wishing to vacate premises by terminating its lease should read the break clauses in the lease carefully and comply fully with them: failing to do so can prove to be an expensive mistake. A recent case dealt with a dispute over a notice to terminate a lease... - Read

Brother Succeeds to Tolerated Trespass Property Right
05 Nov 2010
A tolerated trespasser is a person who has had an eviction order made against them but who remains in occupation of the property with the landlord’s acquiescence because they continue to pay rent. Since the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008... - Read

Member of Kent Corporate Finance Alliance
28 Oct 2010
Warners Solicitors is dedicated to enabling client companies and management teams achieve strong growth in profitability and shareholder value in the wake of the economic downturn. As such, we are pleased to announce our membership... - Read

Without Prejudice Challenge Fails
06 Oct 2010
A company that sought to give as evidence in court ‘without prejudice’ comments made by the company with which it was in dispute met with a firm rebuff from the Court of Appeal recently. Without prejudice material is material which is used in negotiation on the understanding... - Read

VAT and Excise Penalties – The New Regime
30 Sep 2010
A new regime for VAT and Excise penalties commenced on 1 April 2010. It provides that the penalties levied for underpayments of VAT and Excise Duty will depend on both the reason for the wrongdoing and whether the disclosure was unprompted or prompted... - Read

Public Procurement – Act Promptly When Loss Suspected
28 Sep 2010
A recent case shows the importance of acting promptly when a loss due to a breach of the public procurement rules is suspected. It involved a company which had bid for a public procurement contract awarded by the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority... - Read

Businesses Fear Effects of a Double Dip Recession
22 Sep 2010
Although the UK economy is slowly emerging from recession, the effects of the economic downturn have left many businesses weakened. With cuts in government spending, fears of a ‘double dip’ recession are widespread. Recent research carried out by R3, the trade body... - Read

Insurance – Age to Remain a Factor
22 Sep 2010
The hope that inequality of treatment on the part of insurers, based on the age of the insured, would be prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, which brings together all the main legislation governing equality issues, was dashed when Parliament announced that it had accepted... - Read

UK Intellectual Property Office Patent Opinion Service
20 Sep 2010
If you are considering bringing an action on a patent infringement matter, you might like to start by obtaining an independent opinion. For £200, the UK Intellectual Property Office offers a service of reviewing the issues under dispute and... - Read

Are Your Fire-Risk Assessments Up to Date?
16 Sep 2010
Local Fire Authorities no longer issue fire certificates. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 introduced a risk-based approach to fire safety, making it a legal requirement for the person responsible to carry out a fire-risk assessment for all non-domestic premises in... - Read

In Brief - New Company Name Check Facility
14 Sep 2010
On 28 April, Companies House introduced a new ‘Company Name Availability Search’ as part of its WebCHeck service, which will return the ‘same as’ matches as defined in the Companies Act 2006. This will allow anyone wanting to set up a company to ascertain straight away... - Read

Contract Clinches Fee for Ex-Advisers
07 Sep 2010
It is not uncommon for a company to switch financial advisers when it is seeking to do a deal, but doing so without a full appreciation of the implications of the contract with the financial advisers who have been shown the door can be an expensive mistake... - Read

An Arrangement Among Friends or a Business?
07 Sep 2010
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) imposes a strict regulatory regime on persons operating in the financial services area by way of business and this includes the licensing of ‘deposit takers’. Recently, three men were charged with taking money from clients to provide loans for businesses that were unable to secure funding from banks... - Read

Are you Caught by the Carbon Reduction Commitment?
06 Sep 2010
Companies who are concerned whether they may have to register under the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme may need to have advice on the scheme, and how to reduce their carbon footprint... - Read

New Minimum Wage Rates
06 Sep 2010
New rates for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) will come into force on 1 October 2010. As announced last year, the adult rate of the NMW is to be extended to 21-year-olds when the new rates come into effect... - Read

Failure to Enforce Right Leads to its Loss
02 Sep 2010
An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse... - Read

Copyright Case Highlights Need for Care
25 Aug 2010
Breach of copyright on the Internet is relatively common, but it is still a breach of the law and one for which there is no defence based on ignorance. Copyright is an absolute right, which arises automatically. Nothing has to be done to obtain it: it arises as soon as the... - Read

Businessmen Denied Profit for ‘Borrowed’ Business Plan
17 Aug 2010
When someone breaches a confidence and uses confidential information to make a profit, one of the legal remedies which may be sought is to require the person committing the breach to account for the profit made as a result... - Read

Correct Procedure Means No Human Rights Act Claim
11 Aug 2010
Social Housing providers will greet a recent decision of the Supreme Court with relief. The Court upheld a local council’s decision that it had discharged its duty to secure accommodation for persons who were homeless by sending each of them a letter offering accommodation... - Read

Bribery Act Becomes Law
09 Aug 2010
Bribery and corruption are rife in many countries. For example, IKEA recently ceased its expansion in Russia because of difficulties in obtaining permissions to build stores without being willing to engage in corrupt practices. In some countries, ‘sweeteners’ for deals are a necessity or near-necessity... - Read

New Equality Act 2010
04 Aug 2010
The new equality act 2010 will come into effect in October, businesses must make sure their policies are up to date... - Read

Where to Go for Information on Domestic Gas Safety
02 Aug 2010
In the year 2008/2009, 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances. The deaths were mainly due to gas appliances being fitted badly or not being serviced properly... - Read

Planning Change Affects Private Landlords
29 Jul 2010
Little publicised, but nonetheless important for many private landlords, are changes implemented by the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010, which mean that, in certain circumstances, a landlord wishing to let out a property.... - Read

In Brief - Digital Economy Act 2010
23 Jul 2010
As part of the pre-election ‘wash-up’, the Digital Economy Bill was passed into law, bringing with it the right for the Secretary of State to create secondary legislation to require Internet Service Providers to take ‘technical measures’ against subscribers... - Read

Failure to Enforce Right Leads to its Loss
23 Jul 2010
An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse... - Read

Village Green Decision Supplies Blueprint for Stymieing Development
15 Jul 2010
Most people – and certainly those who have been involved in an opposed planning application – know what a NIMBY is but, following a case heard in the Supreme Court, we may now see the rise of NOOViGs (not on our village greens).... - Read

Court Supports Ex-Director’s Right to Start New Business
12 Jul 2010
When senior employees leave a company, the commercial risks presented can be considerable. A recent case on this subject concerned a director who left the company he worked for and then set up in competition with it.... - Read

Borrowing Tips
08 Jul 2010
With the economy seeming to be slowly improving, businesses will be thinking about financing the expected expansion of trade. Borrowing cost often dominates the thinking, but it isn’t all about the cost of the loan.... - Read

Whole Agreement Clause Determines Payment Schedule
06 Jul 2010
Construction projects inevitably lead to a large number of contracts being created between the various contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and developers involved. This in turn can produce problems in the event of a dispute.... - Read

In Brief - 24/7 WebCHeck Service
29 Jun 2010
Companies House has announced that from now on its ‘WebCHeck’ company search service will be available all day every day…so, if a company owing you money.... - Read

Budget Summary 2010 - Changes Affecting Businesses
23 Jun 2010
During the election campaign, George Osborne nailed his colours firmly to the mast of a deficit reduction strategy. He has not disappointed in that, but questions remain over whether the effect of the expenditure cuts and the mixture of tax increases and decreases in the Budget will be to depress growth and to stymie the desired effect in the medium term. Time will tell... - Read

Use of Premises Makes Rent an Administration Expense
22 Jun 2010
Insolvencies have been running at a high rate for some time now, presenting problems for landlords and tenants alike. It should be remembered that the expenses of the administration of an insolvent company rank for payment before debts due to unsecured creditors.... - Read

Taking Time to Pay Taxes – Warning
07 Jun 2010
During the recession, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have been willing to make ‘time to pay’ agreements with businesses struggling to meet their tax liabilities as they fall due. However, this should not be taken to mean that HMRC.... - Read

Employers Guide - 5 ways to tackle the World Cup
02 Jun 2010
Business Link has produced an excellent factsheet that gives employers practical advice and tips on how to survive the World Cup... - Read

Tower Crane Registration in Effect From 6 Apri
31 May 2010
Construction and plant hire companies should be aware that the Health and Safety Executive will require registration of all tower cranes from 6 April.... - Read

Similar Names Likely to Confuse
24 May 2010
An attempt to register a Community Trade Mark (CTM) failed recently when the EU General Court agreed that the proposed mark (which was not a real word in Spanish) was too similar to an existing Spanish trade mark for a similar product.... - Read

Share Manoeuvres Cause Lease Breach
07 May 2010
A company that was part of a group recently found that it had breached its lease when a corporate reorganisation was carried out. The problem arose because the lease on the company’s premises contained a clause.... - Read

Workplace bullying – Employers beware!
06 May 2010
Karen Cole looks at work place bullying and how employers can take steps to prevent bullying and harassment in their workplace... - Read

Leaseholders: Take care when using the breaks!
06 May 2010
Barbara Winnnett looks at break clauses and the importance of checking the details in the terms of their lease... - Read

False Claims Cost IT Supplier Dear
30 Apr 2010
British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. was less than pleased when problems with the integration of its customer relationship management system led it to cancel its contract with IT firm Electronic Data Systems Ltd. (EDS).... - Read

Monthly Rental Payments – BRC Keeps Campaigning
14 Apr 2010
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has been campaigning for the past few years to try to encourage more commercial landlords to accept monthly rental payment arrangements instead of the quarterly payments commonly used.... - Read

Revenue Target Medics and Minimum Wage Cheats
12 Apr 2010
Although we all know that it is sensible to take any newly-announced Government initiatives with a pinch of salt, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make it known that they are giving certain areas special attention, it is worth taking notice.... - Read

Damages for Wrongful Dismissal
07 Apr 2010
When an employee brings a claim for unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal (ET), there is a statutory cap on the amount of compensation payable. However, there is no upper limit to the level of damages that can be awarded when an employee pursues a ... - Read

Job Applicants and Criminal Records
02 Apr 2010
A recent ruling of the Court of Appeal means that employers will be able to access information on old minor convictions when carrying out criminal record checks on potential employees. Following complaints from five people, the... - Read

Whistleblowing - What Constitutes a Qualifying Disclosure?
01 Apr 2010
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled (Cavendish Munro Professional Risks Management Ltd. v Geduld) that in order to fall within the statutory definition of a protected disclosure under Section 43 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), a... - Read

Companies Act Model Articles - Think Before You Leap
26 Mar 2010
The Companies Act 2006 came into effect fully on 1 October 2009. One of the advantages of the Act is that it has made the incorporation of a company easier by creating a new and simplified set of model articles of incorporation... - Read

What Profits Are Distributable
22 Mar 2010
One of the things which many company directors find confusing is the difference between distributable reserves (those from which dividends can be paid) and those which are non-distributable. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in... - Read

Moving Premises? Don't Forget The Tax Man!
18 Mar 2010
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have now updated their instructions on how companies which move premises should inform them of a change of company address. The essential point is that HMRC will not accept a notification of change of... - Read

Can You Justify Your Service-Related Pay Scheme?
12 Mar 2010
The Court of Appeal has ruled (Wilson v Health and Safety Executive) on the correct approach to objective justification in equal pay claims that arise from service-related pay schemes which have a disparate impact on women compared with men... - Read

Will Your Premises Be Shown The Yellow Card
10 Mar 2010
Following an evaluation of the impact of the Licensing Act 2003, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced earlier this year that it would be introducing a card alert scheme designed to give licensing authorities which choose to adopt it a new... - Read

Safe Working at Height
09 Mar 2010
A recent prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) serves as a warning to company directors and business owners of the importance of implementing comprehensive, safe systems for working at height. David Boulton worked for... - Read

Disability Discrimination by Association - Complying with EU Law
05 Mar 2010
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down a far-reaching judgment in the long-running case of Coleman v Attridge Law, which concerns the interpretation of the EU Equal Treatment Framework Directive and its impact on disability legislation in the... - Read

Good Faith and Errors in Documents
04 Mar 2010
If you enter into a business contract in good faith and it subsequently transpires that the contract was incorrectly authorised or otherwise invalid from the perspective of the other party’s internal regulations, where do you stand?... - Read

Selling Your Business - Tax Considerations
02 Mar 2010
With many companies suffering from the effects of the recession, business owners looking for an exit are thick on the ground. One problem those in this situation face is that if their business is in a fairly weak financial position, it is difficult to take a... - Read

Landlord Pays Price for Failing to Inform Tenant
24 Feb 2010
If a landlord has concealed or misrepresented facts, it can be ordered to pay a departing commercial tenant compensation for any damages or loss sustained by the tenant that arise as a result of having to quit the premises. The... - Read

Sickness and Holiday Leave
19 Feb 2010
The EU Working Time Directive lays down minimum health and safety requirements for the organisation of working time. The purpose of the entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable a worker to rest and to enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure. The... - Read

Companies Act Changes - Purchase of Own Shares
16 Feb 2010
There has been confusion about some of the changes in company law brought in by the Companies Act 2006, which was fully implemented on 1 October 2009. One of the more beneficial changes for companies wishing to reorganise their share capital (perhaps... - Read

Moving Target Causes Headache for Contractors
12 Feb 2010
A recent case illustrates how complex building disputes can become when there are changes ‘on the fly’ to the work being carried out and the related paperwork does not keep pace. In the case in point, a contractor’s... - Read

Guidance on Preventing Workplace Harassment and Violence
10 Feb 2010
New guidance giving practical advice to businesses and employees on preventing workplace harassment and violence has been published following European level agreement between employer and trade union organisations on the necessity of raising awareness of... - Read

Japanese Knotweed - The Legal Implications
01 Feb 2010
Japanese Knotweed - The Legal Implications - Read

Employment Law - What to expect in 2010
01 Feb 2010
The government is introducing some changes to employment law this year, they include changes to sick notes and paternity leave... - Read

International network aids Warners clients
01 Feb 2010
As readers may be aware Warners was one of the founding members of our international legal network the Alliance of Business Lawyers (ABL) some ten years ago when three firms got together in Dublin at the instigation of our sister network... - Read

Company Directors – Use of Prohibited Names
01 Feb 2010
Given the number of Phoenix type businesses that have emerged in the recession from companies that have got into financial difficulties, it is perhaps pertinent to look at what protection the law gives to others who come into contact with such companies... - Read

Advice for Tenants of Commercial Leasehold Premises
01 Feb 2010
Despite the current climate, all businesses need premises from which to trade or operate whether those businesses need offices, industrial units, shops or restaurants. Often premises will be taken by lease rather than purchase... - Read

Developers in for a Shock
01 Feb 2010
Noel Barratt looks at this interesting case and considers how the issue could have been avoided... - Read

Preventing Illegal Working - Keep a Copy
28 Jan 2010
The publicity surrounding the imposition of a fine of £5,000 on Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, for a breach of immigration law is a reminder to employers of the need to have systems in place to demonstrate compliance with the laws preventing... - Read

Insolvent Landlord - Tenant's Lease Renewal Application Must Be Considered
27 Jan 2010
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA), a tenant normally has the right to renewal of a lease on commercial premises unless the landlord requires occupation of the premises for its own purposes, which may include the purpose of redeveloping the site... - Read

Key Words Do Not Breach Trade Mark
25 Jan 2010
The Advocate General has recently given his opinion that the use of a competitor’s trade mark as a ‘key word’, in order to trigger the appearance of one’s own advertisement when an Internet search is carried out, is not an... - Read

The 'Final Straw' and Constructive Dismissal
22 Jan 2010
A serious breach of an implied contractual term or the ‘final straw’ in a series of less serious actions which cumulatively undermine an employee’s trust and confidence in his or her employer will amount to a repudiatory breach of the... - Read

Planners Quash Subsidiary Activity
18 Jan 2010
A recent case shows how important the wording of a planning consent is. It concerned a quarrying company which was engaged in the extraction of limestone from a quarry in the Peak District. There was opposition to the quarrying which led... - Read

Annual Increase in Tribunal Awards
11 Jan 2010
The Employment Rights (Revision of Limits) Order 2009, which details the annual inflation-linked changes in limits on the compensation amounts which can be awarded by employment tribunals, was made on 10 December 2009 and applies where the appropriate date... - Read

Discovering a Cover-Up – Tips for Directors
09 Jan 2010
Dubious business practice will always exist but normally becomes more prevalent and is more often uncovered in times when business is tough. A director who discovers dubious business practices within his company can find himself in a difficult situation... - Read

TUPE and Service Provision Changes – The Correct Approach
07 Jan 2010
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) 2006 introduced the concept of a transfer of undertakings by way of a service provision change. This was intended to deal with practical difficulties created, in a wide variety... - Read

Guarantee Clause Not Linked to Assignee
05 Jan 2010
With times being tough, unexpected traps in agreements are coming to light with greater regularity. A recent landlord and tenant case shows the sort of thing that can happen if insufficient attention is paid in negotiation to clauses that might... - Read

What Makes a Director?
02 Jan 2010
A tax case involving a husband and wife who paid themselves millions of pounds in dividends from 42 insolvent companies without making the necessary provisions for corporation tax has recently been heard by the Court of Appeal... - Read

Disability Discrimination – ‘Likely’ Means ‘Could Well Happen’
29 Dec 2009
Employment disputes often arise because an employer does not consider that an employee’s condition is one that qualifies them for protection under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA). It is therefore important that the definition of disability contained in the DDA... - Read

Incorrect Service Defeats Service Charge Claim
21 Dec 2009
Landlords seeking to recover service charges in circumstances which require that a notice be served on the tenants should make sure they serve the relevant notice correctly! In a recent case, a landlord had to do works on a building and sought to recover... - Read

Get Ready for Compulsory Pensions
17 Dec 2009
The Pensions Act 2008 contains provisions which will make it compulsory (from 2012) for an employer to enrol qualifying workers aged between 22 and the state pension age who earn more than a de minimus amount (currently set at £5,035 per annum)... - Read

Tis the season to be jolly
15 Dec 2009
As the Christmas office party season gets into full swing, for many this is a time to eat drink and be merry. However for employers it is a sobering thought that recent research puts the cost to British firms of over indulgence in the festive season at around £100 million... - Read

Minority Shareholder Gains £400,000 Payoff
15 Dec 2009
It is rare to see a petition under the Companies Act regarding the payment of excessive remuneration to a director, but the Scottish Outer House of the Court of Session had to deal with just such a case earlier this year... - Read

Waivers of Salary – Pitfalls
14 Dec 2009
When company cash flow is tight, a director may decide to waive salary in order to help ease the cash position. However, care needs to be exercised as unless the waiver is done correctly, the PAYE on the salary waived (which, together with the related National... - Read

Unfair Dismissal and Unofficial Industrial Action
09 Dec 2009
Under Section 237(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, an employee has no right to complain of unfair dismissal if he or she was taking part in an unofficial strike or other unofficial industrial action at the time... - Read

Want to Sack Your Auditor? Pause for Thought
07 Dec 2009
If you are not seeing eye to eye with your auditor because their view of your financial statements is at variance with yours, and you are thinking of making a change of auditors, you should be aware that Sections 522 to 525 of the Companies Act 2006 set... - Read

Guidance on Employing Children
04 Dec 2009
The Department for Children, Schools and Families has produced guidance which sets out the key provisions of the law governing the employment of children under the school leaving age. This covers age limits and permitted hours of work... - Read

Reliance on Pre-Contract Negotiations Revisited
01 Dec 2009
The 2007 case involving Persimmon Homes and landowner Chartbrook Ltd. has now been decided in the House of Lords. The case turned on the meaning of an agreement which contained a ‘grammatical ambiguity’, which applied to a formula used to... - Read

Whistleblowing – Keeping Regulators Informed
26 Nov 2009
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) – often referred to as the ‘Whistleblowing’ Act – gives workers legal protection when disclosing information relating to crimes, breaches of a legal obligation, miscarriages of justice,.. - Read

Insider Dealing – New Regime
23 Nov 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has announced that it is cracking down on insider dealing. The FSA, which levied fines of more than £28 million in the year to 31 March 2009, is appointing 30 new inspectors and tripling the level of fines it can... - Read

Varying a Contract of Employment
19 Nov 2009
In the current economic climate, many employers are seeking ways to reduce staff costs. For example, both British Airways and British Telecom are reported to have offered staff increased time off work in return for a deduction in pay. However, when... - Read

Court Takes Commonsense View of Delivery of Notice Clause
17 Nov 2009
When a dispute arises under a contract and notices or other documents have to be delivered to the other side in the dispute, in order to avoid problems it is essential that these are delivered in accordance with the contract terms. This may seem obvious, but... - Read

NICs on Dividends
13 Nov 2009
It is often assumed that the mere payment of a sum by way of a dividend, rather than as salary or bonus, will avoid PAYE and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). In the case of PAYE, the tax treatment as payment of a dividend will override that... - Read

The Gender Pay Gap – Be Prepared
11 Nov 2009
The gender pay gap is the term used to describe the difference between the hourly earnings of men and women. It is determined by calculating the overall pay of women as a percentage of that of men. The pay gap is the difference between this and 100%... - Read

Unsigned Distribution Agreement Leads to Dispute
03 Nov 2009
A recent case, in which a dispute arose over the right to terminate a distribution agreement, has illustrated the risks of not having formal written contracts in place governing business transactions. Jackson Distribution Ltd. entered... - Read

Guarantee Wording Benefits Director Guarantor
30 Oct 2009
It is common that where a lease is sublet or where the lease is to a company, a guarantee arrangement will be put in place whereby the former tenant or a director of the lessee company guarantees performance of the lease. In the event... - Read

Government Plans National Minimum Wage for Apprentices
22 Oct 2009
The Government has announced that it has asked the Low Pay Commission to set a National Minimum Wage (NMW) for apprentices. Currently, apprentices under age 19 do not qualify for the NMW. Neither do those over age 19 who are in the first... - Read

Daddy Day Care
21 Oct 2009
The government has recently announced an intention to move forward with the consultation on permitting new mothers to transfer the second six months of their maternity leave entitlement to the baby’s father... - Read

Re-structuring your business? Don't forget your properties!
21 Oct 2009
Many clients take advice from their accountants as to how to structure their business, but then are not advised to consider the implications of any change in their business set up on the property they own. This can have unexpected and expensive... - Read

Pension Reforms – Employers must contribute 3%
19 Oct 2009
The Government is currently undertaking a landmark reform of the UK pension scheme which is aimed at providing greater financial security for the ageing population. The Pensions Act 2008 is expected to come into force in April 2012... - Read

How will the Companies Act changes affect your business?
19 Oct 2009
The Companies Act 2006 is the most detailed piece of legislation ever to pass through the legislature, running to over 1300 Sections and 16 Schedules. Its provisions have been implemented gradually over the last three years with the final changes... - Read

The Duty to Manage Asbestos – HSE Guidance
16 Oct 2009
According to statistics provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), asbestos is the single greatest cause of work-related deaths in the UK. Every year 1,000 people who have been involved in carrying out building maintenance and repair work die as a... - Read

Who is Responsible? Look at the Contract
14 Oct 2009
In a contract, who is responsible for what is determined by the wording – which is why it is crucial to get the wording right from the outset. In a recent case, a company bought oil on a standard FOB (free on board) contract. The oil was... - Read

HMRC Interpretation of Ordinary Residence Rejected by Tax Commissioners
12 Oct 2009
The concept of ordinary residence is an important one in tax law, especially the law relating to Income Tax as it applies to people coming to live in the UK. The general principles were originally set out in booklet IR20, published by... - Read

Treasury Proposes New Construction Tax Regime
01 Oct 2009
Hard on the heels of several cases dealing with whether builders on construction sites are employed or self-employed for employment law purposes, the Treasury has announced yet another review of the employment status of construction workers for... - Read

Employers can force workers to retire at 65
30 Sep 2009
The High Court has announced its decision in the Heyday appeal, ruling that it is legal for UK employers to force employees to retire at age 65... - Read

Swine Flu – Guidance for Employers
03 Aug 2009
Although the rate of increase in new swine flu (influenza A H1N1) cases is reported to be abating, there are still more than 100,000 new cases a week and a surge in infections is expected as the winter approaches... - Read

Redundancy package for employers
05 Jul 2009
Stand up if your company is being forced to reduce its wage bill as a result of the economic climate or indeed is entering a period of reorganisation. If so, sit down with one of our employment lawyers who will be able to offer comprehensive information... - Read

What energy costs could mean for your business
30 Jun 2009
Ann-Marie Lock and Angela Rowe consider the Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme and its impact on commercial property transactions... - Read

A legal guide to making acquisitions
30 Jun 2009
The right acquisition can dramatically improve the performance of the acquiring business, but an inappropriate acquisition, or one progressed without proper care and attention, can have a serious and long term adverse impact... - Read

Presumption – a developer’s enemy
30 Jun 2009
I have a profound personal interest in words and their many and varied meanings. I take as an example the word “consumption”: an horrendous word for a stricken individual but a glorious word for a booming consumer-based economy... - Read

Forfeiture – peaceable re-entry
30 Jun 2009
In the event of a tenant of commercial premises being in arrears of rent, one remedy a landlord may wish to pursue is to forfeit the lease. Often the quickest and most inexpensive way of forfeiting the lease would be for the landlord to peacefully... - Read

Pre pack sales – creditors beware!
03 Mar 2009
We are increasingly seeing the use of “pre-pack” administrations to rescue a struggling business. Indeed, there have been a number of high profile pre pack sales of house hold names over the last 12 months such as MFI... - Read

Shareholders’ agreement – do you really need one?
03 Mar 2009
It is not a legal requirement for a company to have a Shareholders’ Agreement. A lot of companies function quite happily without having one. So what is the benefit of having an Agreement?.. - Read

Making your site safe - requirements you must comply with
26 Feb 2009
There are complex rules dealing with health and safety on building sites or areas where work is undertaken. The purpose of this article is to give a brief overview of the rules. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007... - Read

Plan to save you time and money with new leases
26 Feb 2009
We were able to save a landlord client time and money recently by ensuring they had a proper lease plan at an early stage in the matter. In another case we did the same for a tenant client who was selling their business and assigning the lease to the buyer... - Read

Employment law changes
24 Feb 2009
April 2009 sees a number of significant changes to employment law, and if you are in business and don’t want to be caught out you should read on to see how these will affect you. The changes are... - Read

Recent transactions – purchase development and sale
24 Feb 2009
In this case, The Counting House was a listed building owned and occupied by Lloyds TSB Bank plc. It comprised the bank on the ground floor and disused and dilapidated residential units on the upper floors... - Read

Options for landlords when tenants can't pay
24 Feb 2009
In the difficult current economic climate, many businesses are experiencing financial constraints. That can mean that in turn, commercial landlords suffer when tenants are unable to pay rents. What options are available to landlords depends on... - Read

Legal advice worldwide through ABL
24 Feb 2009
Increasingly, we find Warners clients are looking to invest in businesses and property abroad, often to take advantage of tax friendly regimes and incentives offered by other countries. As a result, clients need reliable, proactive advice from lawyers... - Read

Business Services News

Further information