Latest News
| Job opportunity within our property team The Role We are looking to appoint a property solicitor or legal executive with between 2 ... Read more |
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Service of Notices - Something of a Minefield The service of notices regularly gives rise to disputes and often ends up in costly and time-consumi... Read more |
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Buy-to-Let Purchaser Loses Case against Negligent Valuer A recent decision of the Court of Appeal shows that a buy-to-let purchaser cannot safely rely on a v... Read more |
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Government Consults on the Treatment of Pub Tenants On 22nd April 2013, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills published a Consultation Pape... Read more |
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High Court Quashes Milton Keynes Wind Turbine Policy The High Court has recently ruled that Milton Keynes Council's Policy on Wind Turbines was unlawful.... Read more |
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Redundancy Selection Criteria - Employer Gets It Wrong Employers may be forgiven if they sometimes feel that they are in a no-win situation. Over the years... Read more |
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Franchise Agreements - High Court Upholds Post-Termination Restrictions In a recent decision that will be welcomed by franchisors, the High Court ruled that provisions in a... Read more |
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Residential Service Charge Consultations - The Supreme Court to the Rescue In a decision that will be greeted with relief by many landlords, the Supreme Court has ruled that a... Read more |
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Escape of Fire - No Liability in Absence of Negligence The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Stannard (t/a Wyvern Tyres) v Gore reinforces t... Read more |
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Employer overreacts to Facebook postings! In the recent case of Smith v. Trafford Housing Trust, the High Court ruled that the Trust had acted... Read more |
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Property Development and Third Party Rights - Muscle and Money Don't Always Triumph In property development, time invariably equals money. A developer is often tempted to press on with... Read more |
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EAT Upholds Re-Engagement Order Following TUPE-Related Dismissal In the recent case of Manchester College v Hazel, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld... Read more |
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Landlord's Failure to Comply With Lease Gives Tenant Windfall In a recent case, a landlord who had failed to insure the property in the joint names of the landlor... Read more |
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On-Line Contracts: Providing Information By Hyperlink Will Not Do Suppose, for a moment, there was a general legal requirement that before entering into a contract wi... Read more |
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High Court Upholds Negligence Claim against "Innocent" Directors When a company goes bust owing large amounts of money, a liquidator may well pursue the Directors fo... Read more |
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Company Fined £480,000 in Corporate Manslaughter Case In July 2012 in the second corporate manslaughter case to be brought in England - the third in the U... Read more |
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Good News for Occupiers - High Court Rules that Rate Avoidance Scheme Works In these hard-pressed times, many landlords and businesses with unwanted commercial property on thei... Read more |
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Residential Tenancies - Rent Demands - Managing Agents' Address Will Not Do Until now, it has been common practice for landlords of residential premises to issue rent and servi... Read more |
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Online Term Did Not Bind Consumer The High Court has recently ruled that a term in a spread betting bookmaker's website Terms and Cond... Read more |
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Mistake in Siting Hoarding Costs Advertiser Mega-Bucks A recent ruling by the Court of Appeal illustrates the bizarre outcome that can result from a rigid ... Read more |
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Court of Appeal Confirms Side-Letter was Unenforceable Side-letters can be tricky things. They are often seen as a way of bridging an otherwise unbridgeabl... Read more |
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Cookies - Two Cheers for ICO's U-Turn on Implied Consent? The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published revised guidance on the new rules on the u... Read more |
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Parent Company Faces $54m Claim under Guarantee Created By Email Businesses are often unaware that a legally binding contract can be made by a simple exchange of e-m... Read more |
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Borrowing Old Equipment Lands Director in Hot Water Law is often largely a matter of commonsense. Take the issue of Directors' Duties. What the law req... Read more |
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Stamp Duty Land Tax - Revenue Gets Extra Slice of the Cake Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is payable by purchasers of real estate. As well as land and buildings, a... Read more |
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Borrowing Old Equipment Lands Director in Hot Water Law is often largely a matter of commonsense. Take the issue of Directors' Duties. What the law req... Read more |
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Nuisance - Statutory Licence or Permission Does Not Necessarily Give You Carte blanche Over recent months the courts have had to grapple more than once with the question of how far the gr... Read more |
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Heath and Safety - Gamekeeper Shoots Himself in the Leg Like data protection and the Human Rights Act, health and safety law tends to be the subject of a ce... Read more |
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£90,000 Libel Damages Awarded Against Tweeter Upheld by Court of Appeal With what might be thought to be an exquisite sense of timing, given the events of recent weeks, the... Read more |
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Failure to Pay £130 Cost Tenant £££s A recent case shows - yet again - how careful a tenant has to be when exercising its right to termin... Read more |
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Sale of Business by Company in Administration - Court Ruling Increases Buyer's Exposure In the recent case of Amble Assets LLP v. Longbenton Foods Ltd., the High Court ruled on the ... Read more |
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Court of Appeal Clarifies Law on AGAs A recent decision of the Court of Appeal provides some welcome clarification on the law relating to ... Read more |
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Residential Tenancy Deposits - Sledgehammer Legislation Repealed Residential landlords will be relieved to learn that the sanctions that for non-compliance with the ... Read more |
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Break Clause - Blunder Cost Tenant £200K A recent Court of Appeal decision highlights the need for business tenants to take care when exercis... Read more |
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Hot Shot Lawyer Falls Foul of Data Protection Act The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has ruled that Ruth Crawford QC, a leading Scottish lawy... Read more |
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Taxman Clobbers Granny A Tribunal has ruled that the conversion of a barn into a granny-annex was subject to VAT because th... Read more |
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Marks and Spencer Fined £1m for Breach of Asbestos Rules Following a sentencing hearing in Bournemouth Crown Court on 27 September 2011, Marks and Spencer pl... Read more |
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STAR WARS : The Trilogy The Supreme Court has recently ruled in the long running and third instalment of the case between Lu... Read more |
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Mortgage Valuation Trap for Buy-to-Let A recent decision of the Court of Appeal shows that a buy-to-let purchaser cannot safely rely on a v... Read more |
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Private Sewer Transfer – Some Good News for Householders and Businesses On 1st October 2011 the responsibility to repair and maintain private sewers and lateral drains (a d... Read more |
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Commercial Agents A commercial agent is an individual or company appointed to sell goods on behalf of another. They a... Read more |
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Late Payment Interest under Commercial Contracts - Improved Rights for Creditors on the Way It has been estimated that in the Euro Zone there is currently just under €2 trillion worth of unpai... Read more |
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All Reasonable Endeavours - Commercial Contracts - Airport's Obligation Proves Terminal The ideal commercial contract covers every eventuality with clarity and precision. Sadly if such a c... Read more |
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"Terms and conditions available on request" Sounds familiar? Rather than supplying their T&Cs as a matter of routine, many suppliers simply inf... Read more |
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Service Charge Consultations - Residential Landlord Who Spent £270,000 On Repairs Only Recovered £1,250 A recent decision provides a clear warning to residential landlords to ensure they comply fully with... Read more |
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Human Rights Commission Code on Service Provision The Statutory Code of Practice covering the provision of services, public functions and associations... Read more |
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Insurance Broker Loses Sentence Appeal in Corruption Case Bribery and corruption is very much a hot button issue with the Bribery Act 2010 scheduled to come i... Read more |
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The Bribery Act 2010 – Latest The Bribery Act 2010 is now scheduled to come into force on 1st July 2011. Meanwhile, on 30th Mar... Read more |
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Building Contracts - Court of Appeal Clarifies Law on Dual Liability In its recent decision in Robinson v P E Jones (Contractors) Ltd, the Court of Appeal has provided w... Read more |
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First Corporate Manslaughter Case - Company Fined £385,000 Corporate Manslaughter History - On 17th February 2011, Cotswold Geotechnical (Holdings) Ltd (CGH) ... Read more |
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Abolition of Default Retirement Age The Government has recently confirmed the phasing out of the Default Retirement Age of 65. Unde... Read more |
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Supreme Court Rules on De Facto Directors In the case of Holland v HMRC, the Supreme Court split 3-2 on whether Mr Holland was a de facto dire... Read more |
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Law Of Guarantees All Over The Shop House of Fraser has defeated the Landlord’s demand for a Parent Company Guarantee. In a complex d... Read more |
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Playing Hardball Could Cost Developer Up To £2.5 Million The moral of this case is clear. A commercial developer who proceeds with a project in the face of ... Read more |
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Residential Rent Deposits – An Important Point Clarified Life would appear to have become easier for landlords who take rent deposits for assured shorthold t... Read more |
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Marmite – 1; BNP - 0 The facts in the recent case of Unilever plc v Griffin were unusual. However, the case is a good il... Read more |
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Break Clauses - Beware Of Pitfalls Break clauses give rise to many disputes. In the current economic climate, many tenants have prem... Read more |
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Guidance and Principles for Corporate Governance for unlisted companies On November 22 2010 the Institute of Directors (IoD) launched its Guidance and Principles for Corpor... Read more |
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Data Protection Fines Imposed With effect from 6th April 2010, the Information Commissioner has had the power to impose fines for ... Read more |
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Trade Marks and Exhaustion of Rights Lawyers tend to get very excited about arguments about the burden of proof. To a non-lawyer, such a... Read more |
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Dilapidations And Damages At Lease End The recent decision of the High Court in PGF II S.A. and Another v. Royal and Sun Alliance Insura... Read more |
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Adwords and Trade Mark infringement One particularly hot topic in intellectual property law at the moment concerns the use of adwords an... Read more |
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Protection of your product’s brand image Drinks manufacturers have a history of spirited and resolute protection of brand image. This has le... Read more |
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High Court Rules On “Battle Of The Forms” Dispute In the recent case of GHSP Incorporated v AB Electronic Ltd., the High Court was asked to rul... Read more |
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The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (the Regulations) came into force on 28 December 2009. T... Read more |
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Company fined £400,000 for failure to take proper Fire Precautions In the recent case of New Look Retailers Ltd. v. The London Fire and Emergency Planning Autho... Read more |
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Letters of Intent If doubt exists over contractual obligations, and the court has to decide the matter, the judge will... Read more |
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When may directors or employees become personally liable for company liabilities? The basic position, of course, is that a limited company exists as a legal entity in its own right: ... Read more |
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DANGER! - Unexploded Rent Review! In the recent decision of Bello v. Idealview Ltd. the High Court ruled that a thirteen year d... Read more |
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The Bribery Act 2010 The Bribery Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 8th April. Although matters are a little uncertain in... Read more |
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Variation to works under a construction contract does not amount to an oral variation to the contract Under the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (known to its friends in the constru... Read more |
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Sanctions imposed for dishonest evidence Last month a substantial High Court action against Cable & Wireless PLC by a number of companies in ... Read more |
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Sale of Shares: Directors Personal Liability Where a company has made representations in negotiations, and also in a Share Purchase Agreement, wh... Read more |
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Binding contract can be formed before the parties think negotiations are complete Contracts are often negotiated on the basis that no contract will be effective until it has been sig... Read more |
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Administrative Restoration now available for Companies and LLPs struck off under The Companies Act 1985 Until now, a company struck off under the Companies Act 1985 could only be restored to the register ... Read more |
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When Contract Tenders Go Wrong When tendering for work, there is a natural temptation for a bidder to pitch his case in the best li... Read more |
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Tax on Share Valuations The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the Scottish case of Grays Timber Products Ltd. v. HM... Read more |
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Construction Litigation – Proposals to Reduce Cost The recent review by Lord Justice Jackson on litigation costs has made proposals aimed to reduce the... Read more |
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Going the extra mile... And when to check the terrain first! Most businesses want to give outstanding customer service. We talk about "going the extra mile" and... Read more |
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Contractors – are payments being delayed? The cumbersome title of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 may not sound exci... Read more |
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Company in Administration – Rent must be treated as administration expense In a recent decision which will be welcomed by commercial landlords, the High Court has confirmed th... Read more |
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DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION IN RELATION TO DEPENDANTS It is clearly illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the grounds of the e... Read more |
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Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures - The End Is In Sight On 13th November 2008 the Employment Act 2008 received Royal Assent. When Section 1 is brought into... Read more |
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ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING When doing business, it is a very human inclination to trust others and to rely on a handshake. How... Read more |
| Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide The failure to obtain convictions for corporate manslaughter following the Herald of Free Enterprise... Read more |
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| Directors - The Risk of Personal Liability Those involved in running a business will often be well-advised to set up a limited company to minim... Read more |
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| RATES ON UNOCCUPIED COMMERCIAL PROPERTY – A BADLY-TIMED INCREASE IN BUSINESS COSTS At a time when business costs are rising generally, the Rating (Empty Properties) Act 2007 has subst... Read more |
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| Construction – New Rules on Site Waste Management The Site Waste Management Plans Regulations 2008 came into force on 6 April 2008. It is now illeg... Read more |
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| HEALTH AND SAFETY – WHEN THINGS GET OUT OF CONTROL .... Yet again the Court of Appeal has dealt with a case about the Provision and Use of Work Equipment R... Read more |
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| THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAYING BY THE RULES When running a small family company, in particular, it is always tempting to take a fairly relaxed a... Read more |
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| Oil Pollution Services Limited A Heald team led by partner David Dees recently completed an acquisition of an engineering company f... Read more |
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Bank adds lawyer to advice panel CLYDESDALE Bank has added Milton Keynes based law firm Heald Solicitors to its panel of legal advise... Read more |
| RECOVERING RENT ARREARS – IMPORTANT CHANGES ARE AFOOT The ancient remedy of distress allows a landlord to seize a tenant’s goods, sell them and use the pr... Read more |
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INCENTIVISING MANAGEMENT THROUGH EMI SCHEMES Many private companies chose to offer incentives to key members of staff by offering the managers th... Read more |
| INSURANCE – DON’T GET CAUGHT OUT When it comes to insurance, it is all too easy to get it wrong. It is important to understand that w... Read more |
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| Unlawful Loans to Directors Subject to a number of exceptions - for example, loans not exceeding £5,000 - the Companies Act 1985... Read more |
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| COMMERCIAL LEASES – POINTS TO BEAR IN MIND As lawyers, we often find that by the time we become involved in negotiations relating to a commerci... Read more |
