Latest News
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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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Entrepreneurs' Relief Applied to Sale of Part of Business Business people will welcome a recent ruling that the sale of part of a business qualified for entre... 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Residential Tenancy Deposits - Sledgehammer Legislation Repealed Residential landlords will be relieved to learn that the sanctions that for non-compliance with the ...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 ... 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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Is Google a bully? It was interesting to see the reports over the last couple of days about Google’s Eric Schmidt expla... 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 |
