General Mediterranean Holding SA SPF v Qucomhaps Holdings Ltd [2018] EWCA Civ 2416 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in contracts, guarantees, news, surety by sally

‘GMH provided loans to Qucomhaps of around $4,000,000 to assist it in purchasing the business of the aircraft manufacturer, Moravan. Repayment was secured by a personal guarantee from Mr Harkin, Qucomhaps’ managing director. Further GMH was granted fixed and floating charges over the assets of Moravan Aviation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qucomhap which had acquired the assets of Moravan.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

“Being a good sport”. Supreme Court decision – Henderson Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in easements, holidays, news, sport by sally

‘“Being a good sport”: the Supreme Court considers for the first time the extent to which the right to the use of sporting facilities may be conferred by way of easement. (Regency Villas Title Ltd & Ors v Diamond Resorts (Europe) Ltd & Ors [2018] UKSC 57)’

Full Story

Henderson Chambers, 15th November 2018

Source: 3yf6pp3bqg8c3rycgf1gbn9w-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com

Grove Developments Limited v S&T (UK) Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 2448 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in building law, contracts, damages, dispute resolution, enforcement, news by sally

‘The Court of Appeal has recently upheld Coulson J’s judgment in Grove Developments Limited v S&T (UK) Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 2448, confirming that an employer is entitled to refer to adjudication a dispute over the true value of a contractor’s interim payment application despite failing to serve a valid pay less notice. However, the Court also stressed that this entitlement to adjudication could only be exercised after the employer paid the sum due in the interim payment application.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 15th November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

CPS ‘bizarrely’ opted for conviction over deferred prosecution in bribery case – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 12th, 2018 in bribery, Crown Prosecution Service, deferred prosecution agreements, news by sally

‘The lawyer who represented the defendant in what became the first conviction for ‘failure to prevent bribery’ has said it is ‘unfortunate’ that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) was not offered and that a larger company may have been given more preferential treatment.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 11th December 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

The rule against reflective loss – Henderson Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in company directors, news, shareholders, winding up by sally

‘Imagine a company has been dishonestly asset-stripped by one of its directors. The assets have gone into his own pocket. The company is wound up. The shareholders and creditors have little hope of recovering much from it. The obvious next step is to pursue the director. But the shareholders cannot recover the loss in value of their shareholding against him; that claim is barred by the rule against reflective loss. Is a claim by an unsecured creditor who is not a shareholder similarly barred? In Garcia v Marex Financial Limited [2018] EWCA Civ 1468, the Court of Appeal held that it was.’

Full Story

Henderson Chambers, 6th December 2018

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Home Office invites Zimbabwean officials to interrogate asylum seekers who have fled political persecution – The Independent

Posted December 12th, 2018 in asylum, news, Zimbabwe by sally

‘The Home Office has been inviting Zimbabwean government representatives to interview asylum seekers who have fled political persecution in the country, in what has been branded a “corrupt” exercise.’

Full Story

The Independent, 12th December 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Think of the Children! – Minors and reasonable financial provision – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in children, financial provision, news, wills by sally

‘On 27 July 2018, the High Court handed down judgment in the case of Ubbi v Ubbi [2018] EWHC 1396 (Ch). The judgment explored reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 in the context of minor children and serves as a necessary reminder to all to update your will.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 14th November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Injunctions in Anticipation of the Inevitable – Illegal Raves, Flytipping and Travellers – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in injunctions, news, travellers, trespass, waste by sally

‘There are increasing numbers of injunctions against incursions onto private and public land by “persons unknown”.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 7th November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

GDPR: Small business owners still ‘clueless’ about Data Protection Rules, study claims – The Independent

Posted December 12th, 2018 in data protection, EC law, news, small businesses by sally

‘Small business owners polled for a new survey have admitted they are still “clueless” about GDPR – leaving the personal data of millions of employees and customers at risk.’

Full Story

The Independent, 12th December 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Taxpayers have no right to attend hearing to approve HMRC information notices – OUT-LAW.com

‘UK taxpayers and third parties have no right to attend a tax tribunal hearing to consider the issue of notices by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requiring the provision of information relevant to tax enquiries, the first-tier tax tribunal has decided.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 12th December 2018

Source: www.out-law.com

TCC decides that new trains for the Piccadilly Line cannot be held up by procurement dispute – Henderson Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in contracting out, damages, news, public procurement, railways, tenders by sally

‘This case somewhat starkly makes clear that where the automatic suspension of a public procurement process is preventing the putting in place of a key public service, it is very unlikely that the court will refuse to lift the suspension on American Cyanamid principles (ACPs). The case also makes clear that challengers cannot assume that commercial confidentiality will be enforced by way of private hearings in public procurement disputes. Written by Adam Heppinstall, barrister at Henderson Chambers.’

Full Story

Henderson Chambers, 11th December 2018

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Human dignity in a time of austerity: the Rule of Law as a counterpoint to the hostile environment for migrants – Garden Court Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in asylum, budgets, human rights, immigration, news, rule of law by sally

‘Garden Court Chambers’ Amanda Weston QC delivered the plenary speech at our inaugural Migrant Support Conference with Legal Action Group (LAG) on 28 November 2018.’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 3rd December 2018

Source: 2h12ms1eq7wnva373scllpi9-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com

Letters of intent – what you need to know – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in construction industry, contracts, interpretation, news by sally

‘With the recent Court of Appeal decision in Arcadis Consulting v AMEC [2018] EWCA Civ 2222 highlighting the risks involved in working under a letter of intent, it is worth having a recap on this area of law.’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 5th November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

“Do you get all of the service charge?” – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in employment, news, remuneration by sally

‘Look no further than this press release from BEIS on 1 October 2018 to gauge the government’s enthusiasm for highlighting that it has been thinking about policy and issues other than Brexit over the last couple of years:

“The government has announced plans to ensure that tips left for workers will go to them in full. While most employers act in good faith, in some sectors evidence points towards poor tipping practices, including excessive deductions being made from tips left by customers. New legislation, to be introduced at the earliest opportunity, will set out that tips must go to the workers providing the service.”’

Full Story

Hardwicke Chambers, 1st November 2018

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Grenfell Tower: second phase of inquiry ‘could be delayed until 2020’ – The Guardian

Posted December 12th, 2018 in fire, health & safety, inquiries, news by sally

‘The next phase of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire could be delayed until 2020, according to counsel for one of the core participants, raising concerns that it could be at least three years after the disaster claimed 72 lives that it will report back fully.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th December 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Inquest concludes into self-inflicted death of Ellie Brabant in mental health unit run by Southern Health – Garden Court Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in death in custody, inquests, mental health, news, suicide by sally

‘The inquest into the self-inflicted death of Ellie Brabant has concluded, with the coroner finding that the lack of a clear care plan, and the decision to discharge Ellie from Section 3 of the Mental Health Act more than minimally contributed to her death. Her family were represented by Sarah Hemingway of the Garden Court Chambers Civil Liberties Team.’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 13th November 2018

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk

Artificial intelligence set to free solicitors from lower-level work: SRA – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 12th, 2018 in artificial intelligence, legal services, news, solicitors by sally

‘Artificial intelligence (AI) will free up solicitors from lower-level work to carry out more complex tasks, a new report from the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Sexual assault victims waiting a year for counselling, MPs say – The Guardian

Posted December 12th, 2018 in budgets, news, sexual offences, social services, victims by sally

‘Sexual assault victims are waiting up to 14 months for counselling as specialist support services struggle to cope with unprecedented demand, MPs have said.’

Full Story

The Guardian, 11th December 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ombudsman reminds councils of duty to provide alternative education – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 12th, 2018 in local government, news, ombudsmen, school exclusions by sally

‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has issued a reminder to council school attendance teams that their duty to provide alternative education may arise for reasons other than exclusion and illness.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2018

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

High Court rules that Mineral Planning Authorities are not bound by statutory definition of fracking and can apply their own wider definitions – Garden Court Chambers

‘Councillor Paul Andrews was seeking permission at the High Court on 5 November 2018 to judicially review the Government’s decision to issue a written ministerial statement (WMS) on 17 May 2018 regarding the way in which local authorities should determine planning applications for fracking operations.’

Full Story

Garden Court Chambers, 6th November 2018

Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk