Can you use proprietary estoppel to enforce an oral agreement?
The High Court confirmed that proprietary estoppel is not available to enforce the terms of an ineffective oral agreement. Background: ...
Can a director claim a debt from their company?
The High Court clarified the position regarding advances made by a director on behalf of a company and whether they ...
Code rights and Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 rights are mutually exclusive.
Gravesham Borough Council opposed the renewal of a telecommunication site lease which had been granted to the predecessor of On ...
Negative Trustpilot reviews do not constitute libel.
The High Court dismissed a law firm’s libel claim over defamatory online reviews as the firm failed to show how ...
Five key issues to ensure your IT contracts are robust and secure
Owning and managing a business in the 21st century usually involves a significant degree of reliance on information technology, almost ...
High street rental auctions – a guide for landlords
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 will give local authorities new powers to hold rental auctions of empty high ...
Downstream greenhouse gas emissions must be considered when granting planning permission
The Supreme Court handed down a groundbreaking judgement which establishes that scope 3 emissions should also be assessed. Background: The ...
The loan relationships unallowable purpose test is demonstrably broad
The test continues to carry its earlier momentum by giving more guidance on the unallowable purpose rule. Background: JTI Acquisition ...
Partnership agreements – planning for profits and losses
When setting up a business as a partnership, or revisiting your partnership agreement for any reason, it is important to ...
Surrendering a lease for commercial premises
If your business requirements have changed, and you need to get out of your current lease, a surrender can be ...
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act has now become law – but what does that mean for me?
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 but has not yet entered into ...
Don’t keep a company trading if it should go into liquidation
The High Court has handed down an important judgement against two former directors who were ordered to pay liquidators £13.5 ...
Non-objection clauses in option agreements are lawful.
The Court of Appeal (CoA) found it was legitimate to include a non-objection clause in an option agreement. Background: This ...
Notice provisions should be construed in light of their commercial purpose
The Court of Appeal (CoA) gave helpful guidance on interpreting notice provision in light of their commercial purpose and warned ...
Don’t misrepresent your intention to terminate a commercial lease.
This case is one of the few decisions on compensation for misrepresentation under Section 37A of the Landlord and Tenant ...
Can a director be in breach of his duty for transferring a property below market value to commit an alleged tax evasion?
This case relates to alleged tax evasion and provides useful guidance on how to determine whether a breach of directors’ ...
You are not automatically liable for all damages caused by Japanese knotweed
The Supreme Court decided on the issue of compensation for neighbouring owners due to an invasion of Japanese knotweed. It ...
You cannot use an intra-group loan to obtain a tax advantage
The Court of Appeal (CoA) agreed with the HMRC that, where an intra-group loan results in an overall tax benefit ...
Distances for a crematorium are not measured from open areas within the crematorium grounds.
Facts: Following a local inquiry, a planning inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, ...
Are directors or senior executive employees liable if a company commits a civil wrong?
Facts: Mr Kashif Ahmed and his sister, Ms Bushra Ahmed, were directors of Hornby Street Ltd, a company which arranged ...
No, a landlord is not responsible for the negligence of independent contractors
Facts: Lowndes is the management company that held a head lease on the block of flats and provided landlord services ...
Google-spoofing is apparently lawful
Facts: Mr. Parler was involved in a road traffic accident in December 2021. Immediately after the accident, he attempted to ...
Mixed-use relief?
Facts: Mr. Ridgway bought a property in 2017 which comprised two separate registered titles for £6.5m. The first was a ...
You could lose your pension to pay your creditors.
Facts: The case was brought by a specialist insolvency litigation and assignee of claims on behalf of Lloyds British Testing ...
Sub-surface archaeological artefacts do not fall as part of the landscape
Facts: Natural England (NE) seeks injunctive relief to protect the archaeological features on or under farmland from potentially harmful activities ...
Be aware of dishonesty in serious injury claims
Facts: In July 2018, Ms. Williams-Henry suffered a moderately severe traumatic brain injury and other multiple injuries in a nasty ...
A second staircase is mandatory for new buildings above 18 metres in height
Property developers have been given clarity on the ‘second staircase’ rule following the publication of the technical guidance by the ...
The lower the degree of creativity, the lower the degree of protection afforded
Facts: Lidl sued Tesco in September 2020 shortly after Tesco started using a yellow circle against a blue background to ...
Not meeting the specifications of a house could render it uninhabitable
Facts: Mr. and Mrs Vainker purchased the land and the house in 1999. The house was demolished in 2003 with ...
Have a good partnership deed in place
Facts: There has been a long-running dispute between Suzanne Procter and her brothers. They were partners, initially, with both their ...
An assignee can be an employer for a construction contract
Facts: A construction contract was entered into in November 2017 with the works commencing shortly thereafter. The original contract sum ...
When to return donations?
The Charity Commission recently published guidance on when English charities should or must either refuse or return donations. This guidance ...
A tribunal-appointed manager is not an accountable person
Facts: Canary Riverside is a large mixed estate comprising both residential and commercial premises, five of which are classified as ...
Banks can charge a profit margin on FRTBLs, even if undisclosed
Facts: The claimants were four small or medium-sized enterprises that entered into fixed-interest rate “tailored business loans” (FRTBLs) with Clydesdale ...
Follow the terms of the lease terms when setting a service charge
Facts: The Meadowings and Sheepfoote Hill in Yarm was built in the 1970s and comprises 138 residential properties, one of ...
You can’t register an unregistered trade mark when you have a service agreement
Facts: LLP was formed in 2007 as part of a reorganisation. Old Quad had been established some years earlier by ...