Minority shareholder stops company issuing new shares
December 9th 2019A minority shareholder has been granted an interim injunction preventing a company from issuing new shares and loan notes. The applicant in the case had a minority shareholding in Brickvest Ltd (2019). There was a shareholders’ agreement specifying that certain matters required the applicant’s written consent, including the allotment of shares. The applicant sought an injunction preventing Brickvest from issuing new shares and loan notes, which it was planning on…
Court upholds woman’s second will despite her dementia
November 28th 2019The High Court has declared that an 86-year-old woman’s will was valid even though she suffered from dementia at the time she made it. The case involved a family dispute between two brothers and two sisters. Their mother had died in 2015, aged 86. She had made a will in 2010 leaving her house to one of the brothers. However, she then made a second will in 2011 declaring that…
Ambitious solicitor delighted to join dynamic Cumbrian firm
September 6th 2019LEADING legal firm Cartmell Shepherd has recruited an ambitious solicitor to further strengthen its team. Natalie Tatton joins the UK200 Group business as a solicitor in its dispute resolution department. Natalie, a former law graduate of the University of Cumbria, had previously trained with Brockbanks in West Cumbria at the same time as completing her Legal Practice Course at Northumbria University. Natalie qualified as a solicitor in May 2018. Based…
Landlord wins dispute with tenant over service charge for insurance
September 5th 2019By Natalie Tatton Solicitor A landlord has won a dispute with a tenant over service charges for insurance dating back nearly 15 years. The case involved a tenant who held the lease of a flat in a building comprising of three flats and a commercial unit. Under the lease, the tenant covenanted to contribute one-sixth of the building’s specified costs and expenses, including insurance, through the service charge. Between 2005…
Couple can sue PwC for professional negligence despite time delay
August 12th 2019A couple have been granted permission to take accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to court in a professional negligence claim. Sir Christopher and Lady Anne Evans hired PwC in 2001 to advise them on ways to avoid capital gains tax on the disposal of shares. They were encouraged to use a “round the world” scheme, which involved the trust becoming resident for part of the tax year in a jurisdiction that did…
Landlord was entitled to give tenant only two months’ notice
August 5th 2019By Mark Aspin Director & Head of Dispute Resolution The Court of Appeal has ruled that a landlord was within his rights to end a tenancy agreement without giving his tenant the six-month notice period required under the Housing Act 1988. The tenant, Sarah Bamber, had agreed a seven-year tenancy on the property, which included a 12-month starter period. During this starter period, the agreement stated that the tenancy could…
Buyer of insurance firm compensated for warranty breach
July 29th 2019A company has been compensated for a breach of warranty after it bought an insurance firm. David Tew Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. The case involved a firm that sold policies related to motor or household insurance. When it was sold in 2014, the seller provided warranties that the company accounts were accurate and a fair representation of the company’s financial situation. The agreement stated that the seller…
Property owner must pay £81,000 for work completed on cancelled job
July 22nd 2019By Stephanie Johnson Associate A dispute between a property owner and builder has been settled by the High Court, with the owner ordered to pay for work completed, even though he was not happy with it and the job was cancelled. The parties had entered into a JCT minor works building contract for work to be done on the owner’s property. However, after some initial work had been completed, the…
Court ruling enables company to remove estranged director
July 8th 2019By Mark Aspin Director A High Court ruling has enabled a company to remove a director who had become estranged from the business following a dispute over alleged breach of duties. The company had two members and four directors. Three of the directors, including the majority shareholder, believed that the fourth director, Mr Christopher Stephen Jones, who was the minority shareholder, had acted in serious breach of his duties. In…
Judge orders homeowner to pay builder in full for repair work
May 20th 2019By Laura Bright Solicitor The High Court has ordered a homeowner to pay the full cost of repair work carried out on his property by a building company. The court heard that the homeowner, Sylvein Pinto, had asked ICCT Ltd to stop leaks in his basement. The work was not paid for so ICCT took the matter to arbitration and Mr Pinto provided the adjudicator with pictures of the leaking…
