Government rejects calls for legal protection for cohabiting couples
December 1st 2022The government has ruled out introducing changes to family law to provide greater legal protection for cohabiting couples. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our Family Law team reports. Family lawyers have been pressing for more protection because many people still believe there is such a thing as common law marriage giving them the same legal protection as married couples. Unfortunately for them, this is not true. Cohabiting couples have very…
Legal trainee named apprentice of the year
November 28th 2022A TRAINEE solicitor who showed drive and determination to pursue a career in law has been named Apprentice of the Year at a regional awards ceremony. Holly Moxon from Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors picked up the award at the 2022 in-Cumbria Business Awards which took place at The Halston in Carlisle on Thursday (November 24). Holly was the first apprentice solicitor in Cumbria and is currently five years into a six-year…
Telecoms firm must pay damages for delay in relocating phone mast
November 24th 2022A telecommunications infrastructure company has been ordered to pay damages to a property developer after it failed to relocate a mobile phone mast in the scheduled time. Stephanie Johnson Senior Associate Solicitor reports on this recent case. Barkby Real Estate Developments Ltd had a commercial site it planned to develop and sell on to the local authority. Part of the development included removing a mobile phone mast from the site. Barkby…
New law designed to protect pregnant women against redundancy
November 15th 2022Pregnant women and new parents will receive greater protection from redundancy under new legislation currently going through parliament. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. Under current rules, before offering redundancy to an employee on maternity leave, shared parental leave or adoption leave, employers have an obligation to offer them a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists. The Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination Bill, introduced…
The sixth edition of our Agricultural Newsletter is now live
November 14th 2022“You couldn’t write it, could you? If you had said 12 months ago that we would be on our third Prime Minister in 2 months, with inflation in double-digits and interest rates rising fast, few would have believed you. But here we are. For farmers, the transition to ELMS and SFI is still unsettled. The window to apply for the lump sum exit scheme has closed, with a reported several…
Cost of creditor bankruptcy and liquidation deposits rise
November 10th 2022The Insolvency Service has increased the cost of deposits paid to initiate creditor bankruptcies and compulsory liquidations. Carly Davies, our Debt Control Manager reports. The petition deposit, the amount that needs to be paid up-front to seek an order, has increased in all cases where a petition is filed at court after 1 November 2022. There will be no change to the adjudicator petition deposit where the individual applies for their own…
Boy granted £50k from aunt’s estate as she had ‘taken on the role of mother’
November 7th 2022A 12-year-old boy has been granted £50,000 from his late aunt’s estate on the basis that he had been treated as a child of the family. Rebecca Armstrong Associate Solicitor in our Will Claims team reports on this recent case. The boy was taken in by his aunt shortly after his birth because his mother was unable to care for him herself. The aunt acted as the boy’s main parental figure until her…
Legal firm’s agriculture team among best in country
October 21st 2022A LAW firm is celebrating after its agriculture team won national recognition for its services. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors’ Agriculture and Estates department has been named as one of the best in the country by a top UK legal guide. It is the third consecutive year that the team has been ranked in the top tier of legal firms in The Chambers UK Legal Guide. The Agriculture and Estates team, which…
Dispute over divorce settlement including future inheritance
October 20th 2022The Family Court has ruled on a dispute over whether a couple’s divorce settlement should take into account potential future payments and inheritance from the husband’s father. Julian Nelson, Director in our Family Law Team reports on this recent case. The case involved a couple who had met in 2001 and married in 2004. The husband was from a very wealthy family. The couple entered into a pre-marital agreement, as required by the…
Covid patient loses claim as she wasn’t disabled at time of dismissal
October 17th 2022A worker who lost her job while positive for Covid-19 and then went on to be diagnosed with long Covid has lost her disability discrimination claim. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. Ms Quinn worked as ‘Head of People’ for Sense Scotland from 9 December 2019. On 11 July 2021 she tested positive for Covid and was dismissed from her role on 27 July 2021. …
