Footballers in tax avoidance scheme lose negligence claim
January 14th 2020Wealthy professional footballers who took part in a failed tax avoidance scheme have lost their claims of breach of contract and professional negligence against two banks. The case centred on schemes advertised as vehicles through which taxpayers could contribute funds to limited liability partnerships for investing in films, offsetting their share of the partnership losses against other taxable income. The investors were professional footballers who became clients of an independent…
Tenants win enfranchisement appeal over freehold of flats
December 18th 2019A group of tenants have won their appeal to exercise the right of collective enfranchisement and acquire the freehold of their flats. The properties were owned by Grosvenor (Mayfair) Estate and held on a long lease by K Group Holdings Inc (2019). The issue arose after Aldford House Freehold Ltd, the nominee purchaser for 17 lessees, served an initial notice claiming to exercise the right of collective enfranchisement on the…
Landlord entitled to evict disabled tenant over anti-social behaviour
December 4th 2019A housing association was entitled to evict a disabled tenant even though it had failed to comply with its public sector equality duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. That was the decision of the Court of Appeal in a case involving Aldwyck Housing Group Ltd. One of its tenants, who was physically disabled, had been given a formal warning about the anti-social behaviour of various visitors to his flat.…
Brothers fail to overturn their mother’s will leaving estate to sister
November 20th 2019Three brothers have failed in their bid to overturn their mother’s will, which left nearly all her estate to their sister. The mother had originally made a will dividing her estate equally between her four children. However, her views changed after her health began to deteriorate in 2009 and her daughter came to live with her as her carer until she died in 2016. The brothers offered only limited help…
Developer overturns covenant preventing offices becoming homes
November 14th 2019A developer has succeeded in overturning a restrictive covenant that would have prevented an office block being converted into homes. The block was next to other office buildings and close to several apartment blocks. The head lease was for a term of 150 years from 1985 and contained a covenant restricting its use to office premises. The local authority, which owned the building, was entitled to 15.5% of the net…
Landlords call for new housing court to speed up justice
November 4th 2019The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is calling for a new housing court to speed up justice for landlords and tenants. The association says that under Civil Procedure Rules, repossession claims should only take about nine weeks, but official figures show they’re taking an average of more than 22 weeks. It believes that the government’s proposal to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions will add to the number of cases going through…
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…
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…
