Law to resolve Covid commercial rent debts comes into effect
April 13th 2022A new law to resolve commercial rent debts accrued because of the pandemic has now come into effect. Carly Davies, our Debt Control Manager, provides an update. The Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Act 2022 provides a legally binding arbitration process for eligible commercial landlords and tenants who have not already reached an agreement. It’s designed to resolve disputes about certain pandemic-related rent debt and help the market return to normal as quickly as…
Homeowner overturns restrictive covenant so he can build extension
April 7th 2022A homeowner has been granted permission to add a two-storey extension to his property despite objections from his neighbour. Natalie Tatton, Solicitor in our dispute team reports on this recent case. The case involved neighbours on an estate of houses around a private road constructed in the 1980s. The properties were subject to a building scheme imposing restrictive covenants. One homeowner gained planning permission to construct a two-storey extension. His neighbour objected on…
Liquidator fails to prove that businessman was a shadow director
April 4th 2022A liquidator has failed to prove that a businessman had acted as a shadow director of a company and was therefore liable for paying compensation for breaches of duty. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports on this recent case. The case involved three related companies in liquidation. The liquidator brought claims against a director of one of the companies for alleged breaches of his duties, and for declarations that certain payments…
Almost half of wills in the North of England are out of date …
March 28th 2022Deborah Flynn, Solicitor and Associate member of SFE calls for residents to review their wills ahead of “Update Your Will Week”. Research commissioned by SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) has revealed that almost half (45%) of people living in the North of England who have a will haven’t updated it for more than five years, meaning nearly half of wills made in the area are likely to be out-of-date. Of…
Woman can have biological father named on birth certificate
March 24th 2022A woman has been granted the right to amend her birth certificate so that her biological father’s name appears instead of her mother’s husband at the time. Amy Fallows Senior Associate Solicitor & Head of our family law team reports on this recent case. The woman applied for a declaration of parentage under the Family Law Act 1986. She was born in England in 1960. Her mother was from an Orthodox Jewish…
Employee unfairly dismissed after refusing to return to office
March 22nd 2022An employee was unfairly dismissed after he refused to return to the office during the pandemic because he lived with his girlfriend who was clinically vulnerable. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. The case involved Nicholas Quelch, who worked as a compliance analyst at Courtiers Support Services. On March 18, 2020, Quelch began working from home after the Prime Minister said the public must stay…
Safety first for self-drive cars
March 16th 2022We live in exciting times when new technological and scientific discoveries are continuously changing our lives for the better. Thinking it over with Carol Fish Director & Head of Serious and Catastrophic Injury at Cartmells. Improved medical care, access to global markets and online communities have opened up our world in a way which would have been unimaginable even 20 years ago. But these cutting-edge innovations and technologies also need to keep pace…
Court defines meaning of UK assets in dispute over man’s will
March 15th 2022The Court of Appeal has defined the meaning of ‘UK assets’ in a dispute over a man’s will involving his wife and his children. Ingrid Fraser, Solicitor in our Wills, Probate & Inheritance team reports on this recent case. The deceased had been living in Russia where he had substantial assets. In 2013, he made a will in the UK, where he also had assets. The will defined his estate…
Businesses urged to do more to support women experiencing menopause
March 11th 2022EMPLOYERS need to do more to support female workers through the menopause, says a leading employment solicitor. Joanne Stronach, who is Head of Employment Law and HR at Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, said businesses face losing valued members of the workforce unless they put in place measures to support women experiencing menopausal symptoms. Almost one in four women cut short their careers because of the menopause, with those experiencing serious symptoms…
Director liable for £1.2 million over sale of insolvent company
March 10th 2022A director who sold a company when it was insolvent and diverted a significant amount of the proceeds to himself and his wife rather than paying the company’s creditors was liable for repaying £1.2 million. Sam Lyon Head of Corporate & Commercial reports on this recent case. The wife was also held liable. The company’s liquidator brought the claim of misfeasance against the director and a claim of dishonest assistance and…
