Stephanie Johnson

A LEADING legal firm has recognised the achievements of its team by promoting several members of staff to key positions. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors has made the appointments as part of its expansion plans which have continued throughout the pandemic. The 11 internal promotions include the appointment of Katherine Pretswell-Walker to the firm’s board of directors. Six new Senior Associates have also been created, along with four Associate Solicitors. Peter Stafford,…

A commercial tenant has been refused permission to re-amend its defence to a service charge claim four weeks before trial. Stephanie Johnson Associate Solicitor reports. The court ruled that although the new defences had reasonable prospects of success, they could have been pleaded earlier and there was no good reason for the delay. The issue arose because the tenant refused to pay certain elements of the service charge relating to the…

The government has extended the ban on business evictions until the end of March because of the continuing Covid pandemic. Stephanie Johnson Associate Solicitor provides an update. There will also be a review of commercial landlord and tenant legislation, to address concerns that the current framework does not reflect the current economic conditions. This final extension to protections from the threat of eviction will give landlords and tenants 3 months…

A LEADING legal firm is maximising its expertise by branching out to offer a specialist wills dispute service nationwide. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors, the only legal firm in Cumbria to be a member of the innovative UK200Group, has launched a wills dispute resolution website. Peter Stafford, Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors’ managing director, explained why the firm, which has traditionally concentrated on mainly serving communities across Cumbria and Northumberland, has made the move…

The government has extended its ban on landlords evicting businesses until the end of the year. The move is in response to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Stephanie Johnson Associate Solicitor provides an update. Ministers say that where companies can pay their rent, they should do so, as this support is aimed at those businesses struggling the most during the pandemic. It’s hoped it will enable them to remain in their…

The government has extended the ban on businesses being evicted during the Covid pandemic until September. Stephanie Johnson Associate Solicitor in our Dispute Resolution team provides an update. The measures to protect struggling businesses include: amending the Coronavirus Act to extend the time period for suspension of the forfeiture of evictions from 30th June to 30th September 2020, meaning no business will be forced out of their premises if they…

Stephanie Johnson Associate Solicitor provides an update. Shops and small businesses will be protected from aggressive rent collection during the Covid-19 emergency. Instead, Business Secretary Alok Sharma says they will be asked to pay what they can over the next two months. Mr Sharma says most landlords and tenants are working well together to reach agreements on debt obligations, but some landlords have been putting tenants under undue pressure by…

Commercial tenants who cannot pay their rent due to Covid-19 will be protected from eviction under new legislation. Many landlords and tenants are already having conversations and reaching voluntary arrangements about rental payments, but the government says it recognises that businesses struggling with their cashflow due to coronavirus remain worried. The emergency Coronavirus Act provides that no business will be forced out of their premises if they miss a payment…

A tenant has lost his appeal to increase the compensation offered by the landlord for noise and disturbance caused by building work. The tenant was a dentist. In 2010 he had purchased a practice and had taken over the lease of its premises, which had a rent of £14,500 per annum. The landlord began works to convert the rest of the building into a hotel. No works took place at…

The 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…