Government to provide cheaper homes and end leasehold abuses
January 30th 2020The government has pledged to provide more affordable homes and to clamp down on leasehold abuses on newbuild properties. The measures were announced in the Queen’s Speech at the start of the new parliament. The new First Home scheme will be designed to make homes available at a discount for local first-time buyers. Councils will be able to use housing developers’ contributions to discount homes by 30% for people who…
Where would your Estate go without having a Will?
January 29th 2020The UK Government are changing the rules which govern where your estate goes if you die without having a Will (i.e. die intestate) leaving a spouse or civil partner and children. Currently, under the intestacy rules, if you die without having a Will and have no children, your spouse or civil partner will inherit all of your estate. If you have children, your spouse or civil partner will be entitled…
When court action becomes necessary in divorce cases
January 27th 2020Court action is generally considered to be a last resort in divorce cases. It’s much better to reach an amicable agreement over how you should divide the marital assets and reach a financial settlement. If that proves difficult, your solicitor is likely to suggest that you try mediation, arbitration or collaborative law services to overcome any problems. Sometimes, however, court action becomes unavoidable. This could be for several reasons. For…
Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors secures Law Society’s conveyancing quality mark
January 21st 2020Cartmell Shepherd in Cumbria and Northumberland has once again secured membership to the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme – the mark of excellence for the home buying process. This is the 8th year in a row that Cartmell Shepherd has achieved CQS accreditation. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors underwent rigorous assessment by the Law Society in order to continue to hold CQS status, which marks the firm out as continuing to meet…
Royal Mail employee unfairly dismissed after manager’s false report
January 20th 2020A Royal Mail employee has won her case of unfair dismissal in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Ms Kamaljeet Jhuti joined the Marketreach unit of Royal Mail in October 2013 on a trial basis as a media specialist. She quickly raised concerns about potential regulatory breaches in the processes. She made the comments under the company’s whistle blower policy, in which her comments were…
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…
Cartmell Shepherd – Taking care of our Clients
January 13th 2020At Cartmell Shepherd we value and encourage feedback from our clients and we regularly review the feedback we receive. As part of our commitment to improving the services we provide we send our clients a feedback questionnaire at the end of every matter or case. Why choose us? The feedback we have received from October to December 2019 has been extremely positive and highlights how we pride ourselves on taking…
Businesses urge new government to tackle late payment abuse
January 9th 2020Businesses across different sectors are urging the new government to end late payment practices that are crippling many small companies. They say the existing Prompt Payment Code isn’t working and fear a surge in company insolvencies if no action is taken. David Frise, CEO of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), said repeated failures by previous governments to deal with late payment culture meant company failures were almost inevitable. He…
Cartmell Shepherd Commercial Team Ready for Take Off…
January 7th 2020CARLISLE Airport was the setting as Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors’ expanded 12-strong business team met to plan how they can best support companies to expand their horizons in 2020. Cartmell Shepherd Solicitors’ business team now includes three corporate lawyers, six commercial property lawyers, and three in its commercial employment team, delivering advice to businesses of all sizes across Cumbria, Northumberland and beyond. With commercial lawyers with a wealth of experience available…
Nurse wins discrimination claim but loses over harassment
January 7th 2020A mental health nurse who was subjected to abuse by patients has won a claim of indirect race discrimination by his employer. However, his claim for harassment was rejected by the Employment Tribunal. Colleridge Bessong, from Africa, worked for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust (2019) at a secure residential unit. In 2017 he was seriously assaulted by a patient who also racially abused him. The patient had a history of…
