18/12/20
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) (No2) Regulations due to come into force on 31 December 2020, further extend the temporary prohibitions on winding up petitions based on statutory demands and the restrictions on winding up petitions and…
14/12/20
It is common practice for a commercial lease break clause to require that the tenant gives vacant possession. This usually means the tenant must remove their belongings/equipment and return the property to the landlord in the condition that it was let. But what happens if a tenant takes the phrase &…
10/12/20
The Government announced this morning that the moratorium on commercial lease forfeiture, on the grounds of non-payment of rent, will be extended until 31st March 2021 and further confirmed that this will be the "final" extension. The Lease Forfeiture Moratorium currently prevents…
20/11/20
Diriye v Bojaj [2020] EWCA Civ 1400 What happened in this case? The Claimant provided a document which was posted at 5.36pm on 4 April 2010 in an attempt to comply with an Unless Order requiring the documents to be served by 4pm on the 4 April 2010. The document was sent using Royal Mail…
11/11/20
On 5th November, the Housing Secretary announced that Tenants will be protected during the current national restrictions with no bailiff enforcement action. This will likely run in to the "winter truce" which starts on the 11 December meaning enforcement will not take place over Christmas…
11/11/20
A new two-part possession procedure has been introduced by The Master of the Roles which is to ensure a smooth re-start to possession proceedings. What does this mean? A Review Hearing has been introduced, which will be followed on by the Substantive Hearing. These hearings have replaced the…
29/10/20
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented the manufacturing industry with significant operational challenges, as some manufacturers and suppliers have had to close down or scale back operations in response to falling demand and as a result of Government restrictions. The manufacturing sector will most likely…
02/10/20
A recent High Court decision in Jalla v Shell International Trading and Shipping Co Ltd [2020] EWHC 2211 (TCC) considers what it means to have the same interest in the context of claims brought by representatives on behalf of a larger group. The Facts In December 2011, a large oil spill…
02/10/20
The Government have recently announced an extension of insolvency measures under the Corporate Governance and Insolvency Act until the end of year. These measures include the prevention of statutory demands and winding up petitions until the end of year unless there are specific circumstances.…
22/09/20
The High Court has last week handed down judgment in the case of The Financial Conduct Authority and Others [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm). This was a test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority against several insurance companies to clarify the scope and meaning of Business Interruption (BI)…
09/07/20
Subject to Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill 2019-21 ("CIGB") being passed unamended The CIGB introduces a moratorium which will provide a breathing space for eligible companies to allow them to enter into negotiations with creditors and will restrict filings for insolvency…
03/07/20
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a landlord may serve a section 21 Notice for Possession even when they had failed to provide a Gas Safety Certificate to the tenant at the outset of the tenancy. What is a section 21 Notice? A Notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 is a Notice for…
03/07/20
There is undeniably a risk that COVID-19 will have a detrimental impact on the Construction Sector. It has recently been forecasted that the Construction industry will see over 10% of businesses failing in the next year. This will leave a trail of insolvent construction sector debt totalling £1.…
02/07/20
On 26 March 2020, the Lord Chancellor and Master of the Rolls published the 117th Practice Direction update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which implemented Practice Direction 51Z. PD 51Z provided for the stay of possession proceedings due to COVID-19. Last month, the Court of Appeal confirmed the…
01/07/20
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented action to be taken by governments across the world to ensure the health and safety of its citizens. Whilst the general nature of the steps taken is similar, each nation has taken a more or less extreme approach to its neighbour. In a global market with…
30/06/20
The Administration of Intu who own both the Trafford Centre in Manchester and the Lakeside Centre in Essex, has come as a shock to many, not least of which are the retail tenants of the shopping centres who are already facing challenging and uncertain futures in their own right as a result of the Covid-…
30/06/20
Private landlords have certain obligations at the outset of a new tenancy to ensure that the property they are letting out meets certain safety requirements. Electrical safety checks have not formed part of these obligations until more recently, when the government announced the introduction of the…
25/06/20
Landlords are increasingly feeling the pinch at the moment when it comes to property. Due to the current pandemic tenants are seeking deferments in rent or are simply opting not to pay at all. Whilst many are in the position where they genuinely cannot pay the rent some are simply using the…
18/06/20
Do you know what losses you are able to recover from the other side if they are in breach of contract? Do you know what losses you will be liable for if you are in breach of contract? Now more than ever you need to evaluate your existing contracts to see how exposed you are in terms of the…
11/06/20
Vodafone Enterprise UK v Portsmouth Water Ltd (unreported) A recent unreported decision of the County Court has clarified the court's position in relation to the valuation to be used for the renewal of an existing electronic communications lease under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. The…
10/06/20
The government is seeking to provide support to companies that may be facing financial difficulties by introducing new measures designed to maximise chance of survival. The Bill will temporarily suspend parts of insolvency law and amend Company Law and other legislation to relax rules around company…
20/05/20
You will likely be aware that there has been legislation around the area of possession during the Covid 19 crisis. This article explains the issues around the catchily titled PD51Z, and the changes to the Housing Act. Under normal circumstances, to obtain possession of property from a residential tenant…
14/05/20
Following the announcement made by Boris Johnson on Sunday, employers across the construction sector are being faced with the difficult task of determining what in practical terms a safe return to work looks like. The message is clear that construction should continue if it cannot be reasonably done…
13/05/20
Recent Judicial Guidance and decisions from the Courts have made it clear that the cogs of justice are to continue turning and that hearings and trials are to continue wherever possible. This article will look at:: · Judicial Guidance; · Legislation; and · How this is…
04/05/20
Due to the current pandemic, we have noted an increase of instructions whereby businesses have been looking at alternative ways to boost their liquidity and as such, many businesses have been turning to litigation in an attempt to recover historic debts. Defendants to such claims should…
24/04/20
In Part 2 of our Construction Disputes series, we explored tactics for managing delays in construction projects from the perspective of an Employer. We are currently experiencing unprecedented times with COVID-19 and the construction sector is experiencing significant disruption. Contractors are…
24/04/20
The Government has issued new guidance on the requirements for Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) in property transactions. In all domestic and commercial property transactions, the seller is required to provide an EPC for the purchaser to review. The Certificate is to be prepared, following an…
23/04/20
The Court recently decided that unless a leasehold owner owns the whole of a house, they are not entitled to enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 ("the Act"). Facts In this case, a number of leasehold tenants applied for enfranchisement, that is to purchase the…
16/04/20
The Upper Tribunal recently considered an Application to modify a restrictive covenant in Edgeware Road (2015) Ltd v Church Commissioners for England [2020] UKUP 104 (LC). Facts Edgeware Road (2015) Ltd (E) held a long lease over a multi floored premises on a large estate in London, and…
09/04/20
With the current restrictions and social distancing measures in place, the way we conduct ourselves has had to adapt and the law is no different. The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) which govern how civil matters are prepared and conducted, have been changed to give affect to a new way of doing things…
07/04/20
Following on from the COVID-19 update about residential tenancies, the Coronavirus Act 2020 ("the Act") introduced on 25 March 2020 has also provided protections for commercial tenants in order to ease the burden this pandemic will have on businesses. Section 82 of the Act provides…
03/04/20
The current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has brought with it an air of uncertainty surrounding job security and the ability to make rental payments in this period. The introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020 ("the Act") on 25 March 2020, has put some minds at ease and provided protections…
03/04/20
Last week, the Business Secretary announced temporary changes to insolvency law in order to protect businesses from the effects of the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The impending legislation will introduce a new moratorium for businesses and will suspend wrongful trading laws for the duration…
25/03/20
The coronavirus outbreak has produced a lot of government action targeted at keeping infections down and that has in turn affected a lot of organisations, their contracts with each other and their plans for future procurement. For buyers subject to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR) or the…
19/03/20
The present circumstances On 18 March 2020, the Lord Chancellor affirmed that "the rule of law is vital to a functioning democracy and even at times like these, it is essential that our independent courts are able to administer justice." Whilst many public places have either been…
19/03/20
The Prime Minister has announced that the Government will introduce emergency legislation to protect residential tenants from eviction amid growing fears about ability to pay rent as a direct consequence of the economic effect of coronavirus and absence from work. In response to these concerns, the…
19/03/20
Bad cashflow remains the key risks to businesses. The Insolvency Service has recently reported that in 2019, underlying company insolvencies have escalated to their highest annual level since 2013. This increase has been driven by an increase in Administrations and Creditors' Voluntary…
12/03/20
So what happens if you serve or receive a possession notice that has an error in it. Does it deem the notice invalid? Or is the recipient expected to reasonably interpret the intended meaning, if it is relatively clear? This recent Court of Appeal case has re-enforced former case law and confirmed…
11/03/20
Coronavirus and Contracts Many of our manufacturing clients have suppliers in China or Italy and with the enforced lockdown in those areas due to Covid - 19 there is likely to be an impact more locally regardless of the effects of the virus here. Once the medical emergency is over there is likely…
04/03/20
Fearn and others v The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery [2020] EWCA Civ 104. " Overwhelming weight of judicial authority…is that mere overlooking is not capable of giving rise to a cause of action in private nuisance " so say the Court of Appeal. What are the facts of the…
04/02/20
The Court of Appeal ruled last month that it was not possible to make a Part 36 offer of settlement without including interest and that to do so would not be compliant with the Civil Procedure Rules. What happened in the case? Mr King had agreed to settle his claim against the City of London…
13/01/20
In Part 1 of our Construction Disputes series, we identified that delay and quality issues are often the biggest problems for construction projects and the cause of most disputes. Delay may increase both the time for performance of the contract and the cost of performance for both the Employer, the…
13/01/20
Construction litigation is costly, uncertain and high risk. It gets in the way of ongoing projects, places financial strain on contractors, and creates disruption in the timeframes of a build. Court Proceedings should be a last resort. Whereas the priority for all parties is to get the project…
