Dispute Resolution

The concept of “fake news” came to the forefront of public consciousness during the 2016 US Presidential Election campaign and in particular the rise of Donald Trump. Its profile has risen exponentially to the extent that the term “fake news” was awarded Word of the Year 2017 by Collins English Dictionary, and barely a day […]

Many disputes settle without the need for litigation and even when proceedings have been issued the majority of cases settle before they reach trial.  However, the recent case of Mionis -v- Democratic Press SA & Others highlights the need for care when agreeing a settlement so that it does not go beyond what you intend […]

Developing land is one way of increasing its value.  However, not all landowners have the expertise or the finance to do that. Landowners can, however, sell their land to a developer and benefit from the increase in the value of the land under an Overage Agreement. An Overage Agreement requires the developer to make a […]

The perils of using your work computer for personal matters was recently highlighted in the High Court case of Simpkin v The Berkeley Group Holdings PLC.  In that case the Mr Simpkin was the Finance Director of The Berkeley Group. Berkeley terminated his employment, removed him as a director and decided that he would not […]

Intellectual property owners have always had to tread carefully when it comes to enforcing their rights.  Until recently, part of the law known as the unjustified threats provisions meant that it was possible for someone on the receiving end of threatened proceedings for patent, design right or trade mark infringement to issue their own proceedings […]

The Court of Appeal recently reminded litigants that they must give mediation proper consideration and that anything less will result in cost penalties being imposed. In the recent case of Thakkar v Patel, the claimant owned a building that was leased to the defendant. The property was vandalised and as a consequence suffered flooding. The […]

The “corporate veil” is the principle by which the liabilities of a limited company cannot be pursued against directors or shareholders, who are not personally liable for actions conducted within the normal course of their roles. UK legal history includes numerous attempts to “pierce the corporate veil”, often when the company in question is insolvent, […]

Noisy neighbours can be a real problem for those unfortunate enough to have to live next door to them. Going to court to deal with the problem is always a last resort. If you do however need to pursue court proceedings then there are two main remedies available: you can either pursue a claim for […]

In what has been hailed as a landmark judgment, a home owner whose property was affected by Japanese knotweed from neighbouring land has been awarded damages against his neighbour. Japanese knotweed has been described as the UK’s most aggressive, destructive and invasive plant. It has the ability to grow three to four metres during the […]

The words “reasonable endeavours” or “best endeavours” can sometimes be found in contracts but what do they actually mean? The High Court was recently asked to consider this question in the case of Astor Management AG v Atalaya Mining Plc. The case concerned the sale of an interest in a copper mine. Under the terms of […]

Part 36 is a provision in the Civil Procedure Rules that creates a certain type of settlement offer which can carry significant costs and/or interest penalties if it is not accepted by the opposing party and that party then fails to beat the offer at trial. Part 36 Offers are made on a “without prejudice […]

In civil proceedings, where a claim is brought by a corporate entity the defendant can, if it has evidence that the claimant is unlikely to be able to pay its legal costs in the event the claimant loses, apply to the court for an order for security for costs. If granted, the claimant would be […]