Advances in technology, resulting from digitalisation of communications, have now made it possible for businesses to utilise small spaces in property for commercial purposes. The High Court has recently held that a tenant, which had taken a lease for 43…
In 2012/13, the number of monetary penalties imposed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations (SI 2011/1208) more than doubled, reaching 23…
An employment tribunal has decided that a law firm's mandatory retirement age of 65 for partners was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of workforce planning and staff retention. Therefore, the retirement age was objectively justified and did…
Businesses that sell directly to consumers should be made aware of a Court of Appeal decision which held that a "commercial practice" can refer to a single act or incident, as well as repeated conduct. This case involved the supply…
It is quite common when a subsidiary of a group of companies wishes to undertake a substantial contract for the other side to seek assurances of support from the subsidiary’s holding company, or occasionally from another member of the group…
In a ruling which underlines the potential hazards of signing personal guarantees in respect of corporate debts, a businessman has been hit with a bill for more than £330,000 almost seven years after he resigned from the relevant company. The…
Coffee-making machines using disposable ‘capsules’ of raw ingredients are becoming increasingly popular, so a row between two manufacturers of such systems was always on the cards. In the dispute, Nestec (a subsidiary of Nestlé) claimed that a rival system, manufactured…
When a building contract for a block of flats went wrong, leaving the new building with many defects, an architect who had no contract with the owners of the flats found himself in the firing line. When the block of…
Legislation increasing permitted development rights for business premises and the re-use of existing buildings has recently come into force. Key features include: Permitting the change of use of offices to residential. Allowing the flexible use of existing agricultural buildings. The…
Landlords who seek a payment of rent in advance as a means of reducing the chance of a tenant defaulting on its liabilities under a tenancy agreement will be reassured by a Court of Appeal decision. The court held that…
