Employers will welcome an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision that provides further guidance on how the tribunal will apply the procedural requirements of the Acas Code in unfair dismissal cases. The EAT held that an employer's decision to dismiss was…
A firm of surveyors which carried out valuations that overstated the value of three properties found itself defending an action for negligence recently. The surveyors had issued valuations on which a mortgage lender had relied when approving loans. The High…
On 1 April 2013, the majority of the Jackson/civil litigation reforms came into force. As a result of these changes, after the event (ATE) insurance premiums are no longer recoverable from the other side, where the insurance policy is issued…
The High Court has clarified that where a consumer has a business purpose as well as a private purpose, the consumer can only fall within the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (SI 1999/2083) (UTCCRs) if those business purposes are…
There are many potential benefits of buying a franchise, such as having access to well-established business and accounting systems, centralised marketing and a proven business model. Being part of a well-known national brand also has an appeal for many businesspeople…
A house owner has been awarded almost £380,000 in damages and interest against a partner in a building firm who fraudulently induced him into entering into a contract for the renovation and extension of his property. The builder had ‘participated…
In a ruling which emphasises the importance of fathers in the lives of young children, the Court of Appeal has upheld a man’s right to have contact with his eight-year-old son. Despite concerns expressed by the boy’s mother that the…
When a firm of consulting engineers created an ‘egregious delay’ in the commencement of a building project, they found themselves liable for the losses suffered by the landowner as a result. The firm had been appointed to design a road…
The Ministry of Justice has recently confirmed that the law on distress will be abolished. Whilst the law of distress is considered by many to be anachronistic, it has nonetheless proven a very useful tool for commercial landlords over the…
An EAT decision provides a reminder that the context in which offensive words are spoken is all-important in a claim for religious harassment. The EAT held that an employment tribunal had been right to reject a Catholic sub-editor's religious harassment…
