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Julie Gattegno and Jane Turley assess expert immunity and expert determinations following two recent rulings ‘The fact that expert witnesses can now be subject to a claim in negligence should mean better quality advice, with experts ensuring they give well thought out opinions.’A person who is an expert in their field can assume the role …
Continue reading "Experts Update: Roles and responsibilities"
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Local authority failure to notify the valuation officer can be ‘an irrelevancy’ in respect of underlying liability. Martin Dawbney and Nusrat Zar review a recent case ‘Compliance with regulation 42 was ‘an irrelevance’ when a Magistrates Court was adjudicating upon an application for a liability order, despite the potential prejudice caused to ratepayers by a …
Continue reading "Case Update: Rates liability"
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Natasha Rees assesses the outcome of a case that highlights the intricacies of the notices required to recover service charges effectively ‘If a landlord falls foul of the limitation period they will be prevented from recovering any sums incurred outside the time limit, notwithstanding that such expenditure was reasonably incurred and the tenants have benefitted …
Continue reading "Residential Service Charges: Limitation on recovery"
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John Starr reviews the courts’ stance on shopping around for an expert ‘Recent case law shows the court’s discouragement of expert shopping moving to encompass pre-action activity as well.’Construction disputes invariably involve a number of third parties; professionals tasked in one way or another with helping to resolve the dispute. There are arbitrators, adjudicators, mediators …
Continue reading "Construction Focus: Expert shopping"
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Neil Warriner , Isaac Zailer and William Arrenberg explain why UK parented real estate groups and UK intermediary companies need to pay careful attention to the government’s proposals ‘The CFC rules stop UK companies from avoiding UK tax by artificially diverting income to foreign subsidiaries resident in tax havens or low tax jurisdictions.’The real estate …
Continue reading "Controlled Foreign Companies: Effects of the new proposals"
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Kate New looks at the outcome of some cases where the contracting parties wished to alter, avoid or reinterpret the terms of contracts that they entered into before the market collapse ‘A complicated scenario arises when the court is faced with a complex agreement and asked to consider how serious a breach must be in …
Continue reading "Contracts: Desperate times call for desperate measures"
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Dr Keith Shaw analyses the Court of Appeal decision in Ibrend Estates, and what vacant possession really means in practice ‘Tenants frequently misunderstand the requirements for the successful operation of a break option, and unwittingly find that they remain liable and tied to the covenants contained in their current lease because of a failure to …
Continue reading "Vacant Possession: A practical overview"
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Mark Pawlowski considers the rights of a lender when faced with an unlawful tenant on the mortgaged premises ‘Mere knowledge of the tenancy on the part of the lender was not enough and what had to be shown was a conscious decision not to contest the validity of the tenancy.’Most mortgages contain a prohibition on …
Continue reading "Mortgages: Lenders and unlawful tenants"
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Sarah Youren outlines a new regime to protect wildlife and the natural environment, and the government’s latest measures designed to speed up the planning process Natural England has launched an eight-week public consultation on a new enforcement regime to protect wildlife and the natural environment, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The consultation period …
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Dan Hawthorne and Lydia Hutchinson explore the current UK REIT regime and the likely impact of the proposed changes introduced by the Budget ‘The attractions of an onshore investment vehicle, particularly from a regulatory and investor perception perspective, are considerable but, at present, do not outweigh the practical benefits of being offshore.’The 2011 Budget contained …
Continue reading "Budget 2011: REIT good news"
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