October 2019 #375 – Law Journals

E-signatures: Law Commission report reviewed

Warren Gordon summarises current thinking on the validity of e-signatures ‘For a valid execution, the person signing must intend to authenticate the document or deed and any formalities relating to execution must be satisfied.’ The Law Commission issued its report on 4 September 2019 on ‘Electronic Execution of Documents’ in England and Wales. In 2017 …

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Back to basics: Dealing with unregistered land

Tom Wright provides a step-by-step guide to the intricacies of first registration ‘If your client is willing to bear the cost of registration themselves, it may be best that they take the matter forward by instructing you to register the land.’ Unregistered conveyancing always seems to be passed down to the junior members of any …

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Cohabitation: Fair shares in the family home?

Mark Pawlowski highlights some far-reaching implications arising out of the case law on beneficial ownership ‘The size of the parties’ respective shares upon acquisition will be determined according to the terms of their express trust regardless of their actual contributions to the purchase of the property.’ Let us begin with the following example. Suppose Mr …

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Construction focus: The tale of the approved inspector

Can an approved inspector be pursued when recovering damages for a defective building? John Starr investigates ‘The respondent applied to strike out the case against it as disclosing no cause of action on the ground that no duty was owed in law by an approved inspector under s1(1) DPA 1972.’ There can be many parties …

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Planning policy: Labour Party land use and planning proposals

Jane McMenemy and Fiona Sawyer examine potential Labour Party planning policy following publication of a report promoted by the party’s general secretary ‘Whereas consecutive governments have, for decades, turned to developers to deliver housing and infrastructure, “Land for the Many” advocates a swing of control over the use and ownership of land from the private …

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Rectification of common mistake: Welcome pragmatism

The Court of Appeal has reversed a controversial line of case law on the rectification of contracts where both parties are mistaken about a contract’s legal effect, as Oliver Saunders finds out ‘The Court of Appeal conducted a review of the historic case law on rectification beginning with the traditional equitable jurisdiction to correct mistakes …

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Flexible office space: Sharing possession or occupation?

With demand for flexible office space on the rise, Mark Shelton considers the best arrangements for sharing space ‘Where the provider of the flexible space is itself a leaseholder, the alienation provisions of its lease are of course of crucial importance. The issues raised are essentially the same as have always arisen where occupiers have …

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