Insights: Legal Updates - January 2017

The building lease is a combination of a development agreement and traditional FRI lease in which, for a period of time, many of the usual tenant covenants are suspended while the tenant does things to the premises that it would not normally be allowed to do. When might a building lease be used? Sometimes a […]

On 17 January, the Prime Minister gave her long-awaited speech on the UK’s strategy for Brexit. It is fair to say that her comments received a mixed reception, both in the UK and the EU. The main point is that “soft” Brexit and continued UK  membership of the single market are now definitely off the […]

Long term UK resident non-doms to be deemed UK domiciled The Government has released draft legislation giving effect to its proposal to deem the domicile status of certain UK resident non-doms to be UK domiciled, regardless of their actual domicile. The changes only apply to non-doms who, on or after 6 April 2017, have been […]

Key points: Expert evidence is required in most construction and engineering disputes Experts will usually prepare written reports and may be cross-examined Expert evidence can determine the outcome of construction disputes There have been some recent examples of poor expert evidence performance being harmful to party’s cases Careful consideration and deliberation are always required in […]

We outline some of the complexities of dealing with disrepair in cinema premises and their negotiation. The first waves of multiplexes, built between the mid-to-late ’80s and mid-’90s, are now approaching up to 35-years-old and, as the buildings have aged and undergone refurbishment, issues relating to their condition and repair-costs have inevitably become more frequent. […]

Do you have a survivorship clause in your Will? Chances are you do, if you leave assets to someone outright in your Will.  The mischief that these clauses are designed to avoid is this.  If A gives a gift to B in his Will and B dies the day after A, B’s estate will get […]

Introduction The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) recently issued a reminder that adjudication is not the ‘Wild West’ of dispute resolution. Giving judgment in Beumer v Vinci [2016] EWHC 2283 (TCC), Fraser J recapped that adjudicators must comply with the requirements of natural justice. The requirements of natural justice are commonly expressed as two separate […]

In August 2016, Sports Direct admitted breaking the law by failing to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW) following pressure from the media and a widely publicised and damning report by the Business, Innovations and Skills (BIS) Select Committee in the Summer.  The CEO resigned, followed by the CFO, and the company group share price […]

Property Alliance Group (PAG) brought a claim against The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS) for misrepresentation of four interest rate swaps entered into between 2004 and 2008.  Whilst there have been no judgments on the substantive claims, the disclosure process has led to a number of interesting decisions; one of the most recent discusses […]