Insights: Legal Updates - July 2018

There have been a number of important cases dealing with suspension and overtime in recent years.  In Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth the High Court confirmed that suspension should never be a “knee-jerk reaction” and that it might even amount to a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence in some circumstances.  […]

Following a fire at its premises, Goodlife Foods Limited (Goodlife) commenced proceedings against Hall Fire Protection Limited (Hall Fire) for breach of contract and/or negligence in the supply and installation of a fire suppression system. In its defence Hall Fire sought to rely on an exclusion of liability clause contained within its standard terms and […]

Many advisers have to grapple with the sometimes difficult question of establishing their client’s domicile. A client’s domicile is fundamentally important in a diverse range of English legal and tax areas, such as whether: a client can bring divorce proceedings in the UK; a client is liable to UK Inheritance Tax on worldwide assets as […]

Construction sites can undoubtedly be a nuisance to their neighbours and over the years the right to object to (and receive compensation for) certain types of nuisance has become enshrined in the law. Even if planning permission is granted for construction works which will inevitably be noisy, for instance, that is no excuse if the […]

Commercial court decides against granting a WFO in support of a foreign arbitral award. In Eastern European Engineering Ltd v Vijay Construction (Proprietary) Ltd [2018] EWHC 1539 (Comm), Eastern European Engineering Ltd (EEEL) applied to the Commercial Court in London for a WFO (WFO) against Vijay Construction (Vijay) in support of an ICC arbitral award. […]

A key consideration for a party before commencing an adjudication is what the defending party might say or claim in reply, because the courts adopt a generous approach to whether a defence or counterclaim is within the scope of the dispute. Broadly, no matter how narrowly defined a dispute referred to adjudication might be, at […]

A recent interim judgment in the case of Accident Exchange Ltd & Anor v McLean & Ors [2018] EWHC 1533 (Comm) serves as an important reminder that parties seeking security should be proactive in their approach to enquiries of their counterparty and their financial circumstances, and that a delay in making an application for security […]

The fire at Grenfell Tower that took place in June 2017 resulted in 71 deaths and a large number of further injuries. Following the fire a number of inquiries and reviews were set up, including an independent review of fire safety and the current Building Regulations. This review was led by Dame Judith Hackitt and […]

What constitutes sexual harassment? In England and Wales, it is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating the victim’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the victim. The victim also has protection from being treated less favourably because they have rejected or […]

Countless properties up and down the land, probably the majority, either have the benefit, or are subject to the burden, of a title covenant. A title covenant is basically a promise made in a deed to do or not to do something with a piece of land. Covenants can relate to all sorts of things. […]

Many real estate clients have asked whether they can sign documents electronically in order to save time and cost. Often it takes several days for documents to be signed due to the unavailability of the relevant signatories, and often documents need to be circulated and returned by post or courier, which takes time. Such delays […]