The common law remedy of distraint was abolished on 6 April 2014, when the commercial rent arrears recovery procedure is brought into effect. From 6 April 2014, landlords must to follow a fixed, rigid process if they want to seize goods to pay rent arrears. the process can only be used where the lease is of commercial property only. a landlord must give a tenant written clear days’ notice of intention to seize goods; the process applies only to arrears of principal rent, interest and VAT – not insurance or service charge entry to commercial premises will be possible between…
There has been a successful attempt to infiltrate my staff, supplier and clients’ email accounts and database. Does that mean that I have breached data protection and privacy laws? The Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) requires that “appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data”. There has been a breach of this. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has taken action against a number of organisations that suffered similar attacks. The preconditions for the ICO to demand a fine are: A. there was a serious contravention B. it was likely to cause substantial…
A Muslim waiter at my hotel refuses to serve guests alcohol. What can I do to? If the refusal to serve alcohol cannot be accommodated by altering the duties of other staff, you would be justified in turning down a request to opt out of serving alcohol, and if necessary you could sack him without losing a claim at an Employment Tribunal While this could be seen as religious discrimination, putting a Muslim at a particular disadvantage , you will have a defence against such a claim, even if this meant the person could no longer work for you. In…
Relationship break-ups where the couple are of different nationalities often present particular difficulties for the courts – especially where the custody of children is in dispute. A recent case involving an American father and his British ex-wife illustrates the sorts of issues that can arise. The couple married in the USA in 2006. They had a son, but by 2008 the husband had petitioned for divorce and the couple were divorced in 2010. The mother had returned to the UK with their son in 2008. The father was given custody of the couple’s child by an American court in 2010…
If a supplier or Finance Company notify credit reference agencies that you have defaulted and your name has been blacklisted, we can help. If your reason for non-payment was legitimate (e.g. the computer you bought did not work, or the car on lease or HP broke down) can have your name cleared and claim substantial damages. Consult Hylton-Potts, the experts who offer fixed fees, and give excellent value. We operate a free and confidential 24 hour email service. Just click on [email protected] or, during office hours, there is a free and confidential legal helpline 020 7381 8111.
If a supplier or Finance Company notify credit reference agencies that you have defaulted and your name has been blacklisted, we can help. If your reason for non-payment was legitimate (e.g. the computer you bought did not work, or the car on lease or HP broke down) can have your name cleared and claim substantial damages. Consult Hylton-Potts, the experts who offer fixed fees, and give excellent value. We operate a free and confidential 24 hour email service. Just click on [email protected] or, during office hours, there is a free and confidential legal helpline 020 7381 8111.
An equal partition of assets is not always appropriate, as was illustrated by the Court of Appeal’s upholding of a judge’s decision to award 70% of a former couple’s capital assets to the wife, owing to her lesser earning capacity and child-rearing role. The husband argued that his ex-wife’s award had left him facing the prospect of having to work more than 40 hours a week in order to meet his commitments to her and to provide an adequate income for himself. He argued that this would have a serious impact on his level of contact with their three-year-old daughter.…
When a couple break up, the division of the assets they own is often problematic, whether they are married or not. In a recent case, the Court of Appeal was asked to consider the appropriate division of assets when an unmarried couple broke up after being together on and off for more than a decade. The couple began living together in 1992, then separated in 1995. In 2001, they got back together, living in the man’s house until 2002, when they bought another property in joint names in which they lived until it was sold in 2007. The man was…
Commercial property update This first appeared in the Solicitors Journal in October 2013 as is reproduced with their permission Magnus Hassett looks at the forthcoming changes to the rules on recovery of commercial rent arrears, the introduction of a period of temporary rates relief for empty new build commercial property, and HMRC’s recent clarification of last year’s VAT changes, affecting landlords who let out property for storage purposes The common law remedy of distraint for arrears of rent will finally be abolished on 6 April 2014, when the commercial rent arrears recovery procedure, originally proposed by the Tribunal Courts and…
If you have negotiated a divorce settlement and then find out that your ex-spouse has lied about personal finances, the court can reopen the matter. In a recent hearing, the judge decided that a businessman had not been entirely truthful when he made his financial disclosures. His ex-wife claimed that her ex-husband had substantially undervalued his assets, by claiming that shares he owned in a company had no value, when they were worth more than £700,000. In addition, she claimed that he had failed to disclose other investments he held that were worth more than £800,000. The wife successfully applied…
