Damages to Rise
Lord Judge, the Lord Chief Justice has announced that damages awarded in PI, nuisance and defamation cases will rise by 10% from next year. “We take this opportunity to declare that, with effect from 1 April 2013, the proper level…
Pull the Plug on Unnecessary Electrical Tests
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued revised guidance on portable appliance testing in an attempt to dispel the myth that every portable electrical appliance in the workplace needs to be tested once a year. The HSE cautions that…
DFA Law Advises on Sale of Insurance Group
DFA Law has advised the shareholders of Chesham Holdings Limited on the sale of its entire share capital to Bartleet Enterprises Limited for an undisclosed sum. Established in 1965 and based in the Northern Home Counties, Chesham Insurance acts for…
Redundancy: headcount reductions
An Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision clarifying the statutory definition of redundancy will be welcomed by business owners. The EAT confirmed that it is not necessary to have a reduction in the number of employees carrying out work of a…
Staff on sick leave can reclaim lost holiday
The Court of Appeal has ruled that workers who have been on sick leave for more than a year are entitled to reclaim their holiday allowance in the next leave year, regardless of whether they have formally requested it. The…
A Smell By Any Other Name
A case brought by a group of residents who live near a tip was recently heard by the Court of Appeal. The residents complained that the smell of the tip was a nuisance that blighted the everyday enjoyment of their…
Bond or Guarantee?
The High Court has refused summary judgment in a claim to enforce a document which the claimant argued was a performance bond. The court held that the defendant had an arguable case that the document was a guarantee, not a…
Chancel Repair Liability: Registration
A recent case in which the owners of a farm faced ruin because their property was saddled with an ancient responsibility to maintain the local church received a great deal of publicity, and has prompted a change in the applicable…
First to File Gains Trade Mark
When an agricultural equipment manufacturer found that another company had registered a Community Trade Mark (CTM) that was similar to one of its own brand names, it opposed the registration, arguing that the company that had registered it had only…
Fatherhood and Child Contact
The Court of Appeal recently ruled in a case which asked whether fatherhood is sufficient to warrant contact with a child and decided that the answer is ‘no’. The case was unusual. It involved a married couple who wanted to…