Kent Solicitors

A recent dispute within a limited liability partnership took up [many] [x] days of court time because the parties had not put their agreement into writing and so it turned out after all that time in court, they had not verbally agreed certain key elements - such as whether there was a right to expel an LLP partner .



Their saving of a modest amount in not going to a solicitor at the outset cost them many thousands of pounds when the dispute arose



The moral is of course: put your LLP agreement into writing

Labels: limited liability partnership LLP agreement writing

If you have a litigation claim pending against you at a time when settling the financial aspects on your divorce, consider the possibility that your insurers might seek to avoid your insurance policy , thereby leaving you to bear the liability

Labels: divorce ancillary relief insurance claim

When selling off part of your land and if you think that in the future, you might want additional rights to accommodate development on your remaining property; it is important be define those rights very carefully and make sure that they can only arise within “the perpetuity period” [...speak to us about that!]

Labels: easement future rights property

HMV to shut up to 60 shops due to the recession!

Is this the death of the physical sales of CDs after the decline of Virgin and Our Price? How do you buy physical CDs now?

If you are a record label or an artist and want to know more about physical and digital distribution contact Luke English our Media Solicitor

Labels: CD, decline, distribution, media, physical, sales

The landlord had let a flat to the tenant on an assured tenancy.



Over a number of years, the landlord complained that the tenant had sawn through floorboards to access a cellar; had damaged padlocks placed by the landlord; had erected a metal structure outside the front of his flat and refused to dismantle it; had allowed his dogs to foul the communal areas outside the flat and refused to clean up regularly.



The judge considered whether she should make an immediate or suspended order for possession i.e. effectively say that if the tenant put everything right, then he would not have to go



However, she decided that, in the light of the tenant's attitude to the tenancy and the landlord's requests for compliance, the tenant was not likely to comply with the terms of a suspended order, and so made an immediate order for possession.



Moral: Those who commit persistent breaches of tenancy agreements are at risk of immediate possession orders

Labels: Residential tenancies assured tenancy immediate suspended possession order

A landlord must respond promptly to a request for a licence to assign and if he is minded to refuse, then he should give reasons. These must be comprehensive. He cannot think of new ones later



If the tenants application for a licence to assign is incomplete, in that it does not contain enough information, then the landlord should simply reject the application, giving reasons/saying what is missing



The tenant will have to make another application

Labels: landlord unreasonable assign licence

Do not assume that any date inserted into a commercial contract is a final one; assume it is more of a target rather than a final date after which certain consequences flow



In order to make that date final, add the words "time to be of the essence"

Labels: Long stop date commercial contract

Any well drawn contract should contemplate a breach by a party and attempt to quantify the loss that should follow. The difficulty is in making sure that the calculation of the loss amounts to a genuine pre-estimate (enforceable) rather than a penalty (unenforceable)



The particular facts will be all-important. However, the parties should put down in writing why they think the final figure/method of calculation is fairer than possible alternative figures calculated in other ways and make sure that the party in breach does not suffer more than agreed e.g. by providing that any monies paid in excess of the genuine pre-estimate are refunded

Labels: liquidated damages commercial contract penalty

If employers are facing a true redundancy situation, then they have to proceed reasonably, identifying a pool of employees from whom the redundancies will be selected and then devising criteria by which to score them. The lowest scoring employees are made redundant



The Employment Tribunal will be keen to make sure that the criteria are fair and a 2010 case has shown that were the test is subjective (e.g. flexibility) rather than objective (e.g. timekeeping) then an explanation might be necessary, even if this is just a few notes by the assessor in the comments box beside the scores

Labels: employment criteria redundancy selection pool objective subjective

From 06/04/2011 restrictions in commercial leases can be attacked as being anti-competitive and held to be unenforceable



Only if all four of the following conditions apply, will the restriction be enforceable, namely if the agreement contributes to improving production, distribution, or to promoting economic progress; allows consumers a fair share of the resulting benefits; it does not impose restrictions other than "indispensable" ones; it will not eliminate competition





The classic examples are shopping centre restrictions to protect monopoly by one business e.g. "the landlord covenants not to let any further retail unit for use as…"

Labels: commercial property anti-competitive restrictions shopping centre lease

Most employers and many employees know that the employee had 3 months in which to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal for unfair dismissal and many of the other employment remedies



The 3 months runs from the Effective Date of Termination. When is that, when the employer sends notice of instant dismissal by post?



Is it when the letter is posted? Is it when it arrives? Is it when the employee has had a reasonable opportunity to read the letter? Is it when it is read?



The answer is: when the employee has had a reasonable opportunity to read the letter!



It will be appreciated that this introduces uncertainty. The better course of action is to insist upon a face-to-face interview with the employee and dismiss the employee at that meeting

Labels: employment notice effective date termination