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Love thy neighbour but don't give them any advice!
The first TCC judgment of the year, Burgess & Burgess vs Lejonvarn [2016] EWHC 40 (TCC), is of particular interest to both architects and their insurers, as it discusses and distinguishes between a contractual relationship and one that gives rise to an assumption of responsibility in tort.
Read moreSupreme Court clarifies law on implied terms
The Supreme Court has clarified the law on implied terms: in order for a term to be implied it must be necessary for business efficacy or alternatively be so obvious as to go without saying.
Read moreSupreme Court clarifies law on implied terms: "business efficacy" test remains
The Supreme Court has clarified the law on implied terms: in order for a term to be implied it must be necessary for business efficacy or alternatively be so obvious as to go without saying. In practice, it will be a rare case where one of those conditions is satisfied but not the other.
Read moreHMRC fails to satisfy the Tribunal that residential property purchased for a pension fund was "taxable property"
In J & A Young (Leicester) Limited and Others v HMRC [2015] UKFTT 0638 (TC) TC 04771, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), has allowed the taxpayers' appeals and held that certain residential property acquired by a self-administered occupational pension scheme was not "taxable property", for the purposes of Schedule 29A, Finance Act 2004 (FA 2004).
Read moreSelling, buying or investing: five practical tips for insurance broker M&A
People who are well prepared and able to act quickly tend to do better in a buoyant M&A market and, with some sizeable recent transactions, continued interest from private equity, ongoing consolidation and some of the larger broking groups remaining interested at least in strategic plays, insurance broker M&A is likely to be just such a market in 2016.
Read moreFX trader fails in third-party rights challenge to FCA
The Upper Tribunal has rejected the well-publicised complaint by Christopher Ashton that the FCA identified him in two decision notices without giving him the opportunity to make representations - because the Tribunal concluded that he was not identified at all.
Read more2016 - eight reasons why this could be the year of the GC
The first few months in the life of this blog have seen us grapple with a broad range of thorny issues of direct relevance to the life of the GC.
Read moreHousing shortage is a construction industry skills crisis
Headlines focus on the emotive issue of hard-working families being unable to afford their own homes, and the Government’s pledge to get Britain building.
Read moreMobile marketing – lessons learnt from Optical Express
Mobile marketing is an essential part of the marketing tool kit of most retailers.
Read moreEIOPA recommendations to mobile phone insurance
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's (EIOPA) recently published report on Consumer Protection Issues arising from the sale of Mobile Phone Insurance (MPI) makes a number of recommendations to address the gaps EIOPA found to exist between consumer expectations and European insurers' MPI products.
Read moreThe "NEW FLAMENCO" – back in step
Court of Appeal overturns High Court and holds that a 'capital' benefit obtained following the sale of a vessel on her early redelivery can reduce a damages claim for repudiatory breach of charterparty.
Read moreVTech and Hong Kong’s cyber laws
VTech is a multi-billion-dollar global supplier of electronic toys and learning products for children, and reportedly the world’s biggest manufacturer of cordless telephones. In short, it is a giant company producing high-tech electronic goods – surely, you might think, capable of fending off a cyber-attack.
Read moreSupreme Court confirms that when making a confiscation order and assessing the amount of benefit obtained by an offender any VAT accounted to HMRC should be ignored
In R v Harvey [2015] UKSC 73, the Supreme Court allowed the appeal of Mr Jack Harvey (the Appellant) against the decision of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)
Read moreThe Fed awakens: the US central bank raises the federal funds rate for the first time in nearly a decade
Simply put, the federal funds rate is the interest rate at which commercial banks in the US lend money to each other, usually overnight.
Read moreChina crisis - what does the latest share slide mean for your business, and your contracts?
When I first wrote about the turmoil in the Chinese stock market back in July last year, there was still some debate as to how serious the crash was, and what the direct or indirect implications would be for businesses with trading interests in the region.
Read moreHigh Court holds deception undermines "dominant purpose" for claim to litigation privilege
In Property Alliance Group Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc the Court held that where a claimant had met the defendant's former employees to seek evidence for the claim, but had misled them as to the purpose of the meetings, the dominant purpose of those meetings could not be said to be the litigation.
Read moreAnnual Insurance Review 2016
Landmark insurance law reform and market consolidation
Read moreAnnual Insurance Review 2015
There are no prizes for guessing the likely main insurance law event of 2016. The Insurance Act 2015 will come into force on 12 August 2016.
Read morePay the correct court fee – or else!
On 9 March 2015 there was a substantial increase in the fees to issue civil proceedings. As a result, the court fee is now £10,000 to issue a claim worth in excess of £200,000 (or the damages are unquantified).
Read moreTribunal allows company's appeal and confirms that the four-year time limit does not apply to corporation tax self-assessment returns
In Bloomsbury Verlag GmbH v HMRC [2015] UKFTT 660 (TC),the First-tier Tribunal (Tax and Chancery) (FTT) has held that the four-year time limit does not apply to corporation tax self-assessment returns and that trading losses can be carried forward even though they were not included in a return.
Read moreWhat makes a "Law Firm of the Year"?
Managing Partner Jonathan Watmough speaks with John Malpas, Editor-in-Chief of Legal Week, about what contributed to being named Law Firm of the Year 2015.
Read moreCavendish win on penalties: Supreme Court makes finger-tip save of ageing doctrine
The Supreme Court has provided long awaited clarification of the law on penalty clauses and liquidated damages, upholding the "penalty rule" but further limiting its utility in a commercial setting.
Read moreSpeed & Consumption – good weather daze?
The High Court of England & Wales has overturned an arbitration Award in a rare appeal on a performance dispute[1].
Read moreCourt of Appeal permits early redemption of Lloyds Banking Group's Enhanced Capital Notes
In BNY Mellon Corporate Trustee Services Ltd v LBG Capital No.1 and No. 2 Plc, the Court of Appeal reversed the first instance decision of the High Court, by allowing early redemption of certain convertible securities (known as Enhanced Capital Notes, or ECNs).
Read moreUK source of interest
In Ardmore Construction and Andrew Perrin v HMRC [2015] UKUT 633 (dual appeal), the Upper Tribunal (UT) dismissed the taxpayers appeals and confirmed that they had received UK source dividends on which UK income tax was deductible at source.
Read moreDaily Telegraph publisher fined £30k for general election email campaign
On 15 December 2015 the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) issued Telegraph Media Group Limited (the Telegraph) with a Monetary Penalty Notice
Read moreTitan v Colliers – the price of everything and value of nothing
The Court of Appeal recently overturned the High Court's judgment in the case of Titan v Colliers.
Read more'Dear CEO letter' to debt management firms clarifies FCA's expectations on transfer of customers or their information
Following ongoing consolidation in the debt management market, Jonathan Davidson, FCA Director of Supervision (Retail and Authorisations), has published a 'Dear CEO letter' which sets out the FCA's expectations of debt management firms when customers or customer information are being transferred.
Read moreUpper Tribunal accepts reasonable excuse defence for late claim for repayment of tax
In Raftopoulou v HMRC [2015] UKUT 579, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has confirmed that a taxpayer can make a valid claim for repayment of overpaid tax ...
Read moreVAT update
This is our last VAT update of 2015. RPC’s next VAT update will be published on 28 January 2016. We wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Read moreHigh Court rejects interest rate swap misselling claim
In Thornbridge Limited v Barclays Bank PLC the High Court considered a claim for the missale of an interest rate swap based on several different causes of action, all of which were unsuccessful.
Read moreNew EU data protection rules (finally!) agreed
On the 17th of December, and after much negotiation, a final draft of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was approved by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) committee of the European Parliament.
Read moreEU in or EU out?
The UK will soon be faced with a question that may well have a profound impact on its future and materially shape its place in the world, namely: should the UK remain in or out of the European Union.
Read moreDelay not a bar to obtaining freezing injunction
The High Court has granted three insolvent Cayman companies (each in liquidation) a worldwide freezing order in support of proceedings against Mr Terrill, an individual who operated behind the companies' respective corporate directors as their sole director and shareholder.
Read moreGetting ahead of the curve: EBA consults on 'robo-advisers'
Technology will transform the financial advice world, and this transformation has already begun.
Read moreFinancial Litigation roundup
Welcome to the latest edition of our Financial Litigation roundup. In this edition, we consider recent judgments and ongoing cases from the banking and financial world in the UK and Asia, as well as regulatory developments in those jurisdictions
Read moreFinancial Litigation roundup
Welcome to the latest edition of our Financial Litigation roundup. In this edition, we consider recent judgments and ongoing cases from the banking and financial world in the UK and Asia, as well as regulatory developments in those jurisdictions
Read moreEmployment update, November 2015
Penalty clauses: what is the test where a clause is claimed to be unenforceable?
Read moreShow me the money: new capital requirements for PIFs
Last week the FCA released its Policy Statement PS15/28: Capital resources requirements for personal investment firms (PIFs) updating rules that set the amount of capital to be held by directly authorised PIFs which date back to 1994.
Read moreHely-Hutchinson - taxpayer wins legitimate expectation judicial review
In R(oao Hely-Hutchinson) v HMRC [2015] EWHC 3261 (Admin) ...
Read moreAnti-suit injunctions – do not delay
The recent judgment of the English Commercial Court in Essar Shipping Ltd v Bank of China Ltd[1] has highlighted the importance of applying for anti-suit injunctions swiftly once the dispute arises.
Read moreLitigation privilege: A tangled web unwoven
Deception undermines the "dominant purpose" necessary for a claim to litigation privilege in the most recent instalment in the ongoing saga of Property Alliance Group Ltd v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc.
Read moreIFAs quizzed by FCA over insistent clients
The FCA has asked IFAs to explain how they deal with situations where clients wish to act against advice on pension transfers.
Read moreBallast Water Management Convention likely to come in 2016
Three countries, Monaco, Indonesia and Ghana, ratified the IMO Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, during the recent IMO Biennial Assembly Meeting, in London.
Read moreNational Grid Gas plc hit with £2m fine for health and safety breach
National Grid Gas plc hit with £2m fine for health and safety breach
Read moreNational Grid hit with £2m fine for health and safety breach
A sign of things to come?
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