Search
Don't leave me this way: SRA to split from the Law Society?
From almost a standing start around ten years ago, solicitors are now among the most regulated professionals in the UK.
Read moreStand and deliver: what documents must a solicitor deliver up to its client when asked for 'the file'?
Most compliance managers or complaints partners will experience that sinking feeling when yet another file request lands on their desks, often with the distinct aroma of a 'fishing expedition'.
Read moreTribunal allows taxpayer's appeal and confirms he was carrying on a trade on a commercial basis
In Akhtar Ali v HMRC [2016] UKFTT 8 (TC), the First-tier Tribunal (FTT), in allowing the taxpayer's appeal, has provided some helpful guidance on the factors to be taken into consideration when deciding whether activities comprise a trade which is commercial, for the purposes of section 66, Income Tax Act 2007 (ITA).
Read moreNo Returns Following Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court has confirmed that save for exceptional circumstances it is reluctant to step in and imply a rent apportionment clause into a commercial lease.
Read moreAdjudication - RMP Construction Services Ltd v Chalcroft Ltd
On 21 December 2015, Stuart-Smith J handed down his decision in RMP Construction Services Ltd v Chalcroft Ltd1 , an action for summary judgment in the Technology and Construction Court to enforce an Adjudicator’s decision.
Read moreNFL to touchdown in London
The NFL season is reaching its climax with the Denver Broncos preparing to take on the Carolina Panthers on 7 February in the Super Bowl.
Read moreGrandfathering grumbles - PRA and FCA highlight failings in S(I)MR
In the past few days both the PRA and FCA have reminded banks and insurers of the 8 February deadline for the submission of grandfathering notifications for individuals to perform roles under the Senior Managers Regime and the Senior Insurance Managers Regime.
Read moreTax update
Increased SDLT for second homes and buy-to-let properties to apply to all
Read moreFCA – feeling the political heat?
The FCA escaped a vote of "no confidence" during last night's debate in the House of Commons, despite facing a barrage of scathing remarks from MPs.
Read moreRPC hosts seminar on 'Data Privacy and the Media'
On 28 January 2016, RPC hosted a 'Question Time' style panel discussion for a range of media lawyers on data protection and its particular relevance to the media industry and media companies.
Read moreBorrow My Brand
Businesses, do you want to boost your brand? The answer is simple - borrow someone else's. Perhaps most prominent in the fashion world, 'brand borrowing' is the concept of one brand procuring the use of another brand’s name or logo for their products.
Read moreFCA announces consultation on role of GCs in regulated firms
We are so accustomed to dissembling by politicians and others in public life that it is heartening to see individuals or institutions that are prepared to acknowledge responsibility for their mistakes.
Read more47% decrease in claims against solicitors – a false sense of security?
2015 saw a 47% decline in the number of professional negligence cases brought against solicitors to 221, down significantly from 418 in 2014.
Read moreCourt of Appeal confirms validity of third party information notices
In Derrin Brothers Properties Limited & Others v HMRC [2016] EWCA Civ 15, the Court of Appeal has dismissed the Appellants' appeal against the High Court's refusal to quash third party information notices issued by HMRC pursuant to paragraph 2, Schedule 36, Finance Act 2008 (the Notices).
Read moreCorporate tax update
Welcome to the latest edition of our Corporate Tax Update, written by members of RPC’s tax team and published quarterly. In this edition we highlight some of the key tax developments of interest to UK corporates from the final quarter of 2015.
Read moreVAT update
Brief 22/15 – VAT partial exemption changes concerning foreign branches
Read moreStuck in the middle with (section) 52
IPO Consultation on the transitional arrangements for the repeal of Section 52 of the CDPA
Read moreDo receivers owe duties to bankrupt mortgagors?
The Court of Appeal has recently considered whether an LPA Receiver owes a duty of care to a bankrupt mortgagor in connection with the way the Receiver deals with the mortgaged property. In a decision which will be welcomed by Receivers and their insurers, the court decided that a Receiver owes no such duties.
Read moreStandstills – direct, indirect, connected to, arising out of – has time been stopped?
Defendants are often invited to enter into Standstill Agreements, stopping time for limitation purposes.
Read moreTop tips for negotiating football kit sponsorship deals
(including considerations when working with betting companies)
Read moreUpdate: High Court provides guidance on termination for contracting parties
In the recent case of C&S Associates Ltd v Enterprise Insurance Company Plc [2015] EWHC 3757 (Comm) the High Court considered a number of issues that will be of interest to contracting parties, including:
Read moreFCA announces rejection of change of control application
It is rare for the FCA's objection to a change of control notification to ever become public.
Read moreThe politics of regulation
Today's news about Andrew Bailey's appointment as CEO of the FCA is a significant and, no doubt, highly political appointment.
Read moreUK flooding: the aftermath
As the flood waters subside and residents, businesses, insurers and public bodies survey the damage and pick up the pieces, thoughts will turn to what, if anything, could have been done differently to have prevented or minimised the damage caused.
Read moreArbitrations and anti-suit injunctions – a Hong Kong perspective
In some jurisdictions (notably Mainland China and Australia), local law does not give effect to the incorporation of arbitration clauses into bills of lading.
Read moreUpdate: CFAs will not continue for insolvent companies
Earlier in April last year, we wrote an article on the insolvency exemption to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO).
Read morePRA fines and bans former CEO and MD of Co-op Bank
In its recent action against former senior figures at the Co-op Bank the PRA has highlighted the impact of the Senior Managers Regime on such enforcement cases, even though this was a case brought under the (now discredited) approved persons regime.
Read moreLove 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 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 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 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 more