Solicitors for Successful Businesses

The Ministry of Justice have recently introduced an amendment to a Bill currently going through Parliament, which introduces a new criminal offence of squatting.  It is hoped that this new offence finally is going to help reduce the risk to owners of empty buildings posed by squatters.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2011 is a hefty document which adds to the encyclopaedia of criminal justice legislation that has been introduced in the last decade by various Governments.  The Bill imposes mainly administrative rules for the provision of legal aid, but tucked away at the end of the Bill is a new criminal offence which has got the interest of many property owners. Read the rest of this entry »

Yet again it is in the press how whiplash claims are driving up your insurance premium and that is the lawyers who are (somehow) responsible for this.   Do you believe this?   Really? Read the rest of this entry »

Insurers are now sending out a loud message to all potential Claimants in that they are cracking down on the fraudsters who try to pursue a fraudulent personal injury claim.  More and more proven cases of fraud are resulting in contempt of court proceedings, which could result in prison sentences.   Read the rest of this entry »

Since the 25th March 2010 First Time Buyers of residential property have been able to apply for Stamp Duty Land Tax relief if the consideration (money) passing for the property is £250,000.00 or less.

This applies where the buyer intends to live in the property and that it will be their main private residence.  This also only applies if any of the parties to the purchase have not previously owned property or land in the UK or anywhere else in the world.  This includes property purchased with someone else, ie., properties purchased as co-owners. Read the rest of this entry »

ROGUE WHEEL CLAMPERS BEWARE!

Many private Landlords operate wheel clamping in order to control unauthorised parking outside their premises such as blocks of flats, factories, etc.  This practice has long been carried out by unscrupulous wheel clampers; there are many stories of people being clamped and charged extortionate amounts for their vehicle to be released. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this year the insurers, Aviva, had a trawl through their archives and came across from weird and wonderful compensation claims.

Some of the clearly more weird and wonderful claims found in Aviva’s archives whilst they were undertaking this task include : Read the rest of this entry »

Will my family receive any inheritance or will it all go in paying for my care?

Clients often comment that they find the care system in England and Wales to be grossly unfair.

The question raised is why, when I’ve worked hard all my life, should I have to pay for nursing home care when those they don’t have anything and have lived off benefits all their lives get it for free? Read the rest of this entry »

In the case of “Greening v Castlenau Mansions Limited” the Upper Tribunal had to decide whether the landlord could recover its legal costs through the service charges. Read the rest of this entry »

Commonsense says that it shouldn’t be possible to have a binding contract to buy a house or other land by email, but this may be possible in law. The legal requirements for a binding contract to buy/sell land are a written document incorporating all the terms agreed by the parties, and signed by all the parties – and Judges have already decided that typing your name on a string of emails can in law be treated as signing to this same extent as having signed a hard copy of the document.   Read the rest of this entry »

The law has recently changed in respect of Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules from 1 October 2011.

The changes overrule the decision of Carver v BAA plc [2008], which ruled that because the Claimant had only just beaten a Part 36 offer, he had failed to obtain a judgment which was “more advantageous” within the meaning of CPR 36.14, and the Defendant was awarded its costs from the date the offer expired.   Read the rest of this entry »