Two directors did not breach their legal duties when they paid themselves a total of £1.2m from their failing company. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving, Brookmann Home Ltd (In Liquidation). The company had been formed as a vehicle to purchase a textile business. Most of the purchase price
Marks & Spencer has been told to trade in good faith, and not to carry on business half-heartedly, following a dispute with a landlord over the terms of the lease on one of its stores. The court heard that Marks leased a unit within a shopping mall from landlord Sapphire 16. The ground and first
When an employer is faced with an employment tribunal claim, the first reaction is to defend the claim as many employers feel personally attacked, and will not want to reward an ex-employee for what the employer sees as undeserved. However, before making the decision as to whether or not to fight a claim, it is
The decision to dismiss an employee after he received a final warning about his capability was both fair and reasonable. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a case involving Mr Fallahi v TWI Ltd. Fallahi began working for TWI as a senior project leader in June 2014. In February 2015, the
A landlord could not get round the requirement to make a “demand for payment of the service charge” within the 18-month time limit specified in law. That was the ruling of the Court of Appeal in a case involving a landlord that held the head lease of the residential parts of a large mixed-use development.
A UK importer has won its claim for compensation in a dispute with a Belgian company over the supply of Covid face masks. The case involved Local Boy’z Ltd, which agreed numerous contracts with Malu NV for two types of face mask, the KN95 masks and the Type IIR masks. Both products were manufactured in
A businessman has failed to get an injunction that would have prevented his company filing accounts and holding board meetings. He also failed to establish that a board room colleague had not been validly appointed as a director. The company involved, which provided finance to small businesses, had been acquired by Mr Katan and Mr
A local authority had been too quick to fine a landlord for failing to register under a licensing scheme. Instead, it should have followed its own policy of taking informal action as a first step. That was the decision of the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) in a case involving Ekweozoh v Redbridge LBC. Ms Ekweozoh
A financier and his associated companies have been ordered to pay €172 million over contract errors and their failure to meet agreed deadlines. The dispute involved Heritage Travel and Tourism Ltd v Lars Windhorst & Ors. The parties had entered into commercial agreements that led to Heritage providing large short-term loans to Windhorst and several
The number of company insolvencies has risen to the highest level since the first Covid lockdown more than a year ago. The latest figures from the Insolvency Service show that in August, corporate insolvencies had increased by 71.1% compared to August 2020’s figure of 788. There was also a large monthly increase of 22.9% to