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The landlord of a flat containing asbestos was not responsible for the death of a tenant who suffered from malignant mesothelioma. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving the family of the tenant and Hammersmith Council. A claim for damages had been brought by the tenant’s widow. She believed her
If you’ve worked hard to build up a successful business it’s only natural that you wish to hand it on to your sons or daughters. However, there are several risks involved. In some ways, succession plans involving family members are more likely to cause problems than handovers involving complete strangers. With strangers, people tend to
Three directors have been banned from running a company for up to seven years after making illegal payments to benefit themselves instead of creditors. The three directors ran a family owned demolition company that was placed into liquidation with an estimated deficiency to creditors of £1,755,782. Despite this, the directors continued to trade to their
An international company has failed to get a court order to prevent one of its franchisees setting up a rival business. The case involved an Australian gym and fitness firm that opened centres in the UK on a franchise basis. It entered into an agreement with a franchisee on its standard terms and conditions. The
A landlord has won its appeal over the validity of service charges even though it was late in giving notice. The court held that it was enforceable because the tenant had “waived the invalidity”. The case involved Southwark Council and one of its tenants. At the beginning of each financial year the landlord had to
A leading judge has called for reforms to prevent rich fathers manipulating their finances to reduce the amount they pay towards their children’s upbringing. The call follows a change in the law in 2012 that means maintenance payments are based only on actual income. This means that if a parent wants to pay as little
A bus driver with an “exemplary record” who was sacked for going through traffic lights when they were on red has won his unfair dismissal claim. The Employment Tribunal heard that Abdul Jabber had worked for National Express West Midlands for 37 years and had an unblemished record. He was sacked in October 2015 after
A woman who was estranged from her father has been awarded £30,000 from his estate even though he disinherited his children in his will. The court heard that Stanley Nahajec had left all his £265,000 estate to a friend. His three children got nothing. Elena Nahajec, the only child from Mr Nahajec’s second marriage, made
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has posed the question of whether we might find a cure for dementia in near future. Speaking on World Alzheimer’s Day he said: “This is the question that for years no one has dared to ask. We assumed – wrongly – that dementia was just part of the ageing process instead
The government has announced a £2.3 billion fund which will help unlock 100,000 new homes in areas of high demand. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said hundreds of housing developments were being held up because of a lack of local infrastructure. The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) will solve that problem by enabling the construction of roads,