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The High Court has overturned a major mistake made by directors that would have had serious consequences for their company and its shareholders. The problem arose because one of the directors had terminal cancer. The company was indebted to him for £600,000 and it was believed that upon his death, that amount would become immediately
The High Court has settled a dispute about how a minority shareholding in two companies should be valued in accordance with their articles of association. The two companies were owned by eight shareholders. The articles of both companies restricted the right of shareholders to sell their shares and granted pre-emption rights to other shareholders, giving
The issue of whether workers should be paid the National Minimum Wage when they’re on call or required to sleep on site has been addressed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). It said there was no definitive answer as each case would depend on its individual circumstances. However, it did highlight some of the factors
The High Court has outlined the legal principles involved when determining how much companies should pay if they infringe a patent when selling their products. The issue arose in a case involving a company that breached a patent covering the use of aluminium snap-in inserts to fix shelves and brackets to horizontally-slatted wall panels, enabling
The recent Dementia Awareness Week, organised by the Alzheimer’s Society, put the spotlight on the challenges we face as we live longer lives and encounter the illnesses associated with old age. A study published by the journal, BMC Medicine, showed that the number of people who die from dementia is set to almost quadruple in
The problems that can arise if a person fails to keep their will up to date was highlighted in a recent case involving a deceased man’s estranged wife and his new partner. The man had separated from his wife in 1994 but they did not divorce. Shortly after the separation, he began living with his
The government has announced new measures to speed up the development of derelict and unused land for new homes. Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell said local authorities across the country will have to produce and maintain up-to-date, publicly available registers of brownfield sites. The new registers will help housebuilders identify sites quickly, helping to
A father has won his appeal against a court order allowing his estranged wife to take their three children to live in Germany. The couple had married in 2010 and separated in 2015. The father was British; the mother was German with extended family in Germany. They had three children aged between one and five
The government has postponed its proposed increases in probate application fees because there won’t be time to introduce them before the coming election. Ministers hope to go ahead with the changes later this year despite strong opposition from lawyers, charities and the public. Under the current fee structure, fees for grants of probate are set
Thousands of large companies and organisations now have to publish their gender pay gap figures as part of the government’s drive to reduce the pay differential between men and women. Voluntary, private and public sector employers with 250 or more employees must publish their figures by April 2018. The regulations cover approximately 9,000 employers with