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There has been a sudden surge in personal and corporate insolvencies, due mainly to the effects of the Covid pandemic. Figures released by the Insolvency Service show there were 1,228 business failures in December 2020 compared with 891 in November. That’s a rise of 37.8%. It’s also 9.2% higher than in December 2019, when there
An English company has been told that its dispute with a supplier over faulty goods must be heard under German law as stated in the contract. The case involved TRW Ltd and Panasonic Industry Europe GMBH, and Panasonic Automotive Systems Europe GMBH. The issue arose when TRW claimed that electronic resistors supplied by Panasonic were
A property company has been told that it cannot avoid a civil penalty for running an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO). The case involved Thurrock Council and Palm View Estates. The landlord, Palm View, had bought the house in 2014. It was converted for occupation by six people with a shared kitchen. On 20
The government is strengthening the Prompt Payment Code to ensure large companies pay small businesses on time. Companies that have signed up to the code will be obliged to pay invoices within 30 days – half the time outlined under the current agreement. Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the code, poor payment practices are still
Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover dismissed one of its employees without following its own absence management procedures. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving Mr V Rumbold who had worked for the car manufacturer since February 1999. In 2018, Rumbold was diagnosed with avascular necrosis disease, which caused his hip
A disqualified director has been granted leave to run a company again after showing that he had overcome his drug and alcohol abuse issues and was a reformed character. The director had been disqualified for failing to pay VAT following the sale of a plot of land. The company went into liquidation without any assets
A commercial tenant has been refused permission to re-amend its defence to a service charge claim four weeks before trial. The court ruled that although the new defences had reasonable prospects of success, they could have been pleaded earlier and there was no good reason for the delay. The issue arose because the tenant refused
People are being urged to update their wills to include their digital assets as a way of preventing problems for their family after they die. Research by the Law Society shows that just over a quarter of those surveyed know what happens to their digital assets when they die. An overwhelming 93% had not included
A divorced husband has been told that he cannot use documents from a financial dispute resolution hearing (FDR) as evidence in a court case against him. The issue arose after divorce proceedings between the husband and his former wife. In 2018 a judge made an order providing for the instruction of a firm to value
The number of new homes under construction more than doubled in the third quarter of last year. Nearly three times as many homes were completed over the same period. The official statistics show that in England and Wales, 35,710 homes were started in July to September 2020 – a 111% increase when compared to the