Articles
Our lawyers contribute regularly to industry and legal journals in addition to writing legal briefings, newsletters and case reports for clients and contacts. All of our articles are free to read and download here.
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TUPE Reforms – draft amendments to the regulations published
December 2013The Government has published draft Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2013, following a consultation on proposed changes to TUPE. The Government intends to lay the draft before Parliament in December 2013 so that the amendments may come into force very soon in January 2014. To read more about this… Read More >
Pyrite Resolution Bill
December 2013The Minister for the Environment has now announced that the Pyrite Resolution Bill is to be published, and that it will be enacted before the end of 2013. This will enable the Pyrite Resolution Board to start taking applications straight away and for remediation works to commence on affected properties as soon as possible in… Read More >
HMRC crackdown on the tax treatment of salaried members of LLPs
December 2013On Tuesday 10th December 2013, HMRC published draft legislation for inclusion in the Finance Bill 2014, which is likely to have a significant impact on construction professionals operating as limited liability partnerships. A member of an LLP that meets certain conditions will be treated as an employee for tax and NICs purposes, rather than as… Read More >
Government announces updated National Investment Plan
December 2013On 4 December 2013, the UK Government launched the National Investment Plan 2013 (NIP), an updated version of its infrastructure spending plan, highlighting the Government’s investment priorities up to 2030 and increasing the amount of planned investment to £375bn. Partner, Will Buckby and Solicitor, Andrew Croft of Beale & Company highlight some of the key projects, figures and… Read More >
Adjudication Update – the loser wins, in time
December 2013In the recent case of Aspect Contracts (Asbestos) Ltd v Higgins Construction Plc [2013], the Court of Appeal has looked at the effect of an adjudicator’s decision on the limitation period within which a claim for breach of contract must be brought. The Court confirmed HHJ Stephen Davies QC’s decision in Jim Ennis Construction Ltd… Read More >
Government confirms crackdown on LLP taxation
December 2013The Chancellor confirmed in yesterday’s Autumn Statement the Government’s plan to remove the presumption of self-employment from limited liability partnerships and to counter the artificial allocation of profits to partners. The proposed changes are of particular interest to the investment management industry, lawyers, accountants and construction professionals practising as LLPs. For further information please read… Read More >
Reports from the Courts – December 2013
December 2013Our regular round up of the court decisions of most interest to construction from Andrew Croft and Will Buckby of Beale & Company includes an adjudication decision being upheld despite the adjudicator applying a clause in a way that neither party had argued; and one which highlights the importance of naming the correct legal entities in contracts.
Has the tide turned on the extent of losses that can be claimed against Solicitors?
November 2013In a unanimous decision in the case of Gabriel v Little and BPE Solicitors LLP the Court of Appeal has reinforced the recent run of decisions against Solicitors limiting losses to the consequences of a solicitor’s “information” (as per Lord Hoffman’s categorisation in Saamco) being wrong. Despite cases such as Portman BS v Bevan Ashford… Read More >
Recent High Court Judgment on Valuer’s Negligence
November 2013In a recent judgment of Mr Justice Hedigan , the High Court considered whether two auctioneers were negligent in their valuation of lands in 2007. The Court held that valuers owed a duty of care when preparing valuations and that a party who commissioned a valuation was entitled to rely on it and to assume… Read More >
Reports from the Courts – November 2013
November 2013Our round up of court decisions and rulings from Andrew Croft and Will Buckby focuses on one that confirms set-off cannot be laid against sums awarded to be paid by an adjudicator; and one which sheds light on whether collateral warranties are contracts for the purpose of adjudication.