Share purchase agreements – enforceability of onerous clauses
Great care should be taken to find the right balance between a clause which protects your position and one which may be struck down as a penalty clause. A penalty…
What is a contractor’s right to rectify defects?
When defects are identified in building projects the employer may decide to bring in a third-party contractor to rectify the mistakes. However, this may result in the employer being unable…
Green leases – time to take notice
Green leases were much heralded a few years ago as the property industry’s answer to environmental concerns. However, the reality is that for a lot of landlords and tenants, the…
What is the Green Deal?
The Green Deal is the government’s flagship initiative for improving the energy efficiency of buildings in Great Britain. It is intended to reduce carbon emissions and provide finance for energy…
How enforceable are your ADR clauses?
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is the collective term given to certain methods used to resolve disputes as an alternative to court proceedings. The most common form of ADR is mediation,…
Agricultural occupancy restrictions and the need to test the market
The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) recently refused to discharge an agricultural occupancy restriction imposed on a property in Wales by a planning agreement. Known as ‘agricultural ties’, these restrictions can…
Equality Act 2010 update
For a long time statistics have shown that women are safer drivers than men and from this there have been products providing more favourable terms to women drivers, to include…
Farmers and ash tree die back disease
Farmers and landowners should consider the potential impact of ash tree die back disease on their property. This is particularly so where ash trees provide security and amenity value, windbreaks,…
Million dollar case rested on small print
A million dollar case, brought under the Sale of Goods Act, raised some interesting points to consider when drafting payment terms and ‘no set-off’ clauses. The case of FG Wilson…
The paperless trail - document management in the digital age
Thinking about your business, can you answer these simple questions? Do you make use of computers? Do you use email to communicate with your colleagues? Do you know who the…
Willans helps Total Ltd. sue YouView for trade mark infringement
Following success in the appeal Court earlier this month, Total Ltd., a Gloucestershire based telecommunications company, has now issued High Court proceedings against YouView TV Ltd., a company chaired by Lord Sugar, for…
Interest rate swaps
Nick Cox, head of our litigation and dispute resolution team, is acting in an increasing number of complaints raised against banks over the mis-selling of interest rate hedging products. These…
Unfair dismissal claim by deceased employee’s estate
In an unusual case, the EAT ruled that the dependants of a deceased worker could claim the loss of his death-in-service benefit, despite the fact that he had been dismissed…
The case of the dodgy banister
It is common for tenants to make alterations to their properties. Generally these are approved by the landlord but not always. A recent High Court decision is a reminder to…
Wheel clamping – the new picture
From October, it became a criminal offence to wheel-clamp on private land. The few exceptions relate to government agencies and, for example, some car parks that may be used by…
The madness of boundary disputes
Boundary disputes can be a nightmare for all concerned. Those involved are often prepared to fight tooth and nail over the smallest strips of land and emotions can run high.…

Social media - be careful what you post!
Many employers now actively encourage staff to use social media, such as Linkedin and Twitter, to boost the firm’s online profile. But there can be all sorts of consequences when…
Live/work use for planning purposes
The description ‘live/work accommodation’ is often used for a barn or other rural property that has been converted for domestic use. For planning purposes, this use is classed as sui-generis…
Maximising empty rates relief
The recent case of Makro Properties Limited and another v Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council provides businesses with an opportunity to save business rates by extending empty rates relief. Commercial property…
New dawn for data protection
Although ‘the paperless office’ is still a way off, we are all now processing and storing more digital material than ever. One consequence of this shift to digital-only working is…
Enforcing restrictive covenants
A recent case illustrates the difficulties employers can face when trying to enforce restrictive covenants in employment contracts. In CEF Holdings Ltd v Mundey and others, the court refused to…
Plans to boost UK house building, jobs and the economy
The government’s recently announced ‘major housing and planning package’, aims to boost affordable housing, the construction sector and major infrastructure projects. These are some of the measures: Developers who can…
PCC members and chancel repair liability
Many are concerned that members of parochial church councils (PCCs) could be held personally liable if they fail to enforce chancel repair liability. In some cases, owners of former Church…
Livestock on public rights of way
Where does a farmer stand legally if his livestock strays on to a public right of way or access land? Is he liable if his livestock injures someone while they…
YouView loses High Court appeal against Trade Mark Registry finding over brand name owned by Total
Willans LLP solicitors, acted on behalf of Total Ltd. assisting them to successfully resist an appeal to the High Court in respect of the ‘youview’ brand. On 9 November 2012…
Squatting is now a criminal offence
Squatting in a residential building became a criminal offence, as of September this year. There is a maximum prison term of six months and/or fines of up to £5000. Although…
Horses and the UK planning system
Horses make up an expanding part of the rural economy but, because they are not usually classed as ‘agricultural’, they often present problems for planning purposes. Defining agriculture The definition…
Promotion agreement; unlocking the potential for developers
In the current climate, it remains hard, if not impossible, for developers to access bank lending to finance the acquisition of development sites. This makes it particularly difficult for those…
Limit risk of discrimination claims
A recent discrimination claim brought against leading local employer GCHQ underlines the risks to businesses of discrimination in the workplace. Alfred Bacchus, a press officer, brought a number of claims…
Farming vital to Gloucestershire
The importance of farming to Gloucestershire’s economy has been underlined by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU). They state that 74 percent (224,262 hectares) of the county’s land area is farmed…
Investment opportunities in agri-business
While our August Bank Holiday weekend brought yet more wet and unsettled weather, the story is quite different in the US. Severe droughts in America are affecting the corn and…
Break notice traps
If business tenants want the freedom to exercise breaks in order to move elsewhere, they must pay scrupulous attention to the wording of the break clauses in the lease. Our…
Fixed-term contracts
If employers decide not to renew fixed-term contracts, are they at risk of claims of unfair dismissal or redundancy? The issue arose in a recent case where tribunal action was…
Staff can get back holidays if they fall sick
Workers who fall ill during their holidays are entitled to reclaim the time off at a later date, following a ruling at the end of June from the European Court…
Compulsory retirement - an age old problem
Two recent Supreme Court decisions have addressed the area of compulsory retirement. It remains a legal minefield and has become more complex still since the default retirement age was scrapped.…
Mediations on the increase
CEDR, the dispute resolution body, conducted a mediation audit in 2012 for civil and commercial mediators and has recorded that the annual number of mediations has risen from 6,000 to…