Summary The court construed rent review provisions contained in a commercial lease granted pursuant to a development agreement between a local authority and a property developer. Facts In proceedings brought by the claimant tenants (M), the court was required to construe rent review provisions contained in a lease of commercial...

Dishonest assistance, breach of duty and fraudulent trading (led by Christopher Parker KC)

Summary The court had jurisdiction to make an order for costs on a without-notice application against the party who had not had notice of the hearing. Facts The appellants (D) appealed against two orders made in the course of proceedings brought against them by the respondent receivers (C). D owned...

Summary The Court of Appeal upheld a decision that a claim by a company in liquidation, which had been the vehicle for a VAT fraud, against its former directors and overseas suppliers alleged to have been involved in the fraud, was not precluded by the principle of ex turpi causa...

Summary A claimant who had repeatedly sought confirmation as to the identity of the correct defendant from a company in the same group, but had received no reply on that issue from the defendant's solicitors during a period of almost three years, was entitled to amend its claim to add...

Summary A golf course was an asset of a golf and country club partnership, rather than of the partners individually, at the time the partnership made an election to waive exemption from VAT in respect of land. Consequently, it was liable to account for VAT on rental income received in...

Summary The court discharged an order restoring possession of properties to their mortgagors pending their appeal against the refusal of their application for postponement of a possession order, where the original order had been made without the mortgagors providing full and frank disclosure. Facts The court reconsidered its order that...

Summary A cricket club had had a tenancy without a lease in writing, meaning that the landlord's right of action for possession accrued on the determination of the tenancy in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980 Sch.1 Pt I para.5. Although the club had entered into a written tenancy agreement regarding...

Summary The decision in Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson [2013] UKSC 14, [2013] 1 W.L.R. 854 established that the risk profile for landlords managing owner-occupied flats had changed considerably since the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal's decision in Zuckerman v Calthorpe Estates Trustees [2009] UKUT 235 (LC), [2011] L. & T.R. 12 making provision for an additional 0.25 per cent...