Commercial disputes
Restrictive covenants: can an ex-employer stop you from working for a competitor?
In 2016 we successfully defended a claim for £10m brought against five ex-Affinity IFAs for alleged breach of 12 month covenants. The claim was withdrawn part way through trial and we recovered indemnity costs for our clients.
Financial Ombudsman - Fixed fees and contingent fees for FOS referrals
The Financial Ombudsman Service has extended its scope and can now require financial services businesses to pay compensation of up to £350,000. It also covers more customers: still individuals but now small to medium size businesses as well as micro enterprises.
Did the local bank manager have authority to write off debts of £3m?
In a recent case a property developer who owed over £4.5m to his lender tried to argue that a local manager had agreed to accept sale proceeds of just £1.5m in settlement of the whole debt. The bank claimed that the manager had no authority to write off £3m and alleged that there had been collusion and fraud between the borrower and a bank employee.
Arcadia and its pension schemes: The Results
All seven of the proposed company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) in respect of the Arcadia Group were approved last week, on 12 June 2019. The vote had been delayed by a week in order for Sir Philip Green to negotiate with its landlords such that the proposals would be accepted.
IR35 – The Latest – A £1.2m blow for HMRC
The development of the Intermediaries Regulations (IR35) and its impact on personal service companies has been a hot topic in recent years.
Gold Bullion Schemes and the Loan Charge
As we draw nearer to the 5 April 2019 and the implementation of the Loan Charge, a number of more convoluted Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) tax planning structures are being found to be affected and have thus drawn increasing interest from HMRC.
Root 2 – The Latest
The following 12 months has resulted in a number of strategic steps between Root 2 and HMRC. This culminated with HMRC and Root 2 appearing before the FTT in June 2018 for a test case on the efficacy of the Scheme (the Test Case), this time with regard to the substantive use of the Scheme.
Emiliano Sala dispute – do Cardiff have to pay transfer fee?
The tragic death of Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala as he flew to meet up with his new club Cardiff City from Nantes on January 21 has shaken the world of football.
In the weeks that have followed a dispute between the two clubs over his £15 million transfer fee has begun.
Restrictive covenants – what can an ex-employer do to stop you working for a competitor?
The starting point is that no person can be restrained from earning a living. This is a long-standing principle of English law that the courts are generally careful to uphold.
Solicitors found negligent when failing to register a property transfer that facilitated fraud
If solicitors fail to do their job properly, with the result that a fraudulent transaction is not carried out as intended, are the solicitors still liable?
