What happens if a tenant pays more by way of service charge to its landlord than it was contractually obliged to pay? Common sense would seem to dictate that the tenant is entitled to be reimbursed the overpayment. However, as this article explains, the answer is not always that straightforward. Continue reading “Service charges: recovering overpayments from the landlord”

PIP implants may be out of the headlines but the considerable impact of the scandal is now shaping the field of product liability and the regulation of medical devices.

When announcing the new proposals for the regulation of medical devices in September 2012, the health and consumer policy commissioner John Dalli said:
 Continue reading “Medical device regulation 
and the PIP scandal legacy”

In the recent case of Newbury v Sun Microsystems [2013], the defendant argued that an offer to settle proceedings was ‘in principle’ only and that a binding contract could not be formed until further terms had been agreed and a formal contract had been signed. It supported this argument by referring to a statement, in the offer letter, that the settlement was to be ‘recorded in a suitably worded agreement’. 
 Continue reading “Finding the 
right words”

If a tenant of commercial property does not pay its rent as it falls due one of the most effective remedies for a landlord has been to exercise Distress – the common law right to recover rent arrears by seizing and selling a tenant’s goods. That right is soon to be abolished and replaced with a new system of commercial rent arrears recovery (CRAR). 
 Continue reading “Commercial rent arrears recovery: 
stress no more?”

In August 2013, UK Home Office officials, with British police officers in tow, conducted a series of checks, mainly at railway stations, as they sought to find immigrants illegally living in the UK. As well as the spot checks at transport hubs there were raids on workplaces, targeting employers who offer work to illegal immigrants. The Home Office officials’ actions followed the rollout of a number of vans displaying signs encouraging illegal immigrants to ‘go home’ in a Home Office pilot scheme, which was deemed ‘stupid and offensive’ by Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary, although conversely a 10 Downing Street spokesperson stated that the posters 
and leaflets were attracting a ‘great deal 
of interest’. 
 Continue reading “Controlling immigration: an Asian perspective”

Much has been made about the 
European Commission’s proposals to extend the scope of the EU Merger Regulation¹ to apply to the acquisition of non-controlling minority interests. As explained in previous articles in this publication, these proposals were motivated largely by the Commission’s frustration at not being able to regulate the minority shareholding that Ryanair retained in Aer Lingus even after the Commission had blocked its full acquisition of the company. Continue reading “Proposed changes to the EU merger control regime risk increasing the burden of the process on business”

The Water Bill (the Bill) has been 
long awaited. While it is not as ambitious as some may have hoped, the proposals set out in the Bill will have implications for current water and sewerage companies, current and potential licensees and customers. The proposals are at their core intended both to drive efficiency and increase competition, while being mindful of environmental pressures. They will bring the most significant changes to affect the sector since privatisation in the 1980s. While the Bill’s predominant focus is on the water industry, the Bill does also cover wider water/environmental issues such as potential changes to the environmental permitting regime which could have implications for a number of organisations and businesses.  Continue reading “The proposed Water Bill: the key issues”

Exclusion clauses are a key mechanism for managing risk in contractual arrangements. In particular, exclusion clauses are commonly used to exclude liability for breaches of the contract, or other contractual claims arising out of it, although they may also seek to exclude liability more widely. 
  Continue reading “Excluding liability for refusal to perform a contract”