Latest Legal News
Under Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 , where a landlord undertakes qualifying works with a cost of more than £250 per lease without consulting the leaseholders, the contribution from each leaseholder will be limited to that sum....
The Family Court has granted a husband's application for a divorce he obtained in India to be recognised by the English courts . The husband and wife were both Indian nationals who now had British citizenship. They had married in India in 2010 and had...
The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in a case which clarifies how the test of whether members of a limited liability partnership (LLP) have significant influence over its affairs for the purpose of determining whether they are 'salaried...
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has rejected a supermarket chain's application for summary judgment on its claim that a trade mark it was accused of infringing was invalid. A company claimed that the supermarket chain had infringed a trade mark...
In a case in which a man was named as a girl's father on her birth certificate but was subsequently discovered not to be her biological father, the High Court has ruled that the effect of a declaration of non-parentage was to render his acquisition of...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a landlord's appeal against a civil penalty imposed on him for managing an unlicensed house in multiple occupation (HMO). The property had five bedrooms which were let to individuals who did not form a single household....
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has ruled that a taxpayer could not claim relief from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on a loan to a company that had been discharged in exchange for new shares, because the loan was no longer 'outstanding' when the claim for relief was made....
Following an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), a motor insurance worker who unlawfully accessed personal data on his employer's systems has received a suspended prison sentence. The worker led a team dealing with accident...
The Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT) has granted applications for six search warrants under Section 28(1)(b) of the Competition Act 1998 , in a case which illustrates how such applications are dealt with. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had...
The courts are entitled to draw reasonable adverse inferences against a party who fails to engage in divorce proceedings. How this is approached in practice was illustrated by a recent Family Court ruling on a financial remedies application in which the...
A landlord which withdrew its objection to a right to manage application shortly before the hearing of the application has succeeded in its appeal against a costs order made on the grounds that its conduct of the proceedings had been unreasonable . An RTM...
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has upheld a passing off claim brought by the owner of a dog grooming business against a woman who provided dog grooming services using the business's name. The woman had previously been involved in the business,...
Under Section 42(7) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 , an adoption order may not be made unless the court is satisfied that sufficient opportunities to see the child with the adoptive parents in the home environment have been given to the adoption...
In a case which illustrates the likely approach courts and tribunals will take to anti-avoidance legislation, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has found that a holding company's non-trading loan relationship deficits could not be set off against its profits ...
The courts have a panoply of powers at their disposal to assist with the collection of debts. Recently, the High Court rejected an application to set aside an order granting permission for a Chinese company to serve debt enforcement proceedings on a UK...
The High Court recently ruled on an application by the Lord Chancellor for declarations that the marriages of 79 couples no longer subsisted on the date of their final divorce orders, despite those divorce orders having been applied for a day too early. ...
A couple who let out a house in multiple occupation (HMO) have defeated an application for a rent repayment order under Section 41 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 on the basis that they had a reasonable excuse for failing to license the property as an...
An NHS trust has been issued with a reprimand by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for failing to respond to subject access requests (SARs) in a timely manner. Article 12(3) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requires data...
It is a general rule that payments in the nature of penalties may not be deducted for the purpose of calculating taxable profits. The Court of Appeal recently considered whether the rule prevented payments made to consumers and consumer organisations in...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a decision to appoint a manager of a block of student flats under Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 . The landlord of the block had let the flats to investment purchasers on long leases. A number of the...
The High Court has granted a man's application for a declaration that it was lawful for him to use an embryo created using his sperm and his late wife's eggs in treatment with a surrogate, despite his wife not having given written consent. The embryo had...
The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court has refused applications to strike out two claims of breach of contract, or alternatively for summary judgment on the claims, concluding in each case that the claim must go to trial . The claims involved two...
Businesses that rely on data supplied by third parties for marketing purposes should undertake timely due diligence to ensure that the necessary consent for such use has been obtained. The consequences of failing to do so were demonstrated recently when the...
The Family Division of the High Court recently refused an application for a 13-year-old girl's summary return to the USA , in a decision in which the girl's own objections to returning were a key consideration. The girl's American mother and British father...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has found that work undertaken by a company to convert a warehouse into a car showroom qualified for Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA), a 100 per cent tax allowance available between 2007 and 2017 on qualifying...
It is not uncommon for neighbours with a shared right of way to be in dispute.
That could be the result of an annoying neighbour parking vans on a shared route into a commercial estate, or someone storing items blocking the path leading to your residential home. When you challenge the relevant individual, the answer invariably comes back: “It is my right of way too.”
Rather than out of sight, out of mind, these disputes are almost always in sight and on your mind, because you may see your neighbour every day. It is therefore essential to obtain quick, effective legal advice on your options so that the situation does not escalate or continue.
If a neighbour is interfering with your right of way, the Court can generally award you one or more of the following remedies in a legal action known as “private nuisance.”
- An injunction forcing your neighbour to cease the relevant interference. If the neighbour breaches an injunction, they may have to pay a fine or could even go to prison.
- A declaration from the Court as to the extent of the right of way.
- Damages from the Court for any financial loss you have suffered as a result of the interference. This is especially essential for businesses who may suffer significant losses if they are unable to access their premises due to an interference with a right of way.
- The Court could grant you the power to lawfully remove an item blocking the right of way. This is a crucial remedy in circumstances where the relevant neighbour may not be engaging with the legal process.
However, in order for a private nuisance claim to succeed, you will need to demonstrate to the Court that the interference with your right of way is “substantial.” You will almost certainly need independent legal advice on whether your circumstances pass that threshold test.
If a neighbour or anyone else is interfering with your right of way, please don’t hesitate to contact our George Gwynn for an initial no obligation conversation on 0121 355 0011 or at George.Gwynn@belllax.com.
