News and Articles

When a contract for the sale of property falls through, the normal expectation is that where the fault lies with the buyer, the deposit paid on exchange of contracts will be forfeited. However, the Court is given a wide discretion to order the return of the deposit to the buyer. The precise extent of that discretion has been tested very recently in a judgment of the High Court (Midill (97PL) Limited v Park Lane Estates Limited & Anor [2008] EWHC 18 (Ch).

Dartmouth Court Blackheath Limited v Berisworth Limited [2008] EWHC (Ch) 350

A recent case led me to revisit the question whether a bank can be fixed with the effect of undue influence exercised by a husband over his wife (or wife over husband, but the former is more common) leading her to take on a joint liability to the bank with the husband.

Agreements between friends should be recorded in writing to ensure they are enforceable.

A flurry of cases in recent months has led some commentators to question whether the courts are moving away from the presumption of reality in construing rent review clauses. Is that in fact the case, or are reports of its demise greatly exaggerated?

Where completion of a sale contract was dependent on a planning agreement being entered into, the contract could be terminated where the seller failed to obtain the agreement but proved he had used all reasonable endeavours to obtain it.

The Court will have regard to the previous rent payable when fixing the new market rent on the renewal of a business tenancy.

The Claimants, the Earl of Malmesbury and the Trustees of the Hurn Estate, are the tenant and freehold owners respectively of land adjoining Bournemouth Airport. Mr Ashworth of Strutt & Parker advised the Claimants in relation to new Leases for 24 years they entered into with Bournemouth International Airport Limited for car parking in 2002 and 2003.

A property owner cannot be sued for defamation for unjustifiably reporting another party to the police.

Substantial disputes can arise on rent reviews if the rent of the premises is to be reviewed on an artificial basis.