Publications
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| December 15th 2003 - Expert shopping | |
| If you want to change expert it may be easier than you think but do consider whether your original expert’s reports are suitable for disclosure. That’s the lesson from the Court of Appeal which recently considered the implications of expert shopping in Beck v MoD, a decision which is being widely applied. | |
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| December 6th 2003 - Don't go down with the ship | |
| When tenants go bust, landlords' troubles begin. Barbara Naftalin and Paul McCartney answer questions commonly asked by landlords faced with an insolvent tenant. The article considers a landlord's options in the context of the receivership, liquidation or administration of its tenant. (First published in Estates Gazette) |
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| November 19th 2003 - Disease litigation given health check | |
| Employers and insurers are increasingly concerned about the high cost of disease claims which are on the increase. In 1991, industrial disease claims accounted for 15% of all employer’s liability claims. By 2001, this figure had risen to 51%. Recent statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive predict a peak in male deaths from mesothelioma in 2011, with more pessimistic sources predicting a peak in 2025. | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e. - A precautionary tale | |
| The General Product Safety Directive has been revised and is to be introduced to UK law by mid-January 2004. The purpose of the Directive should be applauded: products placed on the market must be safe and any risk should be minimal and in line with the product’s use. It is the revisions to the Directive that we think will pose a problem. | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e. - The kingdom of the absurd | |
| Employers’ liability insurance is compulsory but what happens when no insurer is prepared to provide it? David McIntosh has spotted the link between the asbestos risk and the difficulty of obtaining employers's liability cover. | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e. - The price of a fix | |
| It's a source of comfort for a supplier to know that it's planning to charge much the same as everyone else in its market, especially when time are tough. But it's also illegal, warns Marjorie Holmes. And the penalty can be far worse than a fine. | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e. - Lessons to be learned from leeson | |
| The circumstances that led to the collapse of Barings Bank were so extreme that it is tempting to dismiss them as a one-off, even fantastical event, the stuff of books and films. But actually, argues Richard Highley, if you look at each problem individually the case is horribly relevant. | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e - Getting away with murder | |
| Every year hundreds of people are killed as a result of corporate activities. And each time a major disaster occurs there's a press and public outcry. Emotion rises. Government Ministers promise that no stone will be left unturned in an effort to find out who was at fault; and the press bays for blood and prints what it thinks the public wants in large, emotive headlines. Each time this happens company directors all over the country worry that new laws will be introduced which will result in more convictions for corprorate manslaughter... | |
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| October 31st 2003 - i.e. -"The environment? that's the least of my worries." | |
| But is it? The fines may be small beer but they're just the start of it, says Stephen Gorman. | |
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| October 3rd 2003 - Stamp duty land tax return | |
| No longer can you leave the stamping formalities to your solicitors. The new land transaction return, which has to be used to report stamp duty land tax transactions must be signed by you. Even if the return is prepared on your behalf it will be your responsibility to ensure that the information contained in it is correct and complete. | |
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| September 5th 2003 - Are you awake to dawn raids? | |
| The European Commission's powers of search and seizure will soon be extended considerably with the coming into force of Regulation 1/2003. In addition, following the abolition of notifications, it is the Commission's declared intention to spend more time tracking down illegal cartels. | |
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| August 20th 2003 - Bidding for football | |
| Professional sport is big business. The European Commission certainly regard sport as a very serious business worthy of its critical attention and intervention. Sports people, the same as the rest of the business world, will have to learn to appease it or face the competition law equivalent of an own goal. | |
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| July 10th 2003 - Are you guilty of a criminal offence? | |
| Come 21 May 2004 you may be if you have not complied with your duty to manage asbestos in commercial premises. | |
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| July 7th 2003 - Successful adjudication leaves Contractor without claim against insurer | |
| Under section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Act 1996, the decision of an adjudicator is binding until the determined by legal proceedings, by arbitration or by agreement. The Adjudicator's decision is therefore provisional in nature... | |
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| June 3rd 2003 - Employers' liability crisis - an Irish Solution? | |
| On 28 May 2003 the Irish Government published draft legislation to establish a Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB). The Board will assess compensation initially in employer's liability claims where liability is not in dispute and will eventually be extended to road traffic and public liability claims. | |
| See full article | |
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| June 1st 2003 - Product liability law in Europe - assessing the impact | |
| The European Product Liability Directive seeks to achieve a fair balance between the interests of both consumers and producers. Over 15 years on, is the Directive making a difference? Is it apportioning risks and responsibilities justly or is it in need of reform? Paving the way for the next European Commission Report on the Directive, a newly published study has been addressing these questions | |
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| May 31st 2003 - Costs Update | |
| May has been another landmark month for liability insurers as The Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court Cost Office and down decisions concerned with several aspects of the Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) regime and the Accident Group insurance premium levels. | |
| See full article | |
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| May 31st 2003 - Bangladeshis given go ahead to sue UK scientists over water poisoning | |
| The High Court has dismissed the British Geological Survey's attempt to strike out a claim that their report on drinking water in Bangladesh failed to detect dangerous levels of arsenic. At least 750 further Claimants look set to proceed to trial in respect of their injuries. | |
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| May 9th 2003 - Piling Artificiality upon Artificiality | |
| Paul McCartney reviews Scottish Widows v Tripipatkul (August 2003) a case in which the Courts were called upon to consider the position of a guarantor of the obligations of an insolvent tenant following the disclaimer of a lease by that tenant's liquidator. This article was first published in Insolvency Law and Practice 2003 Vol19 No5 181- 183. | |
| See full article | |
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| March 31st 2003 - Costs Update | |
| March will be a landmark month for liability insurers as the Court of Appeal decisions on the Accident Group funding arrangements and the Law Society’s own CFA regulations will be handed down. | |
| See full article | |
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| March 31st 2003 - Caramelised onions and the trouble with sandwiches | |
| Earlier this month His Honour Judge Bowsher QC handed down an important decision in the Technology and Construction Court concerning the use of highly combustible expanded polystyrene "sandwich" building panels ("EPS panels"). There are a number of key lessons for both those providing PI cover for architects and insurers pursuing subrogated recoveries. | |
| See full article | |
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| January 31st 2003 - No warranty, no mortgage, no sale | |
| As you are aware, the Council of Mortgage Lenders ("CML") requires that newly built or converted homes must have been constructed or converted under a new home warranty scheme acceptable to the CML, such as the NHBC or Zurich Municipal. | |
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| January 31st 2003 - Claim Direct costs - Good news for new year | |
| In Tranche 2 of the Claims Direct Test Case, some good news was handed down by Chief Master Hurst, Senior Costs Judge from the Supreme Court on 3 January 2003. Specifically he dealt with the issues of referral fees, counsels fees, recoverability of insurance premiums pre April 2000 and the fees of Mobile Doctors. | |
| See full article | |
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| January 9th 2003 - Possession - The Constructive Approach | |
| A lease may be determined before the expiry of the contractual term by surrender or forfeiture. It may also be brought to an end by the liquidator of an insolvent tenant by way of disclaimer. Occasionally an act or course of conduct may give rise to constructive determination of the lease. Paul McCartney examines these concepts and how they are related. This article was first published in Insolvency Law and Practice 2003 Vol 19 No1 9- 13. | |
| See full article | |
