Competing security interests arise when more than one creditor has taken security over the same asset or group of assets. Determining the order of priority between those security interests decides the order in which each of the secured creditors can claim on the secured property in an enforcement or insolvency scenario. Where the proceeds of the security are not sufficient to pay all of the competing secured creditors in full, questions about priority are particularly critical because one or more of them may not recover all of the amounts they are owed if the company cannot pay from other assets. In such cases, being a higher-ranking creditor may mean the difference between a full recovery and no recovery at all. It is therefore common for creditors to enter into a deed of priority or, where the competing security interests are in favour of lenders funding the same transaction and the position is complex, an intercreditor agreement. For information on intercreditor agreements

The responsibility for maintenance of a footpath over a bridge and the bridge itself depends on a number of variables which need to be investigated further including: • has the footpath been adopted and maintained by the local authority? • when was the bridge constructed? • who constructed it and for what purpose?, and • what agreements/covenants, if any, have been entered into on transfer ownership? A bridge carrying the weight of a highway may, in its entirety, be part of a highway

An overage is an obligation to pay a sum of money to the vendor of land, additional to that which is paid in consideration of the original transfer. If land is ripe for development but does not yet have planning permission, the vendor and purchaser might agree to share the potential future value of what at the time of sale is land which of itself is not able to command a high price. The vendor therefore reserves the right to the payment of money at a date in the future, usually referable to a particular event, be it the grant of planning permission or the sale of a property which has subsequently been built. This Q&A raises the issue as to whether the right to receive that payment has to arise within a certain period of time and alludes

Whether or not an option-holder will fall within the ambit of Schedule 1A Part 1 to the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) (which sets out the five conditions relating to the people with significant control (PSC) regime) is a question of fact. In most circumstances the holders of options or warrants will not generally be caught by the share ownership PSC condition (the first condition) until such time as they exercise

Security for costs In litigation, the usual position in relation to costs is that the losing party will be ordered to pay the other side's recoverable costs. Such costs may be substantial, especially when dealing with cases involving a foreign element which gives rise to additional costs, eg travel, expert evidence on law, etc. While a defendant may be confident of their ability to defend the claim, they may nevertheless have concerns about potential difficulties in seeking to recover costs provided for in any costs order against the claimant. The purpose of a security for costs order, an interim remedy, is to alleviate that concern by requiring the claimant to pay money into court, or to provide some other form of security, as a

It is assumed that the assignee has failed to pay rent and/or service charge and it is the arrears which the landlord is seeking to recover. At common law, in the absence of an express provision in the lease, the landlord can recover arrears from the original tenant or his guarantor even though he has not informed them of the assignee’s default. Section 17 of the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995 (LT(C)A 1995) contains restrictions on the liability of the original tenant and his guarantor for arrears of rent and service charge not previously notified to them. In order to

The SRA Handbook defines an undertaking as 'a statement, given orally or in writing, whether or not it includes the word "undertake" or "undertaking", made by or on behalf of you or your firm, in the course of practice, or by you outside the course of practice but as a solicitor or [Registered European Lawyer], to someone who reasonably places reliance on it, that you or your

This response considers the question of undertakings within the framework of proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973). Different considerations and reasoning may apply to financial orders under the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978 (DPMCA 1978), the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 (MFPA 1984), the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) and the Civil Partnership Act 2004 (CPA 2004), although it is likely that the principles detailed here will apply by analogy. The nature of consent orders in the context of financial remedies proceedings It is important to remember that in relation to proceedings under MCA 1973 consent orders are statutory in nature, and are subject to a higher standard of judicial scrutiny than in the wider legal context. MCA 1973, s 33A defines a consent order as ‘an order in the terms applied for to which the respondent agrees’, and restricts the information that may be taken into account when considering the order to the

This consent from the head landlord is likely to have been contained in a licence to underlet. Often a licence to underlet will contain a direct covenant between the undertenant and landlord and this direct covenant may include an obligation on the undertenant to observe and perform the tenant covenants in the head lease. For example, see our Precedent Licence to underlet which states at 6.2: 6.2

Section 140A(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) provides for the court to make an order if it determines the ‘relationship between the creditor and debtor arising out of the agreement (or the agreement taken with any related agreement) is unfair to the debtor…’. For that purpose, ‘the agreement’ is obviously the primary credit agreement in question. A ‘related agreement’ is defined by CCA 1974, s 140C(4)(c) as including ‘a security provided in relation to the main agreement…’. As per the definition of ‘security’ in CCA 1974, s 189(1), that will include a contract of guarantee. CCA 1974, s 140B(1) gives the court a number of powers in the event of a finding of an unfair relationship (UR). These include a number

Unincorporated association An unincorporated association cannot enter into contracts or own assets and is not a separate legal entity from its members and officers. As an unincorporated association is not considered to be a legal entity, it cannot enter into a legal contract to purchase goods. See Practice Note: Unincorporated associations which provides a useful overview on the legal status of unincorporated associations and states: 'In general, the operation of an unincorporated association is subject to common law rules rather than legislation, but the exact legal framework will depend upon the unincorporated association's objects and operations.' Dealing with unincorporated associations in a finance transaction Practice Note: Dealing with unincorporated associations in a finance transaction—investigating capacity and authority covers the steps which can be taken to investigate capacity and authority under

In considering this question, it is helpful to consider first the statutory paid holiday entitlement and (if any) the contractual entitlement. It is also worth bearing in mind that if the compassionate leave that is granted is unpaid, the employee may prefer to take at least part of the time off as (paid) holiday, as suggested in the Acas guidance: Time off work for bereavement and as envisaged by Precedent: Policy—compassionate leave and the related drafting notes. Statutory paid holiday entitlement Looking first at the statutory right, a worker is entitled under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833 to 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave each leave year, made up of: • a basic entitlement to a minimum of four weeks' annual leave (20 days for a regular full-time worker) each leave year, implementing the right to annual leave under Directive 2003/88/EC, the Working Time Directive (WTD) • an additional entitlement to 1.6 weeks' annual leave (eight days for a regular