This Q&A looks at the applicability of the Civil Liability (Contribution) Act 1978 (CL(C)A 1978) where an employer brings a claim against a main contractor for damages in respect of work carried out by a sub-sub-contractor that supplied certain materials for a project (supplier). CL(C)A 1978, s 1 states: ‘Subject to the following provisions of this section, any person liable in respect of any damage suffered by another person may recover contribution from any other person liable in respect of the same damage (whether jointly with

As set out in paragraph 1 of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, the purpose of the Protocols regime under the Civil Procedure Rules is to set out the steps the court would normally expect parties to take before commencing proceedings for particular types of claims. Paragraph 1.1 of the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes (2nd Edition) (the Protocol) states that it ‘applies to all construction and engineering disputes (including professional negligence claims against architects, engineers and quantity surveyors)’. The Protocol accordingly has a wide scope of application regardless of the value of the dispute. Even in circumstances where the claim is on first principles only, eg a debt claim based on unpaid invoices, the likely reason for non-payment by an employer party will be allegations of defective workmanship or incorrect valuation. These features would bring the dispute within the Protocol.

The EU Consumer Credit Directive Directive 2008/48/EC on credit agreements for consumers (Consumer Credit Directive) was implemented into UK law on 1 February 2011 (but it was possible to opt in to certain provisions early). On 1 February 2011, the Consumer Credit Directive introduced section 78A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) for certain regulated credit agreements. But, importantly, CCA 1974, s 78A does not apply to agreements secured on land. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Overview of UK implementation of the Consumer Credit Directive [Archived]. Unilateral variation under the CCA 1974 CCA 1974, s 82(1) says if, under a power contained in a regulated

If a company proposes to make loans or extend credit to its employees and directors for any purpose, it will need to consider the impact of the UK’s Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) and the consumer credit legislation under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). We refer you to Practice Note: Consumer credit—loans to employees and directors and employee share schemes which provides useful guidance on this topic. The definition of a regulated credit agreement is set out in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (RAO), SI 2001/544, art 60B, and is key to: (i) determining if a person is carrying on certain credit related regulated activities and (ii) is within scope of CCA 1974. Under RAO, SI 2001/544, art 60B(3), a regulated credit agreement (in relation to an agreement other than a green deal plan) that is entered into on or after 1 April 2014, means a credit agreement which is not an exempt

For the purposes of our response we have assumed that the contract referred to was agreed after the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) came into force on 1 October 2015. CRA 2015 applies where there is an agreement between a trader and a consumer for the trader to supply services, if the agreement is a contract. CRA 2015, Pt 1, Ch 4 applies to a contract for a trader to supply a service to a consumer—see

This Q&A focuses on patients buying medicines either over the counter or from a private healthcare provider. We have limited our research solely to the application of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) to the purchase of medicines by patients. In particular, we have not considered the extensive regulatory provisions that apply as regards the supply of medicines or the regulatory consequences arising out of, for example, breaches of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, SI 2012/1916. The CRA 2015 took effect as of 1 October 2015. The CRA 2015, among other things, deals with rights and remedies for supply of goods and applies to contracts between consumers and traders. Definition of trader CRA 2015, s 2(2) states that a trader is a person acting: ‘for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession’ It makes clear that a trader acting through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the

These regulations (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH Regulations 2002), SI 2002/2677) re-enact, with modifications, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1999, SI 1999/437, which: • impose duties on employers to protect employees and other persons who may be exposed to substances hazardous to health • impose duties on employees concerning their own protection from such exposure, and • prohibit the import into the UK of certain substances and articles from outside the European Economic Area According to paragraph 2 of the Explanatory Notes to COSHH Regulations 2002, SI 2002/2677 implement in Great Britain (with the exception of regulations 8, 9, 11(8), 11(10), 11(11) and 14): • Council Directive 78/610/EEC (OJ No L 197, 22.7.78, p 12) on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States on the protection of the health of workers exposed to vinyl chloride monomer • point 3 of Article 1 of Council Directive 89/677/EEC (OJ No L 398, 30.12.89,

As a general rule, UK primary legislation does not, of itself, ordinarily apply to Crown dependencies. Only in relatively rare cases, with the agreement of the Crown dependencies concerned, will the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) be expressed to apply directly. The Bailiwick of Jersey is a self-governing Crown dependency with its own legislative assembly and systems of law and administration including intellectual property laws: • Trade Marks (Jersey) Law 2000 • Patents (Jersey) Law 1957 & Rules 1958 • Registered Designs (Jersey) 1957 • Intellectual Property (unregistered rights) (Jersey) Law 2011 CDPA 1988 is the main UK legislation on copyright. It confers copyright to creators of certain works under CDPA 1988, Pt I. Rights on performances are dealt with under CDPA 1988, Pt II. Copyright works and performances may qualify for protection by virtue of their connection with a territory which is or was a British dependency. (For background and context, see: Extension of the Acts to other countries: Laddie, Prescott & Vitoria:

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (CIGB) expressly amends the law relating to limited liability partnerships in several ways. In particular the following provisions apply to limited liability partnership (LLPs): Moratorium (s 1) and Wrongful trading (s 10). These two provisions apply to LLPs as LLPs are designated as an 'eligible' company in CIGB, Sch ZA1(1), unless the LLP is: • subject to, or recently subject to, moratorium or an insolvency procedure (ZA1(2)) • an Insurance companies (ZA1(3)) • a bank (ZA1(4)) • an electronic money institution (ZA1(5)) • an investment bank or investment firm (ZA1(6)) • a companies that is party to market contracts or subject to market charges, etc (ZA1(7)) • a participant in designated systems (Z1(8)) • a

In respect of a commercial lease renewal, it is commonly the case that the landlord and the tenant each pay their own costs associated with the renewal. Prior to 1958 it had been the norm that the tenant would pay the landlord’s costs, but this practice was 'destroyed' (Regis Property Co Ltd v Lewis & Peat) by the enactment of the Costs of Leases Act 1958 (CLA 1958). CLA 1958, s 1 provides that notwithstanding any custom to the contrary, a party to a lease shall, unless the parties thereto agree otherwise in writing, be under no obligation to pay the whole or any part of any other party’s solicitor’s costs of the lease. In Cairnplace Ltd v CBL (Property Investment) Co Ltd the Court of Appeal made clear that absent an agreement a party was extremely unlikely to be forced to pay the costs of the other party in respect of the lease. It should be noted

The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA 2018) confers certain powers to create subordinate (or 'secondary') legislation under a number of sections of DPA 2018. Secondary legislation made in exercise of powers conferred under DPA 2018 includes: • the Data Protection Act 2018 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions)

Data protection implications The General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (the GDPR) applies from 25 May 2018 and introduces substantial amendments to data protection law in the UK and EU (including superseding the Data Protection Act 1998 and Directive 95/46/EC (the Data Protection Directive)). The GDPR will (subject to the limited exceptions in Article 2 of the GDPR) apply to organisations which have EEA ‘establishments’ where personal data is processed ‘in the context of the activities’ of such an establishment. The word ‘establishment’ is not precisely defined in the GDPR. According to Recital 22, ‘Establishment implies the effective and real exercise of activity through stable arrangements. The legal form of such arrangements, whether through a branch or a subsidiary with a legal personality, is not the determining factor in that respect’. It follows that a branch or subsidiary may be an ‘establishment’,