Unfortunately, we have been unable to find direct authority on the point raised in this Q&A. However, the Senior Courts Costs Office has considered the impact of substituting a litigation friend into a conditional fee agreement (CFA) following the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012). In Mole v Parkdean Holidays Parks Ltd, the defendant invited the court to hold that in entering into a Deed of Ratification

Most child maintenance will be dealt with by the child maintenance service (CMS), see Practice Notes: Statutory child support scheme and Child support—respective jurisdictions of the Child Maintenance Service and the court. However, by virtue of section 15 and Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), the courts retain jurisdiction to make a periodical payments order for a child in certain defined circumstances. Section 8 of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) sets out the circumstances in which an application may be made to the court under ChA 1989, Sch 1,

Conceptually, a party to litigation may seek an injunction from a court preventing a company against whom they are litigating from entering liquidation. For the reasons set out below, it is highly unlikely that an injunction would be granted and an attempt to obtain one would, for the most part, be misconceived. The first point to note is that such an injunction could only prevent a company resolving to wind itself up voluntarily (members' or creditors' voluntary liquidation). It could not prevent another creditor of the company from petitioning to wind the company up compulsorily. The effect, from the perspective of the litigating party, would be the same. If the company enters liquidation, the claim which is at the heart of the litigation is not extinguished. The party

As explained in Practice Note: Personal representatives—authority prior to grant of representation, the office of executor derives from the testator’s Will (ie rather than from the grant of probate) and the testator’s property vests in the executor from the date of death. The grant of probate merely confirms the executor’s authority to act. It is therefore difficult to see how it would be possible

This Q&A covers distance contracts. This Q&A refers to a business to consumer contract. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013) provide for cancellation rights that apply to agreement for goods, services and digital content that are made off-premises or on the doorstep (as well as at a distance, eg online or mail order). The cancellation period, as long as the required information is provided by the trader to the consumer about their cancellation rights, is generally 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into for services or digital content not supplied on a tangible medium. For goods the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day on which the goods came into the physical possession of the consumer

For information on the contractual right to lay-off generally, see: • the section: ‘Lay-off generally’ of Practice Note: Redundancy payments for lay-offs and short-time, and • Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law, E [287]–[296]: Lay-off (Generally) According to Harvey, E [287]) ‘In common industrial parlance, a 'lay-off' occurs when the employer temporarily shuts down its operation because it cannot find any or enough work for its employees. A typical cause is a depleted order book, but the problem might arise from want of supplies or raw materials (for example, because of industrial action at a supplier), or because the workplace is temporarily unusable (for example, because of fire or flood), or otherwise. The situation is susceptible of several different analyses in law, depending on the circumstances.’ The various cases cited in that paragraph relate to circumstances of inclement weather,

The interpretation of a lease covenant will always depend on the factual context. We have not been able to find any case law or commentary exactly on the issue of whether purpose-built student accommodation would be regarded as ‘residential use’ for lease purposes, but the following may be helpful: • for value added tax (VAT) purposes, student accommodation is regarded as ‘residential’—see Practice Note: Zero-rated sales and leases—person constructing a relevant residential building which states ‘some residential buildings qualify for zero-rating because they are for a relevant residential purpose (RRP) rather than because they qualify as dwellings. Student accommodation and care homes are common examples. HMRC acknowledges an overlap between dwellings and RRP buildings, so

This Q&A assumes that the question relates to a protective award for failure to inform and consult on a collective redundancy. For information: • on the triggers for the obligation to inform and consult on a collective redundancy under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992), see Practice Note: Collective redundancy—the triggers for the statutory consultation obligations • the obligation to inform and consult on a collective redundancy under TULR(C)A

Issues can often arise where a person operating a business dies. There can be problems with accessing the business bank accounts and difficulties in ensuring that staff wages and other outgoings are met. Much depends upon the nature of the business. If it is incorporated as a limited company, the business has its own legal personality and will have contracted directly with the staff members. The company therefore is responsible for paying the wages of the staff and the shareholding of the deceased passes into their estate. The shareholding and the running of the business are therefore legally separated and there would be no question of the wages being paid from the estate. However,

A charging order is an order made by the court to secure against the beneficial interest in a property (or other assets such as shares) a judgment sum. The charging order process is in two stages, with an interim order being granted on the papers and then made final at a hearing, following the procedure set out in CPR 73. Where a property is jointly owned, and only one of the joint owners is the judgment debtor, the charging order will be made against the beneficial interest of the judgment debtor only. In Banwaitt v Dewji, Master Matthews dealt with a preliminary issue within proceedings brought to enforce a charging order by an order for sale. In that case, judgment had been obtained against a party who owned properties jointly with his wife and a charging order was made against his

Depending on the type of amendment being made, amending a charge carries several risks. In particular, a liquidator or administrator could argue that new security has been created, which may result in the security being set aside. As a result, it is often seen as safer to put a new security document in place and leave the existing security un-amended. In addition, as you have rightly indicated, changing the terms of a fixed charge could risk it being re-characterised as a floating charge. Please see our Practice Note: Fixed and floating charges for more information. In the event an existing charge is extended to new or replacement facilities, then it is likely that a new charge is created and must be registered, unless the original charge

If one of the three beneficiaries of a property gifted under a Will agrees to buy out the other two beneficiaries, the responsibility for transaction costs, including legal fees, will depend on the specific agreement reached between the beneficiaries. Generally, the beneficiary who is acquiring the property and paying consideration to the other beneficiaries would bear the costs associated with the transaction. There are also possible tax issues arising