Personal representatives (PRs) have a power of appropriation under the common law over any part of the residuary estate (but not a fund) which may be exercised with the consent of the beneficiary, in or towards satisfaction of a vested legacy or a share of residue, even if payable at a future time. PRs also have a statutory power of appropriation under section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (AEA 1925), which allows PRs to appropriate any part of the estate, (including choses in action) in its actual condition or state of investment at the time of appropriation, in or towards satisfaction of any legacy or interest or share in the estate, whether absolute or settled, without the requirement for the deceased to confer a power of appropriation

Defective products liability Liability for defective products is dealt with under Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA 1987), which implements into UK law the provisions of the Product Liability Directive 85/374/EEC and imposes a strict liability on producers of defective products for the damage caused by those defects. Pursuant to CPA 1987, s 2(3) the supplier of the product, whether it be a wholesaler, distributor or retailer, may be liable in place of the producer if it fails, within a reasonable period, to identify the producer or its supplier of the product higher up the chain following a request to do so by an injured party. However, note that an injured person’s right of action under CPA 1987 ends ten years after the defective product was put into circulation. The ECJ, following a reference from the English court, considered the meaning of 'put into circulation'. The ECJ decided that a product was put into circulation when

For general principles of contractual interpretation, see Practice Note: Contract interpretation—the guiding principles which sets out the five principles of interpretation used by the courts to answer the questions of what a contract means and what the parties’ respective rights and obligations under the contract are, as formulated by Lord Hoffmann in the leading case of Investors Compensation Scheme v West Bromwich Building Society. These rules

It is important to follow the protocol that relates most closely to the subject matter of the dispute you are dealing with. For details of all the pre-action protocols, see Practice Note: The pre-action protocols and when they apply. In particular, note that the introduction to the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims specifies that it applies

We refer you to the following content which may be adapted for your purposes and which we hope you will find useful in your research: Q&As: • What information do you have on trustees making a loan to a beneficiary in order to purchase a property? • A discretionary trust made a loan to one

A provision in a valid and binding shareholders’ agreement, to which the testator is a party, will always take precedence over a conflicting provision in the testator's Will because the shareholders’ agreement binds the personal representatives of the deceased after the deceased’s death. A conflict may arise where a testator who held shares in a company purports to bequeath these shares as a specific legacy (other than to the surviving shareholders) in their Will, while the shareholders' agreement stipulates

A price variation clause is often included in a contract where the parties wish to cover inflation risk in respect of a price contained within the contract. Such clauses typically reference the price index to which any variation in price for the goods and service provided under the contract should be calculated (and an applicable date or period against which the index is applied to the base price). See Precedent and accompanying Drafting Notes: Price variation clauses. It is a matter of commercial negotiation which index is applied to a price variation

The procedure for assessing costs is set out in CPR PD 44, paras 8.1–8.3. The procedure will depend on the types of costs a party is seeking to recover. The table below sets out the different types of costs and assessment processes and provides links through to the relevant references and underlying guidance. Type of costs Assessment process Reference Guidance Fixed costs only No

Checklist: Limited liability partnerships—application of Companies Act 2006 to LLPs sets out those provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) that apply to the limited liability partnerships (LLPs). The majority of law applicable

For demonstrative purposes we will assign each property a value of £400,000 (total consideration, therefore, being £1.2m). Linked transactions Not all transactions between the same purchaser and seller are linked. Transactions are linked if they are part of a single scheme, arrangement or series of transactions between the same seller and buyer (or persons connected with them). It will be a question of fact in each case but for the purposes of this answer we assume that the transactions are in fact linked. Where transactions are linked for SDLT purposes, the consideration for the linked transactions is aggregated to determine the applicable rate of tax (as well as determining whether the transactions are subject to the rate for residential property transactions). See Practice Note: SDLT chargeable consideration—Linked transactions. 15% rate The 15% rate of SDLT applies to acquisitions of higher

This Checklist can be used when determining which enforcement regime applies when seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in England and Wales. It sets out various countries and lists which enforcement regime applies when seeking to enforce a judgment from a court of that jurisdiction. There are various enforcement regimes and those covered in this checklist are the Hague Choice of Court Agreements Convention, the Hague Judgments Convention, Regulation (EC) 44/2001, Brussels I, Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast), the Lugano Convention 2007, the Administration of Justice Act 1920 (AJA 1920), the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 (FJ(RE)A 1933) and the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (CJJA 1982). Where no formal enforcement arrangement applies, the common law of England and Wales will be applied for the purposes of enforcement. Note that the application of a number of these enforcement regimes are impacted by the UK’s departure from the EU. For general guidance, see Practice Note: Brexit post implementation period—considerations for dispute resolution practitioners including, in particular, main section: Recognition

Formation of contract—What have the parties contractually agreed? It is first necessary to identify what the supplier and customer have contractually agreed will be supplied and installed. As such one must first consider all of the communications and discussions between the parties comprising the offer and acceptance process. This will include, without limitation, the detail of the invitation to tender document, the quotation, confirmation of acceptance, invoices and other emails, telephone calls and discussions between the parties relating to the subject matter. Included within those considerations any terms on which quotations and tender documents are purported to be made. A legally binding contract must, among other things, comprise both an offer and acceptance. Practice Note: Forming enforceable contracts—offer analyses the requirements for a legally binding offer, and considers what we mean by 'offer', how to distinguish an offer from an ‘invitation to treat’, with relevant common examples, different