Dispute Resolution analysis: In a recent decision Mr Justice Kerr considered whether a Danish judgment was enforceable in England and Wales, notwithstanding that the limitation period for enforcement had expired, rendering the judgment unenforceable in Denmark. The court held that although the judgment had been validly registered within time, it was unenforceable by reason of the expiry of either the Danish or the English limitation period for enforcement of judgments and it was therefore (ultimately) unenforceable by the courts of England and Wales. Written by Sarah Prager KC, barrister at Deka Chambers.

We have focused on residential leases for the purposes of this Q&A. Almost every lease of a residential flat will contain a provision within it which allows the landlord to enter and regain possession in the event of a breach of covenant. This right is usually relied on in the case of long leases (over 21 years in duration). From the expression in the question that the tenant is happy for the lease to be forfeit, it is likely that the context of this question is a short lease, or assured shorthold tenancy (AST). It is very unlikely the case that a long leaseholder who has paid a premium comparable to the purchase of the freehold would be content to forfeit his interest. This answer assumes that the tenant

The type of undertaking under consideration will determine how it should be approached. The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955 deal with the enforcement of undertakings at FPR 2010, PD 33A, distinguishing between undertakings to do or abstain from doing any act other than the payment of money and undertakings for the payment of money. The former category is considered in the context of enforcement by committal for contempt in FPR 2010, SI 2010/2955, Pt 37. In the case of an undertaking for the payment of

In this Q&A, the timing of the settlement agreement and how this relates to the company voluntary arrangement (CVA) will need to be taken into consideration. If the settlement agreement was entered into prior to the company entering into a CVA, this will be a liquidated debt and will simply be an unsecured debt. The CVA will bind all unsecured creditors of a company (provided that the necessary majority of creditors vote in favour of the proposals by way of a decision procedure) including those who did not approve the CVA—for

Generally, when an EMI option holder ceases to be an employee of the company, this is likely to be a disqualifying event for EMI purposes and as such, subject to a 90-day grace period, disqualifying events can result in a loss of tax relief on any increase in share values from the disqualifying event onwards. See Practice Note: EMI and disqualifying events. The treatment of such an option depends on the specific EMI rules. The common issue associated with non-executive director (NEDs) holding share options pursuant to

Business asset disposal relief (BADR) (previously known as entrepreneurs' relief) is a reduced rate of capital gains tax (CGT) that individuals can claim when they dispose of business assets. Certain conditions must be met before the relief will apply, and the effect of the relief is to reduce the rate of CGT on the disposal of the assets to 10% on lifetime chargeable gains up to a statutory limit of £1m (on qualifying disposals after 11 March 2020). For details of the qualifying conditions for BADR, see Practice Note: CGT—business asset disposal relief (formerly entrepreneurs' relief). The sale of shares acquired pursuant to qualifying enterprise management incentives (EMI) options are, subject to the satisfaction of the remaining BADR qualifying criteria, eligible to qualify for BADR if at least two years have passed between the date of grant of the options and the subsequent disposal of the EMI shares. It should be noted that

Does a former spouse have standing to make a claim against the estate of her ex-husband under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975? The decree nisi but not the decree absolute was obtained prior to death. It might be thought that divorce would prohibit an application under I(PFD)A 1975, but this is not necessarily the case. A former spouse of the deceased is eligible to bring a claim providing they have not formed a subsequent marriage or civil

In the context of an agreement where a business is being operated, this may mean that the occupant enjoys security of tenure under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954). That will not be the case where a licence is granted, but the LTA 1954 applies to any tenancy where the property is or includes premises which are occupied by the tenant for the purposes of a business carried on by them. The starting point must be the warning of the House of Lords in Street v Mountford. If the agreement satisfies all the requirements of a tenancy, then the agreement produces a tenancy and the parties cannot alter the effect of the agreement by insisting that they only created a licence. The manufacture of a five pronged implement for manual digging results in a fork even if the manufacturer,

Franchise restrictions We are not aware of any specific legal restrictions or laws preventing a franchisor from granting a franchise to a company in which it is also a member. Whether any restrictions apply will depend on the terms of the particular franchise agreement and any relevant franchising regulations. If there are concerns about control of the franchise, a typical franchise agreement will often have substantial provisions to restrict a sale of the franchise business. The LexisNexis® franchise agreement has clauses dealing with a sale of the business, although other franchise agreement Precedents might also include restrictions on the sale of the franchisee’s shares, perhaps via the exercise of

Pursuant to section 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990), planning permission is required for ‘the carrying out of any development of land’. TCPA 1990, s 58(1)(a) provides that planning permission may be granted by a ‘development order’. The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 (the GPDO), SI 2015/596 is a development order for these purposes. It allows specific types of development, set out in different classes in the GPDO, SI 2015/596, Sch 2 Pt 1 to be carried out without the need to obtain planning permission. Some basement developments may constitute permitted development, depending on the facts. The enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse is permitted development under GPDO, SI 2015/596, Sch 2 Pt 1, Class A, subject to exceptions

A freeholder or a leaseholder is able to acquire prescriptive rights of light under the Prescription Act 1832 (PA 1832). See Practice Note: Establishing and maintaining rights of light. If the freeholder has acquired a prescriptive right, but under the terms of the lease the: • leaseholder does not enjoy the benefit of the rights of light enjoyed over the servient tenement, and • benefit of rights of light has been validly reserved to the landlord the tenant will not benefit from the prescriptive right acquired by the freeholder. However, the tenant may have subsequently acquired prescriptive rights

Long leases and ASTs Assured tenancies (ATs) were established by the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988). Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) are a type of assured tenancy. HA 1988, s 1(3) provides that a tenancy cannot be an assured tenancy if it falls within a number of circumstances described in HA 1988, Sch 1, Pt I. Included in HA 1988, Sch 1, Pt I within the list of tenancies which cannot be an AT are (at paragraphs 3A and 3B (HA 1988, Sch 1, Pt I, paras 3A, 3B)) tenancies with a low rent. The precise level of rent concerned is set out in those paragraphs. Deeds of variation Parties to a lease (ie the freeholder and the leaseholder) are entitled to enter into a deed of variation in order to vary the lease. Where the leaseholder approaches the freeholder, and invites them to