LEXLAW Solicitors & Barristers
The moratorium on residential evictions comes to an end next week. New guidance is out on how landlords can issue County Court possession proceedings on tenants who have unpaid rent. However commercial tenants are protected from eviction until the end of 2020.
Policyholders with affected claims can expect to hear from their insurers within the next 7 days. Given the complexity of business interruption claims and the legal uncertainty surrounding their enforcement, it is is essential that you seek expert legal advice early in order to prepare your Business Interruption Insurance claim.
In a multi million pound breach of contract case, where there was no substantive defence to the claim and the Defendant accepted summary judgment and liability for the Claimant’s costs, the High Court held that a Claimant’s Part 36 offer to accept only 0.3% less than the full sum being claimed was a “genuine offer to settle” under CPR 36.17(5)(e).
We specialise in detailed assessments where clients are disputing the charges of their former solicitors. If you instruct us we will vigorously fight your case and get a reduction of your bill, which we will consider doing for you on a no win no fee basis. We act for both clients and for the solicitors. Our London lawyers are based just minutes from the Senior Courts Costs Office and can be deployed with speed as the client’s needs and case demands.
The FCA’s test case is likely to be the quickest route to clarity on whether losses caused by Covid-19 are covered by Business Interruption insurance. Most SME insurance policies are focused on property damage (and only have basic cover for BI as a consequence of property damage) so, at least in the majority of cases, insurers are not obliged to pay out in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. This case is focused on the remainder of policies that could be argued to include cover.
Given the complexity of business interruption claims and the legal uncertainty surrounding their enforcement (the FCA have issued a test case recently in the High Court), it is advisable that you seek expert legal advice early in order to prepare your Business Interruption Insurance claim.
The High Court set aside a default judgment because the Claim Form had been served on “empty offices” during the COVID-19 lockdown. Despite the Claimant’s solicitors attempts to engage in pre-action correspondence and check requirements for service, the Court was satisfied that the Defendant showed real prospects of successfully defending the claim.
All solicitors have a duty to advise their clients about alternative dispute resolution (ADR), including mediation. Along with the ADR requirements in the pre-action protocols, the CPR and court schemes, overall, mediation is an option that must be considered by parties both before and during litigation (and a failure to do so can lead to costs penalties).
On 9 June 2020, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) filed its Claim Form and Particulars of Claim in its High Court test case on business interruption (BI) insurance policies. The court action is aimed at providing clarity and certainty for everyone involved in Business Interruption insurance disputes, policyholder and insurer alike.
The Government is strongly encouraging all individuals, businesses (including funders) and public authorities to act
responsibly and fairly in the national interest in performing and enforcing their contracts, to support the response to Covid-19 and to protect jobs and the economy.