Royal Mail has been fined £50m for breaking competition law by abusing its dominant position in the postal delivery market. An investigation by the regulator Ofcom found that it discriminated against Whistl, one of its customers and its only major competitor delivering letters. The investigation followed a complaint by Whistl about changes Royal Mail made to its wholesale customers’
A contractor was liable for delays on a building project even if it was not responsible for all the factors associated with those delays. That was the ruling of the Court of Appeal in a case involving North Midland Building Ltd and Cyden Homes Ltd. The two parties had agreed bespoke amendments to the JCT
As everyone is now hopefully well aware, on the 29th March 2019, at 23:00 GMT – the UK leaves the EU. While the negotiations over the future relationship between the UK and the EU are still progressing, we do now face the possibility of there being no formal deal in place by that date. The
A director breached her legal duties when she transferred company assets to herself during a period of financial difficulty. Julie Anne Davey ran a company called Angel Group Ltd or AGL, which had three subsidiaries. The businesses specialised in development and lettings. They had gone into administration in late 2012/early 2013 and into liquidation in
A developer has been ordered to pay an extra £750,000 for land that was sold subject to the condition that the price would increase if planning permission for houses was granted. The issue arose after the developer purchased property from a landowner to redevelop for residential use. The contract provided that the extra money would
A recruitment agency has been granted an injunction to prevent a former employee working for rival companies while on garden leave and to ensure its confidential information isn’t misused. The case involved Coyle Personnel, which supplied nurses to NHS trusts and private hospitals. It employed a senior recruitment consultant, Mr Hackett, for four years. During
Business leaders have welcomed government proposals to make large companies justify the pay of their chief executives and reveal how much higher it is than that of their average worker. The move affects UK listed companies with 250 employees or more. They will have to disclose the pay ratios – the difference between the top
A sub-contractor has won its battle to force a developer to pay more than £388,000 for work carried on a major project. The case involved E7 Building Services and R G Carter Cambridge Ltd. E7 had been contracted to carry out mechanical and electrical works on one of Carter’s projects. The two sides later disputed
Company directors could be held personally liable for nuisance calls and face fines of up to £500,000 under tough new measures being put forward by the government. Currently, only businesses are liable for such fines. This has led to cases where some directors try to escape paying penalties by declaring bankruptcy – and then start
An airline that leased an engine on an “as is” basis has lost a dispute over having to continue paying for it when it turned out to be faulty. The issue arose when the airline needed an engine while one of its own engines was undergoing maintenance. It agreed a 10-month lease with a supplier.