A woman who was estranged from her father has been awarded £30,000 from his estate even though he disinherited his children in his will. The court heard that Stanley Nahajec had left all his £265,000 estate to a friend. His three children got nothing. Elena Nahajec, the only child from Mr Nahajec’s second marriage, made
The landlord of a flat containing asbestos was not responsible for the death of a tenant who suffered from malignant mesothelioma. That was the decision of the High Court in a case involving the family of the tenant and Hammersmith Council. A claim for damages had been brought by the tenant’s widow. She believed her
An international company has failed to get a court order to prevent one of its franchisees setting up a rival business. The case involved an Australian gym and fitness firm that opened centres in the UK on a franchise basis. It entered into an agreement with a franchisee on its standard terms and conditions. The
A landlord has won its appeal over the validity of service charges even though it was late in giving notice. The court held that it was enforceable because the tenant had “waived the invalidity”. The case involved Southwark Council and one of its tenants. At the beginning of each financial year the landlord had to
A woman who was estranged from her father has been awarded £30,000 from his estate even though he disinherited his children in his will. The court heard that Stanley Nahajec had left all his £265,000 estate to a friend. His three children got nothing. Elena Nahajec, the only child from Mr Nahajec’s second marriage, made
A homeowner has won the right to walk over her neighbour’s land to inspect her gas and electricity meters and maintain her property. The case involved two detached houses separated by a driveway. The meters for 96 were set into the wall that was built along the boundary with 98. The driveway ran beside the
A contractor has been ordered to pay £14.7m in damages after installing faulty glass in the former London Stock Exchange building. The High Court was told that the Exchange had been developed by the contractor under a design and build contract dated January 2006. The building featured a 26-storey tower clad with toughened glass panels
A landlord who temporarily transferred ownership of a block of flats to his wife has won his appeal in an enfranchisement case. The court heard that in 2004, the landlord’s tenants gave initial notice of their intention to exercise their legal right to acquire the freehold of the property. The landlord served a counter-notice disputing
A developer who failed to co-operate in seeking additional planning permission for a proposed tower block has been ordered to pay damages to the company selling the site. The seller had obtained planning permission to construct a 34-storey tower on a large site. The grant was subject to a s.106 agreement, under which the seller
A notice to quit was declared invalid because the landlords sent it to the tenant’s old address, even though they had been informed of the new one six years earlier. The case involved the tenancy of an agricultural holding. The tenancy agreement stated: “”Either party may serve any notice (including any notice in proceedings) on