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The number of first-time home buyers has risen to the highest level for six-and-a-half years, according to the latest figures. In March this year, 31,400 homes were sold to first time buyers, according to LSL, owner of Your Move. This is the highest level since 2007 when the property market was near its peak. The
The father was fromScotlandand the mother fromItaly. The daughter had spent her life living inEnglanduntil 2010 when the couple divorced. The father agreed to let his former partner take their daughter to live inItaly, on the basis that he still had parental responsibility and was allowed regular contact. In 2013, the mother returned toEnglandand put
A court has ruled that a landlord was within his rights to refuse to renew tenancies to shopkeepers who had pestered him with frivolous lawsuits. The issue arose because over several years, the shopkeepers had brought a total of 10 claims against the landlord saying that he had obstructed their rights of way and their
A court has ruled that a restrictive covenant involving a software company and a former employee was reasonable and so therefore enforceable. The company produced software for the fresh produce industry. They licensed their products for 12-month periods and renewed the licence upon payment of an annual fee. The sales manager had a post-termination restrictive
An insurance company has won a legal dispute with a trade union over commission payments on the sale of its services to new customers. The case involved Unite the Union and Liverpool Victoria Banking Services. They had an agreement whereby Unite allowed Victoria access to its members in order to market and sell services to
A coach firm has won a competition claim against an airport which abused its dominant position in the market for its own financial gain. The coach firm had operated a transport service between the airport and London Victoria for 30 years. When the contract ran out the airport operator conducted a ‘tender’ process. The firm
Late payments now lead to more credit insurance claims than insolvency, according to a recent survey. In the first three quarters of 2013, 60% of claims were made because of a customer’s protracted default, with 40% because of customer insolvency. That is in contrast to 33% for protracted default and 67% for insolvency the previous
A redundancy package offering different terms to employees based on their age has been ruled unlawful. The issue arose after two civil servants were offered a lower redundancy package than their younger colleagues. The employees were both over 60 and entitled to draw a full pension. On this basis, their employers offered them a redundancy
Employers who fail to pay their employees the National Minimum Wage now face financial penalties of up to £20,000. The penalty was previously a fine of 50% of the total underpayments to a maximum of £5,000. It is now a fine of 100% of total underpayments to a maximum of £20,000. The new limits came
A woman has been ordered to pay her ex-husband £1.2m, even though the couple had a pre-nuptial agreement that her wealth would be protected in the event of a separation. The case involved the daughter of one of Britain’s wealthiest men. She received an annual allowance of £81,000 from her father and lived in a