Archive for category: blog

Breaking news….FOS awards are binding!

Consumers have lost the right to sue after accepting an award from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) as has been seen in the recent case of Clark and Another v In Focus Asset Management & Tax Solutions Limited.

It was thought that many would be able to get full compensation when the awarded amount was over the £150k FOS cap by taking the claim to court, but there has been legal uncertainty about whether this should be available.

Before this decision there were two opposing court rulings each for and against the right to sue for compensation through the courts if FOS had already given the maximum award of £150k to a consumer because of negligence, poor financial advice or the mis-selling of a financial product.

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Redress Law obtain Libel damages from National Newspaper

Redress Law have recently secured libel damages and an apology for a client. We were contacted by a client who wanted to pursue a libel claim against a well known national newspaper. Mr A contacted us when he became aware that a national newspaper had printed a story about his ex girlfriend, Miss B. The story wrongly suggested that Mr A had posted nude pictures of Miss B online. In fact, no such pictures had ever been taken or posted online by Mr A.

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Fortune left to window cleaner　

At the High Court, Judge Murray Rosen QC heard how a family was left out of a 98 year old woman’s Will. The entire £300,000 estate was left to a window cleaner which resulted in her family challenging the Will.

Julie Spalding died in September 2008 and was described in Court as “spirited but stubborn”. Her previous Wills left most of her estate to her nephew, Cecil Bray, who had devoted a lot of his time to her and there was an understanding he would inherit her estate. However, since 2005 Mr Bray had stayed away from Mrs Spalding after she had “excommunicated Mr Bray from her life” following a personality change resulting from an accident. Mrs Spalding then changed her Will 3 times and ultimately left her estate to a sole beneficiary - the window cleaner, Mr Pearce.

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When is a gift not a gift? The sad tale of an heiress and a luxury car

It is often painful when a relationship ends, particularly when you feel you have invested a lot of time or indeed, in this case, money in that relationship. However, breakups seldom result in both parties finding themselves in court over a luxury car.

Take pity then on Tamara Ecclestone, who became embroiled in a high octane court case with her former partner, Omar Khyami, over the recovery of a Lamborghini, after the rather messy end to their relationship.

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Landlord and Tenant Disputes - Refunds of rent paid in advance for a period beyond the termination date

On 7th July 2011, the tenant (M&S) served notice on the landlords (BNP) to terminate their lease. In common with many commercial leases, the lease contained a ‘break clause’ allowing the tenant to terminate. The effect of the notice was to terminate the lease on 24th January 2012. On 19th July 2011, the landlords invoiced the tenant for a sum in respect of insurance for the property. The period of insurance was 1st July 2011 to 30th June 2012 i.e. beyond the termination date. On 2nd August 2011, the tenant paid the landlords the full sum.

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