Acas revises its draft Code of Practice on extended confidential settlement agreements – OUT-LAW.com

“The rules governing when and how an employer will be able to use a confidential
pre-termination settlement agreement to bring an employee contract to an end are
more complicated than they first appear, an expert has said.”

Full story

OUT-law.com, 11th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Interesting times – New Law Journal

Posted May 14th, 2013 in agreements, consumer credit, costs, interest, law firms, loans, news by sally

“In Jeffrey Jones v SoS for Energy and Climate Change [2012] EWHC 2936 (QB) the High Court considered the use of credit agreements between a law firm and its clients.”

Full story

New Law Journal, 13th May 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

To fight or not to fight: pharmaceutical patent settlements – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers

Posted May 3rd, 2013 in agreements, competition, medicines, news, patents by tracey

“On 19 April 2013, the OFT announced that it had issued a Statement of Objections following its investigation into patent litigation settlement agreements (PLSAs) in the pharmaceutical sector.”

Full story

Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 3rd May 2013

Source: www.competitionbulletin.com

Fortress Value Recovery Fund I LLC and others v Blue Skye Special Opportunities Fund LP and others – WLR Daily

Fortress Value Recovery Fund I LLC and others v Blue Skye Special Opportunities Fund LP and others [2013] EWCA Civ 367; [2013] WLR (D) 154

“Section 8(1) of the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 allowed for a promisor to give a third party an enforceable substantive right subject to a procedural condition on which the promisor might but need not insist. Section 8(2) of the Act allowed for a promisor to give a third party an enforceable procedural right which the third party might but need not exercise, since the right was unilateral.”

WLR Daily, 17th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Tenants! Be the best that you can be! – NearlyLegal

Posted April 30th, 2013 in agreements, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

“At the very beginning of social housing, with the Peabody Estates in the 1860s, prospective tenants faced imposed requirements that we would now consider to be extraneous to the tenancy: Mandatory smallpox vaccinations; curfews; and cleaning rotas before 10 am for communal areas, sinks and WCs. But even the Victorian paternalists didn’t lower themselves to the patronising, small minded and teeth-grindingly passive-aggressive approach apparently in vogue for 21st century social landlords.”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 29th April 2013

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Damages-Based Agreements: potential or potential pitfall? – 11 Stone Buildings

Posted March 21st, 2013 in agreements, damages, fees, news by sally

“As part of the Jackson Reforms the much talked about Damages-Based Agreements Regulations 2013 come into force on 1st April 2013. Damages Based agreements (‘DBAs’) open up the prospect of fees becoming entirely divorced from the actual hours worked on a case. This can lead to much higher fees than those which will arise using the hour-based method, even on a CFA with a 100% uplift. However, there are some potentially serious implications to consider. Don McCue takes a closer look at the potential impact of using DBAs, how they compare to Conditional Fee Agreements (‘CFAs’) in different litigation scenarios, and how DBAs relate to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (‘SRA’) Code of Conduct.”

Full story (PDF)

11 Stone Buildings, March 2013

Source: www.11sb.com

High Court ruling attacks ‘bits of legal boilerplate, bolted together’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 11th, 2008 in agreements, drafting, news, patents by sally

“A court has attacked lawyers who let word processors do their thinking for them. Standard paragraphs are being bolted together to make nonsensical agreements, said a High Court ruling on Friday.”

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 11th September 2008

Source: www.out-law.com

Satyam Computer Services Ltd v Upaid Systems Ltd – Times Law Reports

Posted May 27th, 2008 in agreements, intellectual property, interpretation, law reports by sally

Satyam Computer Services Ltd v Upaid Systems Ltd

Court of Appeal

“It would only be through the use of the clearest possible specific language that parties to a settlement would be taken to have excluded fraud-based claims.”

The Times, 27th May 2008

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.