The term "litigation" covers a wide range of activities generally involving the Court process. Some of the more specialised aspects have been dealt with on other areas of the website, for example Family and Children, Employment, Boundary Disputes, Public Law, etc. However, apart from those particular specialities, the Litigation Team at Toller Beattie headed by Deborah Baker and assisted by Michael Kingman has many years experience of dealing with a wide range of various litigation problems.
You may feel that you have been given bad advice by an Accountant, a Surveyor or indeed even a previous lawyer. If that is the case and you have suffered a loss then you may be able to bring proceedings against your former professional adviser for compensation. These claims can be complex and costly and involve quite difficult areas of law. Deborah Baker and Michael Kingman have dealt with a number of professional negligence actions particularly against other firms of Solicitors where a satisfactory and successful outcome involving payment of compensation and costs has been achieved for the client.
Les Durbin runs the firm’s Debt Recovery Department. Claims can range from a small excess on an insurance premium in the event of a car accident of, say, £100 up to recovery of substantial commercial debts involving many thousands of pounds. Les has organised a very efficient Debt Recovery Programme which takes clients through from the Letter before Action to Enforcement Action to recover monies pursuant to a Judgment which has been obtained. Special rates of charges apply if you use the firm’s Debt Recovery Service and for more information please speak to Les Durbin.
Partnership can be like a marriage. Some Partnerships last longer than many marriages but unfortunately when the Partnership comes to an end, the acrimony and arguments can be very similar to those involved in a marriage breakdown situation although the law which applies is, of course, very different. The firm’s Commercial Department will be able to advise you on the setting up of a Partnership and the appropriate form of Partnership Deed. The firm’s Litigation Department is able to assist you in the event that the Partnership is terminated for whatever reason.
There are a number of issues to be resolved not least very often what is to happen to the Partnership debts, i.e. who should be liable and what should happen to the Partnership assets i.e. should one Partner buy the other out or should the Partnership be wound up. At the very worst, if the matter does become litigious then Court proceedings have to be instigated by one or other Partner for the Court to decide where the liabilities and the assets of the Partnership should fall and be divided.
For advice on these issues, please contact Deborah Baker.
Contract claims can be very simple or very complex and can be worth relatively small amounts of money or substantial sums of money. A contract can be as simple as going into a shop and buying a jumper or a very complex contract involving hundreds of pages of contractual terms, indemnities, warranties and the like. Toller Beattie has experience of dealing with both relatively small claims, for example under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended), Sale of Goods and Services Act 1994 to claims by one commercial organisation against another for many thousands of pounds worth of damages for alleged breaches of contract. Such claims will involve the lawyers concerned in:
For further advice and assistance on these matters, please contact Deborah Baker or Michael Kingman
It is an unfortunate fact that even in the happiest of families, when someone dies leaving some money, there can be horrendous disputes between beneficiaries and those who thought they may be beneficiaries of the deceased’s Estate. Probate claims can be some of the most emotionally difficult claims to deal with when parties feel that they have been, for example, unfairly forgotten by their Late Great Aunt.
In such claims, Deborah Baker would be assisted by Philip Davies who is in charge of the Wills, Trust and Probate Department. Such claims can involve Applications made to the Court for financial provision to be made in favour of the Claimant out of the deceased’s Estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The types of people entitled to make such Applications are, however, limited by the Act.
Other Applications can involve disputes over the interpretation of the terms of the Testator’s Will, claims that the Will has been signed or made fraudulently, that the Testator was put under undue influence to sign a Will or that the Testator did not have the necessary mental capacity to make the Will. These claims need to be handled very sensitively given the circumstances in which the claim has been made and the fact that feelings tend to run very high in families.
For further advice and information please contact Deborah Baker or Philip Davies.
Nuisance is an unreasonable interference with someone’s rights.
Public nuisance occurs where the rights of the public at large, or a significant section of the public, are affected. This could, for example, be the result of offensive smells from an industrial plant or sewage works, excessive noise or dust from a garage waste site or industrial premises, or water pollution. Public nuisance is a criminal offence and a wrong that can be pursued in the civil courts.
A public nuisance (and a number of other nuisances) can also be a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The local authority has a duty to detect statutory nuisances in its district, investigate complaints from the public, and to serve an Abatement Notice where satisfied that a statutory nuisance exists, or is likely to occur or recur. If the local authority fails to act in this way, they are liable to Judicial Review, but an individual can always make a complaint to the Magistrates’ Court and the Magistrates will then be under the same duty as the Council to make an Abatement Order.
Toller Beattie have extensive experience of dealing with a wide variety of public and statutory nuisances, and the Litigation Department works very closely with the Environment Department where issues of public law or environmental law arise.
A private nuisance occurs where there is an unreasonable interference with an owner or occupier’s property rights (either ownership or a right over land). There are rights of self-help (which should only be resorted to in the clearest cases where there is no practical alternative) as well as a right of action in the civil courts for an Order to stop the nuisance occurring and seek compensation for the aggravation and any financial loss that is suffered. We can advise you on the nature of the evidence that needs to be gathered including expert evidence e.g. Forensic Accountant’s evidence as to losses occasioned to a business, and if necessary pursue the claim through the Courts on your behalf if a settlement is not reached beforehand.
Sometimes cases can be resolved before proceedings are issued or indeed during the course of the proceedings before Trial if at all possible. Deborah Baker has experience of dealing with Mediation from the selection of an appropriate Mediator through to the preparation of the Mediation Statement and Bundle of Documents and attending at the Mediation session to see whether or not a settlement can be achieved. This has worked successfully for a number of clients in the recent past where a damages settlement has been achieved for the client at Mediation either prior to the issue of Court proceedings or during the Court process.
We are prepared to consider a wide range of funding options including No Win No Fee arrangemens in appropriate cases. We can also able to advise you on obtaining insurance cover to cover your opponent’s costs in the event that you lose the case and indeed your own where appropriate.
For further information please contact Deborah Baker