When shareholders and directors fall out: How do you resolve a shareholder dispute?

Disputes between shareholders and company directors are not uncommon. Parties can fall out because they are worried about the future of the business and how the company is being run particularly if there is a concern that decisions are being made that are not in the company’s best interests. The most common issues that cause dispute include: where it is felt that company directors are not acting in the best interests of the company, are exceeding their powers, have a conflict of interest or where shareholders do not agree with decisions being taken by the company’s directors or feel they are being unfairly treated or kept in the dark about decisions and having their rights ignored. If the concerns cannot be resolved amicably by the parties then they should seek legal advice at an early…

Knotty Problems and nuisance claims

Japanese knotweed is an invasive non-native plant that can lead to significant problems because it can cause physical damage to buildings and land and is expensive to eradicate and dispose of. Although there is no legal obligation to remove Japanese knotweed or to report it if you find it on your land, the spread of knotweed can result in civil and criminal liability and adversely affect the value of a property and its insurability. This means that you may be liable to compensate a neighbour if the knotweed spreads from your land to theirs even if the knotweed has not caused physical damage: the mere presence of its roots or rhizomes is sufficient. The Supreme Court recently considered the issue of knotweed and liability in the case of Davies v Bridgend County Council. This case…

Contentious probate: challenging a Will

Inheritance disputes can arise for people in all walks of life, but are particularly prevalent among farming families – often due to the complex ways farms are held and run, or poor succession planning. Julie Bradwell, Litigation Solicitor and agricultural specialist at Ware & Kay incorporating Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton, York & Wetherby, explains how farming inheritance wrangles commonly arise, and outlines your options if you feel you have not received your fair share in a Will. A farming Will could be challenged for a range of reasons including claims for: Proprietary estoppel A common cause of farming inheritance disputes is where the testator promised to leave you something in the Will, and you relied on this pledge to your detriment, but the promise was broken. This might arise, for example, if…

I have inherited a tenanted residential property with no written tenancy agreement: is this a problem?

It is surprisingly common for personal representatives dealing with properties or those who have inherited properties to find that they have been left with a headache: the deceased has let the property to a tenant but no paperwork can be found documenting the arrangement. Invariably there is also no evidence of other legal requirements having been complied with. The absence of a written tenancy agreement is not of itself a problem and, unless one of the statutory exceptions applies (such as where the property is let at a very low rent), then an assured shorthold tenancy or AST will still have been created and this can be terminated in the normal way by service of a ‘no fault’ notice seeking possession (a section 21 notice) enabling the property to be sold with vacant possession. Alternatively…

What is undue influence when making a Will?

The Court of Appeal in the recent case of Rea v Rea has confirmed that a high bar must be reached in order to succeed with an undue influence claim in relation to the making of a Will. The background Anna Rea made a simple one-paged Will in 1986 leaving her estate in equal shares to her four children: daughter Rita and her three sons. In 2015 Anna made a new Will in which she left her property 5 Brenda Road (the largest asset in the estate) to her daughter Rita with the residue being divided equally between the four children. The sons contested the new Will and Rita brought proceedings to ‘prove the 2015 Will’ asking the Court to give it effect. Rita’s brothers challenged the claim saying that the 2015 Will was invalid…

Are you being a nuisance?

Falling out with your neighbours in rural areas is not uncommon. Farming activities are more than likely to cause smell, mud, noise, traffic problems or other disruption at some stage. However, if the impact of your farming operations on your neighbours is severe enough to amount to a nuisance, you could find yourself in a legal dispute and possibly having to defend a court claim which could be both expensive and time consuming. “There are three types of nuisances: private, public and statutory”, says Johanne Spittle, Director, Litigation & Dispute Resolution at Ware & Kay York, Wetherby and Malton. A private nuisance is caused when you do something (or don’t do something) on your land which you are entitled to do but which impacts on or extends onto your neighbour’s land. There are many situations where…

Christmas Farming Family Fall-Outs

Few things are more disconcerting than being told at Christmas, or any other time, that you don’t own something you think you do. In a farming context, this may cover a wide range of situations. For example, a dispute over whether farming assets are owned by an individual, or a farming partnership. In a succession situation, ownership disputes often relate to disputed inheritance of land. “To avoid misunderstandings, often created many decades ago, it is usually best to hold frank conversations, as early as possible, and, above all, write things down,” says Julie Bradwell. Associate in the Litigation Department at Ware & Kay in York, Wetherby & Malton. “The use of professionals particularly accountants, solicitors and others is very often invaluable in preventing later potentially catastrophic disputes amongst farming families”. However many people, even some solicitors…

Squatter’s rights: can you stop a squatter obtain ownership of your land?

If someone is occupying land that is registered to you, can they acquire rights over it and successfully apply to be registered as the owner? We are often asked this question by property owners where the boundaries between two properties on the ground do not match what is shown on the plans; sometimes this only becomes apparent where one of the property owners is looking to sell or develop and they then discover that there is an area of disputed land owned by one party but occupied by the neighbour (the squatter). There are two possible scenarios for registered land: the first is where ‘the squatter’ has been in uninterrupted ‘adverse possession’ of the disputed land for at least 12 years before 13 October 2003. This squatter can apply to be registered as proprietor and must…

Promises Promises Promises – Proprietary estoppel and the case of the Hughes family

In the recent case of Hughes v Pritchard and others the court dismissed a claim brought by the estate of one of the Deceased’s sons despite pre-existing findings that the deceased had promised that son the entirety of his farmland and that the son had relied on the promise. The Deceased Evan Richard Hughes died on 7 March 2017 aged 84 years. He was a cattle farmer with 137 acres of farmland and other property including a family building business. He had three children Gareth, Carys and Elfed; Elfed had tragically taken his own life in 2015. The Deceased had made three Wills in 1990, 2005 and 2016. By the 2005 Will he left his shares in the family business to Gareth and Carys and all his farmland to Elfed; the original trial judge found…

Renters (Reform) Bill: what does it mean for residential landlords?

The long awaited Renters (Reform) Bill has now been published by the government and it aims to change the landscape of rental housing in England One of the principal parts of the Bill is to abolish section 21 ‘no fault evictions’. Currently, landlords can recover possession of their let property after the fixed term has ended without having to prove any ‘fault’ or beach by the tenant. Under the new proposals the existing grounds for possession under S8 of the Housing Act 1988 have been extended so that there are provisions to enable landlords to recover possession if the landlord wishes to sell or a member of their family wishes to move into the property. The Bill also aims to strengthen the ability for a landlord to evict anti-social tenants. Other key changes include: Ending…