Category: Litigation & Disputes

A Minnesota probate judge overseeing the estate of Prince has refused to appoint either of two probate lawyers seeking to represent the late music star’s likely heirs in managing his legacy, citing disagreement among the siblings over whom they prefer.

Prince left behind a fortune believed to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars when he died without a will in April 2016.

Under Minnesota law, his assets are expected to pass equally to Prince’s younger sister, Tyka Nelson, and five surviving half-siblings, as he had no offspring or spouse and his parents were both deceased.

But the judge has said he would not formally validate the inheritance of the six siblings until court appeals from various other claims against the estate last year have run their course.

The judge also cited potential conflicts that could arise from each candidate’s ties with third parties involved in litigation with the estate.

Wills and Probate disputes can be very complex and require expert legal guidance to resolve matters as fairly as possible.

At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier, whether you are bringing a claim or you are on the receiving end. We are experienced in this field and have won complex cases for our clients. As it is an emotional time we deal with our cases sensitively.

If you are looking for dispute advice please contact us. Call 0161 785 3534 to speak to Shalish Mehta, in our civil and commercial litigation department or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

A pensioner is to face a criminal trial for ‘illegally digging up some soil’ as part of a bitter neighbour dispute that has lasted nearly 20 years.

Valerie Vivian was allegedly spotted digging up soil laid by her neighbours in a jointly-owned communal garden in Somerset.

Her neighbours had laid the soil over a gravel path she had allegedly put down in a ‘land-grab’ without planning permission, which goes back to a planning dispute that started in 2001.

Vivian’s neighbours previously accused her of planting around 300 50ft leylandii trees on her land to block their views in ‘an act of revenge’ after they opposed her application to build on the land.

Mrs Vivian has applied six times to build four houses on private land she bought in 1996 but each time has been refused.

The council denied the application after opposition from neighbours who were worried a development would block their views of Solisbury Hill.

Neighbours accused her of blackmail after she promised to remove the wall of trees if they backed her planning application, but they refused to do so.

The council says they cannot act as homes in the street get plenty of sunlight and homeowners do not have a legal right to a view of Solisbury Hill.

However, after years of arguing, there are rumours that residents plan to take the law into their own hands and cut the trees down themselves.

If you find yourself in a neighbour dispute then call Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 785 3534 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

How important is it you to have good relations with your neighbours?

A farmer has been criticised by a Judge for harassing his neighbours in a right of way dispute.

Peter Robinson insisted on driving his tractor at a snail’s pace along a track leading up to his farm in County Durham. He put in more than a dozen speed bumps in a bid to make life as “inconvenient as possible” for his neighbours.

The farmer would “jump out” on visitors as they drove along the track, accusing them of speeding and asking them their business.

When Mr Bramwell repaired a pothole on the track, Mr Robinson removed the filling and turned it back into a hole.

The neighbours had a right of way over the farmer’s land in order to gain access to their property but the farmer accused them of trespassing and making “excessive use” of the right of way. But the couple said the farmer was unlawfully interfering with their right of way and issued proceedings at Newcastle County Court.

Now the Judge has issued the farmer with an anti-harassment injunction and ordered him to pay his neighbours damages of £4800.00 for the “substantial inconvenience, anxiety and distress” he caused them and also legal costs bills that are likely to dwarf that sum.

The Judge further said: “It would have been far better if it could have been resolved amicably”. But all attempts at mediation had failed before the dispute made its way to court.

If you find yourself in dispute with your neighbours then call Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 785 3534 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

How important is it you to have good relations with your neighbours?

We acted for a commercial landlord who sued his tenant for unpaid rent and service charges. We successfully obtained a Judgment in the sum of £90,000 and costs following a trial in the County Court.

Running a business can be difficult in this today’s economic climate and with the uncertainties following Brexit.

It can be doubly difficulty and frustrating if customers fail to pay on time or in full when a payment is due.

Using Wrigley Claydon as your Debt Recovery solicitors is a cost effective way of recovering debts. We are experienced in Commercial Debt Collection and Consumer Debt Collection as well as providing a complete and personal debt recovery service.

If you are looking for to recover monies owed to you then please contact us. Call 0161 785 3534 to speak to Shalish Mehta in our Debt Recovery Department or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

A financier’s widow who is battling her stepdaughter over his £18million estate has denied claims she ‘bullied and dominated’ her frail husband.

Richard Thornton died in 2013 leaving half his estate to his wife Susie.

The other half of the estate went into a trust for the rest of his family, including his three adult children and his grandchildren.

However, the daughter, Lucy Torrington has made an application to the High Court to have the will overturned to remove her step-mother as an executor of the will, with a ‘life interest’ in the half of the fortune she didn’t inherit.

She claims her step-mother ‘unduly influenced’ her father and that he did not ‘know or understand’ the contents of his will.

A tape recording of Susie saying of her step-daughters: ‘They’ve done nothing but cause you pain all their lives and they’ve made messes of their own lives’.

For Lucy, the will meant that she was ‘unlikely to receive his bounty until after Susie’s death’.

Lawyers for Susie argued that Mr Thornton’s mind was still sharp and clear at the time of making the will and the idea that he was ‘bullied’ into signing it by his wife was ‘fanciful’.

The High Court hearing continues.

Wills and Probate disputes can be very complex and require expert legal guidance to resolve matters as fairly as possible.

At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier, whether you are bringing a claim or you are on the receiving end. We are experienced in this field and have won complex cases for our clients.

As it is an emotional time we deal with our cases sensitively.

If you are looking for wills and probate disputes advice please contact us. Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to Shalish Mehta, in our civil and commercial litigation department or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

Beatles producer Sir George Martin left an estate worth more than £1million but failed to leave anything to his eldest son Greg following a rift.

Sir George, often described as ‘The Fifth Beatle’, died in March aged 90 and left a £1million estate in his will, with the majority of it being left to his second wife Judy.

He specified that an amount small enough to avoid UK inheritance tax should be shared between seven people, including his daughter Alexis – from his first marriage and three of his grandchildren. His former chauffeur, his secretary, and a niece are also recipients.

At the heart are the terms of the will and the fact he left a small share to Alexis, nothing to Greg and much of the rest of the estate to his ‘second family’, from his second marriage.

Alexis has previously spoken out over her upset at the division of the will, even emailing Sir George’s other children Giles and Lucie to bemoan the ‘pittance’ she received.

Lucie replied that there was a gulf between Alexis’s perception of her father’s wealth and the reality. And that has been the sisters’ last contact.

Wills and Probate disputes can be very complex and require expert legal guidance to resolve matters as fairly as possible.

At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier, whether you are bringing a claim or you are on the receiving end. We are experienced in this field and have won complex cases for our clients.

As it is an emotional time we deal with our cases sensitively.

If you are looking for dispute advice please contact us. Call 0161 785 3534 to speak to to Shalish Mehta, in our civil and commercial litigation department or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.