Wrigley Claydon Solicitors

Category: News

  • New Pre-Action Protocol “PAP” for debt recovery claims

    New Pre-Action Protocol “PAP” for debt recovery claims

    A new Pre-Action Protocol “PAP” for debt recovery claims will come into force on 1st October 2017.

    The protocol applies to any business, including sole traders claiming payment of a debt from an individual, including a sole trader.

    The PAP does not apply to business debts, unless the debtor is a sole trader.

    • An individual will have 30 days to reply to the Letter of Claim.
    • A more detailed Letter of Claim is required setting out the parties to the contract, the terms of the contract together with specific enclosures.
    • Failure to comply with the PAP may result in a Claim being ‘stayed’ to allow time for compliance of the PAP. Alternatively, the Court may impose cost sanctions.

    The impact of the changes could have a dramatic impact on your business’s cash flow. You may need to re-consider your current credit control procedures and enforce stricter time limits for payment.

    Please contact us as this will assist your cash flow if the debt is paid promptly following receipt of a Letter of Claim from us.

    Debt recovery claims

    Suffering a financial or contractual dispute can have serious implications on your business. Our debt recovery solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf to recover unpaid invoices. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Call Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 785 3534 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • Record divorce settlement possible for Russian oligarch

    Record divorce settlement possible for Russian oligarch

    Natalia Potanina, the ex-wife of a Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin has filed a lawsuit demanding $15billion from her former husband.

    She is seeking half of Vladimir Potanin’s wealth.

    If the claim is successful, the settlement will easily beat the current record, which is estimated to be $4billion paid by Alec Wildenstein to his ex-wife wife Jocelyn.

    The couple were granted a divorce in 2014 after 23 years of marriage. The couple have three children together.

    She claims he ‘dumped, betrayed and humiliated’ her after starting a relationship with an employee 15 years his junior, with whom he has a love child.

    Divorce settlement solicitors

    At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier. We are experienced family lawyers and can assist you with the legal aspects of any family situation in which you may find yourself. We deal with our cases sensitively.

    If you are looking for family advice then please call our divorce settlement solicitors on 0161 785 3521 and speak to Terri Pickup in our Family Department or email tp@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • Halfords blame ‘weak pound’ for annual profits loss

    Halfords blame ‘weak pound’ for annual profits loss

    Annual profits at Halfords have been hit by the weak pound despite a strong rise in sales.

    It reported pre-tax profits fell 10.5% to £71.4m for the year to March.

    Revenue was up 7.2% to nearly £1.1bn, boosted by the acquisition of upmarket bike business Tredz/Wheelies. Like-for- like revenues rose 2.7%.

    Halfords said higher import costs had largely been responsible for the drop in profits.

    It also said a late Easter affected recent sales, revealing a 1.2% drop in like-for- like retail sales in the final three months of its financial year.

    Commercial advice solicitors

    If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact us.

    Call our commercial advice solicitors on 0161 785 3573 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.

  • Barry White’s son in disputed Will & Estate claim

    Darryl White, the son of late singer Barry White, is suing his father’s estate and widow Glodean White to get a bigger share of the estate.

    Mr White Jnr alleges that he was never shown his father’s will and is now “almost broke and homeless” after payments made to him from the estate dried up.

    In the court documents, Mr White Jnr said he agreed not to challenge the amount of money he was getting after Glodean told him he would get his fair share.

    He is asking the court to give him access to the will and make “a proper accounting” of what he is due. He alleges Glodean is using up the money to support a lavish lifestyle.

    Will dispute solicitors Oldham

    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 will dispute solicitors Oldham please contact us. Call 0161 785 3534 to speak to Shalish Mehta, in our civil and commercial litigation department or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • U.S. lawyer counter-sued for false insurance claim

    U.S. lawyer counter-sued for false insurance claim

    This took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA…

    A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, loss due to fire.

    Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.

    In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost ‘in a series of small fires.’

    The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

    The lawyer sued and WON!

    Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable ‘fire’ and was obligated to pay the claim.

    Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the ‘fires’.

    NOW FOR THE BEST PART!

    After the lawyer cashed the cheque, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of arson!

    With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

    This true story won First Place in last year’s Criminal Lawyers Award contest in USA.

    It’s claimed that this case is in fact a hoax, but what brilliant story!

    Insurance dispute

    If you find yourself in a real, similar situation, our specialist civil and commercial litigation solicitors can assist with your insurance dispute case.

    For more information or to talk to us about your commercial or civil dispute, please call Shalish Mehta on 0161 785 3529 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

  • DJ Ronson and wife split after 6 years of marriage

    Grammy award winning DJ Mark Ronson and French actress wife Josephine de La Baume have split.

    De La Baume filed for divorce from the musician citing irreconcilable differences. She is asking the court to award her spousal support, as well as for Ronson to pay her legal fees.

    Ronson and De La Baume married in 2011 in the South of France. They do not have any children together.

    Oldham family lawyers

    At Wrigley Claydon, we fight on your behalf to make this difficult time a little easier. We are experienced family lawyers and can assist you with the legal aspects of any family situation in which you may find yourself. We deal with our cases sensitively.

    If you are looking for Oldham family lawyers  then please call 0161 785 3521 to speak to Terri Pickup in our Family Department or email tp@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • Nestlé lose “shape mark” attempt to prevent copycat KitKats

    Nestlé lose “shape mark” attempt to prevent copycat KitKats

    Nestlé has lost the latest round of its seven year battle with rivals Cadbury to trademark the shape of the KitKat bar in the UK. The Court of Appeal ruled that the four-finger design had “no inherent distinctiveness”.

    Nestlé’s appeal followed a High Court ruling in January 2016 that blocked the trademark attempt.

    The European Court of Justice had previously found that the four-fingered shape, was not distinctive enough to merit a trademark and that such a designation would not comply with European law.

    The ruling clears the way for competitors, including the major supermarkets as well as other confectioners, to produce their own copycat KitKats without fear of legal consequences.

    Nestle could potentially try to take the case to the UK Supreme Court.

    The case turned on whether the product’s shape was sufficiently distinctive to the brand to prevent any other manufacturer using a similar format. Protected “shape marks” include Toblerone, which successfully trademarked its “zigzag prism” shape.

    Intellectual property solicitors

    If you have a brand, something you have invented, or an original piece of work that you have written and someone infringes your rights we can help. We can assist you in securing an injunction and/or damages or account of profits and the delivery up and destruction of the offending item. If you have been accused of infringing someone’s intellectual property rights then we can also help by raising various defences and minimising your liability.

    If you feel you have an intellectual property case and need some legal advice then please speak to Shalish Mehta, our civil and commercial litigation solicitor. Please call our intellectual property solicitors on 0161 785 3534 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.

  • IKEA to create 1,300 jobs & open three new stores

    IKEA is to create more than 1,300 new jobs in three new stores.

    A new outlet will open in Sheffield later this year, while stores in Exeter and Greenwich will open in 2018, the firm said.

    The jobs will increase IKEA’s workforce in the UK and Ireland by 12.5% to about 11,700, the company said.

    It joins firms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon in boosting its UK job numbers since last year’s Brexit vote.

    The firm said it would be recruiting managers and restaurant workers, as well as customer relations, sales, interior design, IT, sustainability and marketing personnel.

    The new stores will take the number of IKEA outlets in the UK to 22, plus four “order and collection” shops.

    Corporate strategy solicitors

    If you are considering a company merger, acquisition, takeover or joint venture or are in the midst of a shareholder dispute or share capital transaction or need business advice please contact our corporate strategy solicitors.

    Call 0161 624 6811 to speak to John Porter and Soibi Iketubosin in our Company/Commercial Department or email jap@wrigleyclaydon.com or si@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • “Death Taxes” – The Good News and The Bad News

    “Death Taxes” – The Good News and The Bad News

    Much has been written in the press recently about the proposed hike in Probate Court fees. The Government looked all set to implement the fee rise in May before it called a snap General Election for the 8th June 2017. Sadly, whatever happens we must be prepared for the new Government seeking to re-introduce a higher fee scale for Probate fees.

    Probate Court fees

    The good news in relation to so called taxes on death is that when a person dies on or after the 6th April 2017, owing a home or a share of it which is then inherited by their direct descendants, the estate may now be entitled to an additional Inheritance Tax allowance called Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB). For a married couple who own their own home this means a combined potential Inheritance Tax allowance by 2020 of £1,000,000.00. This is certainly good news but careful planning needs to be made in an individuals’ Will to ensure maximum use of this allowance and that it is not lost completely by leaving assets in some kinds of trust or to non-qualifying descendants, for example.

    For more information drop into our Saddleworth Free Legal Clinic held on Wednesdays in Uppermill, or contact Rachel Damianou or Jyoti Patel on 0161 624 6811 or email rld@wrigleyclaydon.com or jxp@wrigleyclaydon.com.
  • Record fine and reprimand for PwC

    Record fine and reprimand for PwC

    Accounting firm PwC has been fined a record £5m and severely reprimanded over its auditing of collapsed property services group Connaught by The Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

    Social housing specialist Connaught had £220m of debt when it went bust in 2010.

    The FRC found evidence of misconduct by PwC and retired partner Stephen Harrison.

    Mr Harrison was fined £150,000 and also reprimanded.

    PwC was also ordered to pay the FRC’s legal costs and make an interim payment of £1.5m.

    Contractual dispute solicitors Oldham

    Suffering a financial or contractual dispute can have serious implications on your business. Our professional negligence solicitors will quickly and efficiently put your case together and act on your behalf to negotiate a settlement, arrange mediation or represent you in court. We can advise you on the appropriate course of action and assist with any legal documents or proceedings that may occur.

    Call Shalish Mehta in our civil and commercial litigation department on 0161 785 3534 or email sm@wrigleyclaydon.com.