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04 September 2015
Issue: 7666 / Categories: Features , Civil way
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Civil way: 4 September 2015

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​Kindness to lessees; Macclesfield faces chop; CPR and FPR: latest changes; & peril of service charge challenge

WHAT A RELIEF!

Seven commercial retail units were held under a head lease. One of those units had been sub-let to a controversially run Chinese restaurant which caused nuisance and annoyance to other lessees. Nevertheless, the head lessee granted a future sub-lease to the restaurant and that was in breach of an alienation covenant which bound it. The head lessee demonstrated a cynical disregard of its obligations.

So it was in Friefeld and another v West Kensington Court Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 806, [2015] All ER (D) 37 (Aug). The head lessor forfeited and the head lessee applied for relief. This was refused by the circuit judge despite the fact that forfeiture represented a windfall for the head lessor of £1 to £2m. The judge found that a last minute attempt to obtain relief on the basis that the head lease was assigned was too late. In the event and post-judgment, the head lessee procured the surrender of the future sub-lease.

The Court of Appeal reaffirmed that relief

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International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

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Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
NLJ this week: Jury reform risks justice for efficiency’s sake
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
NLJ this week: Time to revive the duty to report crime?
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
NLJ this week: When are experts truly ‘necessary’?
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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