Tughans Solicitors

Cleverly drafted side letter: No penalty kick

Side letters are commonly used by landlords to side step the terms of a lease and confer a temporary personal concession to a tenant. However the recent case of Vivienne Westwood Limited v Conduit Street Developments Limited EWCH 350 has highlighted that landlords can find themselves scoring an own goal.   What are Penalty... Read More

Northern Ireland Exports – figures and considerations

HMRC recently released the figures showing the UK’s import and export trade in the year ending 2017 and the data makes for interesting, and positive, reading. Northern Ireland’s exports for the year came to £7.8 billion, being a 12% increase on the previous year. The Republic of Ireland accounted for almost a third of that... Read More

Fraudulent claims; Hayward’s claim goes Wayward: Case Analysis of Hayward v Zurich Insurance Co PLC [2016] UKSC48

The recent 2016 case of Hayward v Zurich Insurance Co PLC UKSC48 considered whether an insurer can use the law of misrepresentation to successfully appeal a personal injury settlement, where there had been a suspicion of fraud. In 2003, the Appellant’s Zurich, Mr Hayward’s employer’s insurer settled a personal injury claim suffered in the... Read More

Shareholder disputes and valuation issues

Background Imagine a company with four shareholders: A, B, C and D.  They work together to build a successful business over a number of years, but then fall out.  The fall out is terminal and shareholders A and B decide they will have to exit the company. Happily, the company has taken legal advice and... Read More

Looking East – Export Opportunities in the wake of Brexit

On Wednesday 29th March 2017 Theresa May officially triggered the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. And so we brace ourselves for what lies ahead and contend with the uncertainty of what a post Brexit Northern Ireland will mean. Such uncertainty makes it prudent for local businesses to seek out potential opportunities. China, in particular, presents... Read More

Make a clean break – Partitions render break clause ineffective

Break clauses within commercial leases can be an area of contention should ambiguity seep into the drafting or in the event conditions attaching to the break are not precisely complied with.  A break clause affords either one or both parties a mechanism to exit the lease on a set date or dates, usually years ahead... Read More

The power of a NED

Often associated with public companies only, the non-executive director (or “NED”) can be invaluable for SMEs. Skilled and experienced business people could easily step in to the role of the NED for such businesses providing objectivity and strategic direction to help them grow. Benefits Most executive directors will be focussed on the day-to-day management of... Read More

No point crying over lost data

A legal perspective on how to think about responding if your IT Systems have been targeted by the WannaCry Ransomware, or other malware. What do you do as a CTO if you wake up in the morning to a string of emails from your Chief Exec, a buzzing twitter feed and a breakfast TV special... Read More

GDPR: How to save €20 million

The countdown for the United Kingdom’s implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is fast approaching, with almost 12 months to go until 25 May 2018, the date by which affected companies are required to ensure compliance, or face penalties. The GDPR is the widest-ranging amendment to data protection law in the UK in... Read More

The Invisibility of Mental Health Issues in the Workplace – What employers need to know

A business owner recently informed me that an employee, absent due to stress at work, should be in the workplace as he “didn’t have a broken leg” and he suspected there was “nothing wrong with him”.  Unfortunately this view, by some employers, still prevails, ie if you cannot see an illness then that person really... Read More