Cooke v Northwood (Solihull) Ltd; Northwood (Solihull) Ltd v Fearn [2022] EWCA Civ 40

The Court of Appeal answered the questions of whether an agent is able to sign (i) a certificate required as part of the prescribed information relating to tenancy deposits , (ii) a section 8 notice and it reiterated the position on statutory requirements and the validity of notices more generally. Mr Justice Saini had held that the certificate had to be signed by the landlord and section 44 of the Companies Act 2006 operated whereas a section 8 notice could be signed by an agent (even where the "licensor/joint landlords/landlord's agent" portion of the prescribed form had been crossed out) which was discussed in more detail here.

Elan-Cane: has the Supreme Court created a two-tier system between binary & non-binary genders?

Elan-Cane is contrary to domestic and international developments, which are moving towards legal recognition of non-binary gender identities.

Lack of jurisdiction and an Adjudicator’s right to resign

The recent Court of Appeal judgment in Steve Ward Services (UK) Ltd v Davies & Davies Associates Ltd [2022] gives guidance to adjudication practitioners and parties as to the circumstances surrounding an adjudicator’s right to resign in the context of him or her lacking jurisdiction, together with the right of the adjudicator to recover fees incurred.

Key Property Cases to Look Out For in 2022

During this bite-size talk, Barbara and Elizabeth highlight five key property cases that practitioners should be aware of in 2022.

An offer you can’t refuse? Calderbank offers, weak cases and the risk of indemnity costs

Parties to litigation and their professional advisors must always keep in mind that there comes a point where the benefit of a Calderbank offer of settlement outweighs any likely benefit that could be achieved by continuing with the litigation to trial. Alongside the need to evaluate the legal and factual strength of a party’s case – the eternal “will we win?” question - what may be less well understood is the Court’s approach to awards of indemnity costs where such offers have been rejected and the offeree does not obtain a better outcome than the offer.

Article – Hirst v Dunbar

What limitation period applies to payment claims made under the Scheme for Construction Contracts? Claim that the Scheme acts as a certification process given the (Henry) Boot….