Professional indemnity insurer Markel has lost a £16 million negligence dispute with an agricultural lender. The court employed the rarely-used ‘Braganza Test’ to rule that the insurer did not have reasonable grounds for avoiding their policy. UK Acorn Finance…read more
Tribunal clears solicitor of misconduct over tax avoidance scheme. Published June 2020
An experienced solicitor has been cleared of misconduct by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over his involvement in tax avoidance schemes. Jonathan Mounteney had been accused by the Solicitors Regulation Authority of facilitating and promoting three stamp duty land tax (SDLT)…read more
Financial adviser fined for exposing clients to high-risk pension investments. Published June 2020
Lloyd Pope, a director of failed advisory firm TailorMade Independent (TMI) has been fined over £23,000 by the FCA for failings which allowed clients to invest over £100 million of pension assets in high risk investments. These included green oil,…read more
Landowner loses planning appeal over camping pods. Published June 2020
Erecting four camping pods without planning permission got a landowner into hot water with the planning authorities. Martin Baddams installed the camping pods on his land in the New Forest National Park. The Park Authority decided that the pods were…read more
FCA seeks legal clarity on Business Interruption insurance. Published June 2020
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is asking the courts to clarify whether businesses, shut down by the Covid-19 pandemic, can claim on their Business Interruption (BI) insurance. The regulator says that most BI policies do not provide cover for pandemics,…read more
