Knowledge

We examine the modernisation of limited partnership law relating to investment funds, and the likely impact on the Scottish limited partnerships commonly used.

In this article we look at the RBS Rights Issue Litigation Re [2016] EWHC 3161 (Ch), wherein the High Court granted the claimants’ application for disclosure of notes of interviews with employees and former employees of RBS, which had been prepared variously by RBS’ external US counsel, in-house counsel and non-lawyer RBS employees, in respect to two internal investigations.

The Scottish Government has introduced a new regulatory regime for lobbying with the passing of the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016.  Once the Act comes into force, it will have significant consequences for how businesses and other organisations engage with the Scottish Government and Members of the Scottish Parliament, with strict penalties for non-compliance.

Enforcement of a standard security over real estate is a uniquely Scottish process. In the right circumstances it can be highly effective to enable a fixed security holder gain possession of land/property, collect rents and/or sell the secured property via enforcement of the standard security. Yvonne Brady and John Gallacher outline five things about the calling up process you need to know.

How many business owners look like ducks on the pond – calm on the surface, but actually paddling like mad?

The Supreme Court recently ruled in favour of a woman who was denied a survivor’s pension as her partner had not formally nominated her as his cohabiting partner under the pension scheme rules. We consider the implications of this decision for public and private pension schemes across the UK. 

Shepherd & Wedderburn’s Commercial Litigation team has secured a favourable ruling for their clients in The Trustees of the Johnston Press Pension Plan and others v. Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Limited and Mercer [2017] CSOH 21, a decision that confirms the common-sense approach applied by the Scottish courts in reviewing pension scheme amendments and provides four examples of circumstances in which the Scottish courts will presume that what ought to have been done was done, in the absence of clear evidence either way.

The Pensions Ombudsman has declined to uphold a complaint by a DB scheme member regarding the information provided on joining the scheme.  The member, Mrs D, claimed the information lacked details about the scheme’s investments and so she could not make an informed choice about whether joining the scheme was compatible with her religious beliefs.

The provisions of the much publicised Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 have started coming into force and will continue to do so in a piecemeal fashion.  Whilst some of the changes enacted by the legislation will be more radical in effect than others, the reforms contained within Part 10 of the 2016 Act relative to agricultural holdings will have a far reaching impact upon landlords and tenants alike.  

In this webinar, Rod MacLeod and Neil Cowan talk through some of the basic Scottish execution requirements when signing Scots Law documents.

The scope of ‘interested parties’ who can object to a proposed development scheme under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 has recently been considered by the Scottish Land Court (SLC).  In this update, we explore the implications of the SLC decision for developers and crofting landlords.

After an extended waiting period, the DWP has published draft guidance to schemes with one possible method of equalising GMPs, accompanied by suggested amendments to legislation facilitating the conversion of GMPs to ‘normal’ scheme benefits.

A court has held that conflicting arbitration provisions in six different contracts relating to the same relationship is evidence that the parties had never had a “meeting of minds” in respect of the arbitration agreement, and therefore the dispute would be determined in court instead of being referred to arbitration. 

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Balfour Beatty Regional Construction Limited v Grove Developments Limited [2016] EWCA Civ 990 emphasises that parties cannot rely on commercial common sense to save them from ambiguous contracts. 

A summary of when a product can be advertised as being “free” in compliance with UK Regulations. 

The Court of Appeal in England has confirmed that a Trustee in Bankruptcy (“TIB”) cannot force a bankrupt person to elect to take their uncrystallised pension benefits solely so that the TIB can recover the benefit as income for the member’s creditors. The decision in Horton v Henry (2016) clarifies the legal position after previous conflicting judgements had been given by the Courts. This is all the more significant in light of the recent legislative changes allowing some members flexible access to their uncrystallised benefits from age 55. Whilst the decision is limited to bankruptcies in England, it seems unlikely that the Scottish courts would depart from the approach adopted by the Court of Appeal.

Our Glasgow office is moving to West Regent Street.