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This means that datasets about areas of significance for the natural environment such as protected site boundaries, are now made available under a perpetual licence for commercial and non-commercial use. See link to natural England website for further information.

Squatting criminalised

There have been rumours in the pensions industry for a while that the Bonas case was not in fact the first contribution notice (CN) case to be decided by the Regulator's Determination Panel (Panel).  In March 2012 these rumours proved to be true when the embargo in the case of the Desmond Pension Scheme was lifted and details were published for the first time.  This speedbrief considers the Panel's determination to impose contribution notices on two individuals (Mr Desmond and Mr Gordon) and the Upper Tribunal's decision on various preliminary iss

In Blight v Brewster [2012] EWHC 165 (Ch) the High Court allowed a creditor to enforce his judgment debt against a debtor's pension funds. The court followed a 2011 Privy Council case (Tasarruf Mevduati Sinorta Fonu v Merrill Lynch Bank and Trust Company & ors) in holding that it had jurisdiction to do so under section 37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981. Section 37 provides that the court may appoint a receiver in all cases in which it appears to the court to be just and convenient to do so.

FOS upholds two Keydata complaints against IFAs but concludes that compensation should only be paid in one

The Financial Ombudsman Service ("FOS") has provisionally upheld two complaints made by Mr W and Mr and Mrs K against IFAs who recommended that they invest in the Keydata Bonds in 2005. FOS found that the products presented a greater risk than the investors were willing to take. Interestingly, however, compensation has only been offered to Mr and Mrs K.

The Court of Appeal has recently published its decision in the case of Woodcock v Cumbria PCT. This case has attracted a significant amount of attention in the media as the case looks at the extent to which employers can rely on cost considerations to justify discrimination. Although the case does not break new ground, it does show that economic factors can be taken into consideration by employers in some cases.

Background

In the matter of Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (In Administration) and in the matter of the Insolvency Act 1986 [2012] UKSC 6 On appeal from [2010] EWCA Civ 917  

Summary

Commercial Agreements -v- Commercial Reality: Supreme Court further develops principles of contractual interpretation?

Rainy Sky S.A. and others v Kookmin Bank [2011] UKSC 50

Summary

Today (20th December) the Court of Appeal has clarified how TUPE applies when a business is sold after administration proceedings are instituted. It has decided that employees transfer to the new owner of the business, and are protected from transfer-related dismissals, thereby putting to rest more than two years of legal uncertainty following conflicting decisions from the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).

Clients active in commodities markets (e.g. large consumers of copper and other metals) may be affected by the collapse of MF Global which was recently placed into Chapter 11 process in the US and into Administration in the UK. MFGlobal was an active clearing agent on numerous metal exchanges including the London Metal Exchange.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that where the Pensions Regulator (Regulator) exercises its anti-avoidance powers against a company during insolvency, the liability ranks as an expense in the insolvency process.  The 14 October 2011 judgment, in a case involving the Nortel and Lehman Brothers groups, upheld the High Court's landmark decision of last year.