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Barker Son & Isherwood LLP Solicitors continue to hold the 'mark of excellence'
Home Information Packs - New Changes (December 2008)
Animal Damage Liability Depends on What is Expected (October 2008)
Loss Calculation Date Must be Reasonable (October 2008)
Continuing to maintain 'Investors in people' accredition (August 2008)
Motorcycle Accident? Rider or Pillion Passenger?(August 2008)
Is your Will up to date?(July 2008)
Watch Your Step With HIPs (April 2008)
A New Firm was Formed (April 2007)


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Barker Son & Isherwood LLP Solicitors continue to hold the 'mark of excellence'

Local Solicitors, Barker Son & Isherwood LLP, with offices in Andover, Ludgershall, Whitchurch and Overton, have recently heard from the Law Society that they have been re-accredited to the prestigious Lexcel Quality Mark following stringent independent assessment carried out earlier this summer.

Senior Partner Clive Holland said "Lexcel is considered the mark of excellence and is the only quality mark that focuses on how a legal firm is managed. Therefore, by continuing to hold Lexcel accreditation, we at Barker Son & Isherwood LLP Solicitors have shown we have met high standards in the way our firm is managed, through offering excellent client service, cost effectively with minimum risk.

Whether clients have a complex problem or a small matter to deal with, it is important that you get the best client service from your solicitor. By holding the Lexcel quality mark, we as a firm invest time and effort to make sure we are running our business effectively whilst trying to make sure that we understand your expectations and deliver these expectations through a consistent level of service. As a Lexcel firm, we are always looking for ways of improving client service and we do this by asking clients for their views and making any appropriate changes.

Re-assessment for Lexcel is carried out every year to make sure that we are achieving and working to the same high standards and therefore we are proud to have received continued accreditation for the forthcoming year".

For advice and assistance on a wide range of legal services, visit our website at www.bsandi.com or call us on 01264 353411 for advice and assistance on a variety of legal issues.

Home Information Packs - New Changes

The Government has announced further changes to the Home Information Pack (HIP) regime by introducing the necessity for a 'Property Information Questionnaire' (PIQ) for all properties marketed for sale after 5 April 2009. The PIQ will provide basic, useful information about a property, including leasehold information in appropriate cases, and will be contained within the HIP.

In addition, the current arrangement whereby a copy of the lease is the only additional requirement in the HIP for leasehold property sales is, from 1 January 2009, to be a permanent requirement.

The temporary 'first day marketing' exemption is being abolished from 6th April 2009, meaning that a basic HIP must be in place before a property is marketed - providing certainty to consumers that a HIP will be available.

Agents will still be able to advise about properties they expect to come on the market, but not to market them until the HIP is available.

The current transitional arrangements which permit unofficial and incomplete local searches to be insured will end on 5th April 2009.

Clive Holland, Head of Property at local Solicitors, Barker Son & Isherwood LLP says "It is commonly accepted that Home Information Packs have not had the impact the Government hoped. That is partly due to the current market conditions but also to the fact that many essential elements in the home buying process are not included. It remains to be seen whether these changes will resolve any of the issues we have been facing so far. They do not appear to address present concerns especially regarding leasehold properties where, once again, the requirements have been watered down"


For further information, see www.bsandi-online.co.uk

ANIMAL DAMAGE LIABILITY DEPENDS ON WHAT IS EXPEXTED

The law takes different positions on the responsibility of owners for damage caused by their animals, depending on the type of animal and the circumstances under which the damage occurred. A recent case illustrating this dealt with a road traffic accident caused by a runaway cow.

The cow had escaped from a field and strayed onto a road, where it was hit and killed by the claimant. The claimant was injured and one of the passengers in the car was killed. The claimant sued the cow's owner under the Animals Act 1971, claiming that the cow had escaped as a result of his negligence. The Act holds owners of animals to be liable for injuries etc. caused by their animals when the injury or damage arises because they have failed to control behaviour which might be expected from the animal in question. The case turned on whether the cow's owner could reasonably have expected the animal's behaviour to occur.

The cow had been separated from its calf on the same day it escaped. In such circumstances, a cow's maternal instincts will often make it restless. However, in order for the cow to get out of the field and onto the road, it had to get over a farm gate and then cross a 12ft cattle grid.

The claimant argued, in effect, that in the circumstances special care should have been taken to make sure the cow was contained securely in the field. The defendant farmer argued that the physical ability exhibited by the cow in clambering over the gate and across the cattle grid was beyond anything he could reasonably have anticipated.

At issue was whether the behaviour was a 'dangerous behavioural characteristic' of the animal, in which case the farmer would be liable under the Act. Because the animal was behaving in a dangerous and agitated way because of her maternal instincts, she was in effect a wild animal.

After an appeal to the Court of Appeal, the claim against the farmer failed, the Court taking the view that the farmer could not have anticipated the exceptional physical feats of the cow.

The nub of the law relating to animals is what would be reasonable for their owners to do, bearing in mind the range of likely behaviours of the animal, and the possible effects of the animal being uncontrolled.

If you are hurt by or suffer from a nuisance caused by an animal or animals owned by someone else, contact us for advice.

LOSS CALCULATIONS DATE MUST BE REASONABLE

House purchasers who acted on a structural engineer's advice, which subsequently proved to be incorrect, were able to claim for their loss based on a valuation made seven years after the event, the court ruled recently.

The mortgage company which was to provide the finance for the purchase required the purchasers to engage a firm of structural engineers to investigate the cause of cracks in the walls of the property and to suggest remedial work. The engineers issued a report to the effect that there was structural movement of the premises. They concluded that the cracking was due to trees growing close to the house and recommended that all large trees within four metres of the property be removed. The purchasers bought the property and removed the trees. However, further cracks appeared over time and the owners instructed a new firm of structural engineers, which concluded that the new cracks were the result of the removal of the trees. Whilst the original cracks had been caused by dehydration of the soil, the removal of the trees had led to the subsequent rehydration of the soil, and this was the cause of the new cracks.

It was established by a period of monitoring that the property was now stable and needed no further remedial work. However, the home owners sued the original firm of engineers for the loss of value of the property that had resulted from its negligence. Once the issue of liability was settled, the question which then arose was what should be the basis for calculating the value of the claim? The loss was valued at £20,000 by an expert valuer and the claim was brought for that sum.

The engineers argued that the loss should not be calculated based on 2007 values (when the valuer's report was prepared) but on 2000 values, as this was when the negligent advice was given. As property prices had risen considerably in the intervening period, this would be a considerably smaller sum.

The court decided that the homeowners were entitled to £20,000 for the loss in value of their property on the basis that it would have been worth that amount more had the trees not been removed. In the view of the court, provided that the loss relates directly to the breach and the valuation of the loss took place at a reasonable date, 'there is nothing inherently wrong in principle in valuing a diminution in value loss at a later date than the date of the breach'.

Normally, such damages are calculated based on the loss at the date of the breach. However, in this case the claimants had started their claim without delay once the further cracking had been discovered. In addition, the defendant failed to provide evidence of the value of the loss in 2000. This prevented the judge from using the 2000 value even if he had chosen to do so. In the court's view, the choice of 2007 as the date on which to base the claim was reasonable

CONTINUING TO MAINTAIN 'INVESTORS IN PEOPLE' ACCREDITATION

Barker Son & Isherwood LLP Solicitors are proud to announce that they have been recognised in continuing to meet the requirements of the National Standard for effective Investment in People and have been awarded their 'Investors in People' certification by Quality South West Ltd.

The firm was the first law firm in Hampshire to be awarded the standard and has held the accreditation continuously since 1996 and assessment is carried out once every three years. To achieve this, the partners and managers of the firm have to show investment in their employees through to as to improve the business and help achieve strategic aims.

The independent assessment covers ten separate elements spread across the main areas of developing strategies to improve the organisation; taking action to improve its performance and evaluating the impact of the actions taken.

The assessor was satisfied that partners and managers have shown a great deal of commitment, understanding and support with regards to their staff and this was re-iterated during assessment, by the staff themselves.

Motorcycle Accident? Rider or Pillion Passenger?

"Motor cyclists and their pillion passengers are at much higher risk of serious injury as road users than others. The fact that their choice of transport provides them with little personal protection in the case of an accident unfortunately means that those involved in accidents often suffer serious injury.

Motorcyclists tend to be more affected by road defects, wild animals and stray objects in the road than other road users.

We have acted for a number of motorcyclists with many years of riding experience and advanced riding "badges" but often all this experience and skill means little when they have a confrontation with a more substantial vehicle.

Sometimes spills can be low speed and thankfully only minor injuries are suffered. Occasionally there is nothing more than a little bruised pride. However we find that many of our clients who have been injured in riding accidents suffer significant injuries and have all the usual related losses and expense that go with that.

It is often suggested that motorcyclists cause many of the accidents because of excessive speed. Our experience with the cases we deal with shows that this is not the case and even where excessive speed by the rider can sometimes be a factor frequently the cause or the main cause of the accident is the result of the third party driver failing to drive with appropriate consideration, due care and attention.

If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident contact Richard Gregory or Rachel Barr for free initial advice on 0800 376 5055 or via e-mail info@bsandi.co.uk. We will be delighted to help you.

Is Your Will up to date?

If not, you could risk leaving your loved ones with nothing at all!

Updating a Will is often overlooked at crucial times when circumstances change which in turn could mean that parts of your estate will not be passed on to family and friends.

You should remember that your Will needs updating whenever circumstances change or a life-changing event occurs. These events could be any of the following:


Moving into a new home
Getting married
Having children
Selling an asset, such as property
Purchasing a large asset, such as a second home
Divorce or separation
Starting a business
Debt


Research has shown that the majority of 25-34 year olds do not have an up to date Will however, even more worrying is that a high percentage of over 65's who have been widowed, divorced or separated, did not know if they had a valid Will.

No one can predict when the inevitable will happen and unfortunately it can happen anytime, young or old. Don't put off until tomorrow, what can be done today.

Give yourself peace of mind - update your Will and know that your loved ones will be looked after.

Our Probate team are able to provide professional and understanding advice and support with regards to any Wills or Probate issues.

Contact John Butcher, Helen Hutt or Alan Thain on 01264 353411
Or e-mail: info@bsandi.co.uk.

.....back to the headlines

Watch Your Step With HIPs!

"Prospective house sellers should watch their step with Home Information Packs (HIPs)," warns Clive Holland, Senior Partner of solicitors Barker Son & Isherwood LLP.

The Home Information Pack team of the Department for Communities and Local Government has warned that some HIP providers are using what are called 'register views' of the property plan in their HIPs, instead of the 'official copy'. The Department warns that the register view is not sufficient evidence of the plan of the property shown in the documents of title. Including it in the HIP instead of the official copy is a breach of the regulations relating to HIPs.

They warn that official copies are required as these are encrypted documents that the Land Registry will stand by - for example if there are any errors in the register - and are therefore acceptable during the conveyancing process. Although the information they contain is similar, register views have no such status. The official copy is required under the HIP regulations.

"The important issue," says Clive Holland "is that if there is an error in the plan contained in the register view, there is likely to be a dispute, with potentially substantial costs required to resolve the matter."

"We have also found other deficiencies with HIPs such as unofficial searches which will lead to further delays and costs as the cheaper, inadequate packs are unlikely to be accepted by buyers."

Make sure that your HIP has the right content!

For further information, contact the Online Property Team on 01264-353411 or visit the website www.bsandi-online.co.uk

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A New Firm was Formed

A new Firm was formed at the beginning of April when the practice of Barker Son & Isherwood was transferred to Barker Son & Isherwood LLP, a limited liability partnership which has been registered at Companies House. The owners of the LLP, known as the members, are Clive Holland, John Butcher and Richard Gregory all of whom have been partners in the existing firm for many years.
limited liability partnerships are a relatively new form of business vehicle, created by the Government with legal and other professional service firms in mind. They are much more appropriate in their structure to a modern business than partnerships, which we have had to use for our business for a very long time. This move was therefore an important part of the continuing efforts of our business to make itself fit for the purpose of providing an up-to-date standard of service to our clients.

New Senior Partner, Clive Holland, said "I believe that the change will be a very positive move for the business, going forward, and will help in particular in attracting and retaining the best talent in staffing terms".

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Barker Son & Isherwood LLP, 32 High Street, Andover, Hampshire SP10 1NT
Telephone: 01264 353411 Fax: 01264 356549 DX: 90303 ANDOVER

 

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