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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?
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:
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.
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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to the headlines
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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