Welcome to the winter edition of our legal newsletter, keeping you and your family up to date courtesy of a quarterly round-up of news from the legal world and useful, topical advice.
Happy New Year … Resolutions?
It’s that time of year again … Christmas dinner, the Queen’s speech, those age-old Boxing Day films and, of course, New Year’s resolutions. How many of us will be signing up to a gym membership come the New Year in an attempt to meet our fitness goals?
If joining a gym is on the 2012 agenda for you, you may be interested to read a story featured on our website this month. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) put it to the High Court that terms found in some gym memberships are unfair and therefore not enforceable. The High Court has upheld the claims.
In March 2011, the OFT commenced proceedings against AMS, a company which draws up membership agreements and collects payments for over 700 smaller gym clubs. The gym contracts had minimum membership terms of 1-3 years. However, many members stopped using the gym after just a few months. Some found their circumstances had changed meaning they couldn’t continue their membership. However, AMS would not allow contracts to be cancelled before the end of the minimum period. If a customer defaulted on payment, they faced the prospect of their credit rating being damaged. Some 17,000 cases were referred to credit reference agencies up to July 2009.
The High Court ruled the contracts unfair in several respects and said cases shouldn’t have been referenced to credit reference agencies in some instances.
Our advice: think twice before signing a gym membership contract. Don’t rush into anything on a whim; read the small print on the contract and if in doubt, seek professional advice. Alternatively, opt for a gym that offers pay-as-you-go services. That way, you’ll only pay for what you use, and there won’t be any costly contract disputes.
Below is a rundown of breaking news in the legal world from the last three months. If there is anything that concerns you, or you need legal advice, we look forward to being of assistance.
In the meantime, may we take this opportunity to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. | 
The High Court has upheld a challenge by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to various terms found in some gym membership contracts – most notably lengthy minimum membership periods – ruling that such terms are unfair and therefore unenforceable....
When a house is bought or sold, the prospective purchaser makes what are called ‘pre-contract enquiries’ in order to establish the exact details of the property being bought. These are normally in the form of a standard set of questions with any necessary amendments. However, the fact that the questions raised are in standard form does not mean this can be treated as just a ‘form-filling’ exercise by the vendor, because the law of misrepresentation may apply where any response made is sufficiently at variance with the truth.
A highway authority’s responsibility for keeping roads safe is very limited because so many things can happen that it would be unreasonable to expect the authority keep them in a safe condition at all times. One of the situations specifically outside the responsibility of a highway authority is when a road is made unsafe by something that drops onto it. However, a recent case shows this is subject to boundaries. A cyclist suffered a severe head injury when he struck a lump of concrete which had fallen onto the road and hardened. The authority said it wasn’t their responsibility but the court disagreed. The full story is on our website and highlights the fact that cases such as these don’t necessarily follow a set pattern. If you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, talk to us to find out whether you have a claim.
When an executor of an estate sold a property to an investor, the lack of inspection of the property on both parts meant neither realised it incorporated a flat. According to the auction particulars, the property comprised a freehold shop with a flat on the first floor that was subject to a 125-year leaseback. However, there was an additional flat on the ground floor to the rear of the shop. The vendor argued that the second flat was not included in the sale and the purchaser contended that it was. The case encountered a few twists and turns before the court made their decision. Find out what that decision was by reading the full story on our website.
Thanks to the advent of ‘green’ energy, wind turbines are appearing all over the country. Renewable energy may well present several benefits, however for those living near wind turbines, these benefits aren’t necessarily outweighing the disadvantages. Having a wind turbine nearby brings with it visual and noise nuisance issues. The informal ‘standard’ for the minimum distance between a turbine and a residential property is about 350 metres. However, the advent of numerous complaints about noise nuisance where turbines are further away from the affected premises has led to a re-think. A couple from Lincolnshire is currently pursuing compensation for the nuisance and financial loss created by a wind turbine one kilometre from their house. They claim their property is now unsalable. The full story is on our website. If there’s a planning application for a wind turbine or anything else like a mobile phone mast for example, you wish to oppose, contact us for advice on what steps to take.
Friday 23rd December 9am - 12.30pm, Monday 26th December Closed, Tuesday 27th December Closed...
On 13 December Fieldings Porter hosted an event for charities at the Marriott Hotel, Worsley Park. David Porter, assisted by Daniella Stefani, both specialists in Charity Law , lead a seminar looking at aspects of charity governance, proper use of charitable funds and other topics. The delegates were also able to bring questions to the event and had the opportunity to discuss issues affecting their specific situations. Delegates were also able to network over lunch...
We all know that Google sometimes changes their famous logo to honour special occasions. Called 'Doodles', you might not have seen them all as these brilliant designs are sometimes only displayed in specific locations. The full list can be seen 
