Spring Newsletter 2025

As we move into the second quarter of the year and with spring in the air,  we would like to share some information with you which we hope you will find interesting and useful.

Recent News

Members of Tanfield continue to be involved at the very forefront of the rapidly developing jurisprudence in relation to the Building Safety Act 2022. As I write, Tim Polli KC, Mark Loveday and Hugh Rowan are appearing in the Court of Appeal in the conjoined cases of Adriatic Land 5 Ltd v The Long Leasehold Leaseholders at Hippersley Point and (1) SVDP & (2) Get Living Plc v Triathlon Homes LLP. Tim Polli KC is instructed in the latter for the management company and Mark Loveday and Hugh Rowan are instructed in the former for the leaseholders. Adriatic Land 5 concerns the question of whether the leaseholder protections contained in Schedule 8 of the Building Safety Act 2022 operate retrospectively or whether they apply solely to costs incurred after 28 June 2022. The Triathlon appeal deals with whether a remediation contribution order can be made in relation to costs incurred before Section 124 of the Act came into force on 28 June 2022 and also whether, if so, an RCO should have been made in the particular circumstances of that case.

Marc Glover and Hugh Rowan succeeded in the matter of Mobile Telecommunications Company KSPC v HRH Prince Hussam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud [2025] EWHC 85 (Ch). This case concerned a bankruptcy petition with a value of some $1.2 billion. The principal question to be resolved was whether the Court of England and Wales had jurisdiction over the matter under the meaning of Section 265 of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Court undertook a detailed consideration of the case law concerning the residency condition under the 1986 Act. The Court concluded that Prince Hussam did not have a place of residence in England and Wales after April 1990, and therefore that it had no jurisdiction over the matter. The case also offers helpful guidance on the circumstances in which the Court ought to permit evidence to be given via video link. Subsequently, Marc and Hugh successfully defended a short-notice appeal to the Court of Appeal on an ancillary limitation point.

Andrew Butler KC, Tanfield’s joint head of chambers, enjoyed success in the long-running litigation between Vanessa Wurm and Kash Amini. Andrew persuaded the Court not to stay the proceedings against Mr Amini despite the fact that he had made an application for his own bankruptcy and appointed administrators in relation to the relevant company on the morning of the hearing. Judgment was entered against Mr Amini in the sum of £3.9m, together with an order for delivery up of valuable goods. Andrew also recently succeeded on appeal in the matter of Ratnasingham v Hunt and another [2025] EWHC 202 (Ch).

Nora Wannagat appeared in a three-day High Court trial in the case of Bhatia v Purkiss [2025] EWHC 359 (Ch), acting for the liquidator. The liquidator successfully resisted a claim for rectification and was held to be entitled to enforce a charging order by way of an order for sale.

Tanfield pupils Sami Allan and Cameron Neilson have now commenced the second six months of their pupillage and are available for instruction.

Recent Articles and Publications

We are pleased to announce the publication of Iain Mitchell KC’s book A Practical Guide to the Law of Parking in Great Britain published by Law Brief Publishing, available on their website and Amazon. This book is the first of its kind on the subject and provides comprehensive guidance to lawyers instructed in parking disputes and to all those interested in exploring their parking rights.

Daniel Bromilow has published an interesting article on equitable rights and the right to manage, a link to which can be found here.

Andrew Mace‘s article explores distressed assets and the Building Safety Act. You can link find the link here.

Nora Wannagat meanwhile looks at the interaction between proprietary estoppel and the grant of licences, and you can read all about it here.

Tanfield Talks Podcast

Our podcast series continues and the following podcasts have been released since our last newsletter:

• Andrew Butler KC and Robert Bowker discuss recent case law on the Building Safety Act and what the future might bring. Listen here.
• Adrian Carr and Andrew Brueton discuss private client law, focussing on the formality of wills and caveats. Listen here.
• Daniel Dovar and Will Beetson discuss case law concerning a landlord’s grounds for refusing a new tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Listen here.

Our next episode concerns the consultation on the reform of the 1954 Act and what the reform of the 1954 Act might look like.

​Upcoming

Save the Date! Tanfield’s next conference will be taking place on the 26th June 2025. More details will follow shortly.

And finally…  

We wish you a very pleasant spring 2025 and are grateful for your continued support.

Will Beetson, Editor

If you have any comments on this newsletter or suggestions for inclusion in the next edition, please contact​ Lydia Benaicha