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Civil Litigation, Disputes & Claims


Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution

The solicitors in our civil litigation and dispute resolution department can help you with a wide range of civil disputes including:-

– Building disputes
– Contractual disputes : business or private
– Insurance policy disputes
– Negligence and nuisance
– Professionals’ breach of duty.

Our specialist civil litigation team has many decades of experience and expertise.  We have earned a high reputation not only with our clients but also with our fellow professionals.

Property/Land Law Disputes and Litigation

We have a team of solicitors who are very experienced in property and land law disputes and litigation.  We can advise you on a wide range of disputes, tribunal applications and court proceedings in respect of both commercial and residential property.

Our specialist solicitors act for a wide range of people who become involved in such disputes including freehold owners, landlords, tenants, occupiers and neighbours, whether they are limited companies, partnerships or other sole-trader businesses, private individuals or Housing Associations.

The wide range of our areas of expertise includes:-

  • Adverse Possession claims
  • Business Tenancy lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
  • Boundary Disputes
  • Easement Disputes, eg concerning rights of way, rights of parking, rights of drainage etc
  • Landlord and tenant disputes (commercial and residential) including:

– Claims for possession
– Compensation claims for breach of covenant, eg disrepair
– Tenancy deposit claims for return of deposit and payment of penalties for breach of deposit rules.
– Overage agreements and enforcement
– Restrictive covenants : interpretation and enforcement
– Enforcement of positive covenants through the doctrine of mutual benefit and burden [Our Mr David Scott was involved in one of the leading cases in this area in the Court of Appeal : Thamesmead Town –v- Allotey].

We will always act in your best interests with a view to achieving a speedy and cost-effective resolution of such disputes.  Under the present court rules, court proceedings must usually be seen as the last resort after all other reasonable methods of trying to resolve the dispute have been attempted.  We can assist you with such Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”).  However,  if ADR is not successful (some opponents are so unreasonable that it is not possible to conclude a reasonable agreement)  or is not appropriate (eg where there is a need for urgent action) then we will act for you and guide you through the court or tribunal process in contested proceedings.

In all cases we will provide you with clear and detailed advice on the likely costs involved (including disbursements such as court fees and barristers’ fees) for the various stages of the case, so that you know from the outset your likely costs commitment.

We feel that this is especially important so that our clients are able to budget accordingly and so that they can make informed decisions and assessments based on a costs : benefit analysis.

Contracts, Negligence and Nuisance Disputes

The rich tapestry of life and man’s capacity for invention and misunderstanding means that there are countless ways in which disputes can arise in our dealings with other people.  Our team of specialist litigation solicitors enjoys a high reputation for dealing with a wide range of such cases including :

  • Professional breach of duty – eg negligence by accountants, architects, barristers, solicitors or surveyors.

We will always act in your best interests with a view to achieving a speedy and cost-effective resolution of such disputes.  Under the present court rules, court proceedings must usually be seen as the last resort after all other reasonable methods of trying to resolve the dispute have been attempted.  We can assist you with such Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”).  However,  if ADR is not successful (some opponents are so unreasonable that it is not possible to conclude a reasonable agreement)  or is not appropriate (eg where there is a need for urgent action) then we will act for you and guide you through the court or tribunal process in contested proceedings.

In all cases we will provide you with clear and detailed advice on the likely costs involved (including disbursements such as court fees and barristers’ fees) for the various stages of the case, so that you know from the outset your likely costs commitment.

We feel that this is especially important so that our clients are able to budget accordingly and so that they can make informed decisions and assessments based on a costs : benefit analysis.

Wills, Trusts, Probate and Inheritance Disputes

Our team of specialist solicitors can assist you on a wide range of disputes involving wills, intestacy, trusts, probate and claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

The number of such disputes has increased considerably in recent years, for a variety of reasons.

Our specialist team of solicitors who deal with such disputes are assisted and supplemented by Swayne Johnson’s very large team of lawyers in the non-contentious Private Client team who deal with wills and trusts, probate, intestacies, Court of Protection, deputyships and Lasting Powers of Attorney.

The types of case dealt with by our litigation solicitors include:

  • Contested wills – eg on the grounds of improper execution, incapacity or undue influence.
  • Financial abuse of vulnerable adults.
  • Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 claims – eg by disappointed spouses, civil partners, cohabitees, children or other dependants.
  • Disputes concerning the correct interpretation of wills and trusts.
  • Negligence or other failures to properly deal with the administration of estates or trusts.

Commercial, Employment and Intellectual Property Disputes

We are specialist solicitors who deal with commercial, employment and intellectual property disputes. We have significant experience of dealing with such cases both for businesses/employers and employees/individuals.

Our legal work mainly involves handling the disputes and conflicts that organisations or their employees encounter. This often involves undertaking litigation vigorously, but also involves finding commercial and practical solutions, frequently and in highly contentious situations.

We have significant experience in intellectual property matters, both contentious and non-contentious, including trademark registration and in resolving disputes to ensure that appropriate intellectual property rights are asserted, protected and exploited to the client’s best advantage. The broad range of matters that on which we are able to offer our expertise includes:

  • Commercial contract disputes.
  • Employment contract disputes and Settlement Agreements.
  • Contractor/Self-employment contract disputes.
  • Intellectual property rights/trademark disputes.
  • Regulatory disputes.

Please select from one of our qualified Solicitors to help you with your legal issue