Last week’s announcement of Lowcostholidays’ administration has brought a stark reminder to consumers and the wider industry that travel service providers based outside of the UK do not feature the financial protection offered to UK based consumers under the CAA’s ATOL scheme. Consumers who booked via the Lowcostholidays Group are now faced with the dilemma of holidays being curtailed in resorts, having to pay for accommodation and/or flights home again and cancelled summer holidays at the last minute. From an industry perspective, any OTA’s or tour operators using Lowcostholidays’ group inventory are having to deal with the fact that they may have to find alternatives for customers (in accordance with Flight Plus scheme rules), the inevitable credit card chargebacks that arise in these situations and the administrative nightmare of dealing with it all just as the summer holiday season begins. In some cases supplier failure insurance may be an option but this may also depend on whether consumers purchased adequate cover and indeed whether insurers will cover the failure of Lowcostholidays at all; in the past businesses that are deemed to have been at risk of failure have been excluded from such policies.

International law firm Hill Dickinson has advised innovative motor retailer Rockar on an investment from private equity houses Maven Capital Partners and NVM Private Equity LLP.

International law firm Hill Dickinson continues to strengthen its growing commodities team with the return of partner Andrew Buchmann.

The High Court’s imminent decision on whether to grant the police access to confidential AAIB records reignites the debate about ‘just culture’ and criminalisation in air accident investigations.

R (on the application of Mr & Mrs M) -v- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority [2016] EWCA Civ 611

Hill Dickinson LLP has successfully defended a claim at trial involving alleged historical abuse by a now deceased Roman Catholic priest against two brothers in the 1970s and 1980s. The High Court has

As with economic unions, parties may sometimes seek to change their litigation unions. This can include the expert witness in court proceedings, as was highlighted in the recent TCC case of Coyne -v- Morgan and another t/a Hillfield Home Improvement (unreported), 24th May 2016. As with the exit from an economic union, the exit of an expert can raise complex issues.

International law firm Hill Dickinson LLP has bolstered its family law offering with the appointment of Sarah McCarthy as chartered legal executive and the promotion of Joanne Raisbeck to legal director.

On 23 June 2016, the UK voted in favour of leaving the European Union (EU). The referendum result is as historic as it is unprecedented, when the UK will become the first member state ever to exit the EU.

Sellers of commercial property often regard replying to standard form pre-contract enquiries as an inconvenient and unwanted chore, but a failure to treat the exercise with sufficient respect or to remember to update replies if circumstances change can lead to disastrous (and expensive) consequences…

In Pollock -v- Reed [2015] EWHC 3685 (Ch), the High Court confirmed that when certifying a 'without consent' bulk transfer under the Occupational Pension Schemes (Preservation of Benefit) Regulations 1991 (Preservation Regulations), a scheme actuary should not take into account the security of benefits in the transferring or receiving schemes but should only compare the ‘headline benefits’ in each scheme. The position does not change if the transferring scheme is in wind-up.

On 10 June 2016, the Commission published its Interpretative Guidelines (Guidelines) on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 with respect to compensation and assistance for denied boarding, cancellations and long delays for flights (Regulation 261) and on Regulations (EC) No 2027/97 and (EC) No 889/2002 on air carrier liability in the event of accidents. The Guidelines do not contain any new information as to the practical application of the Regulations, but bring together key EU case law that has shaped passenger rights since 2005. They will act as a stop-gap until they are superseded by the promised revision to Regulation 261. It is also important to note that the Guidelines are not a substitute for, and will not prejudice, the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (CJEU) own interpretation of the law.