Kent Solicitors

Be wary of what you post on the internet!

2010-03-15T13:53:00.006Z

In March 2010, three Google executives have controversially been convicted of privacy law offences by an Italian court in a recent case, a decision which could be potentially damaging to a large number of companies who host content online.

The case involved a video which was posted on Google Videos on 8 September 2006, showing a number of Turin schoolchildren bullying another child who suffers from autism. The video remained on Google Videos until 7 November 2006, when it was removed by Google following a complaint from the Italian police.

Italian prosecutors brought charges against four Google employees under Italian defamation and invasion of privacy laws for hosting the offending video. Google sought to defend the claim on the basis that under the EU E-Commerce Directive, service providers are exempt from prosecution for offensive content as long as they remove the content once they are notified of its existence. However, the Italian authorities found that three of the four employees were guilty of breaching Italian privacy laws, and imposed suspended six month sentences on each of them. All of the employees were cleared of defamation.

This decision horrified Google and a number of other leading web service providers, who feel that the case has set an alarming precedent. Googles lawyer, Matt Sucherman described it as 'attacking the very principles of freedom on which the Internet is built'.

In the UK, the former Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, described the Italian courts findings as 'ridiculous' and stated that it 'brings privacy laws into disrepute'. He added that the decision is 'like prosecuting the post office for hate mail that is sent in the post'.

The practicalities of the decision mean that sites such as YouTube and Facebook would be required to monitor all content posted and immediately remove anything which is offensive or illegal. Owing to the sheer number of postings on the sites, this would be impossible with postings to You Tube taking place at a rate of 20 hours of content per minute.

Summary

The decision of the Italian court has been greeted with dismay by businesses and regulators in the rest of Europe. If the decision is upheld on appeal, the hosting of large volumes of user generated content in Italy is likely to become unworkable. In the meantime, businesses hosting third party content in Italy will need to be particularly vigilant to ensure that illegal content is taken down immediately.

In the UK, under the E-Commerce Regulations, service providers will not be liable for defamatory content or content that infringes an individuals privacy on the following conditions:

1. They do not have actual knowledge of illegal user generated content
2. That they act immediately to remove unlawful content upon becoming aware of it.

If your business hosts user generated content, the Italian decision is a timely reminder of the need to have robust monitoring and take-down procedures in place.

For help and legal advice contact Luke English on 0845 270 2513 or for further information visit our website http://www.kentsolicitor.co.uk/

Mediation

2010-03-08T09:19:00.000Z

Mediation.... So useful for so many situations. It is all to easy to get hunkered down in your trench lobbing arguments like hand grenades over the top and hoping they do some damage; putting your head out and do a bit of sniping here and there - not very productive

Much better to hum loudly 'Silent Night', walk out into 'No-Mans land' and have a game of football. You might be able to resolve your differences

...always takes advice after the event

2010-03-02T23:49:00.002Z

So I hear that this some time client bought a business but did not look into (or took a gamble on) the premises

He then found the landlord locked him out because the previous guy had not paid the rent !

I am now wondering if I will get a call from him complaining about the unfairness of it all

Fixed Fee Meetings

2010-01-27T10:03:00.002Z

Kaslers Solicitors LLP offer Fixed Fee Meetings to discuss your legal position.

Expert advice is confirmed in writing so you can make an informed decision about your future

To make an appointment please call 0845 270 2511 (local rate)

Local appointments in Churchill Square, Kings Hill (easy parking)

Evening and Saturday appointments are available

Our services include:

Wills, Probate and Lasting Powers of Attorney
Residential and Commercial Property
Road Traffic Accidents and Personal Injury
Media & Intellectual Property Law
Contract Drafting and Licensing
Business Sales and Purchases
Employment Law and Compromise Agreements
Director, Shareholder and Partner Disputes
Contract Arguments and Civil Litigation

Rear End Shunts

2010-01-13T11:41:00.004Z

Please have a look at this article written by our road traffic accident solicitor, Chris Lodge...

http://car-accident-advice.co.uk/category/rear-end-shunts/

Skype

2010-01-12T13:34:00.003Z

At Kaslers solicitors we regularly use skype as a means of communicating both internally and externally. Please see blog written by Chris Lodge on the benefits of using skype . . .

http://car-accident-advice.co.uk/2010/01/06/using-skype/

Car Accident Advice

2010-01-12T13:23:00.002Z

Please see the following blogs written by our road traffic accident solicitor Chris Lodge

http://car-accident-advice.co.uk/2010/01/09/lack-of-salt-and-gritting/

http://car-accident-advice.co.uk/2010/01/10/piloting-the-new-process/

Wills

2009-12-18T08:00:00.000Z

Anyone wishing to write a Will should seek the services of a solicitor, otherwise they risk a Will which reflects nothing of their wishes. We also urge anyone who has used a Will Writer to check the accuracy and suitability of their Will with a solicitor before it is too late and they leave their loved ones with unnecessary problems.

For further advice please contact Vanessa Adamson at Kaslers Solicitors LLP on 01622 844607

New Process for dealing with road traffic accident injury claims

2009-12-16T13:28:00.004Z

After being injured in a road accident, the last thing anybody needs is long drawn out legal process. Fortunately, in the very near future, the waiting time for most of these cases is going to be dramatically shortened - if the lawmakers have finally got it right.

With effect from Spring 2010, a completely new process for road accident injury claims becomes compulsory and where the insurer of the driver responsible for the accident admits liability immediately, the claim should normally be finalised in a matter of a few months. For further details please click here

Chris Lodge has specialised as a Road Traffic Accident Solicitor for over 25 years and sits as a representative for the Motor Accident Solicitors Society on a Ministry of Justice working party testing and piloting the electronic notification form described above.

Inheritance Tax nil rate band freeze

2009-12-11T13:04:00.001Z

The promised increase in the nil rate band in 2010-11 to 350,000 pounds has been withdrawn. It will remain at current levels 325,000 pounds

2009-12-09T14:17:00.003Z

Kaslers Solicitors LLP can provide legal advice on the following areas of law:

Business advice
Business Sales and Purchases - assets or shares
Commercial - factoring / franchising
Civil Litigation
Contract drafting / disputes
Director, Shareholder and Partnership agreements / disputes
Divorce, unmarried separation and family
Employment, Discrimination and Harassment
Insolvency, bankruptcy, voluntary arrangements, repossession
Media, Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law
Money generally - borrowing and lending , mortgages or unsecured
Probate and Intestacy
Property - Commercial and Residential
Property disputes - boundaries, rights of way, squatters
Road Traffic Accidents and Personal Injury
Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney

Compromise Agreements Employees be warned!

2009-11-26T13:53:00.002Z

Employees should be warned that compromise agreements can, and do, typically include clauses that go far beyond the simple compromise of potential tribunal claims.

Whilst employees can be reasonably expected to waive their rights in respect of claims they are currently aware of, for instance redundancy pay and/or notice pay, employees should not waive their rights in respect of potential future claims of which they are not aware, for example pensions or personal injury claims.

Some employers include in their compromise agreements covenants preventing an employee from competing with the employer in the future; a clause preventing the parties from making derogatory remarks towards each other; the return or retention of the employer’s equipment;
the employer requesting the employee’s assistance, without future payment.

Before signing a compromise agreement employees should seek the advice of a solicitor so that they can be certain what they are signing up to.

For help and advice please contact Michael Breeze at Kaslers Solicitors LLP on 07900 195 195

Planning Permission needed if you have a motorbike?

2009-11-02T13:13:00.002Z

Did you know that it is against the law to ride or push a motorbike from the road to your house front garden or parking space unless you already have an authorised driveway and dropped kerb?

An article in the Sunday Express on 1st November, advises that a Mr Morris of Bristol, has been told it is illegal to push the 400lb motorcycle across the pavement to its parking space, and that he must carry the bike or face prosecution! Inspector Colin Salmon of Avon & Somerset Police said “No one should push a motor vehicle on a footpath. If a person wants access to their property they must get planning permission for a driveway and a dropped kerb”.

So if you need to park on your front garden, either a car or a motorbike, you must obtain planning permission from your local authority for the drive and authority from the local highways department for a dropped kerb – to park legally.

For more information contact Michael Breeze at Kaslers Solicitors LLP on 07900 195 195

Residential Property Lawyer

2009-10-28T15:05:00.005Z

Chantal L. Muniandy has joined Kaslers Solicitors LLP to provide expert legal advice to clients on all property matters. Chantal is a qualified Solicitor who lives in Maidstone in Kent .

Please call Chantal on the office number 0845 270 2511 for a quotation if you are buying or selling a property.

Chantal will provide you with a personal service ensuring that your property transaction is as stress free as possible.

Media News - Tiger Lily

2009-10-19T10:29:00.004+01:00

Kaslers Solicitors LLP would like to congratulate the artist Tiger Lily, on her music industry showcase on Friday at Jujus in Chelsea. Fantastic evening!

National Minimum Wage Regulations

2009-09-30T21:44:00.002+01:00

National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment) Regulations 2009 come into force on 1 October 2009. The Regulations increase the rate of the national minimum wage. The main rate rises from 5.73 pounds per hour to 5.80 pounds per hour and the development rate from 4.77 pounds per hour to 4.83 pounds per hour. The rate for workers aged 16 to 17 years increases from 3.53 pounds to 3.57 pounds per hour. The Regulations also specify new classes of persons who do not qualify for the national minimum wage and increase the day value of the accommodation amount that can be taken into account where an employer provides an employee with housing from 4.46 pounds to 4.51 pounds.

Employment Dismissal and Effective Date of Termination

2009-09-28T08:00:00.001+01:00

The Effective Date of Termination is a critical concept within employment law - not least because certain time limits run from it - most notably the 3 months within which you must issue your application

Contact: Michael Breeze (Solicitor, Partner) m: 07 900 195 195
e: mdb@kaslers.co.uk skype: michael.breeze.kaslers

Deposit Forfeiture Special purpose vehicle (SPV)

2009-09-24T08:00:00.002+01:00

If a buyer fails to complete the purchase of land, then the seller forfeits the deposit.

The seller will also claim damages for the losses arising, for example, in a falling market, the difference between the contractual sale price agreed and the eventual sale price

That remedy will be useless if the buyer is a SPV with no other assets

Contact: Simon M. Scott (Solicitor, Partner) Mobile: 07979 916619
email: ss@kaslers.co.uk

Illegal File Sharing and music privacy

2009-09-23T16:58:00.002+01:00

Pop star Lilly Allen, an outspoken critic of both musical piracy and the Featured Artists Coalitions (FAC) softly-softly approach to the issue, has set up a blog http://idontwanttochangetheworld.blogspot.com/
to discuss the problem of illegal file sharing.

Illegal Downloading

2009-09-22T08:30:00.000+01:00

There was a slight dip in illegal downloading of 14-24 years olds according to the UK Music-commissioned study http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8193148.stm

Data Protection

2009-09-21T12:40:00.001+01:00

In August 2009 The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) found a doctor in Ipswich in breach of the Data Protection Act for failing to secure a computer containing patient information.
The computer was found in a car park by an employee of Suffolk Primary Care Trust. The computer contained employee and patient details.

The doctor has to sign an undertaking to keep personal information securely
Sally-Anne Poole, Head of Enforcement and Investigations at the ICO, said it is vital that sensitive personal information, such as patient information, is handled securely.

Liability of Non-executive Directors

2009-09-14T08:00:00.001+01:00

They must take an active role in the company, else may be held to be in breach of duty.

When an executive director stole many millions and carried out transactions with connected parties, the company sued 2 non-executive directors.

It was held that they should have quizzed him on the deals, all the most so because they knew of his past fraudulent activities

Michael Breeze (Solicitor, Partner) m: 07 900 195 195 e: mdb@kaslers.co.uk skype: michael.breeze.kaslers

Redundancy Consultation

2009-09-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

An employer is obliged to consult with recognised trade unions (or if there are none, employee representatives) if 20-99 redundancies are proposed within a period of 90 days

Consultation must begin at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect

If 100 or more redundancies are proposed, then a 90 days consultation period is needed

Contact: Selwan Yousif Tel : 0845 270 2511 email : sy@kaslers.co.uk

Redundancy - Length of service

2009-09-10T08:00:00.001+01:00

Length of service alone on a last in first out basis will probably be discrimatory on grounds of age as younger employees tend to have less service.

However, it might be justified if the employer can show that the discriminatory act was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

The courts have decided that length of service was an indirectly discriminatory criteria, but it could be justified on the basis of rewarding loyalty and achieving a stable workforce.

Contact: Selwan Yousif Tel : 0845 270 2511 email : sy@kaslers.co.uk

Employment Restrictive Covenants

2009-09-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

Check that the employer and employee have actually signed up to the terms of restrictive covenants

So often, the employer never actually included the relevant term in the employment contract

Perhaps the employee never signed up to a new version of the terms and conditions, or the restrictive covenants are contained in a staff handbook which has no contractual status.

An employer should review the position when considering wage increases and make sure that the pay increase is given in consideration of newly re-stated restrictive covenants.

Contact: Selwan Yousif Tel : 0845 270 2511 email : sy@kaslers.co.uk