News / 11.11.2019 Harassment: What to do when the police do not stop it Harassment is on the rise. More and more people are suffering abuse and intimidation, even violence and serious damage to property, at the hands of other members of what is supposed to be a civil soci... Read More

News / 15.04.2019 The Government Proposes Plan to Abolish Section 21 (“No Fault”) Evictions It will be announced today by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, that landlords will lose the ability to repossess their properties using Section... Read More

News / 15.03.2019 Adverse Possession: Paving a Path to Successful Claims The Court of Appeal has determined that a paved area could prove adverse possession. Background In 1984, Mrs Thorpe acquired a semi-detached bungalow in Harcourt Close, Bishopsthorpe, York. Mrs T... Read More

News / 31.01.2019 How long is too long? Don’t pause for thought on forfeiture A landlord under a lease (either residential or commercial) is generally entitled to forfeit a lease[1]. Forfeiture has always been seen as a draconian measure and one that the court of equity as long... Read More

News / 07.01.2019 Ex-husband Successfully Challenges Ex-Wife’s Will After Instructing Battens The Dispute Resolution department at Battens have recently successfully concluded a case on behalf of an ex-husband against his late wife’s estate. That may seem surprising, but it is possible f... Read More

News / 04.01.2019 Major Agriculture Business Successful in Dispute Resolution Claim After Instructing Battens A major agri-business operating in the South West instructed the Dispute Resolution department at Battens to resolve a commercial dispute with a key figure in the UK egg industry. The agri-business i... Read More

News / 12.11.2018 Battens Rewards Workers with Three Key Promotions David Stephens, Chairman of Battens solicitors, has announced the promotion of three of its staff by awarding them significant promotions. Gemma Galvani, Georgina Bacon, and Oliver Thorp have all... Read More

News / 18.10.2018 Battens Welcomes Property Dispute Resolution Specialist Battens Solicitors, one of the region’s largest law firms, has announced the appointment of Property Dispute Resolution specialist, Edward Thompson.   Edward, who completed his legal... Read More

News / 08.10.2018 The (Japanese) knotty issue The Court of Appeal recently decided a case concerning two property owners whose houses adjoined land owned by Network Rail.  The land in question adjoined an access path leading to an embankment... Read More

News / 06.08.2018 Cohabitee whose partner left her nothing in his Will is awarded a cottage and £204,000 by the Court in inheritance claim Earlier this year, the High Court in Cardiff made a substantial award to a woman who had made a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The case of Thompson v. Ragg... Read More

News / 20.07.2018 Public Rights of Way Beloved by ramblers, but often less popular with landowners, public rights of way (or PROWs) are a common feature of agricultural land. If you own land that is crossed by a PROW, you need to be awar... Read More

News / 14.06.2018 Keeping out of the Courts - Farming Disputes Every now and then, there is in every farming community a major fall-out within a family and disagreement regarding who should inherit the farm.   There are many reasons for this. The people inv... Read More