Asbestos meaning

In a share sale, the purchaser acquires control of the company that operates the business (the target), along with all its assets, and by default steps into all of its obligations and both known and potential liabilities. Findings in legal due diligence and the share purchase agreement can identify particular environmental, health & safety (EHS) matters to be addressed after completion. These may range from an obligation to commission an environmental audit through to the preparation of an asbestos management plan...

As of 12 January 2023, the EU’s Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (FSR) took effect...

Does a seller need to disclose land contamination to a buyer? If the seller knows the land is contaminated, there is no obligation to reveal this to a purchaser; the principle of ‘buyer beware’ applies. However, when responding to CPSE enquiries, the seller must avoid any misleading statements. 16.4 Please provide (so far as the Seller is aware) details of: (a) historic and current uses of the Property and activities undertaken there; and (b) whether any hazardous substances, or contaminative or potentially contaminative materials, are in, on or beneath the Property, including asbestos or asbestos-containing materials, any known waste deposits, present or former storage areas for hazardous or radioactive substances, existing or previous storage tanks (above or below ground), and any parts of the Property that are or were landfill. A seller will typically seek the benefit of the ‘sold with information’ statutory exclusion and authorise the buyer to carry out its own site investigations. A typical response would be: ‘the buyer may undertake its own investigations...

Johnstone v Fawcett’s Garage (Newbury) Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 467 What are the practical implications of this case? The key consequence of the ruling is the Court of Appeal’s categorical and wholesale dismissal of the ‘absolute risk approach’, put forward by the defendant in this case on the strength of obiter support from the High Court in Bannister v Freemans Public Ltd Company [2020] EWHC 1256 (QB). As a consequence of the Court of Appeal’s decision in this case, those obiter remarks in Bannister should no longer be regarded as representing good law, or treated as authoritative. The judgment further confirms that it was open to the trial judge in this case to employ a ‘direct risk assessment’ to calculate the increase in the risk of a person developing mesothelioma, and that doing so was permissible on the facts. It does not, however, set a general principle that this technique is valid or appropriate in all comparable matters involving low doses of exposure, although the court’s acceptance of...

Original news Redman (suing as widow and administratrix of the estate of Redman, deceased) v Zurich Insurance plc and another [2017] EWHC 1919 (QB), [2017] All ER (D) 07 (Aug) The Queen’s Bench Division struck out a widow’s claim brought under TP(RAI)A 2010 against the first defendant, the insurer of the second defendant employer of her husband, who died in 2013. The court held that the second defendant became a “relevant person” for the purposes of s 1 when it was voluntarily wound up in 2014, predating the commencement of TP(RAI)A 2010 on 1 August 2016. It also concluded that the second defendant incurred the liability, within the same section, when the cause of action was complete, which likewise occurred before 2016. As the claim failed to satisfy either condition in s 1, the transitional provisions in Schedule 3 required proceedings to be brought under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (TP(RAI)A 1930). Consequently, there were no reasonable grounds for issuing the claim under the later statute,...

PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights—9 April 2026 In this issue: Key PI & Clinical Negligence developments Road traffic accidents Psychiatric and occupational stress Public authorities and the state Product liability Scottish claims Other PI and Clinical Negligence news New content LexisNexis® Quantum Portal LexTalk®PI & Clinical Negligence: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts LexisNexis® Webinars Key PI & Clinical Negligence developments Eighteenth edition of the Judicial College Guidelines is published The 18th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines has now been released, following the 17th in 2024. It remains the primary reference for practitioners and courts when assessing general damages in personal injury and clinical negligence claims. The figures have been adjusted for inflation, by reference to the Retail Prices Index as at August 2025. See: LNB News 09/04/2026 4. The latest chapter in Mazur—prayers answered and questions unanswered In Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys...

PI & Clinical negligence horizon scanner—July 2025 [Archived] ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained. It summarises the principal legal developments relevant to personal injury and clinical negligence practitioners as at July 2025. For developments predating this horizon scanner, see PI and Clinical Negligence horizon scanning and key cases—overview. Key PI and clinical negligence developments The personal injury discount rate—a review In late 2024, the Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood MP, revealed the outcome of her five‑month review of the discount rate, initiated in July 2024. One month after the new +0.5% discount rate took effect, Thea Wilson (barrister at 12 King’s Bench Walk) assesses its impact on cases, the responses from claimant and defendant representatives, and the consequences of the change for legal practitioners. See News Analysis: The personal injury discount rate—a review. MoJ announces reduction in CFO’s interest rates The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced lower interest rates for the Courts Funds Office’s (CFO) special and basic accounts...

Practice Note This Practice Note consolidates our content on the amendments as introduced in the 2024 editions of the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) standard form construction contracts...

This Practice Note explores ground conditions within construction and engineering schemes. It addresses who bears responsibility at common law and highlights contractual mechanisms that can be included in building contracts to manage situations where the contractor meets adverse ground conditions, setting out how that risk is shared between contractor and employer. It also summarises how the JCT, NEC and FIDIC standard forms approach allocation of ground condition risk... What are ‘ground conditions’? ‘Ground conditions’ typically describes the site’s geology, hydrology, soil characteristics and any contamination present. Such conditions may arise naturally, be the result of human activity, or a mixture of both. Artificial or man-made conditions or obstructions can include: Antiquities Landfill Asbestos Disused or existing sewers Unexploded ordnance The phrase does not normally cover short-lived surface features like litter or leaves, nor climatic factors. While ‘ground conditions’ is a common expression in construction contracts, related terms are frequently used as well, such as ‘site conditions’ and ‘physical...

Claim Number: [ insert number ] IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE KING'S BENCH DIVISION Claim for Fatal Mesothelioma BETWEEN: [ name of Claimant ] Claimant (acting as Personal Representative of the estate of [ insert name ], Deceased) -and- B COMPANY LTD Defendant PARTICULARS OF CLAIM The claimant The claimant is the widow of [ name ] and serves as the personal representative of that estate (‘the deceased’). The claimant issues this claim for the estate under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, and for herself, as the deceased’s dependant widow, under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976...

Definitions Environment – any or all of the following media: (a) air, including air inside buildings or other structures and at levels below or above ground; (b) land, covering buildings and any other structures or erections upon, in or beneath it, together with soil and anything beneath the land's surface; and (c) water, including groundwater and surface water, plus any ecological systems or living organisms (humans included) sustained by those media. EHS Laws – all relevant legislation (whether civil, criminal or administrative), statutes, statutory instruments, directives, regulations, common law, codes of practice and guidance notes (having legal effect), and any instructions or decisions of any court or regulatory authority that concern EHS Matters. EHS Matters – any issues connected with the Environment, energy efficiency, climate change, or health and safety...

Dear [ insert organisation name ] URGENT—LIVING MESOTHELIOMA CLAIMANT YOU MUST DEAL WITH THIS LETTER IMMEDIATELY Re: Our Client: Address: Date of Birth: National Insurance Number: Your Previous Employee: Date of Birth: Date of Death: National Insurance Number: Place of Work: We act for the above-named client in a claim for damages for personal injury arising from exposure to asbestos, resulting from asbestos dust brought into the home on the work clothing of a family member, [ insert relation eg spouse or parent and insert their name ], during their employment with [ insert employer’s name ] between [ insert dates ]. Accordingly, the claim is addressed to you. This correspondence is sent in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims. Please confirm the identity of your insurers. Please note that your insurers must be notified without delay and failure to do so may affect your insurance cover. We enclose...