Joint and several liability meaning

The FTT decision As noted in a previous Insight, the proprietor of Vista Tower ('Grey') applied for an RCO against the building’s original developer and 95 additional parties who met the definition of ‘associated persons’ due to shared directors during 2017 to 2022. The owner requested an order requiring the respondents to cover both historic and forthcoming costs to rectify fire safety defects, estimated at over £20m. The FTT granted that relief, on a joint and several liability basis, against 75 respondents. The appeal Certain respondents appealed on these grounds: whether the Tribunal can make RCOs rendering multiple respondents jointly and severally liable for the same overall sum, or whether it must make individual orders against each respondent for a specifically identified amount. whether the Tribunal misdirected itself on the “just and equitable” test, given that for many respondents there was no demonstration that they participated in the relevant development or obtained remuneration from it, and that the Tribunal improperly required respondents to...

In this issue: Budgets and Finance Bills VAT Taxes management and litigation Individuals and income tax International Employment taxes Real estate tax LexTalk®Tax: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Dates for your diary Trackers New and updated content Useful information Budgets and Finance Bills Finance Bill 2026 completes House of Commons committee stage On 3 February 2026, the Public Bill Committee concluded scrutiny of Finance Bill 2026 after just six of the scheduled 14 sittings. The Bill has been reissued to fold in government amendments cleared in committee, bringing the Commons committee phase to a close. The revised Bill will proceed to report stage in the Commons—date to follow—which is Parliament’s last chance to make substantive changes. The Commons recess runs from 13 to 20 February, with business resuming on 23 February. See: LNB News 04/02/2026 19 and Tax—Finance Bill 2026 tracker—progress through Parliament. National Insurance Contributions...

In this issue: Key developments and horizon scanning Leasing property Statutory compliance Property development Property taxes Property in Wales LexTalk®Property: a Lexis®Nexis community Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning Law Society comments on Renters' Rights Bill The Law Society has issued its view on the Renters' Rights Bill, which had its second reading in the House of Lords on 4 February 2025. It broadly backs the planned changes—such as prohibiting ‘no-fault’ evictions and curbing rental bidding wars—but warns these aims risk faltering without clearer enforcement mechanisms and extra funding for the justice system. It also notes the reforms could prompt more contested hearings, since landlords will need to evidence valid grounds for possession, and a spike in claims as tenants gain greater scope to challenge evictions. The Law Society urges the government to set out how courts will be resourced...

This note sets out how a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) may enter creditors’ voluntary liquidation (CVL), describes the scope of the liquidator’s authority, and explains the duties of the members. It does not extend to Limited Partnerships; for guidance on those, see Practice Note: Limited partnerships and insolvency—key principles. Applicable legislation The Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2000 (LLPA 2000) introduced LLPs and should be read together with the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2001 (LLPR 2001), SI 2001/1090. Under the LLPR 2001, the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, are applied to LLPs. The IA 1986 applies solely to LLPs registered in Great Britain...

Subscription and shareholders’ agreement This Practice Note offers guidance for drafters preparing and/or reviewing a subscription and shareholders’ agreement relating to the allotment of shares (and, potentially, loan notes) in a private limited company incorporated in England and Wales by a private equity (or venture capital) fund investor (the investor) within a venture capital (VC) deal, where the structure provides for split exchange and completion, ie conditions must be met before completion of the subscription and shareholders’ agreement. The investment contemplated is into an existing company (the Company), with the current shareholders (typically the business’s founders) keeping the shares they have already been issued in the Company. Set out below are matters to weigh up when drafting and/or reviewing the principal provisions of a subscription and shareholders’ agreement (SSA). Parties The investee company Although the principal parties to the SSA will be the relevant investor and the Company’s founders, the Company will ordinarily be included as a party too, ie the vehicle in which the investor...

ARCHIVED – This archived practice note sets out information on the EU Damages Directive and captures the position as at its commencement on 27 December 2014. It is not maintained or updated. After nearly a decade of debate, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers endorsed a new EU directive on private damages actions for breaches of competition law (the Directive). The Directive received formal adoption on 26 November 2014, following sign-off by the Parliament and Council, and appeared in the Official Journal on 5 December 2014; it took effect on 27 December 2014, with Member States afforded two years from that date to transpose its measures into domestic law. The Directive is intended to guarantee that anyone suffering loss caused by an infringement of competition law can effectively pursue full compensation. Its overarching purpose is to tackle obstacles to the effective enforcement of competition rules in the majority of Member States and to set minimum standards and common approaches within the relevant procedural...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Seller) [ name of (first) Buyer ] [ and [ name of second Buyer ] both ] of [ address ] ([ together ] Buyer) 1 Definitions In this Agreement, the following terms shall have these meanings: Actual Completion Date – the day on which the Transfer is actually finalised; [ Buyer’s Solicitors – [ name ] of [ address ] (reference [ details ]); ] Completion Date – [ date ]; [ Contents – the items specified in Appendix 2; ] [ Contents Price – £[ amount in figures ] ([ amount in words ] pounds); ] Deposit – [ figure ]% of the Price; [ Documents – the documents identified in the Schedule; ] Legislation...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], whose registered office is at [ address ] [ together with an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Landlord); [ name of Tenant ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], with its registered office at [ address ] [ and an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Tenant); [ [ name of Guarantor ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], having its registered office at [ address ] [ and an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Guarantor) ]...

date [ date ] Parties [ name of Seller ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with registered office at ] [ address ] [ and whose address for service in England and Wales is [ address ] ] ( Seller ) [ name of Buyer ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with registered office at ] [ address ] [ and whose address for service in England and Wales is [ address ] ] ( Buyer ) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with registered office at ] [ address ] [ and whose address for service in England and Wales is [ address ] ] ( Guarantor ) ] 1 Definitions In this Agreement, the terms set out below shall have the meanings given: ...

The nature of joint and several liability As outlined in the Practice Note on joint, several, and joint and several liability, joint and several liability arises when two or more parties to the same contract give a promise to the same person, while, at the same time, each of them separately makes that identical promise to that same person, within the same contractual arrangement...

This Q&A considers a tenant who is in a tenancy in common with another tenant, who petitions for bankruptcy after exchange and before the completion of a sale of the property that the two tenants own. It examines the first co-owner’s exposure to the purchaser and what remedies he or she may pursue against the other co-tenant if the purchaser serves a notice to complete. As to contractual responsibility, this turns on the contract’s terms. By way of illustration, if the sellers have joint and several obligations, the innocent party is nonetheless answerable to the purchasers. For further details, see Practice Note: Joint, several, and joint and several liability...