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04 April 2025
Issue: 8111 / Categories: Legal News , Insolvency , Property
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NLJ this week: Transactions at an undervalue in El-Husseiny

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The El-Husseiny litigation ‘is as academic as it is important’, write Joseph Tendler, senior associate at Marriott Harrison, and Daniel Warents, barrister at XXIV Old Buildings, in this week’s NLJ. The Supreme Court’s judgment considers in detail the scope of certain sections of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The case concerns transactions at an undervalue, which often involve the gifting of valuable properties to close relatives or associates of the debtor. The debtor’s subjective intention can then be inferred from the circumstances, for example, where the debtor was in financial difficulties at the time of the gift. But, how do you determine whether there has been a transaction at an undervalue?

Tendler and Warents write: ‘It is the first sustained analysis by the Supreme Court of key elements of the statutory scheme in the Act. It is therefore likely to be a significant reference point for future cases concerning transactions at an undervalue.’

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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