“In war and litigation, both sides suffer” (old Roman proverb)

Buying and selling property is a potential minefield for damaging dispute and expensive litigation.

Navigating that minefield starts with a professionally-drawn sale agreement which clearly records exactly what you have agreed to.  

We look at a recent High Court fight over the precise meaning of a bond clause, a fight which landed both buyer and seller with the expense, stress and waste of time inherent in asking a court to resolve a dispute which could have been avoided altogether.

Can you afford to lose your domain name?  What happens to your business if your website and emails suddenly go down because you’ve lost it?  For many businesses, that would be a disaster.  For some, it could spell financial ruin, especially if the new owner wants money – a lot of it – to sell the name back to you.

We discuss a recent adjudication decision where exactly that happened to a domain name owner through the automated business model known as “domain drop catching”.  What exactly is that and how does it work?  How easy or difficult is it to get your domain name back if you lose it?

Read on for more …

If you plan to form a new family trust, you need to know about a new directive from the Chief Master of the High Court to all Master’s Offices in the country. 

It sets out the parameters and requirements for the appointment of an “independent trustee” in addition to the trustees you nominate.

Read up on this before you finalise your plans for a trust, and take advice in doubt.

Buy-to-let property can be an excellent investment.

Just take into account the possible difficulty, cost and delay of evicting a defaulting tenant – or indeed any unlawful occupier - who refuses to budge.  It’s an entirely manageable risk if you take steps to do so upfront, and if you have factored it into your initial calculations.  

A recent Constitutional Court decision shows how the risk for landlords has increased, and how, particularly when homelessness could result from an eviction order, you may have to prepare for a longer haul in the courts than you perhaps anticipated.

It’s every motorist’s nightmare – being stopped by a traffic officer, arrested, and carted off to the local police cells.

When do you risk such on-the-spot arrest?  Can you for example be arrested for not having your driver’s licence on you?  

“These are the traffic laws you probably break every day – and how much you should be fined” lists the offences you can be arrested for, the penalties (including driver’s licence suspension) associated with each, and the substantial fines applicable to other common traffic offences.