Alex acts for a wide range of developers, investors and private clients in connection with disputes relating to commercial and residential property.
Since qualifying in 2008, Alex has developed experience of claims relating to lease renewals of business premises, dilapidations, breach covenants (assignment/underletting, unauthorised alterations and breach of user restriction) as well as rent reviews.
Alex also handles property disputes relating to rights of way, boundaries, claims for ownership of land by adverse possession and disputes under the Party Wall Act 1996.
Alex acts for residential landlords and tenants and has experience of advising in relation to contentious enfranchisement work including lease extensions and collective enfranchisement.
Since joining Nockolds in 2011, Alex has also dealt with a number of warranty claims arising from the sale of companies, partnership disputes and has gained experience of claims involving insurance law where he has advised in relation to the availability of cover and has taken over the conduct of cases where support has been withdrawn by insurers. As part of this work, Alex has been able to overturn the wrongful withdrawal of cover by issuing court proceedings and making complaints to the Financial Ombudsman.
As an accredited mediator, Alex recognises the value of mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution in resolving disputes outside of court and has a good track record of concluding settlements through negotiation.
Alex is a Legal Director in the Litigation Team and, before joining the firm, he trained in the City and studied law at Cambridge University. Alex is a member of the Property Litigation Association and the London Solicitors Litigation Association.
Experience
Property Litigation
- Bringing a successful claim in the High Court and resisting an appeal for the return of an £870,000 deposit following the termination of a contract to buy a site for development.
- Acting for a landlord in a substantial dilapidations claim against the estate of a former tenant of office premises in the West End. Following the commencement of proceedings in the Technology and Construction Court, a settlement for the majority of the claim was concluded shortly before the trial.
- Advising the owner of an estate management company in respect of a longstanding professional negligence claim relating to an alleged failure to commission remedial work to a cavity wall. The case settled at a mediation for around 10% of the amount claimed with the co-defendants making more substantial contributions.
- Advising numerous clients in relation to applications to the Upper Tribunal to release or modify restrictive covenants and the basis on which compensation might be calculated. In one case, following negotiation, the neighbour’s demand for one-third of the profit from the proposed development was substantially reduced to £75,000.
- Assisting a client to negotiate the withdrawal of a notice to forfeit a lease of commercial premises. The notice had ostensibly been served because of breaches of fire safety regulations but the purpose was to try to secure more extensive rights of access to facilitate a development of the upper floors.
- Advising clients in relation to the Building Safety Act 2022, providing advice in relation to the scope of a developer’s obligations under Building Safety Repairs Pledge and defending an application in the First-Tier Tribunal for a Remediation Order.
Commercial Litigation
- Acting in relation to a multi-million pound claim for damages on account of an alleged failure to use reasonable endeavours to secure a planning permission for a development site.
- Acting in relation to a substantial warranty claim arising from the sale of a business where the seller was alleged to have misrepresented the company’s financial performance and targeted its clients in breach of a restrictive covenant.
- Defending a manufacturer in a substantial product liability claim. The claim arose from the supply of a defective component used in electrical transformers. After the client’s insurer withdrew cover, we obtained a stay in the claim that had been brought by the manufacturer of the transformers and commenced separate proceedings for a declaration that the client’s insurance cover had been wrongfully withdrawn. Both claims settled simultaneously at mediation with a payment being made by the client’s insurer to the manufacturer of the transformers.
- Acting for the owners of a commercial property who had inadequate insurance to cover losses arising from business interruption and property damage following a fire which resulted in two deaths. We made a successful complaint to the Financial Ombudsman to secure funding for our client’s legal representation at an inquest into the fire and concluded a substantial settlement of the client’s professional negligence claim against its former broker at a mediation without issuing court proceedings.