Litigation
At Mascot Solicitors, our Civil Litigation team provides strategic, results-driven legal representation for individuals, businesses, and organisations involved in disputes. Whether you are pursuing a claim or defending one, we offer clear advice, practical solutions, and strong advocacy—every step of the way.
Our Litigation Services
We provide clear, strategic advice on all aspects of civil litigation for individuals, businesses, and organisations.
Agency Disputes
Understanding Agency Disputes
Common issues and who we help?
Agency relationships are an essential part of many commercial transactions, but when disagreements arise they can quickly become complex and contentious. At Mascot Solicitors, we have extensive experience in resolving agency disputes across a wide range of industries.
What Is an Agency Dispute?
An agency dispute typically arises when there is a breakdown in the relationship between a principal (the party giving authority), an agent (the party acting on their behalf), or a third party affected by the agent’s actions. These disputes often involve breach of fiduciary duty, exceeding authority, misrepresentation, negligence, non-payment of commission, termination of agreements, conflicts of interest, or disputes over liability for third-party contracts.
Who We Help
We act for principals, agents, and third parties in disputes involving sales agents and distributors, estate agents and letting agents, business intermediaries, commercial representatives, and employment-related agency arrangements.
Our Approach
Our goal is to resolve agency disputes swiftly and commercially. We explore all avenues, including negotiation and alternative dispute resolution, to achieve the best outcome for our clients. Where necessary, we represent clients in court proceedings with precision and determination.
Protecting your rights when agreements are broken.
Common types and how we help?
Common Types of Contract Disputes
We handle disputes arising from failure to deliver goods or services, non-payment or late payment, breach of warranty or condition, failure to meet deadlines or performance standards, disputes over terms and interpretation, wrongful termination, and breaches of exclusivity or non-compete clauses.
How We Can Help
Whether you are bringing or defending a claim, we provide clear, strategic advice tailored to your objectives. Our services include reviewing contracts, negotiating settlements to avoid court action, representing clients in mediation or arbitration, issuing or defending court proceedings, and seeking damages, injunctions, or specific performance.
Breach of Contract
Contracts are the foundation of most business and personal transactions. When one party fails to uphold their end of the agreement, it can cause financial loss, disruption, and frustration. At Mascot Solicitors, we help individuals and businesses enforce their contractual rights and seek appropriate remedies when a breach occurs.
Capacity Disputes
Ensuring fairness where legal capacity is in question.
When capacity matters and who we help?
Legal capacity—the ability to understand and make decisions—is fundamental in civil law. Disputes about a person’s capacity can affect the validity of contracts, wills, and other legal acts.
At Mascot Solicitors, we help clients navigate these complex and sensitive issues with care, discretion, and precision.
When Is Capacity an Issue?
Capacity may be challenged in disputes involving contracts entered into by someone lacking mental capacity, disputes over gifts or financial transactions, powers of attorney and deputyship disputes, Court of Protection applications, and capacity to litigate (requiring a litigation friend).
Who We Help
We represent individuals, family members, attorneys, deputies, and others in disputes involving vulnerable adults, people with dementia, learning disabilities, or mental illness, alleged undue influence, conflicts over financial decisions, and disagreements between carers or advisers.
Our Expertise
We assist with assessing or challenging capacity, making or responding to Court of Protection applications, defending or pursuing claims where capacity is central, working with medical experts, and resolving disputes through negotiation or formal proceedings.
A Sensitive and Skilled Approach
Capacity disputes often involve personal relationships and emotional strain. We approach each case with sensitivity while ensuring our clients’ legal interests are robustly protected.
What they are and how we help?
In construction and property transactions, collateral warranties are vital for extending contractual obligations to third parties such as funders, tenants, or purchasers. At Mascot Solicitors, we advise on, draft, enforce, and litigate collateral warranties to ensure your rights and interests are protected.
What Is a Collateral Warranty?
A collateral warranty is a contract under which a party—typically a contractor, subcontractor, or consultant—warrants to a third party that it has complied with obligations under the main contract. It gives the third party direct rights of action if those obligations are breached, even if they are not named in the original contract.
Where Are They Used?
Collateral warranties are common in construction and development projects, commercial leases, funding agreements, and property purchases or sales.
Our Services
We assist with drafting and reviewing warranties, advising on enforceability, negotiating terms such as step-in rights and liability limits, enforcing rights under collateral warranties, and defending claims brought by third-party beneficiaries.
Who We Act For
We represent developers and property owners, contractors and subcontractors, architects, engineers, consultants, funders, purchasers, and tenants.
Why Choose Us?
Our team combines deep expertise in construction and commercial law, strong knowledge of JCT and NEC contracts, and a commercial approach to dispute resolution through negotiation, ADR, or litigation.
Collateral Warranties
Protecting third parties through binding legal assurances.
Illegality in Civil Disputes
Advising on contracts and claims affected by unlawful conduct.
Common scenarios and our expertise
Contracts and civil claims may be unenforceable if they involve illegality under statute or common law. These cases can be complex and fact-sensitive.
At Mascot Solicitors, we provide clear advice and strategies when illegality arises as a defence or central issue in litigation.
What Is Illegality in Civil Law?
A contract may be considered illegal if it involves criminal conduct such as fraud or money laundering, breaches statutory provisions like licensing requirements, contravenes public policy, or attempts to evade tax or legal obligations. Courts may refuse enforcement, though exceptions and discretion can apply.
Common Scenarios
We act in cases involving unlicensed business activities, illegal employment arrangements, fraudulent misrepresentation or conspiracy, contracts made to defeat creditors or evade tax, and illegality used as a defence to non-performance.
Our Expertise
We advise on contract enforceability, rescission, restitution, unjust enrichment, and defence strategies. We also assess proportionality under modern legal tests, such as Patel v Mirza [2016].
Understanding Misrepresentation
When a party enters a contract based on false or misleading information, the consequences can be serious. Misrepresentation undermines trust and may lead to financial loss or liability.
At Mascot Solicitors, we help clients pursue or defend misrepresentation claims with clarity and strategy.
What Is Misrepresentation?
Misrepresentation occurs when one party makes a false statement of fact that induces another to enter into a contract. If proven, the contract may be rescinded and damages awarded. Types include fraudulent (dishonest), negligent (careless), and innocent (without fault).
Common Examples
We advise on cases involving business sales, commercial contracts, property purchases, consumer transactions, financial agreements, insurance, and professional services.
Remedies for Misrepresentation
Depending on the case, remedies may include rescission, damages, indemnity for costs, or equitable relief.
Our Services
We provide factual analysis, strategic advice on liability, representation in settlement or court proceedings, and guidance on litigation risks.
Why Choose Us?
Our solicitors bring deep knowledge of contract and tort law, experience in complex commercial disputes, jargon-free communication, and a cost-focused approach.
Misrepresentation
Challenging false statements in contracts and transactions.
Repudiatory Breach of Contract
Serious breaches giving you the right to walk away.
Understanding Repudiatory Breach
Not all breaches are equal. A repudiatory breach is a fundamental violation striking at the heart of the agreement, allowing the innocent party to treat the contract as terminated and seek damages. At Mascot Solicitors, we help clients assess, respond to, and act on repudiatory breaches with confidence.
What Is a Repudiatory Breach?
This occurs when a party refuses to perform the contract, or commits a breach so serious it deprives the other of the agreement’s main benefit. Examples include failure to deliver key goods or services, walking away before performance begins, breaching fundamental terms, or deliberate non-performance.
Your Options
If you are the innocent party, you may:
- Accept the breach and terminate the contract, or
- Affirm the contract and insist on performance.
In both cases, you may be entitled to damages to cover losses.
Influence and Emotional Pressure - When the law can intervene?
Contracts, gifts, and legal decisions must be made freely and voluntarily. When someone is pressured, manipulated, or emotionally coerced, the law may intervene.
At Mascot Solicitors, we advise clients on challenging transactions affected by undue influence and provide guidance on civil claims involving emotional distress.
What Is Undue Influence?
Undue influence arises when one party uses their position of trust, power, or emotional dominance to override another’s free will. This may occur in family relationships, financial transactions, property transfers, wills, or powers of attorney. Types include actual undue influence (proven coercion) and presumed undue influence (suspicious transactions in trusted relationships).
Emotional Distress in Civil Claims
Emotional distress alone is not always actionable, but may be relevant in tort claims such as harassment or trespass, or where a contract was signed under duress, undue influence, or incapacity.
How We Can Help
We assess whether undue influence has occurred, challenge or defend gifts and contracts, work with medical and psychological experts, and pursue remedies such as rescission, injunctions, or damages. We also assist in navigating sensitive family, trust, or property disputes.
Undue Influence and Distress
Protecting your rights when pressure overrides free will
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