Nicholas
Towers

Nicholas is frequently instructed in domestic and international arbitrations and his familiarity with the separate legal and procedural framework of arbitration is a benefit to clients who are more familiar with the court system.

Recent cases include:

• A China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission arbitration arising out of a fraudulent purchase of chemicals.
• A Singapore International Arbitration Centre dispute involving a defence of illegality.
• A London Court of International Arbitration dispute involving land purchased in Eastern Europe.
• Opposing an application to set aside an order arising out of an award in a matrimonial finance arbitration).
• An appeal on the interplay between the stay provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996 and insolvency proceedings.
• Advising on the prospects of challenging a rent review arbitration award under section 68 and the process for challenging an award under section 70(3).

Nicholas is frequently instructed in banking cases, particularly in disputes centred on loan agreements. These include disputes about the validity and enforceability of loan agreements, the liability of guarantors, unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and disputes as to whether the CCA applies at all. He has seen an increase in instructions where a fraudulent or mistaken payment has been made and relief is against the bank itself, often with a cryptocurrency element to the claim.

Recent cases include:

• An application to compel various high street banks to disclose details of accounts to which the proceeds of a mistaken payment had been dissipated.
• Resisting the sale at auction of a property under a secured loan; after an urgent interim application failed, assisted the client with directly purchasing the property at auction via an intermediary.
• A claim for possession of property on which a bridging loan of £6 million to a husband and wife was secured, in which undue influence was alleged.
• A claim involving a bridging loan and a question of whether the Limitation Act 1980 rendered the loan unenforceable.

Nicholas is regularly called upon to take the lead in knotty commercial disputes of all kinds.

Recent cases include:

• Instructed in a High Court claim for breach of confidence brought by large online casino against two former employees, who downloaded databases containing the contact details of thousands of the casino’s customers, attempted to set up a rival undertaking also used those details to obtain affiliate referral fees from other casinos.
• Identifying a weakness in an array of grant funding contracts which entitled a local authority to claw-back a grant and repossess a leisure centre which had fallen into disrepair.
• A High Court claim involving misuse of personal data in an allegedly fraudulent entrepreneur visa scheme.
• Advising a government defence contractor on a warehousing contract dispute.
• Representing an airfield lighting installer in a dispute over negligent installation.
• Acting in a shareholder dispute surrounding a Michelin-guide restaurant in London involving allegations of misrepresentation and breach of directors’ duties.
• Acting for the police force of a Caribbean nation resisting a vexatious claim issued in the south of England.

Nicholas is frequently instructed in insolvency matters, assisting with a wide range of cases including:

• The drafting and presentation of winding up and bankruptcy petitions.
• Seeking and resisting orders setting aside statutory demands.
• Acting in claims by liquidators against former directors and associated companies, particularly regarding preferential payments.

Recent notable cases include:

• Resisting an application to set aside a statutory demand where the debtor alleged the lease under which the debt arose was a sham to defraud lenders.
• Applying for a validation order in respect of payments to a related company.
• An appeal against a bankruptcy order on the grounds of mental incapacity.
• An appeal on the question of whether a secured lender had involuntarily lost their security in bankruptcy proceedings.

Nicholas has experience of and enjoys defamation work. He is technically savvy and familiar with modern methods of disseminating harmful comments.

Nicholas has advised businesses and individuals on a range of knotty issues, including:

• Whether certain defamatory statements made by a witness in court could fall outside the protection of absolute privilege.
• The question of jurisdiction where defamatory statements were made overseas but had harmed the claimant’s reputation in England.
• Whether the shareholder of a defamed company which was out of time under the Defamation Act could avoid the rule against reflective loss and bring a claim for damages in their own name.
• The extent to which statements about a psychic medium’s abilities made by a sceptic were defamatory.

Commercial Landlord and Tenant

Nicholas represents both landlords and tenants in all aspects of commercial leases, from disputes about interpretation of leases, break notices, forfeiture, breach of covenant, dilapidations and contested renewals.

Recent cases include:

• A claim for damages arising out of an unlawful forfeiture where the landlord had waived the relevant breach by offering to purchase the lease.
• Resisting a claim for compensation where a landlord made a tactical notice of opposition to a notice seeking a new lease and the tenant unexpectedly vacated.
• Opposing a claim for forfeiture based on a rent abatement clause due to severe flooding.
• Resisting a claim for rectification where a landlord’s solicitors had overlooked an amendment to the lease during 11^th-hour negotiations where the rent was halved.
• A claim seeking a declaration that an area encroached upon by the tenant outside the demise had been accrued to the lease.

Residential landlord and tenant

Nicholas acts for landlords and tenants in long leasehold disputes of all kinds.

Recent cases include:

• A dispute over unreasonably withholding consent to alterations.
• A claim against a business for providing a false reference for a tenant.
• An acrimonious dispute which centered on whether external walls were included in a tenant’s demise.
• Advising on the extent to which a landlord could change the nature of the utility services provided to tenants against their wishes.
• A dispute involving a provider of short-term office facility licences over the validity of automatic “rollover” of licences.

Nicholas also acts for landlords and tenants in assured short-hold tenancy disputes, including possession claims, deposit protection claims and First Tier Tribunal proceedings for Rent Repayment Orders.

Nicholas is frequently called upon for his expertise in disputes over easements, boundaries and restrictive covenants, matters which can frequently generate some of the greatest animosity between litigants.

Recent cases include:

• Advising a small developer on the validity of a restrictive covenant against building included in the sale of council housing under the right to buy legislation.
• A boundary dispute in which a large number of mature trees were cut down whilst the owners were on holiday.
• A dispute over a right of way used by a shop in a parade, and whether the way extended to parking and unloading goods.
• An application for an injunction after a padlocked gate was installed over the mouth of a shared driveway.
• A claim for the loss of light arising from the construction of an extension.
• Advising on the question of whether an easement could achieve the same effect as a restrictive covenant against building while escaping the jurisdiction of s.84 of the Law of Property Act 1925.

Easygroup Ltd v Easy Fly Express Ltd [2018] EWHC 3155 (Ch)
A passing off claim brought against an air cargo company in Bangladesh.

Juul Labs, Inc & Anor v Quick Juul Ltd & Ors [2019] EWHC 1281 (Ch)
A committal application arising out of a trade mark infringement claim.

Ficcara v James [2021] UKUT 38 (LC)
Case establishing that only a single rent repayment order can be made even if a landlord has committed multiple offences within the relevant period.

Aitchison v Holman-Headley [2021] EWHC 2966 (Ch)
A committal application arising out of a sustained confidence fraud.

Millchris Developments Ltd v Waters [2020] EWHC 1320 (TCC)
An attempt to stay adjudication proceedings in reliance upon the COVID-19 lockdown.