Latest news with #courtbattle
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Stoke Lodge field campaigner told to pay £85,000 in legal costs
A campaigner has been ordered to pay £85,000 in legal bills after losing a court battle over who gets to use a playing Welham had been fighting for community access to a 23-acre green space used by Cotham School in June, the High Court ruled that Stoke Lodge playing field – which is being leased to the school by Bristol City Council - did not have to be council, which had been fighting the school alongside Ms Welham, has been ordered to pay legal bills of only £9,467. Both must pay by 28 July. Ms Welham said her costs would be paid by herself and members of the she and the council are now braced for further costs as the combined payments cover only 40% of the school's total legal bill. Cotham School was granted a 125-year lease on the land in 2011 due to lack of space on its inner city site three miles the school became involved in a dispute with residents after it put up a 6ft-high (2m) fence around the field in said it was forced to fence the site for safeguarding purposes for PE lessons, and due to out-of-control dogs and dog 2023, Bristol City Council voted to give the site "town green" status, and told the school it must share the playing field with the month, however, the move was revoked by a High Court Paul Matthews also ruled Bristol City Council and Ms Welham were liable to pay Cotham School's court Welham was denied permission to appeal. In a statement following the decision on legal bills, Cotham School said: "We welcome the recovery of public funds that were necessarily expended in protecting the school's playing field, which are required for our delivery of PE lessons."Ms Welham said the Stoke Lodge community was in "pure shock" at the division of the legal a statement, she said: "We are standing by our commitment and obligations, and I would like to emphasise that we hope that the money that is (unjustly, in my personal view) being required of me and my supporters, will be used to help mitigate any detriment to Cotham School pupils flowing from the effects of the school's repeated legal actions on its financial reserves."Finally, we as a community remain incandescently angry that our last accessible neighbourhood green space, that we love deeply, and which has been relied upon for many decades by the thousands of Bristol citizens who share it with Cotham School, is again in danger of not being protected as it should be."Our commitment to protect the land for future generations is undiminished." 'Chilling impact' A spokesperson for We Love Stoke Lodge residents' group, which campaigned alongside Ms Welham, told the BBC they were worried the judgement could have negative spokesperson said: "Despite the fact that the council was the first defendant in the litigation and was robustly defending a decision that the council itself had made, the court has ordered significant costs against the community."We believe this allocation could have a chilling impact on other community groups seeking to defend important matters of principle."The group said it would be seeking permission to appeal directly from the Court of Appeal, and said it has been given until mid-September to make an City Council declined to comment but said it would be complying with the court order.
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Woman ‘wastes' £100k inheritance on court battle to live in family home
A former NHS worker faces losing her entire inheritance after a 'wasteful' court battle over her late mother's £420,000 home. Sharon Duggan, 49, was left a third share of her mother's home after she died but said she should be allowed to stay in the property, claiming she needed the house for her and her emotional support dogs. Ms Duggan is suing Ann and Brenda, her sisters, and has claimed she need to live at their mother's house in Crawley, West Sussex, because she is too 'hyper-vigilant and sound-sensitive' to live in a noisy flat. However, her case was kicked out at Central London county court last month, and she now faces having to pay all the lawyers' bills for the dispute. Judge Alan Johns KC said the 'grim reality' was that the costs of the legal battle would be 'highly likely' to wipe out the share of her mother's estate that Ms Duggan is rightfully due. 'This marks a sad end to a sad case,' he said. 'It is likely that Sharon will be left with nothing of the £100,000 or more that otherwise would have been her inheritance. That is the heavy price to be paid by her for pursuing this litigation to trial.' Too sensitive for flat life Agnes Duggan died at the age of 78 in August 2018 and left her house to be split equally between her three daughters – Ann, the oldest sister, Sharon, a former NHS medical secretary, and Brenda, an alternative therapist. But Sharon – who told a judge she 'is dyslexic and suffers from a variety of health issues, including chronic fatigue syndrome, migraine, fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, insomnia, PTSD, and Adjustment Disorder, [and] also has long Covid' – claimed the house for herself and her rescue dogs, saying she was too sensitive for life in a flat. She told the court that downsizing to a flat would be too much for her, telling the court: 'I have two dogs to consider and I am hyper-vigilant and sound-sensitive.' She sued her two sisters under the Inheritance Act 1975, claiming her medical ailments and sensitivity to noise meant she should get at least a life interest, or permission to reside in the property. Although Ann remained neutral in the dispute, Brenda fought the case and won. Giving judgment last month, Judge Johns accepted that Sharon has 'particular issues' but ultimately ruled that a flat still be 'suitable' accommodation for her. Returning to court to decide who should pay the costs of the trial, lawyers for Brenda and for their mother's estate argued that neither should be left out of pocket when it was Sharon who brought the case. 'Extremely wasteful' Alex Findlay, Brenda's barrister, told the judge that offers had been made to Sharon pre-trial that would have seen her receive extra money, but she had refused. 'This has been extremely wasteful and expensive litigation, to say nothing of the stress,' he added. Giving judgment, Judge Johns said: 'It is submitted that Sharon should not be allowed to walk away without any costs order being made – I agree.' He ordered that she pay the lawyers' bills of both Brenda and their mother's estate, with the sums to be assessed at a later date, but estimated at over the £100,000-plus she is set to inherit. 'The grim reality of this litigation is likely to be that all of Sharon's share will be burned up by the costs, so she will end up with nothing,' he added.
CTV News
03-07-2025
- CTV News
‘It's still Sauble Beach' - Sauble Beach sign changed to ‘Saugeen Beach' by Indigenous group
Sauble Beach's iconic main street sign has been changed to read 'Saugeen Beach' by members of the Saugeen First Nation, the owners of the beach. July 3, 2025. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) Visitors to Sauble Beach are having a double take today as the iconic sign that greets tourists, which used to say Sauble Beach, was changed Monday night. 'My son showed me the picture he took, and I said, what the heck happened. What is happening here?' said Suzanne, from Hanover, who was seeing the sign change for the first time today. On the eve of Canada Day, members of the Saugeen First Nation changed the sign at the end of the Sauble Beach's main street from 'Welcome to Sauble Beach' to 'Welcome to Saugeen Beach.' 070325 Sauble Beach's iconic main street sign in June 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London) 'It's obviously been decades in the making. We've had a lot of struggles. And I feel like finally, we can put our name on it,' said Saugeen First Nation councillor, Cheree Urscheler. Following a nearly 30 year court battle, the Saugeen First Nation had ownership of nearly 2.5 km's of Sauble Beach's valuable sand, returned to them, in April 2023. Following multiple appeals by the previous owners, the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, the decision to return ownership of Sauble's sand to the Saugeen First Nation was upheld in December 2024. A change to Sauble's sign was supposed to happen earlier this summer, but it was decided to hold off until the eve of Canada Day. 'The timing, I think, for me personally, the timing is perfect. It's a statement,' said Saugeen First Nation councillor, Sonya Roote. The sign change caught many off guard, including the Town of South Bruce Peninsula, who didn't know the Sauble sign was coming down and the Saugeen sign was going up until it happened. 'The Sauble Beach sign is a well-known landmark with deep meaning for many people,' says South Bruce Peninsula Mayor Jay Kirkland. 'While we respect Saugeen First Nation's right to make changes on their land, we believe open communication is important, especially when it involves something so symbolic to the broader community. We remain committed to respectful dialogue and working together in the spirit of mutual understanding,' continues Kirkland. While many Sauble Beach visitors CTV News spoke to today hadn't even noticed to sign name change, those that did notice have mixed opinions about it. 'It was disappointing and it was surprising, just because I don't think many people knew that it was coming. And, you know, just to show up on July 1st and see the sign has been changed on the beach, I think a lot of people are just in disbelief,' says Suzanne from Hanover. 'I'm really glad that they did it, because like everyone knows it as Sauble Beach, when it isn't actually, it's Saugeen Beach, and I think people should know that,' said Anouska and her family visiting from Hamilton. 070325 A section of beach formally known as Sauble Beach, now called Saugeen Beach. (Scott Miller/CTV News London The sign change at the beachfront from 'Sauble Beach' to 'Saugeen Beach' is more symbolic than anything, said Saugeen First Nation councillors, Roote and Urscheler. The town itself is still called Sauble Beach, and that's still what will show up on everyone's GPS, when they plan their visit to the sand and waters, clearly owned by the Saugeen First Nation. 'To everybody, it'll still be Sauble Beach. The town is still Sauble Beach. It's just, this part of the beach is Saugeen First Nation. That's all,' says Saugeen First Nation councillor, Lester Anoquot. 'I understand people saying, it's iconic and we grew up with it, I grew up with as Sauble Beach as well. But, it would have been nice to grow up with it being Saugeen Beach the whole time, right? Which it should have been. So I mean, there's a lot of years it was the wrong name put on the beach, so I think, I think it's time,' said Councillor Roote. 'Forever, it's always been Sauble Beach and forever in my mind, it's not. And it was kind of hurtful to see that, and to know that, behind the scenes, we've always been trying to get it back. So to see it now, yeah, my heart is smiling,' said Councillor Urscheler.
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Blake Lively sends out new subpoenas in legal battle with Justin Baldoni
Blake Lively is currently wrapped up in a nasty court battle with her It Ends With Us costar and director Justin Baldoni. New legal documents obtained by reveal that the actress, 37, has filed motions to compel subpoenas from multiple executives at Baldoni's, 41, production company Wayfarer. According to the paperwork, Blake initially served third-party subpoenas in March, and is now asking the court to enforce them. The eight executives listed are Ashmi Elizabeth Dang, Ahmed Musiol, Mitz Toskovic, Tera Hanks, AJ Marbory, Jennifer Benson, Shekinah Reese, and Jarriesse Blackmon. Lively and Baldoni butted heads while filming the romantic drama last year, and things turned litigious in December when the Gossip Girl alum sued the actor for alleged sexual harassing and engineering a retaliatory smear campaign against her. Earlier this week Lively suffered a setback in the case when a New York judge denied her attorneys' application for a protective order seeking to block her text messages with Taylor Swift from being entered as evidence. Baldoni's team has subpoenaed Lively for text messages, emails and any other messages between herself and the singer. The Jane The Virgin actor's lawyers will now be allowed to pore through the text trail, with all communications related to It Ends With Us set for scrutiny. In one embarrassing text exchange, Lively appeared to refer to herself as the Game of Thrones character Khaleesi, and to Swift as one of her 'dragons.' Elsewhere in Baldoni's filing is the claim that Swift was present at a meeting convened by Lively at her New York penthouse to discuss It Ends With Us script changes. Sources close to Swift insisted the singer had no knowledge of the meeting and simply arrived to find it underway. The situation reportedly left Swift — who is godmother to Lively's three daughters — feeling 'exploited' by her friend of ten years. Six months ago Blake outlined work opportunities that she allegedly missed out on due to Baldoni in her explosive lawsuit against him. One of the missed work gigs listed was hosting the season 50 premiere of Saturday Night Live in September, which aired the month after the film was released. Earlier this week Lively suffered a setback in the case when a New York judge denied her attorneys' application for a protective order seeking to block her text messages with Taylor Swift from being entered as evidence; the former friends pictured in February 2024 'The effects on Ms. Lively's professional life were immediate and substantial,' said the suit. 'Given the ongoing nature of the campaign and the associated negative public sentiment, Ms. Lively did not believe she could proceed with public appearances or events without being forced to openly discuss what happened on set,' the filing stated. Baldoni hit back in January with a $400 million countersuit accusing Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds of defamation. All parties have denied the allegations. Last week, the defamation element of Baldoni's lawsuit was thrown out by a judge, although he is still suing for civil extortion and invasion of privacy among other claims. But contained in Baldoni's filing were screenshots of alleged text messages, in which Lively regularly mentioned Swift by name.
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The ugly past behind Salma Hayek and Linda Evangelista's happily blended family: Supermodel took fashion tycoon François-Henri Pinault to court after she fell pregnant following whirlwind romance
Linda Evangelista and her ex François-Henri Pinault were the image of harmonious co-parents as they beamed for photos at their son's high school graduation this week - in a stark contrast of to their bitter court battle 13 years ago. The luxury retailing giant heir, 63, has four children, one of whom he shares with the supermodel after a brief relationship in the noughties. Augustin, 18, is just months older than the businessman's daughter Valentina - who he has with wife Salma Hayek. While the blended family has been known to get on well now - with the former partners even enjoying Thanksgiving together - only years earlier, a child support feuds saw familial tensions brewing. In a 2012 trial, Pinault admitted he had broken up with the Linda after discovering she was pregnant four months into their relationship. 'I didn't even know her,' he said. Meanwhile, Evangelista reportedly asked for a staggering $46,000 a month for their son's care. At the time, her lawyer also claimed the Frenchman, who has an estimated net worth of $17.5 billion, had demanded the supermodel have an abortion as he did not want the child. The pair eventually come to an agreement in their battle over Augustin - then five - over the phone. The surprise settlement, revealed by a source to The New York Post, came three days into the court scrap that revealed some of the uglier claims about the former couple's four-month relationship. It is not clear whether Evangelista won the hefty sum he expected Pinault to pay for their child, with the source only claiming he had 'gone a long way toward meeting those original demands'. During the court battle, her lawyer William Beslow had also argued that 'Augie' deserves a lifestyle similar to that of Pinault's daughter with Hayek, born just months after his son. As chief executive of PPR, the conglomerate that owns Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci and Bottega Veneta, at the time, he was earning some $5million a year. He would also have been spending $50,000 a month just on the taxes, upkeep and loan payments for the $12million Los Angeles home he put in trust for his daughter, Valentina, the Post reported. And taking the witness stand, he revealed he spent a staggering $260,000 on gifts for himself in 2010 - but could not remember what he had bought his son or how much he had spent on him. Despite his wealth, Pinault had criticised Evangelista for her outlandish demands, suggesting the $46,000 a month is in fact for 'mom support'. She had maintained she was modelling or working on her image at all hours of the day. The seeming rift is a far cry from the warm relations Augustin now appears to share with both his parents and step-mother Salma. Linda, 60, reunited with François and his wife as they came together to celebrate her son this week. The supermodel looked every inch the proud mother as she posed with her lookalike son, 18, on his big day. Taking to Instagram on Monday, she uploaded a slew of snaps which showed Augustin proudly posing with his diploma before celebrating with a personalised cake and enjoying a cigar with his billionaire father. In one sweet snap, the graduate hugged his stepmother Salma, 58, and mother Linda as they posed alongside his father. 'Then this happened. ♥️✨I'm one proud momma,' she wrote. 'Blessed blessed blessed…' Linda and François briefly dated from September 2005 until January 2006. The Kering CEO started dating From Dusk Till Dawn star Salma in April that year, when he was later informed Linda was pregnant with Augustin. In 2007, Salma and François announced their engagement and welcomed their daughter Valentina in September. When Augustin was first born, Linda initially kept his paternity a secret - but the truth emerged following their child support dispute. Linda previously gave an insight into her co-parenting relationship with Salma in an interview with Vogue. She explained that she spends time with Salma and her ex during the holiday season. However, one Thanksgiving, she was ill and not able to join the festivities. 'I was sick at Thanksgiving. And Salma got on the plane with her daughter, came here, and made Thanksgiving dinner,' she explained. Linda then humorously revealed she had given Salma an 'eclectic wish list' for what she wanted to eat. Big family: Salma is stepmom to three of her billionaire husband's children — Francois, 25, Augie, 16, and Mathilde, 21 — and the husband and wife share daughter Valentina, 15 'I wanted her Mexican chicken with truffled potatoes. And she spent the day in the kitchen and cooked it herself. No help.' 'The kids helped her at the end. She made a feast - a beautiful, beautiful meal. I had told her that I wasn't going to have Thanksgiving; I wasn't feeling well. And she said, "Oh yes you are: I am coming." And poof, she was here.' Linda also opened up about her son and wanting to give him a 'normal upbringing' - despite her celebrity status. She revealed both she and Augustin sit in the nosebleed seats at events after offers for front row seats at venues at Madison Square Garden dwindled down. 'Now we buy our tickets and we sit with the fans in nosebleed. We're fine with that. I wanted to have a very normal upbringing for my child.' It seems the family has been enjoying a blended upbringing for years, with Salma in 2021 posting what appeared to be vacation photos featuring Augustin. He had even made rep carpet appearances alongside his step-mother and half-sister. Meanwhile, Salma and Linda have made it clear there is no bad blood between them. In a 2023 Instagram post, Salma gushed about the supermodel's new book - Linda Evangelista Photographed by Steven Meisel - in a video with her husband's ex. 'For all of you who are wondering what to give for a Christmas present, I have a prefect one. This amazing book is the perfect gift for absolutely everyone especially if you like photography or fashion or if you just like my Linda!' The duo then laughed as they enjoyed a warm hug with one another. It's not the only time the pair have exchanged kind words on social media. In October, while attending the 2024 Innovator Awards, which pal Penelope Cruz, Linda and Augustin were also at, Salma posted a carousel of photos captioned: 'Penelope & Linda, thank you so much for your magical words, for celebrating me, for loving me, for supporting me, and for being a pillar of strength in my life. @penelopecruzoficial @lindaevangelista.' Last year, she joined Linda and 38 other A-listers for a legendary Vogue cover - which Salma brand a show of 'sisterhood'.
