Ed Ross 

Membership Status: Barrister - Full Member

General Information

A specialist commercial and property practitioner, Ed has a busy court practice, appearing in the High Court, County Court and various Tribunals on a near daily basis. He provides advice and drafts legal documents in all his practice areas. 

Licensed to act for members of the public and SMEs directly, Ed is also authorised to conduct litigation. This litigation “ticket” is particularly useful for urgent applications when instructed by both solicitors or members of the public. He is also an ADRg Accredited Mediator.

Ed has recently been awarded an overall Distinction for the prestigious King’s College London MSc in Construction Law and Dispute Resolution. This included achieving distinctions in “Construction Technology for Lawyers” and his dissertation “Transparency in International Commercial Arbitration: How Far Has it Come and Should it go Further?”

Areas of law

• Bankruptcy & Insolvency
• Professional Negligence
• Energy & Utilities
• Property
• Commercial
• Construction

Bankruptcy & Insolvency

Ed has advised and appeared in court on behalf of businesses and individuals on a diverse range of matters, including:

• Setting aside statutory demands
• Petition hearings
• Annulments pursuant to s.282(1)(a) and s.282(1)(b)
• Injunctions to restrain presentation of a petition
• Injunctions to restrain advertisement of a petition
• s.216 applications
• Actions by liquidators
• Applications in respect of remuneration of trustees
• Applications to extend automatic discharge of bankruptcy
• IVA proposals and implementation

His practice includes advising, drafting documents and representation at hearings in the High Court and County Court. 

Professional Negligence

Predominantly acting in claims for and against professionals involved in property transactions or development (solicitors, architects, surveyors etc.), Ed has advised and acted in cases arising from:

• Failure to advise as to the presence of a public right of way
• Failure to advise on the presence of a cesspit
• Solicitor’s negligence in conjunction with misrepresentations by a vendor
• Failure to undertake an adequate survey
• Failure to advise on the presence of defects in a property 
• Failure to advise on necessary easements required for re-development of a £million+ residential property site
• Failure to advise on the presence of various natural risks
• Allegations of negligence in the completion of a Tomlin Order settling a boundary dispute
• Riparian ownership and, following a flood, remedies available against the vendor, solicitor and surveyor involved with the purchase of the property

Ed also has experience of solicitors’ negligence in respect of personal injury claims, including:

• Failing to issue proceedings within the limitation period
• Failing to advise, or advising inadequately, on quantum/settlement

Energy & Utilities

Acting on behalf of both providers and consumers in relation to energy and telecommunications contracts, Ed has dealt with claims involving:

• Deemed contracts
• Erroneous transfers
• Backbilling
• Agency
• Alleged mis-selling
• Misrepresentation 
• The Direct Debit Guarantee scheme
• Data Protection Act breaches
• The sale and installation of renewable energy technologies 
• Proceedings under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977

His previously wide civil practice, encompassing insolvency, personal injury, property and commercial matters, means he is excellently placed to deal with energy and utility claims involving multiple legal aspects.

Property

With extensive property law experience, Ed acts in a range of cases, including:

• Landlord and Tenant (residential and commercial)
• Charging orders
• Orders for sale
• Vesting orders (including bona vacantia)
• Possession (including defending possession on human rights grounds)
• Forfeiture 
• Service charge disputes (First Tier Tribunal and County Court)
• 1954 Act matters
• Dilapidations
• Tenancy deposit disputes
• Adverse possession
• Restrictive covenants
• Easements
• Riparian rights
• Boundary disputes
• Trespass and nuisance

Commercial

Ed acts in a range of general contractual matters regarding the sale of goods, supply of services, consumer credit and debt recovery. He regularly conducts claims involving issues such as agency, construction/interpretation of contracts, misrepresentation, conflict of laws and arbitration or mediation clauses. Ed also has experience of partnerships, limited liability partnerships and acts for petitioners and debtors in commercial and personal insolvency actions. He has an extensive understanding of credit hire and subrogated claims on behalf of insurers, with an in-depth knowledge of the relevant statutes and case law.

Construction

Regularly instructed on residential construction disputes, Ed is looking to expand his practice into commercial construction work. Previous cases include:

• Disputed payments to architects under a development scheme and conditional sale agreement
• Alleged breach of contract/negligence with respect to ground/piling works, design and fabrication of the steel framework for a residential property, renovation and extension of a residential property and construction of a new build residential property 
• Battle of the forms claims
• Advising an architect with respect to work done under a letter of intent 
• Mediation advocate for a company alleged to have been negligent in the design for tying in the front elevation of a £multi-million block of flats in London

Ed has also successfully mediated residential construction disputes. 

Education

• MSc (Construction Law and Dispute Resolution), King's College London – Distinction
• BVC, Bristol Institute of Legal Practice – Very Competent
• LL.B (Hons), The University of Manchester – 2:1
• LL.M (Advanced Legal Practice), University of the West of England

Awards

• The Churchill Scholarship, Gray's Inn
• The Holt Award, Gray's Inn
• The Manchester Leadership Award, The University of Manchester

Personal Interests

Outside of work, Ed enjoys obstacle course racing and triathlon. He has been a Tough Mudder season pass holder, has completed numerous open water swims including the Strait of Gibraltar and now concentrates on the Ironman 70.3 distance  He is President of the Oxford Young Professional Society and is passionate about music, playing double bass and piano.

Feedback

Publications

• Mount Wellington Mine Ltd v Renewable Energy Co-Operative Ltd [2021] EWHC 1486 (Ch) – Successful defence of a s.67 Arbitration Act 1996 challenge to jurisdiction in a long-running commercial landlord and tenant dispute. Clarified the law about the transfer of assets on a conversion from a company to a registered society under the Co-Operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. Previously no case law on this point.
• Flat 4, 257-259 Brownhill Road, London SE6 1AE LON/00AZ/OLR/2020/1232 V:CVP (First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), 2021) – Excellent commercial outcome for a tenant in respect of an application for determination of a leasehold renewal premium under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.

• Re Sarjanda Ltd; Sarjanda Ltd (in liquidation) v Aluminium Eco Solutions Ltd and another [2021] EWHC 210 (Ch), [2021] All ER (D) 76 (Feb) – Application to rescind a winding up order and for relief from sanctions. Article published by LexisNexis.

• Bardales v Syriopoulos (County Court, 2021) – Fiercely contested CPR r.39.3 application in an underlying tenancy deposit claim. Involved arguments over whether the tenancy had been varied or terminated and re-granted and if so, whether the tenancy deposit legislation applied.

• Copford Limited v Welcome Cars Limited and another (County Court, 2020) – Application for default judgment which resulted in an order for alteration of the property title register. Drafting and representation.

• Basement Flat, 109 Marina, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN38 0BP CHI/21UD/LSC/2020/0059 (First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), 2020) – Determination of reasonableness of substantial service charges, including two sets of s.20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 major works. Advice following hearing led to recovery of the arrears from the leaseholder’s mortgagee.

Recent Property cases include:

• Successfully defending proceedings in the FTT challenging the reasonableness of two s.20 major works service charges, together with dismissal of a £60,000 claim for set off against service charges.
• Successful proceedings for relief from forfeiture with respect to the lease of roof space for the placement of solar panels. Ed also secured a costs order in the tenant’s favour.
• Advice on the enforceability of, and potential to remove, a restrictive covenant to enable a change of use from commercial to residential.
• Successful application to amend a suspended possession order to impose further terms.

Recent Commercial cases include:

• A complex case in the TCC involving the “upseating” of coaches.
•  A case involving in-depth analysis of the British Standards relevant to the manufacture of Insulated Glazing Units.
• A successful ex parte injunction and subsequent substantive proceedings for breach of a non-disclosure agreement and misappropriation of confidential business information.
• A successful ex parte injunction and return hearing to restrain the presentation of a winding up petition for a haulage company.

phone01823 247 247

[email protected]

Qualified in 2010