Morayo Fagborun Bennett

Call:2004

Introduction and Contact details

Morayo specialises in housing, property and public and administrative law. She also has an employment law and a welfare benefits practice.

Tel:    020 7242 2523 (switchboard)
Fax:   020 7691 1234

Email: morayo.bennett@hardwicke.co.uk

COMMERCIAL LAW DIVISION

Morayo’s employment law practice encompasses unfair, constructive and wrongful dismissal, redundancy, discrimination law (age, race, sex, disability and religious discrimination), transfer of undertakings, part time pension and public interest disclosures.

Employment Law

Morayo has conducted employment cases since 2003, when she became an Employment Law FRU Representative. She has widespread experience of preliminary, interlocutory and substantive employment tribunal hearings and has appeared in several multi-day cases. Morayo is also experienced in Employment Appeal Tribunal hearings having appeared in several cases.

Recent Work

• Advising in a negligent misstatement case.
• Advising on the employment status of an agency worker.
• Advising in pregnancy related sex discrimination case.
• Acting in a part-time pensions case
• Acting in an unfair dismissal claim in which following an internal appeal the dismissal was substituted for a lesser sanction.

PROPERTY AND PRIVATE CLIENT DIVISION

Morayo’s practice in residential landlord and tenant and related public and administrative law has a particular emphasis on social housing.

Her practice encompasses possession proceedings, disrepair, Leasehold Valuation Tribunal proceedings, community care, judicial review of homelessness and allocation decisions, statutory homelessness appeals, ASBI, injunctions, committals, unlawful evictions and harassment.

Landlord & Tenant

Residential

Morayo acts in landlord and tenant matters relating to possession of residential property including mortgage possession cases, and warrants of possessions, injunctions, unlawful eviction and disrepair.

Recent Work

• Acting in an urgent unlawful eviction matter against a private landlord.
• Acting in a breach of contract claim involving an injunction against the landlord.
• LVT proceedings and forfeiture hearing
• Drafting and advising in disrepair and unlawful eviction matters

Social Housing

Morayo acts in social housing matters relating to possession proceedings for matters including rent arrears, subletting, nuisance and anti-social behaviour. She also acts in interim possession orders, anti-social behaviour injunctions, committals, unlawful eviction, homelessness, community care and disrepair cases.

Recent Work

• Acting for the Council in a four day possession hearing on the grounds of nuisance and anti-social behaviour.
• Acting for the tenant in a four day trial in which the RSL was seeking an ASBI and possession on the grounds of anti-social behaviour.
• Drafting, advising and appearing in possession proceedings including dealing with disrepair and discrimination counterclaims.
• Drafting , advising and appearing in injunction cases concerning ASB and nuisance.

PUBLIC LAW DIVISION

Morayo specialises in Housing and public and administrative law areas. She also has a welfare benefits practice.

Morayo undertakes public law work arising from both her housing and her welfare rights practice. She has been involved in judicial review cases in homelessness and community care cases and has undertaken work for law centres, citizen advice bureaus and solicitors in welfare benefits cases

Allocation and Homelessness

Morayo has experience of handling homeless decisions appeals in the county courts and through judicial review.

Recent Work

• Acting in applications seeking judicial review of homelessness and allocation decisions (applications seeking a review decision and interim accommodation pending review)
• Acting in statutory homelessness appeals (section 204 Housing Act 1996 homelessness appeals and section 204A Housing Act 1996 appeals for interim accommodation pending appeal)
• Advising on the merits of allocation decision made by local authorities

Benefits & Social Welfare

Morayo has been undertaking welfare benefits cases since 2002, when she joined the Free Representation Unit (FRU).

Morayo is particularly interested in presumption of marriage, overpayment, right to reside and habitual residence cases. Her practice includes overpayments of benefits, income support, job seeker’s allowance, bereavement benefits, disability living allowance, attendance allowance and housing benefit cases. She has represented clients in both civil and criminal proceedings in overpayments cases.

She continues to be involved in pro bono work through the BPBU and gives training in social security law to FRU representatives.

Recent Work

• Acting in the Pensions Appeals Tribunal to determine the commencement date of an award and the interim assessment of disablement case.
• Advising in a judicial review against the Parliamentary and Health service Ombudsman.
• Acting in a presumption of marriage case in which the Appellant had undergone an Islamic marriage.
• Acting in overpayment cases involving substantial sums of money.

Community Care

Morayo continues to develop her community care practice. She has advised and acted in cases relating to individuals with substantial mental and physical disabilities, the adequacies of the local authorities assessments of need and issues surrounding lack of capacity.

Discrimination

Morayo has experience of discrimination matters arising in the context of employment, social housing and welfare benefits cases. She has acted in possession claims in which the Human Rights Act and issues of race and disability discrimination are raised as defences to the proceedings. She has also acted in right to reside cases raising issues of discrimination on the grounds of nationality and Article 8 ECHR. In employment law, she has acted in multi-day cases involving discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age, disability and religion.

EU law

Through her housing, employment and welfare benefits practice Morayo deals with EU law and its impact domestically. In particular, she has acted in welfare benefits cases on right to reside and the application of the habitual residence test. Healthcare law Morayo continues to develop her healthcare law practice. She has advised and acted in cases relating to individuals with substantial mental and physical health issues, their interactions with local authority providers and issues concerning lack of capacity to conduct litigation.

Human rights and civil liberties

Morayo has an academic background in human rights law and is able to deal with human rights issues which arise across her practice.

Morayo has experience of human rights issues arising from her social housing and welfare benefits practice, whether as defences in possession claims or as challenges in right to reside cases.

Judicial review

Morayo has experience of advising upon and conducting judicial review matters arising from her social housing and welfare benefits practice.

This includes advising upon the merits of and making urgent out-of-hours judicial review applications.

Morayo has acted in cases to judicial review local authority homelessness and allocation decisions and also involving the provision of community care.

Mental health

Morayo deals with issues arising from proceedings involving the Mental Health Act including capacity, litigating for and against patients and issues arising from disability discrimination.