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Don't Delay Making a Will Until You Feel the Hand of Mortality Upon You

Far too many people put off making a will until ill health strikes and reminds them of their mortality. In a striking case on point, the High Court ruled that a will signed by a prosperous farmer when he was in his 80s and suffering from dementia was not...

Detriment for Engaging in Industrial Action - Landmark Human Rights Ruling

The law protects workers against detrimental treatment for taking part in the activities of independent trade unions – but such activities have long been interpreted as not including strikes or other forms of industrial action. That legal position has,...

What Is a 'Couple'? Landmark Adoption Ruling Answers the Question

A 'couple' is defined in law as two people living as partners in an enduring family relationship – but what exactly does that mean in a world that has witnessed a metamorphosis in human relationships during the last few decades? The High Court...

HMRC in Bid to 'Help Taxpayers Get Their Offshore Tax Right'

The government is currently reviewing responses to its public consultation on helping taxpayers get their offshore tax right before it progresses to drafting new legislation on the issue. The consultation, which closed on 15 June, focused on how HM...

Mutual Obligation, Substitution and Control - Guideline IR35 Ruling

When deciding whether a worker is employed or self-employed for tax purposes, the principal factors taken into account are mutuality of obligation, the level of control in the relationship and a person's ability to substitute someone else to perform their...

Family Judges Won't Let Children Be Used as Pawns in Divorce Proceedings

Concerns that children may be used as pawns amidst the cut and thrust of divorce proceedings are often expressed by one side or the other. However, a High Court ruling in the context of a big money case showed that family judges are aware of such risks and...

Has Your Property Been Compulsorily Purchased? Don't Sit on Your Hands

If your property has been compulsorily purchased by a public authority to make way for an infrastructure project, you should be entitled to compensation. As one case showed , however, such claims are subject to a strict time limit and lodging them at the...

Health and Safety Supervisor Sacked for Diligently Doing His Job Vindicated

Employees who are tasked with enforcing health and safety rules often encounter stiff resistance from colleagues who are reluctant to embrace change. As a case concerning a sacked railway maintenance supervisor showed, however, such employees enjoy special...

Wealthy Father Under No Obligation to Maintain His Healthy Adult Daughters

Parents generally owe no legal duty financially to maintain their adult children. That principle proved decisive in the case of a businessman who was worth almost £2.2 million when he died, but who left not a penny to his daughters. Having enjoyed a...

Cautionary Tale Illustrates the Necessity of Professional Tax Advice

A Court of Appeal case concerning a businessman who was on the receiving end of an unexpected six-figure tax demand served as a cautionary tale that graphically illustrated the importance of seeking specialist advice before entering into commercial deals...

Insurer Entitled to Refuse Cover Following Loss of £190,000 Rolex Watch

Failing to accurately respond to insurers' questions when taking out a policy is highly likely to render your cover worthless. A businessman found that out to his cost after losing a £190,000 Rolex watch whilst on a skiing trip. The man launched...

Director Oblivious to Record-Keeping Duties Receives Seven-Year Ban

One of the most important duties required of a company director is to keep, maintain, preserve and, if necessary, deliver up adequate accounting records. The High Court resoundingly made that point in imposing a seven-year directorship disqualification on...

Changes in the Tax Regime - Public Information Campaigns Have Limitations

The tax regime is subject to constant change and it is generally up to taxpayers to keep their knowledge up to date in a fluid landscape. However, as a case concerning tax charged on high-income recipients of Child Benefit showed , HM Revenue and Customs...

Commercial Leases and Opting Out of Security of Tenure - Test Case Ruling

Commercial landlords and tenants may contract out of the security of tenure provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 , but only if certain conditions are met. One of those conditions came under close analysis by the Court of Appeal in a ruling that...

Restrictions on Property Use Can Be Limited by Human Lifespans

Restrictions on the use to which properties can be put often lurk in old title deeds. As one case showed , however, some of them only endure as long as a human lifetime whilst others have no such shelf life and continue to have effect indefinitely. The...

Father Excluded from Babysitting Role Wins Sex Discrimination Damages

When recruiting staff, you may have a particular type of candidate in mind, but that is precisely the mindset that can give rise to discrimination. A company that advertised on social media for 'mothers' to work as babysitters fell into exactly that trap and...

COVID-19 - Do Diving Asset Values Justify Unwinding Divorce Settlements?

The value of many assets has been devastated by COVID-19 – but is that a good enough reason for setting aside divorce settlements agreed before the pandemic struck? A family judge considered that issue in a guideline case . The case concerned a...

Supreme Court Takes a 'Real-World' Approach to Rates Avoidance Schemes

When assessing whether tax mitigation schemes are effective, judges must interpret legislation in the real world and with regard to the likely intentions of Parliament. The Supreme Court made those points in a test case concerning schemes designed to avoid...

'Both' or 'Each'? - One Mistranscribed Word Triggers £6.4 Million Will Dispute

Will drafting is an exact science, requiring years of professional training, and a single mischosen or out-of-place word can have very serious consequences. Exactly that happened in a High Court case concerning the mistaken use of the word 'both' –...

Anti-Competitive Practices - Musical Instrument Supplier Receives £5 Million Fine

There will always be some who view anti-competitive business practices as an easy route to profits, but those who engage in them can expect deterrent punishments. In one case, a supplier of musical instruments was fined over £5 million for fostering a...

Judge Declines to Authorise COVID-19 Vaccination of Dementia Sufferer

Whether or not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is a matter of personal choice. A family judge robustly made that point in declining to authorise vaccination of a care home resident suffering from acute dementia who had fiercely objected to the procedure....

You Are Entitled to Rely on Professional Tax Advice - Even If it is Wrong

Professional tax advice, however carefully considered, cannot always be correct, but you are generally entitled to rely on it. A tribunal made that point in relieving a retired executive of a tax bill that would have had a devastating impact on his...

Carers, Home Working and Discrimination - Guideline Ruling

The COVID-19 pandemic has massively increased the prevalence of home working but, for some, working away from the office is far more than just a preference. In a guideline case on point, an Employment Tribunal (ET) emphasised the rights of carers who work...

Family Judge Deeply Regrets Wealthy Ex-Couple's Inability to Compromise

Judges often plead with divorcing couples to bury the hatchet rather than subject themselves to the financial and emotional self-harm of litigation. As a High Court case showed , however, such good advice is sadly not always heeded. The case concerned a...

Is It Acceptable to Poke Fun at a Competitor? High Court Tackles the Issue

Bad blood often exists between trade rivals, but is it an acceptable business practice for them to poke fun at one another? The High Court tackled that issue in the context of a trade mark dispute between tech giant Apple and Swiss watch manufacturer...

Judge Awards Substantial Damages in Scaffolding Trespass Case

Building works to extend or improve your property may involve temporary incursions onto your neighbour's land, for which permission is required. In a case that showed the serious consequences of pressing ahead without such consent , partners in a medical...

This Is What Happens If You Wait Until Sickness Strikes Before Making a Will

Making a will when you are close to death and without professional assistance is an effective means of fostering dispute between your loved ones after you are gone. As a High Court case strikingly showed , that is particularly so if you intend to leave your...

Charity-Run Restaurant Exempted from VAT - Guideline Tax Tribunal Ruling

Should potentially competitive business activities engaged in by charities be exempt from VAT? The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) confronted that issue in extending VAT exemption to supplies made by a restaurant where students with learning disabilities gain...

Neighbours Planning a Garden Development? You Are Not Powerless

Domestic gardens, which many people view as the glory of British suburbia, present a tempting prospect to builders amidst burgeoning housing demand. As one case showed, however, objectors to such developments are by no means powerless. The owners of a...

COVID-19 - Court of Protection Sanctions Vaccination of Vulnerable Adult

Many of the most vulnerable members of society lack the mental capacity required to consent to being vaccinated against COVID-19. As a Court of Protection case showed , that fact can give rise to formidable legal difficulties. The case concerned a care...

Website Terms and Conditions Ruled Worthless in Online Gambling Test Case

Every internet user has had the experience of mechanically scrolling through densely typed terms and conditions before being granted access to a website – but are they worth anything in law? The High Court tackled that issue in confirming an online...

High Court Rejects Divorcee's Bid to Annul Ex-Husband's Bankruptcy

It is sadly true that bankruptcy proceedings are sometimes used by perfectly solvent individuals for purposes other than seeking to satisfy their creditors or manage their debts. However, as a High Court case showed, alleging such conduct is one thing and...

Trusts - Court Relieves Family of Severe Tax Consequences of Drafting Error

Trusts are delicate and often complex legal instruments and any flaws in the wording of documents relating to them can have grave tax and other consequences. As a High Court case showed , however, inadvertent drafting errors can be corrected. The case...

Waiver of Contractual Rights by Conduct - Instructive High Court Ruling

Strict contractual rights, no matter how clearly defined, may be impliedly waived by conduct. That principle came under High Court analysis in a dispute concerning stalled plans for the construction of a space age engine testing centre. Trustees of a unit...

Making a Will? Don't Forget Those Entitled to Look to You for Support

When making your will, it is vital to remember those who have a right to look to you for financial support. As a High Court case showed, a failure to meet your duties to your dependants is highly likely to trigger a costly dispute – and ultimately...

Has COVID-19 Cost You Your Job? Consult a Solicitor Without Delay

Numerous businesses have sadly gone bust during the COVID-19 pandemic and, if you are amongst the many thousands of employees left high and dry, you should consult a solicitor without delay. A retail worker who did just that was awarded 90 days' pay by an...

High Court Grants Breathing Space to Commercial Tenant Hit by Pandemic

Many commercial tenants who are experiencing cash-flow crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic have been constrained to stop paying rent and are racing to restructure their debts – but where does that leave their landlords? The High Court squarely...

Joint Tenancy or Tenancy in Common? This is Why It Really Matters

If you are purchasing a property with a partner, friend, family member or anyone else, your solicitor is bound to ask you whether you intend to own it as joint tenants or tenants in common. A High Court case showed why that is likely to be one of the most...

UK Internet Entrepreneur Wins £75,000 Libel Damages from Overseas Website

The advent of the internet means that spotless professional reputations, built up over decades, can be traduced at the click of a button. As one case showed, however, if you are on the receiving end of such treatment, you don't have to take it lying down. ...

High Court Ponders Habitual Residence Test in Case of Orphaned Schoolgirl

The legal concept of habitual residence is a notoriously slippery one, but the ease of global travel has rendered it ever more important in the field of family law. The point was powerfully made by the case of an orphaned schoolgirl who was born in Britain...

Radio Presenter an Independent Contractor, Tax Tribunal Rules

The vexed distinction between employees and independent contractors is a constant source of dispute, not least in the realm of tax. Each case has to be decided on its own unique facts and, in one case, the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that a radio presenter...

Can It Be Discriminatory to Make Disabled Job Hunters Apply Online?

An increasing number of employers require job applicants to fill out online forms and to submit their CVs and covering letters digitally. They should, however, take careful note of a case concerning a dyspraxia sufferer who categorised such an approach as an...

Property Investment Company Pays for 'Deliberate' VAT Return Default

Almost every business owner understands that feeling of desperation arising from cashflow problems. As a case concerning VAT due on a commercial property sale showed, however, treating tax liabilities as a can to be kicked down the road is never a sensible...

This is Why You Shouldn't Put Off Making a Will Until Advanced Old Age

You are never too old to make a will, but failing to consult a solicitor before you reach advanced old age can be a positive invitation to dispute amongst your loved ones after you are gone. That was certainly so in the case of a woman who was 94 when she...

'Simple' Clause in Commercial Property Lease Triggers High Court Dispute

Commercial property leases can be long and complex documents, but it is often their most apparently simple clauses that give rise to dispute. That was certainly so in a High Court case concerning an airport hotel owner who was required to pay for its gas...

Missing Backpacker's Tireless Mother Granted Declaration of Death

When people go missing and are not heard from for years, there has to be a point where the law recognises that they have died. The High Court performed that sad task in the case of a much-loved young man who vanished without trace over 30 years ago whilst...

Never Personally Guarantee a Corporate Loan Without Legal Advice

Providing personal guarantees as security for corporate loans is for many businesspeople simply a price that has to be paid to achieve commercial success. As a High Court case showed , however, signing such a document is a momentous step that should never...

NHS Trust Pays Price for Manager's Practical Joke on Stressed Employee

Horseplay in any working environment is laden with risk for employers and that is certainly true of practical jokes. An Employment Tribunal (ET) resoundingly made that point in awarding almost £10,000 in compensation to an NHS worker who fell victim to...

Good Quality Conveyancing is Vital to the Avoidance of Neighbour Disputes

Poor quality property conveyancing is a sadly common source of neighbour disputes and that is why it is so crucial to engage specialist solicitors to do the job. A case on point concerned a poorly demarcated boundary which went unnoticed for years before...

High Court Aids Record Industry to Stamp Out Stream Ripping

The internet brings many benefits, but the widespread provision of software used in wholesale copyright infringement is decidedly not one of them. The High Court powerfully made that point in assisting record companies to stamp out the latest manifestation...

Child Maintenance - Court Weighs Up Lifestyle Expectations and Resources

Sensible people accept that they have a moral responsibility financially to maintain their children, whether or not they are born in wedlock. As a High Court case showed , the extent of such responsibilities largely depends on needs, reasonable lifestyle...

Received Negligent Financial Advice? Consult a Solicitor Without Delay

If you believe that you have suffered loss due to negligent financial advice, there are powerful reasons why you should consult a lawyer straight away. In a case on point, an elderly couple who claimed to have been ill-advised to enter into an interest-only...

Digital News Publisher Tastes Defeat in VAT Zero-Rating Test Case

Those who draft legislation cannot possibly foresee technological advances that may transform society in the future. In a case on point , the Court of Appeal considered whether VAT zero-rating, afforded to newspapers since pre-internet days, should be...

Thinking of Signing a Lease Without Legal Advice? Just Don't Do It

Entering into a lease, whether commercial or residential, without taking legal advice is, to say the least, highly unwise. A landowner who fell into that trap put himself at serious risk of an unwanted tenant moving into his newly built home. The man bought...

British Child's Inheritance of Italian Property Creates Legal Quandary

Where a British child inherits foreign property, tricky legal issues can arise. However, as one case showed, English judges are well able to deal with such difficulties by applying the overriding principle that the child's welfare is always paramount. The...

Defamed on Social Media? You Don't Have to Put Up With It

Wounding statements that can have a devastating impact on your professional and personal life take moments to type but can spread like wildfire on the internet. As a High Court case concerning two sports journalists showed , however, lawyers can move fast...

Policies Restricting Employee Social Media Usage Can Be Legally Fraught

Policies which seek to restrain employees' inappropriate use of social media may seem sensible but they can be fraught with legal difficulties and require careful drafting by a professional. In a case on point, a vehicle paint sprayer who was unfairly...

Husband in £64 Million Divorce Case Claims COVID-19 Hardship

COVID-19 has without doubt drastically affected the fortunes of some very wealthy people. As a High Court ruling in a big money divorce case showed , however, the pandemic does not by itself amount to a good reason for failing to meet legal and financial...

Alleged Victim of Push Payment Fraud Fends Off Winding Up Petition

So-called 'push payment' frauds – often involving bogus emails providing false bank account details – can be very convincing and represent a scourge on individuals and businesses alike. In a High Court case, a company alleged to have suffered one...

Confronting Mortality - Professional Advice Helps Produce Order from Chaos

Confronting mortality is never easy and many people put off making decisions critical to their own future, and that of their loved ones, until after the onset of serious illness or old age. Such a course involves serious legal risks but, as a High Court...

High Court Contract Dispute Focuses on Online Gambling Domain Name

Internet domain names often change hands for large sums of money and disputes in respect of their ownership are an increasing source of litigation. A High Court ruling in one such case concerned a domain name which had strategic potential in the online...

Tribunal Excludes Furnished Lettings Business from Inheritance Tax Relief

In a ruling of interest to anyone engaged in renting out furnished properties, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has taken a restrictive approach to the circumstances in which such enterprises may qualify for Business Property Relief (BPR) from Inheritance Tax...

Commercial Buildings Need to Be Practical - But Aesthetics Matter Too

Commercial buildings are not just boxes and, to many tenants, aesthetics are just as important as practicality. The High Court made that point in ordering a landlord to carry out multi-million-pound repairs to an iconic glass tower block. One of the...

Poor Record-Keeping is a Recipe for Dispute with the Tax Authorities

Sensible businesspeople understand that failing to keep proper accounting records and paper trails of transactions is an invitation to dispute with the tax authorities. In a case on point, a property developer came within an ace of incurring a substantial...

Creating a Family Trust? Are You Sure It Reflects Your True Intentions?

Rather than giving money to your children directly, you may choose for a variety of good reasons to provide for them by way of a discretionary trust. Such a step is a serious matter, however, and as a High Court case underlined , it is extremely difficult...

Sensible Divorcees Put Personal Animosity Aside - Court of Appeal Ruling

Any good lawyer will tell you that it is far better for divorcing couples to agree how their assets should be divided, rather than fighting it out in court. A Court of Appeal case showed , however, that, where personal animosity persists, it is only too...

Equality and Diversity Training Needs Regular Refreshment to Be Effective

The provision of workplace equality and diversity training can afford employers a powerful defence in employment proceedings. As one case showed, however, such training is wont to become stale in employees' minds over time and is unlikely to be viewed as...

COVID-19 - High Court Authorises Vaccination of Elderly Dementia Sufferer

Should vulnerable people who lack the mental capacity to make important decisions for themselves be vaccinated against COVID-19 even in the face of objections from their loved ones? The High Court confronted that uniquely difficult issue in the case of an...

Aircraft Lease Arbitration Clause Comes Under High Court Microscope

Arbitration clauses are commonplace in commercial contracts and generally provide a relatively swift and cost-effective route to resolving disputes without resort to full-blown litigation. Their correct interpretation can, however, present a challenge and...

In Dispute with Your Neighbour? A Lawyer Will Help to Restore Peace

Disputes between neighbours frequently inflict enormous emotional and financial harm on all involved. A High Court dispute concerning use of a shared driveway showed why any lawyer would advise sensible negotiation as a far better alternative to...

Vacant Possession and Commercial Lease Break Clauses - High Court Ruling

When exercising a break clause in a commercial lease, tenants are usually required to deliver up a property with vacant possession – but what exactly does that mean? The High Court confronted that issue in a case concerning a recording studio which...

Racism on the Shop Floor - Employers Can Expect to Carry the Can

Some shop floors are rough and ready places where foul language abounds, but if a worker makes a racist or other discriminatory comment it is likely to be the employer who ends up carrying the legal can. An Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling underlined the...

Clerical Errors in Your Will or Codicil Can Create Discord After You Are Gone

Even apparently obvious or trifling clerical errors in a will or codicil may provide fertile ground for dispute and that is why it is so important to have such documents drafted by a professional. In a High Court case on point , a straightforward...

Interim Maintenance in Divorce Proceedings - Court of Appeal Gives Guidance

Working out the financial consequences of divorce takes time and that is why judges have the power to make interim maintenance awards to bridge the gap. In an important ruling, the Court of Appeal gave guidance on how that power should be exercised to...

Inner Workings of Online Property Platforms Analysed in Shares Sale Row

Purchasers of private companies sadly often feel that they have been sold a pup, but making such an assertion is a great deal easier than proving it. That was certainly so in a case concerning the acquisition of a commercial lettings agency in which the High...

Passenger Defeats International Airline in Battle Over Misspelt Name

Individuals can feel almost powerless when faced with the might of large corporations but, with the right legal advice, that is very far from being so. In a case on point, a judge ruled that an international airline had no right to charge a passenger almost...

Mistaken £450,000 VAT Payment Triggers Construction Industry Dispute

The vexed distinction between building works that qualify for VAT zero-rating and those that do not can be puzzling even for construction industry professionals. A case on point focused on the tricky legal consequences of almost £450,000 in VAT having...

Driving Instructor Stricken by COVID-19 Pays for Ignorance of the VAT Regime

The VAT regime is far from straightforward and anyone going into business on their own account should take professional tax advice at the outset. In a striking case on point, a driving instructor who was recovering from a life-threatening bout of COVID-19...

Commercial Contracts Undermined by Lockdown - Where Do Losses Fall?

Lockdowns put into force in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have rendered many commercial contracts unprofitable if not entirely inoperable. In a guideline case, the High Court considered where unforeseen losses arising under a local authority contract ...

Disabled Would-Be Tenant Discriminated Against by Letting Agency

The much-criticised practice of some landlords and their agents of excluding those in receipt of state benefits from obtaining private rented accommodation has been effectively outlawed by a judge's ruling on the basis that it amounts to indirect...

Houses in Multiple Occupation - A Cautionary Tale for Errant Landlords

Pressure on the housing market has led to the conversion of many redundant office buildings into flats and the number of such projects is likely to be greatly increased by shifting work patterns brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. A Court of Appeal...

Child Abduction - Runaway Mother Feels the Force of International Law

Cross-border child abduction is an all too frequent result of broken relationships but it is also unspeakably cruel and English judges take their international treaty obligations to stamp it out very seriously. The High Court powerfully made that point in...

Severe Menopausal Symptoms Can Amount to a Disability, ET Rules

The word 'disability' may summon images of people suffering from grave physical incapacity but, in employment law terms, it has a much broader meaning than that. In an employment case on point, a woman who was suffering from the ill effects of the menopause...

Racing Driver's Inaccurate Will Leaves His Heirs with Unwelcome Headache

The task of administering your estate after your death will be made all the harder if your will is not drafted with the precision that only a professional can provide. That was certainly so in one case concerning a retired racing driver's will which failed...

Writer's Ex-Partner Wins Recognition as Co-Author of Hollywood Screenplay

Professional writers often receive assistance and inspiration from friends, family and others, but to what extent, if any, should their contributions be recognised in law? The High Court addressed that issue in the context of a broken relationship between...

Guideline Land Registration Ruling Focuses on Former Industrial Site

One might think that an inspection of the Land Register would be a conclusive and straightforward means of identifying the owner of any particular property. However, an unusual case concerning a former industrial site showed that these matters can be...

Disturbed by Your Neighbours' Building Plans? See a Solicitor Today

If you feel that your neighbours' building plans will impact on your views or otherwise harm your enjoyment of your home, you should not hesitate to consult a solicitor. In one case, a couple who did just that succeeded in blocking construction of a...

Employer Brought to Book for Maternity/Pregnancy Discrimination

Employers who are found to have discriminated on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity will swiftly be brought to book. That was certainly so in the case of a tanning salon worker who learnt that she was being made redundant out of the blue on the very day...

Owed Money and Tired of Excuses? The Law Knows How Pressure is Applied

Many businesses and individuals who are owed money sadly become accustomed to hearing explanations and excuses for non-payment. However, as one case showed , specialist lawyers do not give up and are adept at bringing relentless pressure to bear on debtors...

Maker of 'Shapewear' Jeans Blocks 'Rip-Off' Product from the Market

There is nothing more galling than witnessing competitors profiting at your expense by ripping off your original ideas and designs. As a High Court case concerning a novel variety of 'body-enhancing' jeans showed , however, intellectual property lawyers are...

Transatlantic Child Maintenance Storm Breaks Over One-Day-Old Baby

Some relationships sadly do not survive the prospect of impending parenthood and that can result in children being born into the teeth of a legal storm. In one case, a little girl was only one day old when she became the subject of child maintenance...

What Exactly Is a 'Property Developer'? Tax Tribunal Confronts the Issue

It might be thought that the meaning of the phrase 'property developer' is as clear as a bell. However, in a tax case of great significance to corporate property owners , its precise definition proved challenging to say the least. The case concerned the...

Tax Tribunal Rules Peripatetic Businessman 'Ordinarily Resident' in the UK

Many businesspeople lead peripatetic lives of constant international travel and the crucial question of whether they are settled in the UK for tax purposes can be very difficult to answer. A First-tier Tribunal (FTT) ruling , however, revealed the lengths...

Going into Business with a Friend? Never Dispense with Legal Advice

If you are going into business with a friend or family member you trust, you may think there is no need to consult a solicitor so that arrangements between you can be formalised in writing. A High Court ruling, however, showed exactly why that is such a...

High Court Uncovers Blatant Forgery as Will Dispute Tears Family Apart

If an elderly man had listened to his solicitor's repeated advice to make a will, his children would have avoided a sea of trouble after his death. His failure to do so resulted in a bitter High Court dispute and a judge's finding that one of his daughters...

Renting Out Your Home on AirBnB Without Legal Advice is a Grave Mistake

Many tenants who forego legal advice before subletting their homes to tourists and other short-term visitors do so in blissful ignorance that they may well be breaching the terms of their leases. That was certainly so in the case of a flat dweller whose use...

High Court Scotches Housing Development Close to Historic Manor House

Britain glories in its listed buildings and other heritage assets and planning policies require that great weight be given to their preservation. The High Court made that point in scotching a proposal to build 73 new homes on a site adjacent to a 13th...

Given a Raw Deal by a Divorce Judge? Don't Just Sit on Your Hands

Many divorcees feel that judges have given them a raw deal when dividing up marital assets. They may or may not be right about that but, as one case strikingly showed , it makes much better sense for them to seek swift professional advice than to sit on...

Whistleblowing - Not Every Disclosure Deserves Protection

In order to qualify for legal protection, whistleblowers must genuinely believe that the disclosures they make to their employers are justified and in the public interest. The Court of Appeal underlined the point in a case concerning a banker who was sacked...

Live Boxing Events Organiser Granted 'Dynamic' Internet Blocking Order

Organisers of sporting and other events who derive much of their income from pay-per-view or subscription live streaming are fighting a constant war against internet piracy. As a High Court case showed , with the assistance of judges and the legal...

COVID-19 - Ruling Underlines Desperate Impact on Care Home Residents

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is becoming increasingly hard to see where the balance of harm lies between the risk of exposing care home residents to a life-threatening virus and compromising their most basic quality of life. The Court of Protection made...

Commercial Tenant Pays Price for Leaving Site Contaminated by Asbestos

Most commercial leases require tenants to leave premises in a decent state of repair on their departure and failing to comply with such an obligation can have serious financial consequences. That was certainly so in the case of a light industrial site on...

Caring Restaurateur Relieved of £60,000 Tax Return Late Filing Penalties

Those who deliberately delay filing their tax returns risk incurring severe financial penalties. However, the tax regime leaves room for mercy and, in relieving a hard-pressed restaurateur of more than £60,000 in penalties , the First-tier Tribunal...

Financier's 'Utility Token' Golden Hello Triggers Employment Test Case

Online trading in a wide range of cryptocurrencies, tokens and vouchers has taken off in the past few years and the law faces a stiff challenge in keeping up with such developments. An employment case on point concerned a financier who was promised 10,000...

Is Your Water Supply Sourced from a Neighbour's Land? Do You Know Your Rights?

Many rural homes obtain their supplies of fresh water from sources which lie beyond their boundaries and such arrangements can sadly prove fertile ground for dispute. A case in which a farmer and his niece were at odds over water rights showed the wisdom...

COVID-19 - Troubled Mother Permitted Skin-to-Skin Contact with Her Baby

Contact arrangements between children in care and their parents often raise vexed issues, but all the more so during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a case concerning a mother who was denied skin-to-skin contact with her newborn baby, however, the High Court bent...

Whether Contracting with Friend or Foe, Legal Formality Always Matters

Even experienced businesspeople are all too often tempted to dispense with legal formality and do oral deals with those they know and trust. As a High Court case underlined , however, friendships have a nasty habit of turning sour and such arrangements are...

Making a Will? Appointing a Professional Executor Can Save Strife and Money

The trouble with appointing loved ones as executors of your will is that they are likely to be grief-stricken and there can be no guarantee that they will get on. A High Court decision showed that appointing a professional to perform the task is often the...

Rightmove Fails in 'Confusingly Similar' Website Complaint

If your potential clients are being diverted to a website bearing a confusingly similar name to your own, you may have grounds for legal complaint. However, as a case concerning leading online estate agency Rightmove Group Ltd showed, asserting such...

Capital Gains Tax - Couple Triumph in 'Principal Private Residence' Appeal

Home is where the heart is and the question of whether a property is your principal private residence for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes depends, at least in part, on your intentions. An instructive case on point concerned a couple who made a house their...

The Law Cracks Down on £35 Million 'Mafia-type' VAT/Duty Evasion Fraud

The immense profits that can be made from the fraudulent evasion of VAT and import duties makes it an attractive proposition for organised criminals. However, as a case concerning wine imports showed , HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are wise to such...

Emergency COVID-19 Legislation - Judges Crack the Democratic Whip

Wide-ranging legislative changes that would normally require months, even years, of consultation were rushed through in a matter of days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A Court of Appeal ruling in a landmark case concerning emergency changes to the...

Children's Activity Lake Planning Permission Survives Noise Objections

The noise of playing children screaming and shouting is purgatory to some but, in a High Court case, such concerns were not enough to convince a judge that planning permission for an adventure activity lake in the grounds of a historic manor house should...

Clubbing Together with a Friend to Buy a Home? See a Lawyer First

It makes sense for friends to club together so that they can buy properties they would be unable to afford by themselves. However, a cautionary High Court ruling showed that such arrangements are only wise if lawyers are consulted so that all concerned...

Low-Paid Workers' Union Triumphs in COVID-19 Health and Safety Test Case

Many low-paid workers who have an essential role in keeping the nation moving are at particularly high risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a ground-breaking decision, the High Court came to their aid in ruling that the Government is obliged under European...

Legacies and Entitlement to Means-Tested Benefits - High Court Ruling

When making a will, most people would wish to provide for loved ones in need. As a High Court case showed , however, means testing of many state benefits creates a very real risk of such good intentions coming to nought and that is one very good reason why...

High Court Ruling Underlines the Benefits of English Arbitration Clauses

As a guideline High Court decision emphasised , the greatest advantage of including English arbitration clauses in commercial contracts is that they prevent litigation from proliferating around the world and focus dispute resolution on a single,...

Parents Who Simply Cannot Cope Don't Deserve Condemnation

Through no fault of their own, some parents are simply incapable of providing the care and stability that all children need whilst growing up. As one case showed , however, the approach of family judges is not to condemn but to seek solutions that enable...

Commercial Tenants - How Well Do You Understand Your Obligations?

Before signing up to a commercial lease, tenants should always take expert legal advice to ensure they truly understand the obligations they are taking on. The point was powerfully made by a case in which the insurance provisions of a lease became the focus...

High Court Acts to Free Mentally Ill Woman from Corrosive Relationship

Family lawyers work hand in hand with local authorities and medical professionals to protect vulnerable people from the controlling and coercive behaviour of others. In a striking case on point, the High Court authorised effective steps to be taken to free...

Succession Planning Good, Age Discrimination Bad - EAT Ruling

Any organisation that does not have an effective system of succession planning in place must face an uncertain future. As a ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) underlined, however, it is all too easy for such arrangements to be infected...

Advent of Artificial Intelligence Poses Fundamental Questions in Patents Case

Is the capacity to invent an exclusively human quality? Or has the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) rendered that proposition obsolete? Those fundamental issues took centre stage in a unique High Court patents case . A pioneer in the field of AI...

Couple Overturn Capital Gains Tax Demands Raised on Sale of Their Home

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are big battalions by anyone's standards, but their word is not law and, with expert legal assistance, they can sometimes be proved wrong. In one case, a couple succeeded in overturning six-figure Capital Gains Tax (CGT)...

Court Enforces Exclusive English Jurisdiction Clause in Insurance Dispute

The high reputation of the Commercial Court in London for efficiency and impartiality is such that English jurisdiction clauses are a ubiquitous feature of contracts signed around the world. They can be of crucial significance if disputes arise and, as one...

Thwarted by Planners? Persistence and Legal Advice Can Still Win the Day

Obtaining authorisation for construction projects can be extremely demanding, but a combination of persistence and the right legal advice will often win the day. In a case on point, a householder whose hopes of building a garden room were time and again...

Commercial Pregnancy Ultrasound Scanning Granted Medical VAT Exemption

The question of whether particular services are exempt from VAT is a perennial bone of contention which can have major financial and business consequences. That was certainly so in a case concerning the commercial provision of ultrasound scanning services ...

Trust and Estate Numbers Dip for Fifth Consecutive Year

HM Revenue and Customs have reported a decline in the number of trusts and estates in the UK for the fifth year in a row. Between 2018 and 2019, the total number of trusts and estates in the UK fell by 2 per cent to 151,000. The wealth management vehicles...

The Law Has Sharp Teeth When Tackling Breaches of Planning Control

Those who treat planning rules as a mere inconvenience in the belief that they can breach them with impunity are operating under an illusion . The Court of Appeal made that point in upholding heavy fines imposed on a property company and its sole active...

Divorce and the Increasing Use of Arbitration - Court of Appeal Test Case

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic it has become even more popular to seek resolution of financial issues arising from divorce via private arbitration rather than formal court proceedings – but to what extent are arbitration awards binding and enforceable?...

ET Recognises Stoicism as a Protected Philosophical Belief

Stoicism is a 2,300-year-old system of ethics which guided the steps of such giants of classical history as Seneca and the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Its adherents may nowadays be few and far between, but an Employment Tribunal (ET) has ruled that it...

Has Your Privacy Been Violated? You Don't Have to Put Up With It

For many people there is almost nothing more painful than having their private affairs aired on the internet or in publicly available print. As a High Court decision showed , however, specialist lawyers know exactly how to deal with such intrusions. The...

Mormon Church Wrests Control of 'Confusing' Domain Name

If attracting internet traffic is important to you, obtaining professional advice is crucial to maintaining the distinctive character of your website. In an unusual case on point, the Mormon Church took effective action to wrest control of a domain name ...

Saturation Diver Can Deduct Physical Fitness Expenses from Income Tax

Self-employed people are only permitted to deduct from their Income Tax bills those expenses that are incurred 'wholly and exclusively' for the purposes of their trade or occupation. That is a very demanding test but, in a guideline case, it was passed by a...

The Business Rates Regime is Complex - Seek Legal Advice For Certainty

The law relating to business rates is intricate to say the least, and without expert legal advice commercial property occupiers can fall victim to its complexity. The High Court made that point in rejecting a tenant's determined challenge to a non-domestic...

Buying a Home With Your Partner? Legal Advice Today Saves Heartache Later

Couples who buy a home together tend to assume that true love lasts forever and that the property should be owned in equal shares. As a High Court case showed , however, that is one very good reason why they should always consult a solicitor, whose job it...

Buying a Business? Always Engage a Professional to Carry Out Due Diligence

Dispensing with professional advice and buying a business on nothing more secure than a handshake is a recipe for disaster. That was certainly so in the case of an entrepreneur who found himself in a sea of trouble after purchasing the assets of a company...

Doctor's Race Discrimination Claims Prematurely Struck Out

Discriminatory acts or omissions may be seen as one-off incidents or as a sequence giving rise to a continuing discriminatory state of affairs. As an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruling showed, that distinction can be critical to determining whether...

Licensing Houses in Multiple Occupation - Ignorance of the Law is No Defence

Landlords who fail to license houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) commit a serious criminal offence and can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In making that point, the Upper Tribunal (UT) emphasised that stiff financial penalties are generally required...

Parliament Entitled to Close Perceived Tax Loophole Retrospectively

There is nothing inherently wrong with Parliament legislating retrospectively in order to plug perceived tax loopholes. The High Court resoundingly made that point in rejecting claims that a back-dated change in the law violated the human rights of...

Inheritance - Lifetime Promises Can Be Legally As Well As Morally Binding

When it comes to inheritance, the obligation to keep your promises may well be legal as well as moral. In a case on point, a judge followed the demands of conscience in ruling that a hard-working man should inherit the farmland of a close friend who for...

New National Minimum Wage Rates from April 2021

The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission as regards the National Living Wage (NLW) and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates that will apply with effect from 1 April 2021: The NLW will increase from £8.72 to...

Risks of Child Vaccination Outweighed By Health Benefits

In the best traditions of a free society, vaccination is not compulsory in the UK and anyone is entitled to withhold consent to being inoculated. In an important ruling, however, the High Court overruled a mother's moral and safety objections to her...

'Average Consumer' Takes Centre Stage in Beverages Trade Mark Dispute

The 'average consumer' may not exist in the real world but, as a legal construct, is an all-pervading presence in many trade mark disputes. That was certainly so in an infringement case concerning two manufacturers of alcoholic beverages which each named...

Tax Return Blunder Has Dire Consequences for Public-Spirited Charity Donor

Making a mistake on your tax return can have extremely serious consequences and that is why it is always wise to take professional advice. In a striking case on point, the High Court declined to come to the aid of a public-spirited businessman who donated...

Facing Forfeiture of Your Commercial Lease? Consult a Lawyer Without Delay

If you are a commercial tenant and your landlord is for any reason threatening to forfeit your lease, it is crucial that you take legal advice without delay. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a tenant whose shop premises were...

Cross-Border Child Abduction and Habitual Residence - Guideline Ruling

A parent who wishes to move from one country to another with his or her child must first obtain the consent of the parent left behind. That principle of international law is easily stated but, as a guideline Court of Appeal ruling showed , applying it in a...

Businessman Fends Off 'Shadow Director' Claim Following Immigration Raid

It is a simple matter to identify registered directors of any English company – the information is readily available from Companies House or online – but putting a name to de facto or shadow directors is more of a challenge. The High Court...

Upset By Your Neighbours' Building Plans? You Are Far From Powerless

If your neighbours have obtained planning permission for building works to which you object, you may think that is the end of the matter. However, as one case strikingly showed , with the right legal advice you can still win the day. A company obtained...

Sacked Marketing Director's Re-Engagement 'Impracticable', EAT Rules

An award of compensation is the most common remedy granted in cases of unfair dismissal, but Employment Tribunals (ETs) also have the power to order reinstatement or re-engagement of wronged employees. The Employment Appeal Tribunal's (EAT's) ruling in a...

Don't Leave It Too Late to Put Your Affairs in Order

People often talk about putting their affairs in order but then sit on their hands until it is too late. The serious consequences of delay in seeking legal advice were underlined by a case in which a woman waited until she was resident in a hospice,...

Judge Breaks Up Environmental Protest Camp to Enable Tree to Be Felled

The powerful voice of environmental campaigners would be a mere whimper were it not for their human rights to congregate and peacefully protest. However, as a case concerning a campaign to save an ancient tree from the axe showed , judges are also obliged...

Court Urges Peace on Unmarried Couple at War Over Family Business

Unmarried couples should be under no illusions that they have legal rights equivalent to those who have tied the knot. The point could hardly have been more powerfully made than by a case concerning an unmarried former couple whose close-knit life together...

Directors Who Invest in Other Businesses - Watch Out for Conflicts of Interest

Directors are generally required to devote their time and effort to the companies they serve and to avoid making investments which might conflict with their best interests. The High Court analysed the extent of those duties in resolving a dispute between...

If You Believe You've Been Sold a Pup, Consult a Solicitor Today

If you have paid good money for goods or services and feel that you have not got what you bargained for, you should see a solicitor without delay. A case on point concerned a man who paid about £4,000 for what he believed would be a surgical hair...

What Is the Difference Between a Car and a Van? Income Tax Test Case

What is the difference between a car and a van? The Court of Appeal's definitive answer to that question has very significant tax implications for employers who provide vehicles for their employees' combined business and private use. The case concerned a...

Disappointed Homebuyers Secure Six-Figure Damages From Negligent Surveyor

One good reason why sensible homebuyers engage the services of a surveyor prior to purchase is that, if things go wrong, they at least have someone to sue. In a case on point, a couple who paid £1.2 million for a seaside home which turned out to be...

Can Dismissal Without Any Disciplinary Process Ever Be Fair?

Can a dismissal ever be fair if formal disciplinary procedures are dispensed with? A tribunal addressed that issue in the case of a senior railway company employee who was sacked on the spot following a breakdown in relations with her line manager ( ...

Independent Legal Advice Proves Decisive in Family Inheritance Dispute

Just because someone is old, frail and vulnerable does not mean that they are incapable of understanding the contents of their will. However, as a High Court ruling in the context of a bitter inheritance dispute showed, the benefits of professional advice...

Architect Who Left the Door Open Not Liable for Catastrophic Cinema Blaze

The first step in proving negligence is to establish the existence of a duty of care. A High Court case in which a firm of architects was cleared of liability in respect of a catastrophic fire provided a prime example of that principle in operation. An...

Ignorance of the Law Is No Defence - Or Is It? Child Benefit Tax Ruling

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) must publicise changes in the tax regime and taxpayers are not obliged to go rooting around its website in an attempt to keep up to date. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) made that point in finding that a father had a reasonable...

British Gymnastics Scores 10 Out of 10 in Trade Mark Infringement Dispute

Not everyone is particularly observant or attentive and the names of businesses and other organisations do not have to be identical in order to sow confusion in the public mind. The High Court made that point in upholding a trade mark infringement claim ...

COVID-19 and Parental Contact With Children in Care - Guideline Ruling

How, if at all, is the duty of local authorities to allow children in their care reasonable contact with their parents affected by social distancing rules arising from the COVID-19 pandemic? The Court of Appeal confronted that issue in a guideline case . ...

Which Nation's Laws Apply to International Flights - High Court Guidance

As international airline passengers lounge comfortably in their seats, the last thing on their minds may be the legal system that applies to the aircraft at any one time as it passes through the airspace of one nation after another. That question was,...

Homelessness and the Need to Make Use of Vacant Investment Properties

Amidst widespread homelessness, owners of investment properties who allow them to stand empty for extended periods can find themselves on the receiving end of compulsory purchase orders (CPOs). Exactly that happened in a case concerning a desirable...

Ambiguity in Widower's Poorly Drafted Will Results in Family Stalemate

The whole point of engaging a professional to draft your will is to make your wishes clear in precise and unambiguous terms. If your will falls below that high standard the result, as a High Court ruling showed , can be family stalemate after you are gone. ...

Privacy v Public Justice - Transgender Claimant Wins Anonymity Order

It is a fundamental feature of any free society that justice must be done in public, but how does that principle sit with the right of individuals not to have sensitive details of their private lives exposed to the public glare? The Employment Appeal...

Judge Breaks Deadlock Between Unmarried Ex-Couple With Children

When long-term relationships between unmarried couples break down, disentangling their property and financial affairs can be challenging, particularly where children are involved. As one case showed, however, a clean break is often the best option for all...

High Court Overturns Planning Consent for Demolition of Pub Skittle Alley

Where local authorities choose not to follow the advice of their professional planning officers, the resulting decisions are likely to come under particularly close judicial scrutiny. That was certainly so in one case concerning a proposed development which...

Object to a Planning Decision? A Lawyer Will Ensure Your Voice Is Heard

If you object to a planning decision, an expert lawyer will ensure that your voice is heard loud and clear. In one case, a woman succeeded in overturning planning permission for the construction of 18 holiday lodges close to her rural home. The local...

Estate Agency Boss Handed Directorship Ban Over Price-Fixing Cartel

Where free markets fail to operate, individual consumers are bound to suffer. The lengths to which regulators will go in stamping out anti-competitive conduct, even at a local level, was underlined by a High Court case concerning a cartel between estate...

High Court Exercises Wisdom of Solomon in Ordering Sale of Family Home

Amidst ever-rising property prices, it can make good sense for friends or relatives to club together to buy a home where they can all live together. As a High Court ruling showed , however, the continuing harmony in human relationships upon which such...

COVID-19 - High Court Waives Strict Time Limit in Data Protection Case

The severe disruption to the legal process wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted judges to take a practical approach and, in some cases, to waive strict compliance with procedural rules. The High Court did just that in enabling a local authority to...

Boss's Ignorant Response to Employee's Progressive Condition Proves Costly

Employers who fail to provide support and understanding to sick workers can expect to pay a high price, both in financial and reputational terms. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in awarding substantial compensation to a coffee bar employee whose...

Cakes v Confectionery - Tribunal Laments Confused State of VAT Rules

In ruling that vegan sweet treats targeted at health food shops should be subject to VAT at the standard rate, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) lamented the long-standing confusion in the law when it comes to distinguishing between confectionery and cakes. The...

Court of Appeal Sanctions 'Informal' Tax Investigations in Landmark Case

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) operate within the constraints of their statutory powers, but their ability to conduct 'informal' enquiries into taxpayers' affairs, without limit of time, has been upheld by the Court of Appeal in a landmark ruling . The case...

Liquidators Act to Recover £7 Million Invested in Abortive Flats Development

Investing in property development projects is definitely not for the faint-hearted but, if things go wrong, professionals will help you to recoup as much of your money as possible. A case on point concerned about £7 million invested in a student flats...

Revolutionary Garden Hose Design Too 'Obvious' for Patent Protection

Patents reward originality, and inventions that are obvious developments on pre-existing designs do not qualify for protection, however successful they may be. In a ground-breaking case on point , patent protection was denied in respect of a one-man...

Don't Even Consider a Foreign Adoption Without Specialist Legal Advice

Adopting children from abroad can complete families and be of great benefit to all concerned. However, as a High Court case showed, it is fraught with legal pitfalls and should not be attempted without first taking specialist legal advice. The case...

Elite Cyclist Jess Varnish 'Neither a Worker Nor an Employee', Tribunal Rules

What is an employee? What is a worker? The answer to those perennially tricky questions has been illuminated by a ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that elite cyclist Jess Varnish fell into neither category when she parted company with the...

High Court Rules on COVID-19 Insurance Test Case

In a welcome development for thousands of small businesses, the High Court has ruled that losses arising from the COVID-19 pandemic are covered by certain business interruption insurance policies. Many businesses have claimed on their business...

Property Investors - Make Sure Your Money is Secured From the Outset

Investing in property is very far from being risk free but usually has the advantage that monies advanced are secured against real 'bricks and mortar' assets. The crucial importance of ensuring that enforceable security is in place before parting with your...

Can Contract Adjudications Be Fairly Held During COVID-19 Lockdown?

Speedy and cost-effective dispute resolution is the primary aspiration of the contract adjudication regime – but to what extent can that be fairly achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic? The High Court confronted that issue in a guideline case . A...

Family Dispute Underlines Wisdom of Making a Professionally Drafted Will

Family disputes frequently focus on inheritance and can inflict immense anxiety and pain on all concerned. A case concerning a young man who died tragically when he stepped in front of a train, however, showed that the best way to avoid such conflict is to...

Council Awarded Seven-Figure Damages for Flaws in Tram Depot Design

Disputes concerning major construction projects can simmer on for years after they are completed and one of the great advantages of litigation is that it offers finality. In one case, the High Court achieved that end by awarding more than £1 million...

Giving With Warm Hands to Minimise Inheritance Tax - High Court Ruling

The most straightforward means of minimising Inheritance Tax (IHT) payable on your estate is to give away your assets with warm hands when you are still hale and hearty. However, such gifts will bring no tax advantages at all unless they are absolute and...

Dishonestly Misled Company Overturns £115,000 VAT Late Payment Penalties

Delaying payment of your quarterly VAT bills is no way to relieve pressure on your cash flow and usually results in heavy financial penalties. However, as a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) ruling showed, there is such a thing as a reasonable excuse for late...

Want to Adopt a Child From Overseas? Beware the Legal Pitfalls

Adopting children from overseas is fraught with legal pitfalls and those who attempt to do so without first taking expert advice expose themselves to heartbreak. In one case, however, the High Court came to the aid of a British woman who adopted a little...

Gender Diversity Bias Claim Fails to Convince Court

Many employers are taking laudable steps to increase diversity in their workforces by recruiting more women. However, as a case involving an unsuccessful candidate for a BBC radio broadcasting position showed, such considerations do not detract from the...

Let Down By Your Builder? Consult a Solicitor Without Delay

Home renovations are a notoriously frequent source of dispute and, if you feel that you have been let down by a builder, you should consult a solicitor straight away. In a case on point, a householder won a £200,000 asset freezing order against a...

Spotlight on Corporate Democracy as Small Shareholders Take Crushing Loss

Concerns that small shareholders are the victims of a deficit in corporate democracy, having little influence over the direction taken by the companies in which they invest, were highlighted by a High Court case concerning a troubled mining company. Tens of...

Home-Made Wills May Save a Few Pounds But Store Up Trouble for the Future

Home-made wills may save you a few pounds in the short term, but dispensing with legal advice greatly increases the risk of painful disputes arising after you are gone. That was certainly so in the case of a desperately ill man who left the whole of his...

Tempted to Fire Off a Social Media Post in Anger? Don't Do It

Social media posts fired off in anger can have grave legal consequences even if they are swiftly taken down. In an extreme case on point, a man who revealed his niece's history of mental illness and self-harm to the world online was ordered to pay her...

Fairness Demands Transparent Decision-Making - High Court Planning Case

Planning decisions can radically affect people's lives and livelihoods and that is why they have to be taken openly and transparently. The High Court made that point in overturning planning permission granted for a major redevelopment in a creative...

Tribunal Comes to Aid of Dutiful Son Penalised for Late Payment of Tax

Prioritising prompt payment of your tax bills can be tough, particularly when there are other compelling and unforeseen demands on your limited resources. In a case on point, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) came to the aid of a man who dipped into his tax...

Prosecco Producers Successfully Oppose 'Nosecco' Trade Mark Registration

The names and trade marks of certain well-known regional food and drink products are tightly protected under European law. The extent of that protection was analysed in a High Court case concerning a non-alcoholic sparkling wine bearing the name 'Nosecco'....

Secret Marriage Leads to Legal Complications - High Court Ruling

It is not only in the realms of fiction that lovers choose to marry in secret, away from the gaze of their disapproving families. A highly unusual High Court case , however, showed the legal difficulties that can arise from such arrangements. The case...

Renting Out Your Home on Airbnb? Are You Sure You're Entitled to Do So?

Tenants should take professional advice before renting out their homes to short-term paying guests via Airbnb, Booking.com or other internet booking sites. In a case on point, a couple who failed to take that sensible step placed themselves in jeopardy by...

Selecting Staff for Redundancy? It Pays to Take Professional Advice First

The process of selecting staff for redundancy is fraught with legal pitfalls and seeking professional advice at the outset can in the long run save you from serious financial and reputational damage. In a case on point, a local authority reaped a whirlwind...

When Does a Contract Dispute Crystallise? Guideline High Court Ruling

Contract adjudicators only have jurisdiction to resolve disputes after the points in issue have crystallised. The difficulty of discerning exactly when that point has been reached was underlined by a High Court case concerning a delayed laboratory...

Making a Will? Have You Considered Your Loved Ones' Real Needs?

For many parents, the objective of a will is to ensure even-handed treatment of loved ones, particularly children. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed, some may be more needy than others and that too should be taken into account. The case...

Advance Contractual Payments and the Benefits of Bank Guarantees

Contracts often require payments for services to be made in advance in order to get the ball rolling and provide liquidity, but this gives rise to obvious risks. An instructive High Court ruling, however, showed how effective bank guarantees are in ensuring...

Tempted By an Exotic Investment Scheme? Is It Too Good to Be True?

It is easy to be tempted by exotic investment schemes that promise spectacular returns. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed , they are often too good to be true and it is always wise to get an independent professional to check them out before...

Unfair Advantage Being Taken of Your Trade Mark? Don't Put Up With It

If you have spent time and money building up public recognition of your trade mark, you do not have to just stand by and watch others taking unfair advantage of your investment. In a case on point, a tea supplier saw off an attempt to use its brand name in...

Divorce - Home-Maker Wife Compensated for Sacrificing Her Career

Despite the drive towards achieving economic equality between the sexes, it remains common for women to give up their promising careers to support their husbands and devote themselves to child rearing and home-making. An important High Court ruling ...

Worker or Independent Contractor? European Court of Justice Guidance

The vexed distinction between 'workers' and 'independent contractors' could hardly be more important for many businesses but remains perennially controversial. An important ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is likely, however, to...

'Pay Now, Argue Later' - High Court Enforces Contract Adjudicator's Award

Contract adjudicators' awards, even if disputed, must generally be satisfied straight away. That principle – often referred to as 'pay now, argue later' – was applied by the High Court in ordering an immediate six-figure payment to a small...

High-Profile Homeowners Can Divert Footpath Away From Their Garden

Ramblers love footpaths, but the same cannot be said for landowners concerned to protect their privacy and security. That was certainly so in one case in which homeowners with a high media profile won the right to divert a footpath which crossed their...

Part-Time Football Referees Are Self-Employed, Tax Tribunal Rules

Part-time referees who officiate at professional football matches on a game-by-game basis are not employees. Confirming their self-employed status in a guideline case, the Upper Tribunal (UT) noted that they are so motivated to work that there is no need to...

High Court Acts to Rescue Company After Sole Shareholder's Death

If you are an entrepreneur and own your own company, that is all the more reason why you should take professional advice regarding the consequences that might arise on your death. In an unusual High Court case on point , a farm contracting business was left...

Court Permits Wife Who Unlawfully Killed Her Husband to Inherit His Assets

Few would quarrel with the long-standing rule of law that anyone who unlawfully kills another is barred from benefiting, financially or otherwise, from his or her crime. In a unique decision, however, the High Court waived that rule in the case of an...

Flat Tenant Can Veto Potentially Destructive Works - Supreme Court Ruling

The freeholds of a great many blocks of flats are held by tenant-owned companies which operate on democratic principles. Such arrangements are, however, not a panacea and disagreements can arise. A guideline Supreme Court decision will, however, make it...

Children's Wishes and Feelings Prevail in Bitter Paternity Dispute

In the throes of family breakdown, parents often focus on their own personal battles – but it is the best interests of their children that are always uppermost in family judges' minds. In a case on point, the wishes and feelings of two teenagers ...

Harvey Weinstein Case Exposes Wrinkle in Employment Tribunal Rules

Sexual harassment proceedings against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein gave rise to a thorny jurisdictional issue that threatened to undermine the power of Employment Tribunals (ETs) to make evidence disclosure orders against those who are not...

Trusts Are Handy But Can Be Hazardous - Always Take Advice

Trusts can be an invaluable means of providing for vulnerable loved ones, but they need careful handling by a professional if they are not to have serious unforeseen consequences. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a retired GP whose...

International Airline Fined £500,000 for Negligent Data Breach

Businesses that handle personal data but fail to take appropriate steps to guard against cyber attacks expose themselves to grave financial and reputational damage. That was certainly so in the case of an international airline whose flawed systems...

Warehouse Torched By Rioters - Owner of Destroyed Stock Wins £5 Million

Civil unrest is thankfully rare in Britain, but it does occur and anyone who suffers loss as a result should contact a solicitor without delay. In a case on point, a company that lost stock worth millions in a blazing warehouse at the height of the August...

SDLT Relief Takes Immediate Effect in England and Northern Ireland

A temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief measure has taken immediate effect in England and Northern Ireland after being announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his summer economic statement. The measure has been introduced by the Government to try and...

Parking Fine Imposed on Private Landowner Triggers High Court Test Case

A fine imposed on a householder for parking her Land Rover on her own land put the conflict between private ownership and public access to the road network in high relief and provided the subject matter for an important High Court test case . For many...

Liquidators Succeed in Pursuit of Retail Chain's 'Disappeared' Assets

Any civilised system of civil justice affords those who are accused of wrongdoing a fair opportunity to defend themselves in court. However, as a High Court ruling in a corporate insolvency case showed, disobeying judicial orders can place even that...

High Court Annuls Overseas Marriage After Ruling 'Wife' a Bigamist

In order to be divorced you obviously have to be validly married, and bigamy remains a surprisingly common occurrence. In one case, the High Court found that a couple's overseas wedding did not render them husband and wife – because she was already...

Disinherited Daughter's Bid for a Share of Her Father's Estate Rejected

If someone upon whom you depend financially dies leaving you nothing in his or her will, judges have the power to ensure that you do not go empty-handed. As a High Court case showed, however, that power will only be exercised in your favour if your need for...

Fixed-Term Employment Contracts Mean What They Say

Fixed-term employment contracts mean what they say and expire at the end of their terms without the need for any notice of termination. The Court of Appeal so ruled in a case which clarified the interrelationship between fixed-term contracts and public...

COVID-19 Crisis - Judge Rules Derogation From Human Rights 'Essential'

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a public emergency which is threatening the life of the nation. A High Court judge wrote those words in reaching the momentous conclusion that, whilst the crisis persists, derogation from certain fundamental human rights is...

Continued Controversy Over Delayed IR35 Tax Reforms

The House of Lords has produced a damning report into the intended changes to the IR35 off-payroll working rules. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the reforms have been delayed by the government, which says the move is a 'deferral and not a...

Are Parents Obliged to Control Unruly Children? High Court Test Case

To say that parents bear a moral responsibility to ensure that their children behave themselves in public is uncontroversial – but are they also under a legal duty to do so? The High Court addressed that issue in ruling that the sins of an allegedly...

Infrastructure Projects and Access to Private Land - High Court Test Case

Public authorities engaged in nationally significant infrastructure projects have the power to enter private land to carry out necessary surveys. An important High Court ruling in the context of the proposed construction of a road tunnel near Stonehenge...

Neighbours Succeed in Blocking Controversial Garage Extension

If a neighbour obtains planning permission for a building project to which you object, that does not always mean you just have to grin and bear it. In a case on point, objectors to a householder's plans to extend his garage succeeded in blocking his proposal...

Pet Food Company Triumphs in Trade Mark Infringement Claim

Trade marks that achieve widespread public recognition are the lifeblood of a great many businesses, forming the foundation of their brands. A High Court ruling in the context of the UK's £2.54-billion-a-year pet food market showed exactly why such...

Time Invested in Making a Will Is Time Invested Wisely

If you die without making a will, there is a real risk that your loved ones may be left high and dry. In one case, a man who said that he was grieving over his partner's death found himself bereft of legal rights and locked out of the flat they once shared. ...

Are You Contracting With a Principal or an Agent? The Distinction Matters

When entering into a contract with a limited company, it is vital to know whether it is acting as principal, in its own right, or as an agent for someone else. Exactly that issue arose in a High Court case concerning a ship renovation agreement . A...

COVID-19 - Court of Appeal Rules on Status of Furloughed Employees

Many companies have entered administration in response to the COVID-19 crisis but have retained furloughed employees in the hope that they will emerge from lockdown to a brighter future. In a case which will have major consequences for vast numbers of such...

COVID-19 Crisis Forces Change to UK IHT Payments and Returns Processes

HMRC are scrapping cheques for the payment and repayment of Inheritance Tax (IHT) and temporarily accepting printed signatures on IHT returns, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The introduction of new ways of processing IHT and returns is to reduce...

Channel Islands Are Not 'Overseas Countries' - Guideline Divorce Ruling

The Channel Islands may be separated from the UK mainland by miles of water, but they are not overseas countries. In an unusual case, that simple fact was enough to defeat a woman's claim for a pension-sharing order following her divorce in Jersey. After...

Tenants Win Right to Acquire Subsoil and Airspace in Guideline Case

Qualifying apartment dwellers have a right to acquire the freehold of the buildings where they live, but does that extend to the subsoil beneath the premises and the airspace above? The Court of Appeal addressed that critical issue in a guideline decision....

Education Provider Left High and Dry in 'No Oral Variation' Contract Row

Many commercial contracts contain clauses which state that they can only be varied in writing. Such provisions offer the advantage of certainty and, as a company that provided educational services to a government agency discovered to its cost, they mean what...

When Is a New Home Complete? DIY Housebuilders Win £14,000 VAT Rebate

One of the benefits of building your own home is that you can claim back VAT paid on materials used in the project – but rebate applications have to be made within three months of the property's completion. That time limit came under analysis in a case...

Not Every Workplace Complaint Qualifies for Whistleblowing Protection

Workplace whistleblowers who, in the public interest, disclose what they believe to be wrongdoing are protected by the full force of the law. As an instructive tribunal ruling underlined, however, not every complaint of flawed working practices or procedures...

Eminent Retired Judge's Intellect Weighs in Favour of His Will's Validity

Even people of the greatest intellect can be affected by diminished mental ability in old age and that is one good reason why it makes sense to execute a professionally drafted will sooner rather than later. A case on point concerned an eminent former judge...

Twelve-Month Delay for IR35 Tax Reforms

Controversial changes to the IR35 off-payroll working rules have been shelved until April 2021, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The government is delaying the reforms for a year to help businesses and individuals, but says the move is 'a deferral...

Always Take Independent Professional Advice Before Investing Your Money

Fraudulent investment schemes are perennially tempting to the unwary and it really does make sense to take independent professional advice before parting with your money. In one case, the High Court found compelling evidence that hundreds of small investors...

Digital Comms Company Fined £100,000 Over Unsolicited Marketing Texts

Direct marketing messages that appear uninvited on mobile phones are viewed as a plague by many and those responsible for sending them can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In one case, a digital communications company received a six-figure fine after...

Do Your Medical Records Stay Confidential Forever?

Your privacy rights will die with you, but that does not mean that just anyone will be permitted access to your medical records after you are gone. The extent to which such records should remain under wraps post mortem was analysed in a High Court test case...

HSE Support for Hand Sanitiser Manufacturers

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has taken steps to support hand sanitiser manufacturers as UK production increases to tackle the coronavirus. Spurred by unprecedented demand for biocidal hand sanitiser products during the coronavirus outbreak, the HSE...

Cruelly Deceitful Husband Ordered to Pay Betrayed Ex-Wife £2.25 Million

Where blame, if any, attaches for the breakdown of a marriage is generally irrelevant when it comes to dividing assets following divorce. However, as a cruelly deceitful husband discovered to his cost, bad behaviour can have consequences in that it is hardly...

Reinstatement Value - Factory Fire Triggers Insurance Test Case

Many insurance policies state that amounts payable in the event of loss or damage to property will be calculated on a reinstatement basis – but what exactly does that mean? The Court of Appeal considered that fundamental issue in the context of a...

Lordship of the Manor Almost Scuppers Residential Development

Lordships of the manor, whilst sounding grand, are often viewed as arcane titles with little real significance in terms of property rights. However, that is not always so and, in one High Court case, a lordship which was bought for just £100 almost...

Disability Discrimination Victim Secures Over £4.7 Million in Compensation

The consequences of discrimination in the workplace can be truly devastating and compensation awards to victims can be very substantial. In one case, a disabled bank worker who was stricken by a severe depressive disorder after suffering disability...

Children Born Out of Wedlock Receive Shares of £1.29 Million Trust Fund

Few people nowadays care whether a child is born within wedlock, but the law is in some respects behind the times. In a ground-breaking ruling, however, the High Court has opened the way for illegitimate members of an extended family to receive shares of a...

Validity of Marriage - Court of Appeal Takes Rigorous Approach

The full rigour of formalities that must be gone through in order to solemnise a marriage have been upheld in a landmark case. The Court of Appeal found that a ceremony performed in a restaurant which was not registered as an authorised wedding venue was a...

Facing a Legal Claim? Sitting On Your Hands is Simply Not an Option

If you are on the receiving end of a legal claim, sitting on your hands is simply not an option and you should seek advice straight away. In a case on point, a property company which signally failed to engage in court proceedings was hit with a very...

When Do Two Offices Become One for Rating Purposes?

Are adjacent commercial properties in common occupation, but divided by a service area, to be treated as one unit or two for business rates purposes? The Upper Tribunal (UT) has tackled that thorny issue in a case that clarified the law and will have...

Professional Gambler Fends Off £290,000 Income Tax Demand

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are always on the lookout for unexplained cash earnings which have not been declared for tax. However, in one case, a former professional gambler was relieved of a six-figure Income Tax bill after convincing the First-tier...

In Dispute With a Neighbour? Legal Advice Can Help Draw the Sting

Disputes with neighbours have a way of getting horribly out of hand, but legal advice taken at an early stage can help to draw the venom and save incalculable heartache and money in the long run. A case on point concerned flat dwellers who for years engaged...

Couple Pay for Pursuing 'Speculative' Professional Negligence Claim

Those who engage in speculative litigation on the basis of weak evidence can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In a case on point, a couple who sued a friendly architect after she provided them with free assistance in re-landscaping their garden found...

Inducing Breaches of Contract - Court of Appeal Clarifies the Law

Anyone who induces an employee to breach his or her contract is guilty of a civil wrong and can expect financial consequences – but what amounts to a state of mind sufficient to make a person liable for such a wrong? The Court of Appeal tackled that...

Copyright Protection - What is a 'Work of Artistic Craftsmanship'?

Works of artistic craftsmanship are, if original, entitled to copyright protection – but what exactly does the phrase mean? In a ruling that clarified the law , the High Court found that a clothing fabric featuring a woven 'wave' design fitted the...

Dishonest Tax Evasion - Directors Cannot Hide Behind the Corporate Veil

Directors who are complicit in dishonest tax evasion cannot use the corporate veil to escape the consequences of their wrongdoing. The point was powerfully made by a case in which the boss of an engineering company was ruled personally liable to pay a...

It Always Makes Good Sense to Appoint a Professional Executor

Most people would consider it an honour to be chosen as executor of a friend's or relative's will. However, as a High Court ruling showed , the legal responsibilities that go with such a role can be extremely onerous and it usually makes better sense to...

Cafe Tenants Pay Price for Entering Into Unauthorised Sublease

Many commercial leases ban tenants from subletting the premises and breaching such embargoes can have severe consequences. In one case, tenants of a local authority-owned café sacrificed their rights by subletting it to a company. The tenants, who...

Gender-Neutral Sharing of Assets on Divorce is Not Always That Simple

A gender-neutral and non-discriminatory approach to divorce generally requires an equal division of marital assets – but it is not always that simple. In one big-money case, complexities arose in respect of the husband's inherited assets and his wish...

Inheritance Tax Mitigation Scheme Ends in Abject Failure

If offered the opportunity to shelter their homes against future Inheritance Tax (IHT) liabilities whilst retaining the right to live in them rent free, most people would jump at the chance. However, as one case strikingly showed, that holy grail of tax...

Communications Company Fined £7 Million for Overcharging Error

Utility providers are subject to tight regulation in order to ensure free competition and fair dealing with the public, and if they break the rules – even inadvertently – they can expect heavy financial penalties. In one case, a communications...

Overlooking is Not a Private Nuisance - Landmark Court of Appeal Ruling

If you are a property occupier and have noise, dust, noxious smells, vibrations or other forms of nuisance inflicted upon you by a neighbour, the law will provide you with a remedy. However, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a landmark case that that...

Shop Workers' Rights to Opt Out of Sunday Working - Guideline Ruling

Ascertaining exactly why an employee has been dismissed can be a complicated process. In a case on point, a supermarket chain defeated a worker's claim that his wish to opt out of working on Sundays was the trigger for his unfair dismissal ( Ikejiuba v WM...

Former Couple's Division of Property Decided By Judge

Unmarried couples frequently intermingle their property whilst love still blooms, but sorting out who owns what after separation can pose a serious challenge. That was certainly so in the case of a former couple who, between them, owned two former council...

Protecting Brand Names - BMW Comes Down Hard on Small Businessman

Companies that spend millions on establishing their brands in the public mind have the comfort of knowing that the law will protect their investments. In a case on point, vehicle manufacturer BMW came down hard on a small businessman who set up a company...

Making a Will? Don't Forget Your Moral Obligations

You are in principle entitled to bequeath your worldly wealth to whoever you choose. However, as a High Court decision made clear, the law will intervene if you ignore your moral obligations when making your will. A successful motor dealer and property...

Council Clamps Down on Overcrowded Flats - Landlords Take Note!

The burgeoning demand for rented accommodation has encouraged some landlords to create flats which are not large enough to swing a proverbial cat. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) strikingly showed, local authorities have the power to...

When Is a Property 'Completed'? DIY House Builder Wins VAT Rebate

DIY house builders are entitled to refunds of VAT they pay on materials used in their projects. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed , seeking such rebates is far from straightforward and a strict time limit applies. A man applied...

Sale of Defective Refrigeration Unit Triggers Guideline High Court Ruling

If you have bought goods that turn out to be unfit for purpose, the general rule is that you are entitled not only to your money back but also to compensation for additional losses arising. A case on point concerned a refrigeration unit which failed,...

Watchdog Urges Employers to 'Step Up' and Fight Workplace Harassment

UK equality watchdog the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new technical guidance for employers, to help them protect staff from sexual harassment and victimisation at work. Launching the guidance, EHRC chief executive Rebecca...

New Statutory Instrument Boosts Intestate Entitlement

A change to intestacy law recently announced by the government has increased the sum of money that spouses and civil partners of people who die without having made a will are entitled to receive. The change has been introduced via a statutory instrument...

Government Reviews Off-Payroll Rule Change Implementation

The government has launched a review into the implementation of forthcoming changes to the off-payroll working rules. Intended to address concerns from businesses about the changes, the review will consider whether any additional steps can be taken to...

Adoption Only Justified If Nothing Else Will Do

Adoption of children outside their natural families is always a last resort and will only be permitted if nothing else will do. The Court of Appeal made that point in coming to the aid of a couple whose son was taken from their care when he was just two...

HS2 Compulsory Land Acquisition - Court of Appeal Cautionary Tale

If you receive notice that your commercial property is to be compulsorily purchased to make way for a public infrastructure project, the only wise course is to take legal advice immediately. A Court of Appeal case concerning the HS2 railway project ...

Dispute With Builder Leads to Costly Outcome for Homeowner

If you are involved in a dispute with your builder, taking sound legal advice is by far the best means of ensuring that matters do not get out of hand. One householder who failed to take that sensible course found himself embroiled in costly legal...

Female Television Presenter Triumphs in Pay Inequality Claim

If you are paid less than a colleague of the opposite sex for doing like work or work of equal value, there is absolutely no reason why you should put up with it. In a case on point, an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that the difference between a female...

Court Breaks Impasse Between Warring Brothers in Farmland Dispute

Co-ownership of land by family members can be intensely problematic if they do not see eye to eye as to the use to which it should be put. A High Court case on point focused on a naturalist's ambition to 'rewild' farmland he and his brother had jointly...

Golf Clubs Maker Heavily Fined for Anti-Competitive Internet Sales Ban

The ever-increasing dominance of the internet as a sales medium was the focus of a landmark Court of Appeal case in which a bespoke golf club manufacturer that banned its authorised dealers from selling its products online was fined over £1 million...

Still Time to Stay Ahead of CGT Changes

New rules surrounding the payment of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on profits made on the sale of a residential property are now just weeks away. Taking effect on 6 April 2020, the changes will reduce the amount of time individuals have to pay their CGT bill and...

High Court Backs Big Money Divorce Wife's Pursuit of Fraudulent Husband

It is hardly surprising that confidential or privileged documents which have or may have been illegitimately obtained cannot be used in evidence. However, as the High Court made clear in the context of a big money divorce case , that rule does not apply...

Commercial Landlords Not Liable for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Outbreak

Do landlords of commercial premises continue to be occupiers of the premises, thus owing a duty of care to tenants' visitors? In a guideline case concerning an outbreak of carbon monoxide poisoning at a beauty school, the High Court has answered that...

Letting Your Land Go to Rack and Ruin is an Invitation to Squatters

Letting your land stand vacant, going to rack and ruin, inevitably carries the risk that a squatter will obtain title to it. A woman who inherited a small but strategic strip of land from her builder father came within an ace of suffering that fate. The...

Worker Replaced Whilst On Sick Leave Wins Substantial Compensation

Managing a sick employee's return to work can be tricky and employers who fail to act fairly risk serious financial and reputational consequences. In a case on point, a company which replaced a driver while he was on sick leave and refused to allow him back...

Deliberate Infringement of Trade Marks is a Crime

Deliberate infringement of others' trade marks is a crime and perpetrators can expect severe punishment. In one case, a businessman who rode roughshod over a former trading partner's goodwill received a suspended prison sentence and a five-year...

Court of Appeal Allows Will Dispute to Proceed

There is a general principle that a person may leave their estate to anyone they wish, but legislation exists – the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – to allow people dependent on a deceased person to claim against the...

Directors Must Subsume Their Interests to Those of the Company

Directors are obliged to put their own interests to one side in making decisions for the benefit of the companies they serve. The Court of Appeal emphasised that point in the case of a businessman who executed an unauthorised transfer of a company's...

Forfeiture of Commercial Leases - Court of Appeal Test Case

Commercial tenants whose rights are trampled upon by their landlords are far from powerless and should seek legal advice right away. A shopkeeper who did just that after his lease was unlawfully forfeited and his stock seized won the right to substantial...

Government Issues Bailiff and Enforcement Officer Scam Warning

The Government is warning people to be on alert for fraudsters posing as court bailiffs and enforcement officers on the telephone. After claiming to be County Court bailiffs, High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) or Certificated Enforcement Agents (CEAs),...

Couple Subjected to Race Discrimination By Adoption Agency Win Damages

Race discrimination may not be intentional, but it can be deeply hurtful and, with the right legal advice, victims can both express their disgust and secure compensation. In a striking case on point , a Sikh couple who were rejected as potential adopters...

Civil Service Termination Payments 'Age Discriminatory'

Workplace practices that result in employees being treated less favourably because of their age may be justified if they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. However, as an important Employment Tribunal (ET) case showed, establishing such...

Lack of Legal Advice Leads to Dispute Over Property

Couples can sometimes be tempted to enter into property transactions together without taking legal advice, on the basis that the love and trust between them will last forever. However, a High Court ruling strikingly showed how misguided such assumptions can...

Workplace Data Leaks - Motor Insurer Wins Six-Figure Compensation

Miscreant employees often form the first link in a chain which feeds the black market in personal data. However, as a ground-breaking High Court ruling showed , anyone who profits from the use of such illicitly leaked material risks being hit hard in the...

Couple's Claim for CGT Loss on Holiday Home Succeeds

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may appear a very big battalion indeed but, with the right legal advice, individuals can succeed in overturning their decisions. Exactly that happened in a case concerning a couple who lost over £6 million in a disastrous...

Cricket Club Pays Price for VAT Zero-Rating Blunder on New Pavilion

The law relating to VAT zero-rating in connection with construction projects is highly complex and the consequences of making a mistake can be severe. In one case, a cricket club was left ruing its failure to take professional advice after wrongly issuing a...

High Court Resolves Family Row Over Funeral Arrangements

What exactly is a will? The High Court addressed that fundamental issue in resolving a bitter family dispute in respect of where a much-loved son and husband should be buried. Following the man's death from cancer, his mother insisted that he should be...

Scaffolding Triggers Commercial Tenant's 'Peaceful Enjoyment' Complaint

Included in almost every commercial lease is a covenant which confers on the tenant a right to peacefully enjoy the premises. One such provision came under close High Court analysis in the case of a dentist whose practice was encased in scaffolding whilst...

Adoption is Always a Last Resort - Troubled Mum Achieves Redemption

One of the hardest tasks that family judges have to undertake is to remove children from the care of parents who are incapable of looking after them. However, as one case showed , adoption of children outside their natural families is only ever a last...

Mental Health Problems Can Be Just as Disabling as Physical Incapacity

The word 'disabled' may bring to mind a person who is physically incapacitated, but the definition of the word in employment law terms is far broader than that. The point was made by a case in which an Employment Tribunal (ET) found that anxiety and...

Family's Informal Occupation of Farmhouse Triggers High Court Dispute

Allowing people to occupy your property on the basis of a handshake is an invitation to misunderstandings and costly dispute. The point was proved by a case in which the trustee of an agricultural estate found himself in court after he informally permitted a...

Finance Company Behind Direct Marketing Email Campaign Fined £60,000

Unsolicited direct marketing emails, sent without informed consent, are viewed as a modern scourge by millions and those who engage in such campaigns can expect severe punishment. In one case, a finance company which broke the rules when promoting pre-paid...

Buyer of Crash-Damaged Ferrari Awarded His Money Back By Judge

If you have been deceived by a salesman into paying too much for dodgy goods, you should see a lawyer right away. The disappointed buyer of a crash-damaged Ferrari sports car who did just that was awarded his money back by a judge. The buyer was attracted...

The Truth Will Out! Judge Rules £12 Million Loan Contracts Worthless

Judges are sadly familiar with attempts to hoodwink them, but the great advantage of the litigation process is that, in the vast majority of cases, the truth will out. In a case on point, the High Court dismissed a £12 million claim after ruling a...

Off-Plan Flat Buyer Wins Full CGT Relief in Test Case

Can a purchaser of a property be said to 'own' it after contracts are exchanged but before the transaction is completed? The Court of Appeal's answer to that fundamental question delivered a substantial Capital Gains Tax (CGT) saving to an off-plan flat...

High Court Orders Restaurant Chain to Complete Commercial Lease

Does an agreement to enter into a commercial lease come to an end if the identity of the prospective landlord changes? The High Court tackled that thorny issue in a case concerning new-build restaurant premises. A restaurant chain agreed with pension...

Promises, Promises - Always Get a Lawyer to Put Them in Writing!

The trouble with informally agreeing with your loved ones what is to happen to your assets after you are gone is that you may not have considered all eventualities, and disputes can arise as to what has and has not been promised. Exactly that lay at the root...

Disciplinary Investigations - Any Lack of Fairness Will Cost You!

Workplace disciplinary investigations require careful handling and employers who fail to act fairly are likely to be hit hard in the pocket. That was certainly so in the case of a property manager who was ambushed at an investigatory meeting and left feeling...

Family Judge Blocks Attempt at Divorce Tourism in Big Money Case

English judges are respected around the world – but they are not the sole arbiters of fairness and the decisions of foreign courts must be respected. A family judge made that point in shutting the door on divorce tourism and refusing a Russian...

Luxury Car Maker Defeated in David v Goliath Trade Mark Dispute

Trade marks are a powerful means of protecting your unique brand, even against much larger or more prestigious potential competitors. In one case, a small clothing company which sold its wares under the name 'Bentley' scored a High Court win over household...

Trouble With the Neighbours? See a Lawyer Before It Gets Out of Hand!

One secret of a happy life is to get on well with your neighbours and taking legal advice is often the best way of defusing rows before they get out of hand. The point was resoundingly made by a case in which escalating boundary and right of way disputes...

Cryptoassets Are Property - Judicial Authority

The legal position of 'cryptoassets' – those which exist in electronic form and are held on distributed ledgers, bitcoins being the best-known example – has not been certain in the past. However, a recent legal statement by the Chancellor of the...

Fraudster Warning From HMRC as Self-Assessment Deadline Looms

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are warning self-assessment customers to be on alert for potential scams, as the 31 January tax return deadline approaches. HMRC's dedicated Customer Protection team is tasked with identifying and shutting down scams but the...

Landlord Fends Off Leasehold Enfranchisement Risk - Supreme Court Ruling

Most leases contain covenants that forbid tenants from doing certain things without their landlords' consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. The meaning and effect of such provisions came under Supreme Court analysis in an important test...

Failing to Keep Accurate Accounts is Like a Red Rag to the Tax Authorities

Failing to take professional advice and keep accurate accounts is like holding a red rag up to the HM Revenue and Customs bull. In a case on point, an international businessman who claimed to keep details of his income and expenditure 'in his brain' was...

Facing a Business Crisis? Don't Forget Your Employees' Rights!

It is only too easy for businesses dealing with office politics, poor trading or cashflow difficulties to take their eye off the ball when it comes to their employees' rights. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision strikingly showed, however, it is...

High Court Assists Husband in Drawing a Line Under His Divorce

Litigation can be long and bitter, but it is the prime objective of the justice system to eventually bring it to a satisfactory end. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a husband in drawing a line under his divorce . The case concerned a...

Rival Products' Purple Packaging Triggers High Court Row

Consumers do not always read labels, so the packaging of a product, and its colour in particular, can be crucial in establishing brand loyalty. In a guideline case, the High Court considered whether the purple livery shared by rival pharmaceutical products...

Judge upholds Will in dementia dispute

For a Will to be valid, the testator (the one making the Will) must be ‘of sound mind’ at the time of making and signing the Will. This means that they must be capable of understanding and approving of the contents and effects of the Will. With...

Computer Guru Wins Big VAT Rebate on Luxury Cars Used for Business

VAT can be reclaimed on motor vehicles that are used, and made available for use, solely for business purposes – but that can be extremely difficult to prove. In one case, however, a computer specialist was granted a £20,805 VAT rebate after...

Field Owner Sees Off Neighbour's Squatters' Rights Claim

Landowners who neglect or fail to make use of their properties put themselves at risk of losing them to squatters. In a recent case on this subject, a woman faced a neighbour's claim that he was entitled to her field, having cut the grass for years. The...

Two Innocent Victims of the Same Fraud - Where Does the Loss Fall?

It is a sad fact that sophisticated fraudsters can intercept emails or other digital traffic in order to divert payments away from their intended recipients – but where should losses arising from such deceit fall where there is more than one innocent...

Neighbourhood Plans - Court Postpones Local Referendum in Legal First

Neighbourhood plans are an increasingly common means by which local people are given the chance to express their views on the future character and appearance of the areas where they live. However, in a legal first, the High Court ordered postponement of a...

Employee or Contractor? Broadcast Journalist Receives £400,000 Tax Bill

Establishing a company to act as an intermediary between yourself and the clients to whom you provide your services can have substantial tax advantages. As a case involving a broadcast journalist showed, however, such arrangements are pointless if the...

Divorce is Often Bitter, But Maintaining a Sense of Proportion is Crucial

Amidst the emotional and financial destruction that can arise from divorce, keeping a sense of proportion is crucial. The Court of Appeal made that point in lamenting a former couple's expenditure of more than £500,000 in legal costs fighting over an...

Underpaid Live-in Porter Wins Over £100,000 in Guideline Case

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) on the face of it imposes a straightforward duty to pay a minimum sum for every hour worked. However, as an important Court of Appeal ruling showed, it is not always as simple as that and a failure to understand the...

Is Your Will Out of Date? Execute a New One Before It's Too Late!

Allowing your will to become out of date stores up trouble for your loved ones. That was strikingly so in one case in which a successful businessman suffered a stroke before he could make a new will taking account of his changed financial and personal...

Estate Agency Fined £80,000 for Exposing 18,000 Tenants' Data to Hackers

Businesses that store their clients' personal data are under a strict legal duty to keep it secure and any failure to do so is likely to have serious financial and reputational consequences. An estate agency whose negligence and technical ineptitude left the...

Court Steps In to Protect Security of 370,000 Pension Annuity Holders

Millions of people who invest their pension pots in annuities can ultimately rely on the law to guarantee their financial security. In a case on point, the High Court overruled financial regulators and refused to sanction the transfer of about 370,000...

Twelve Month Reprieve on Construction Industry VAT Changes

The introduction of the new VAT domestic reverse charge for construction services , originally due this October, has been postponed until October 2020. The extended timeframe comes after businesses in the construction sector raised concerns that they would...

Failing to Disclose Assets Can Bite Back in Divorce

In a case illustrating the importance of candour regarding financial circumstances in divorce proceedings, a husband who failed to disclose the true extent of his wealth to family judges was subsequently ordered to pay his ex-wife a seven-figure lump sum,...

Loyalty Bonuses Taxable, Rules Upper Tribunal

Investors using the popular online financial investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) may not have heard that the 'loyalty bonuses' they receive from HL have been deemed by the Upper Tribunal (UT) to be taxable income in the hands of the recipients and...

Email Footer Counts as Signature, High Court Rules

In a recent property case that will have a bearing on all contractual matters, the High Court ruled that a footer automatically appended to an email amounted to a legal signature and led to a contract for the sale of land being formed. A couple who owned...

Couple Overcome 'One House' Restriction to Build New Home in Their Garden

New homes built in the grounds of existing residences make a valuable contribution to meeting burgeoning housing demand. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed , restrictions lurking in antique title deeds can stand in the way of...

Employee Shareholder Status Impacts Unfair Dismissal Claim

Few employees would say no if offered shares in the companies for which they work. However, as an important decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) showed, accepting such offers can in some circumstances involve the sacrifice of employment rights. ...

High Court Umpires Fierce Row Over Pharmaceuticals Company's Future

Shareholder disagreements as to the direction a company should take are generally fought out behind closed doors. However, as a High Court case concerning the future of a troubled pharmaceuticals company showed, judges are always there to act as umpires...

If a Loved One's Will Does Not Meet Your Needs, Don't Delay in Seeking Advice

If a loved one upon whom you depend financially fails to make reasonable provision for you in his or her will, judges have the power to put that right. However, there are time limits that apply to such proceedings and that is why it is vital to consult a...

Packaging Patents Not Inventive Enough to be Valid

Patent protection is a valuable privilege that is only afforded to ideas and products that are genuinely novel and inventive. In a case on point, the High Court declared invalid two patents in respect of plastic food packaging on the basis that the central...

Family Judge Grasps Nettle in Sending Baby Boy to Live With His Father

Family judges are always absolutely focused on the welfare of children and will not shrink from grasping nettles to give them the best chance of leading fulfilled and happy lives. That was certainly so in one case in which a judge ordered that a baby boy be...

Upper Tribunal Paves Way for Former Corporate HQ's Conversion Into 114 Flats

Record employment levels mean strong demand for office space, but the need for more new homes is perhaps even more pressing. A case concerning proposals to convert an office block into 114 flats highlighted the difficulty of balancing those requirements. ...

Vegetarianism is Not a Protected Characteristic, ET Rules

People have all sorts of reasons for choosing not to eat meat, and that prompted an Employment Tribunal (ET) to rule that vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice, rather than a philosophical belief protected under the Equality Act 2010 . The case concerned a...

Vulnerable Witnesses Could Be Given Greater Protection in Civil Courts

Responses to a report from the Civil Justice Council (CJC) setting out proposed measures to better support and protect vulnerable witnesses and parties in civil proceedings are due to be considered following public consultation. The CJC wants to ensure 'a...

High Court Relieves Family of Consequences of Badly Drafted Trust Deed

Trust deeds can be an effective means of managing family wealth and minimising tax liabilities but, as a High Court decision strikingly showed , any mistakes in their drafting can have serious repercussions for generations to come. The case concerned a...

Can Wild Animals Ever Be Owned By Anyone? Novel High Court Ruling

It may seem obvious that no one can own a wild animal. However, in a novel case of interest to property professionals – and anglers – the High Court has ruled that there are nevertheless property rights in wild fish held in captivity in a...

Facing a Tax Investigation? Don't Bury Your Head in the Sand!

If you are facing an investigation by the tax authorities, your very first step should be to seek professional advice. One taxpayer who sadly chose not to take that course, instead burying his head in the sand, narrowly escaped a six-figure back-tax bill. ...

Legal Landscape is Complex When Tenants Seek to Buy Freehold of Flats

Flat tenants in certain circumstances have the right to band together and acquire the freehold of the blocks in which they live. However, as a High Court decision showed , the process of doing so is replete with legal pitfalls and those who fail to take...

Court Orders Must Be Obeyed

Public confidence in the civil justice system would collapse if court orders were not rigorously enforced – however agonising complying with them may be. The point was made by a case in which a divorcee who refused to move out of her home of 25 years...

HMRC Threaten Investigation Over Disguised Remuneration Schemes

Sometimes, it is difficult to understand why many people don't seem to put as much effort into making profits as they do into trying to avoid paying tax. Tax avoidance is a red rag to a bull as far as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are concerned. They have...

Planning Building Work? Get Legal Advice

When a property development involving a building that is listed or in a conservation area is undertaken, it is reasonable for the contractor employed to do the work to assume that the employer has used due diligence to obtain the necessary planning consents....

Court of Appeal Acts to Save Entrenched Litigants From Themselves

The whole purpose of the civil justice system is to achieve just and final resolution of frequently intractable disputes – and, as a guideline Court of Appeal decision in an inheritance case made plain, that includes saving litigants from themselves...

Employers Cannot Be Forced to Re-Engage Unfairly Dismissed Workers

Can Employment Tribunals (ETs) or the courts force employers to re-engage employees who have been unfairly dismissed? In a ground-breaking decision, the Court of Appeal has answered that question in the negative ( Mackenzie v The Chancellor, Masters and...

HMRC Miss Tax Avoidance Target By Raising Assessments Too Late

When HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) find out that tax has been under-declared, the response is normally to raise a 'discovery assessment' to collect the tax due. This is usually the result of a period of investigation, and penalties and interest are also...

A Contract Is What it Says

When you enter into a contract, you are agreeing to be bound by what it says, not by what you think it means. Only rarely, such as when the meaning would make no commercial sense, will the court substitute its own view of the meaning of the contract if the...

High Court Overturns Planning Decision for Bungalows Development

It may come as a surprise to many that local authorities are under no statutory obligation to give reasons for their planning decisions. However, as a High Court case concerning a residential development showed , a lack of explanation can render such...

Missing Persons - Steps to Take

Surprisingly, nearly 250,000 people go missing in the UK every year. Leaving aside the heartache and worry this causes, until recent changes in the law it also created an appalling position for family members trying to deal with the affairs of the person who...

Copycat Design Proves Expensive for Retailer

There is almost nothing more frustrating for businesses than to see their successful products imitated by rivals. However, as a High Court case showed, expert lawyers are more than capable of putting a stop to such conduct if it amounts to a breach of...

Growing Number of Cohabiting Couples Leaves More Families Open to Risk

Cohabiting couples are the fastest-growing family type in the UK, according to newly released figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The ONS reports that the number of cohabiting couple families continues to grow faster than the number of...

Employer Not Liable for Worker's Offensive Facebook Post

Under Section 109(1) of the Equality Act 2010 , anything done by a person in the course of their employment must be treated as also done by the employer. That is to say employers generally bear legal liability for misdeeds committed by their employees in...

Inveterate Trespasser Rightly Jailed for Contempt, Court of Appeal Rules

It is in the nature of litigation that the losing party frequently feels that the judge was wrong and the outcome unjust. However, a case in which a householder repeatedly lost his liberty , and ultimately his home, due to his defiance of court orders shows...

Company Pays Crushing Price for Failing to File its Accounts On Time

The consequences of a company being struck off the Companies House register – even temporarily for nothing more than an administrative failure – can be catastrophic. In a case on point, a company that suffered that fate sacrificed the profits it...

LPA - Bank Practice

A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a document that may be used so that the finances or other issues of a person who cannot deal with them themselves may be attended to by a trusted third party – normally a solicitor or a family member. When an LPA...

Agricultural Tenancies Are Complex - Always Seek Professional Advice

When a farmer dies, close relatives are in certain circumstances entitled to succeed to any agricultural tenancies he or she held. However, strict time limits and other procedural rules apply to the exercise of that right, which is why bereavement should not...

Raising Cash on the Security of Your Home? Always See a Lawyer First

Many vulnerable people who fall into debt are tempted to raise cash on the security of their homes. However, a case in which an elderly couple came within an ace of losing the roof over their heads stands as a warning to all that such arrangements should...

Ripped Off By a Crooked Employee? You May Be Entitled to Tax Relief

Losing money at the hands of a crooked employee is a sadly familiar experience for many businesses, but what are the tax consequences of such deceit? The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) tackled that issue in the case of a catering supplies company whose manager...

Hospital Whistleblower Compensated for Detrimental Treatment

Workplace whistleblowers who act in the public interest by exposing wrongdoing are protected by the full force of the law. In a case on point, a hospital worker who endured detrimental treatment after making protected disclosures was awarded substantial...

Where, If Anywhere, Do the Jet Set Call Home? High Court Gives Guidance

Very rich people often live jet set lifestyles of ceaseless travel, so pinning down the country in which they are domiciled can be a serious challenge. The High Court faced exactly that difficulty in a case concerning the acrimonious breakdown of a...

No Going Back on Gift Freely Made

A recent case decided by the Scottish Courts shows the wisdom of not making irrevocable decisions that you may later come to regret. It involved a woman who gifted her house to her daughter and son-in-law, retaining a tenancy for life over the property....

Reached an Important Agreement? Get a Lawyer to Record It in Writing

Agreements are frequently reached behind closed boardroom doors, but a failure to engage a professional to record them, contemporaneously and in writing, can cause serious problems down the line. That was certainly so in one case concerning the tax...

Mental Capacity - Court of Protection Authorises Non-Consensual Caesarean Birth

Where people lack the mental capacity to make important decisions for themselves, judges will step in to ensure that their best interests are served, as was demonstrated by an unusual case in which the Court of Protection (CoP) authorised the planned...

Stamp Duty Land Tax Dodge Backfires

When a couple wished to avoid paying Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of a property, they hit on what looked to them like a great idea. Instead of buying the property outright, they paid for it in two stages…a deposit, plus the purchase of...

Refused Planning Permission? You Are Entitled to Know the Reason Why

A fundamental principle of good government is that anyone on the receiving end of an adverse decision is entitled to know why it was made. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a housing developer who could only speculate as to the reason...

Big Money Divorce Engages Family Judge in Company Valuation

Companies are notoriously difficult to value, and particular problems can arise when they form the principal assets to be divided in divorce proceedings. In a big money case on point, the High Court bridged a huge gulf between the value placed by a wife...

Constructive Knowledge - Employer Defeats Claim Thanks to Reasonableness Test

Under Section 15 of the Equality Act 2010 , an employer's duty to make reasonable adjustments for an employee who is disabled is only triggered if the employer has actual knowledge or could reasonably be expected to know (has 'constructive knowledge') of...

Widow Pays for Delay in Seeking Provision From Her Husband's Estate

If you feel that you have suffered a wrong of any kind, a delay in taking legal action can put paid to your chances of obtaining justice. A widow who was left nothing in her deceased husband's will found that out to her cost when her hopes of obtaining...

Motor Industry Worker Who Profited From Theft of Data Ordered to Pay £25,500

In November 2018, a motor industry worker, Mustafa Kasim, was given a six-month prison sentence for accessing motorists' personal data on his employer's computer system without authorisation and selling it to rogue telemarketers. The case was brought by the...

Hotel Under Duty to Protect Guests Against Third-Party Criminal Acts

Can businesses owe a duty to protect customers on their premises from the criminal acts of others? In a test case concerning a horrific attack on three hotel guests , the High Court has ruled that, in certain circumstances, the answer to that question is...

Don't Even Think About Doing a Property Deal Without Legal Advice

Property purchases are, for the majority of people, the highest-value deals they ever enter into and that is why they should never be undertaken in haste or without expert legal advice. A case in which an amateurish, home-made agreement led to years of...

Reasonable Endeavours Clauses Can Have Teeth

Unreasonable delay in fulfilling the terms of a contract is an unwise policy, as a recent dispute that ended up in the Court of Appeal shows. When a developer wished to build an ice-skating rink, its first priority was to secure a clear title to the...

Pension Scheme That Failed to Consider Wife's Claim Called to Account

It is usual for occupational pension schemes to allow the spouse or partner of a scheme member to receive a reduced pension in the event that the member predeceases them. Normally, the appropriate beneficiary is set out in the scheme rules. With defined...

Divorced Overseas? English Family Judges Can Still Help You!

If you have been divorced abroad but are habitually resident in this country, English family judges have the power to ensure that you receive a fair share of the marital assets. In a case on point , the High Court awarded a woman whose marriage was...

Trust in an Employee Misplaced? The Law Will Help You Pick Up the Pieces

In spite of the obvious risks involved, a great many businesses have no choice but to entrust confidential information to their employees. A High Court case showed that, where such trust turns out to be misplaced, judges have a range of powers to deal...

Estate and Dependants Receive Damages for Fatal Crash

When there is a fatal accident involving a person with dependants, a claim for compensation may be able to be made not only by the estate of the deceased person but also by their dependants, whether children or adults. In a recent case , the estate and...

Construction Industry VAT Changes Ahead

Businesses in the construction industry are reminded that on 1 October 2019 the new VAT domestic reverse charge will come into force. This is being introduced as an anti-fraud measure and will see a major change in accounting for VAT on some construction...

Lack of Due Diligence Gives Company Buyer Four Days in Court

When the sale of a company is taking place, it is usual for warranties to be given regarding how the company being sold has conducted its affairs prior to the sale. Making sure these are accurate is essential. In a recent case, the purchaser of a company...

Restrictive Covenants Can Go Undetected - Use an Expert Conveyancer!

Covenants that restrict the use to which properties can be put lurk undetected within many title deeds and can have a dramatic impact on a property's value. That was certainly so in the case of one unfortunate couple who said that tight restrictions applying...

Contract Adjudications are an Alternative to Litigation, Not an Addition

Contract adjudications can provide a swift and cost-effective alternative to litigation. Adjudication decisions are not immune from error but, as a High Court case showed , they are meant to be final and those who challenge them face an uphill struggle. ...

Photographer Subjected to Racial Harassment Wins Substantial Damages

If you have been ill-treated at work, Employment Tribunals (ETs) have the power to award damages against your employer and to compensate you for the indignity or injury to feelings you have suffered. In one case, a hard-working photographer who was sacked...

Informal Agreement Leads Family to Court of Appeal

Disputes within families are very common indeed and one of the issues the courts see over and over again is where there is a family 'understanding' that ends in a disagreement. In a recent case , the result of one such dispute is that an 82-year-old woman...

Tax Investigations - Judge Authorises Disclosure of Credit Card Bills

To what extent are the tax authorities entitled to delve into what would otherwise be your private financial information? The High Court tackled that issue in authorising disclosure of a wealthy businessman's credit card statements to HM Revenue and...

Similar Product Names Do Not Always Lead to a Likelihood of Confusion

Rival products sometimes bear similar names but, when considering whether or not that is likely to cause confusion, judges place themselves in the shoes of average consumers. The High Court did just that in resolving a trade mark dispute in the cosmetics...

Court Returns Two-Year-Old to Land of Birth When Parents' Marriage Collapses

For a UK court to have jurisdiction over a family law case, it is necessary to show that at least one party to it has habitual residence in the UK. In a recent case, an Israeli woman divorcing her Israeli husband sought a declaration that their two-year-old...

HMRC Errors Lead to Loss of Tax

Although getting one's tax return right is to be recommended, there are many grey areas in tax and, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make mistakes at their end, the effect can be to exonerate the taxpayer from liability for all or part of the tax, interest...

Be Careful What You Post

Although the final result was not financial ruin for the defendant, a recent case illustrates how unwise it is to vent one's spleen on social media. It involved a firm of solicitors that had been involved in the sale of 'off plan' properties in Cyprus. This...

High Court Scotches Plans for £1.8 Million Holiday Park Expansion

Planning decisions would be unpredictable and merely arbitrary if they were not based on carefully considered policies that have been subjected to public scrutiny. The High Court made that point in scotching £1.8 million plans for the expansion of a...

Wealthy Online Investor in Bitcoin Futures a 'Consumer'

Can someone who trades in cryptocurrency futures or other sophisticated products via an online platform be viewed as a consumer? In a crucial decision for the investment sector, the High Court has answered that question in the affirmative . The case...

Instruction Sufficient to Allow Third Party Reliance on Arrangements

The purchase of properties abroad is a process that can be replete with disputes and financial losses for the unwary or unadvised. Whilst some foreign countries have presented few issues, others have had more chequered histories. Recently, investors went...

What Counts as 'Time Work'?

A recent case illustrates that decisions as to whether time spent by a worker who is on call counts as 'time work' for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation are highly dependent on the individual facts ( Frudd and Another v The...

Owner of Fire-Damaged Factory Triumphs in High Court Insurance Dispute

Almost all businesses are insured against fire damage but, when the worst happens, insurers are understandably anxious to make sure they do not pay out any more than they have to. That situation provides fertile ground for dispute, which was certainly so...

Time of the Essence in Overturning Agreements Made Under Duress

We have often stressed the importance of obtaining high-quality legal advice in any dispute and starting any necessary legal action as soon as possible, and a recent divorce dispute illustrates why . It involved a couple who were divorced in 2015. The...

LPA Error Means Court Appearance

It is normally essential when creating a legal document to get the procedures right, and failure to do so can cause unnecessary complications. A recent case dealt with the problem of what happens if a person creates a document that contains an error but...

Enabling Tax Non-Compliance

There are hundreds of thousands of companies in tax havens and the true commercial value added by them is probably trivial, whereas the tax avoided or evaded runs into billions, so it is no wonder that governments are mounting an ever-increasing effort to...

Breach of Trust Brings Jail for Fraudulent Trustee

Yet another sad case reported recently shows the wisdom of appointing only those who are absolutely trustworthy and/or insured professionals as trustees over your assets. The court heard how a trustee appointed to safeguard the assets of a 17-year-old boy...

Are Others Benefiting From Your Goodwill?

Many successful businesses have experience of others seeking to ride on the coat-tails of their expensively established goodwill. However, as was shown by one High Court case , expert legal advice can help ensure that credit is only given where it is due. ...

Tree Felling Without Permission Proves Expensive

Ignoring tree preservation orders can prove to be a very expensive mistake and if your property has a protected tree on it, you should make sure any order is understood and followed and any necessary permissions obtained. Felling a protected tree without...

No-Fault Eviction to End: Landlord and Tenant Law Revisions Likely

Talk to a tenant and the lack of security of tenure is often brought up as a significant issue. For landlords, the inability easily to obtain possession of a tenanted property can often cause angst. There is little dispute that a good-quality, settled...

Phase Two of the 'Good Work Plan' - Protecting Vulnerable Workers

In July 2017, Matthew Taylor published his independent review on modern working practices, entitled 'Good Work' . The Government published its response to the review in February 2018 and launched consultations on how best to implement many of the...

CGT Loss Occurs When Payment Made, Not Before

When a personal guarantee has to be given in order to give a lender the security it needs, the guarantor hopes that the guarantee will never be called in. However, when it is, the loss suffered by the guarantor will normally qualify as a loss for Capital...

Written Statement of Employment Particulars - Late Provision

The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides that all employees, whether part-time or full-time, are entitled by law to be given a written statement setting out the main particulars of their employment, provided their employment lasts for one month or more....

Court Appearance May Not Mean Public Disclosure

The principle of open courts is highly valued in the UK legal system. However, it is often a worry to people engaged in legal proceedings concerning family or marital issues that by going to court their family's private affairs will become public knowledge. ...

New Company Disclosure Requirements On the Way

The trend towards full disclosure and openness continues unabated in business, and new regulations are being mooted which will increase the amount of disclosure required of UK-registered companies regarding their principals. Currently, even the smallest...

Rules are Rules

A recent case should serve as a reminder that rules are rules and 'close enough' often isn't! The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 states that 'the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwelling...

Missed Deadlines Mean Missed Opportunities

Gerry Rafferty famously claimed that 'if you get it wrong, you'll get it right next time', but a recent construction dispute shows that this is often far from true in legal disputes: often, if you get it wrong, there is no 'next time'. The facts were...

Court Allows Trust Error to Be Corrected

Mistakes do happen, and in some circumstances they can be rectified by the courts. In a recent case, the wife of a man who died in 2015 went to court after a mistake in dealing with a trust created under his will left a substantial potential Inheritance Tax...

Disability Discrimination and the Meaning of 'Long-Term'

Employment disputes often arise because an employer does not consider that an employee's condition is a disability that qualifies them for protection under the Equality Act 2010 . It is therefore important that the definition of disability is understood and...

Pension Trustees Owe No Duty of Care to Employer

Many directors of companies are also trustees of the company pension scheme. Sometimes, their duties as a director and as a scheme trustee can be difficult to reconcile. In a recent case, a company alleged that two directors who were trustees of the firm's...

Half of Estate Value Goes in Fees When Will Lost and Family in Dispute

When a person is appointed executor of an estate, they are given a reasonable period to progress the estate administration but cannot procrastinate without adverse consequences being likely. When a woman died intestate in 2012, she left behind a house and...

Disguised Remuneration Clarification By HMRC

An attack by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 'disguised remuneration' schemes, wherein a director of a company takes money out of the company in the form of a loan which is never intended to be repaid, has been widely reported. Such schemes were widely...

Motor Insurers Not Liable for £2 Million Fire Damage

The law requires that the driver of any vehicle has a valid insurance policy that covers injury or damage to third parties caused by or arising out of the use of the vehicle on a road or in a public place. The Supreme Court has given authoritative guidance...

EU Opinion on Use of Cookies

Businesses that have websites will be aware of the regulations that govern the use of 'cookies'. Recently, an opinion of the Advocate General of the European Union on questions referred to the Court of Justice by the Federal Court of Justice in Germany on...

Ignore Court Orders At Your Peril

A wealthy Omani man who failed to pay to his ex-wife the financial settlement ordered by the court, or to cooperate with disclosure orders, faces arrest if he attempts to return to the UK. When the couple's marriage broke up, they were divorced under Omani...

Possession Granted When Tenant Claims Argument is Over Same Facts

It is very common for tenants who run up rent arrears to effectively be given a second chance by the courts when facing an application by the landlord to repossess the premises. Often, such applications are stayed subject to compliance with a revised payment...

Failure to Challenge Repaving Results in Loss of Title

Failing to take active steps to protect your land from use by another can produce unfortunate effects, as a couple from York discovered recently. The couple own a bungalow which has a front driveway adjacent to that of the next-door bungalow – a...

Just Because You Agree Doesn't Mean the Court Will

It is common in legal disputes for the two sides to agree to suspend the court proceedings for a period so that they can get as much agreed between them as possible, and gather their evidence and prepare their arguments over what remains in dispute without...

Gay Headteacher a Victim of Unconscious Discrimination, EAT Rules

Whether discrimination is subliminal or deliberate often makes little difference to the pain and distress it causes. The point was strikingly made by a case in which an openly gay primary school headteacher suffered the consequences of unconscious bias ( ...

Appealing Against a Tax Bill? Make Sure You Get a Fair Hearing!

If you dispute a tax bill, you are entitled to a fair hearing of your appeal and specialist advice will ensure you get just that. In a case that demonstrates this point, a couple were relieved of a substantial Capital Gains Tax (CGT) demand after...

Sale of Insolvent Company to Creditor Not Improper

Insolvencies are seldom happy periods for any of those involved and great care must be taken by those who deal with the insolvency proceedings to ensure they do their work in a way that correctly balances the interests of the creditors and the insolvent...

Care Costs - Wales Raises 'Asset Cap'

It is not widely known that the 'cap' on assets above which people in residential care must fund their own care is only £23,250 in England and Northern Ireland. It is even less well known that elsewhere in the UK the cap is set at different levels. In...

Three Quarters of Firms Not Aware of Anti-Tax Evasion Law

A recent survey by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows that only one in four UK businesses are aware of the penalties they could face under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 if they fail to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion by any person or...

What Exactly Is the 'Curtilage' of a Building?

Whether land is or is not within the curtilage of a building can be a decisive factor in many planning cases. The High Court considered the meaning of the word in ruling that a large hardstanding used for storing fencing materials did not fall within the...

Couple Outraged By 'Ugly Duckling' Home Cinema Win Six-Figure Damages

If building works on your home go wrong, strong legal representation can ensure that you are properly compensated. In a recent case, a couple who paid over £400,000 for a state-of-the-art home cinema, but did not get the architectural jewel they had...

Absence of Evidence Dooms Unequal Shares Claim

The legal ownership of property is not always the same as the beneficial ownership and disputes can arise when no documentation is executed to show the two are different. Such was the case in a recent dispute which occurred after a couple who had two...

Profoundly Flawed Disciplinary Process Costs Engineering Company Dear

Workplace disciplinary proceedings must be thorough, fair and impartial and a failure to meet those standards can be costly, both in reputational and financial terms. In a case on point, an engineer won almost £70,000 in compensation after the...

Data Protection Fees

On 25 May 2018, the Data Protection Act 2018 came into force, incorporating the EU General Data Protection Regulation, ushering in a new era of personal data regulation in the UK. At the same time, the Data Protection (Charges and Information)...

No Will Means Negotiation to Decide Estate Split

A professionally drafted will is something every adult should have. Not only does it provide certainty as to who should inherit your possessions after your death, but it will also make things a lot easier for your executor at a time that is usually...

Share Sale Tax Avoidance Scheme Fails the Reality Test

Judges interpret tax statutes in the real world and are experienced at looking beyond the detailed provisions of intricate transactions to discern their actual purpose. In a case exactly on point, the Court of Appeal found that Capital Gains Tax (CGT) was...

Company Can Reclaim VAT on Director's Legal Bills

Companies understandably may wish to provide financial as well as moral support to their directors if they are facing litigation. However, the issue of whether such contributions are tax deductible is far from straightforward and exercised the minds of...

Insurer Not Liable Where Driver Unidentifiable

In order to sue someone, they have to be served with a notice of claim unless the service of the notice can be properly dispensed with. Can the notice of claim be properly dispensed with if the person being claimed against is not only unidentified, but...

Trade Marks Infringed By Disassembling and Selling Charm Bracelet Links

Is the purchaser of a product sold under a trade mark entitled to take it apart and sell its component parts under the trade mark? The High Court considered that issue in resolving a dispute between rival manufacturers of bracelet charms. An Italian...

Defective Premises and Landlords' Duties - Guideline Court of Appeal Ruling

Landlords have a legal duty to keep the premises they let to tenants in a safe condition and if they fail to do so can be held liable for any injury or loss that results. Recently, a local authority was ordered to pay compensation to a council tenant who...

No Fault Divorce Legislation Promised in Next Parliamentary Session

The process of divorce in the UK has for many years been seen as rather long-winded and tending to produce more conflict than need be. One of the reasons for this is that the grounds which demonstrate an 'irretrievable breakdown' of a marriage – the...

Accountant Who Worked Exclusively for One Client Became an Employee

The distinction between employment and self-employment is a continuing source of controversy and a ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that an accountant who worked exclusively for one client fell into the former category has added a new wrinkle...

High Court Rules Against Right to Rent

The legislation that introduced the Right to Rent scheme, which went live in February 2016 and compels landlords to check the immigration status of their tenants, has never been popular with landlords or tenants. Recently, the High Court ruled that the...

Woman Who Assisted Husband's Suicide Can Inherit Estate

The law in the UK is not supportive of people who assist, however unwillingly, those they love who want to die. Although such wishes are often borne out of suffering years of intractable pain or disability, assisting the suicide of another remains a criminal...

Debtors' Rights - High Court Takes to Task Bailiffs Who Overstepped the Mark

Judgments for debt would hardly be worth having if there were no bailiffs to enforce them. However, as a High Court ruling made clear , they have to abide by stringent rules and do not have carte blanche to trample on debtors' rights. The case concerned a...

Company Director Banned for Ignoring Obligation to Pay Tax

Directors of struggling companies all too often place payment of tax at the bottom of their priority lists, with the result that it is the public purse that frequently suffers most in the event of insolvency. However, as a High Court decision showed , such...

Court Denies Widow the Right to Challenge Trust Arrangements

Trusts have been gradually falling out of favour, according to a recent report. It is thought that the fall of some 4 per cent in trusts submitting tax returns last year (and 30 per cent since 2003/2004) is due to both a lack of understanding of trusts and...

Patent Invalid if No Novelty

One of the key requirements for a patent for a technical process innovation to be successfully defended is that there must be something genuinely innovative about the subject matter of the patent. There has to be 'novelty' and an inventive step. On...

Mother Placed Under Improper Judicial Pressure to Consent to Care Orders

The quality of British justice is respected around the world – but there are inevitably occasions when judges overstep the mark. In a family case on point, a mother had her two young children taken into care after a judge dismissed out of hand...

Adjudication Payments Must Be Made First

Payments under building contracts can be a touchy issue and have led to numerous disputes. Adjudication proceedings are intended to make the process of resolving building disputes simpler, but they themselves are replete with legal challenges on a whole...

SDLT Reminder

Clients are reminded that, following the introduction of the Stamp Duty Land Tax (Administration) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 , the time limit for the payment of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on property transactions has been reduced from 30 days to 14...

Lost Will Means Court Hearing in Family Dispute

The impossibility of asking a deceased person what their real intentions were makes the value of these being clear before death quite obvious, as a recent case shows. It involved an elderly widow who died in 2016. After her death, her family discovered an...

Discrimination and the Burden of Proof - Court of Appeal Gives Guidance

Once an employee succeeds in establishing facts that arguably support a finding of discrimination, the burden of proving that there was no such discrimination falls upon the employer. The Court of Appeal has confirmed that approach in a guideline decision ( ...

Care Home State Support Limits Unchanged for Ninth Year

Having enough money to pay for care costs in the final years of life is a major concern for many and, despite promises made by governments in the past about limiting the impact on people, in reality the scale of the problem is such that the potential impact...

Exchanging Secret Information? Always Get a Non-Disclosure Agreement!

Businesses that deal or hope to deal with one another often have to put security concerns to one side and share their confidential information. As a High Court case underlined, however, such exchanges should always be subject to a professionally drafted...

Court Ruling Boosts HMRC's Cross-Border Powers

National boundaries pose little or no obstacle to tax evasion. The Court of Appeal made that point in an important ruling which has greatly boosted the ability of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pursue inquiries beyond the borders of the UK. HMRC were...

International Dimension Makes Child Travel Risky

The welfare of children is always top of the list of priorities of the Family Court when making arrangements following the break-up of a family. This can be especially difficult where the parents are from different countries, as shown by a recent case in...

Air Quality Targets and the Planning Regime - Court of Appeal Test Case

The Government is duty-bound by European law to ensure that specified air quality standards are met as quickly as possible. However, the Court of Appeal has ruled in an important test case that that duty does not extend to a general obligation to refuse...

Is IHT Simplification On the Way?

More than 550,000 people die annually in the UK and half of those deaths require the completion of Inheritance Tax (IHT) forms, which are not straightforward and can be a daunting burden at a difficult time for families. However, only 5 per cent of estates...

Data Storage Dispute Leads to Emergency High Court Injunction

Large companies frequently engage outside contractors to assist with storage of the vast quantities of data they produce. However, as a High Court case showed , a breakdown of such commercial relationships can give rise to urgent privacy and data protection...

Fake Will Admission May Lead to Criminal Charges

When your spouse's lack of attention to making a will causes issues, faking one is definitely not a good idea, as a Kent woman found out recently. Her husband died in 2013 leaving various properties in Spain and a flat in England, but no will. The woman...

Equal Pay Comparability - Supermarket Workers Win Important Victory

In Asda Stores Limited v Brierley , the question before the Court of Appeal was whether or not thousands of women who worked at Asda's retail stores could compare themselves with male members of staff who worked at the company's distribution depots for...

High Court Decision Underlines the Finality of Divorce Arbitration Awards

Divorcing couples can sometimes achieve savings of both time and money by opting for arbitration, rather than court proceedings, as a means of resolving any financial disputes. However, as a guideline High Court case underlined , arbitration has its...

Company or Unincorporated Firm? The Distinction Can Be Vitally Important!

A limited company has a legal personality all of its own, but an unincorporated firm does not. As a High Court ruling in respect of a domestic building dispute showed , that distinction can in some cases be a crucial one. A couple who were to move into a...

Court Decides How Injured Child's Estate Should Be Distributed

It is not uncommon for children born with severe abnormalities or injuries to die in childhood. In a recent case, the Court of Protection was required to decide how to divide the estate of a child who died when the lump-sum compensation settlement for...

Balancing Noise Nuisance Against the Needs of Industry - High Court Ruling

Industrial processes can be noisy and those responsible for them frequently worry that complaints from neighbouring residents will affect their businesses. However, as a High Court case showed , such concerns and the needs of commerce in general do carry...

When a Covenant May Be More Than it Seems

If you own or buy a property, you may find that there are covenants which apply to it, a covenant being a requirement to do something or refrain from doing something with your property. A covenant will benefit other property in the vicinity. Typically, a...

Even Highly Offensive Workplace Banter May Not Amount to Harassment

Irreverent and foul-mouthed banter is commonplace in some working environments and does not necessarily amount to harassment or victimisation. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in rejecting a compensation claim brought by a salesman who gave as...

Attorney Allowed to Take Over as Executor

It is commonplace for people to appoint siblings or friends as their executors. When they do and they are of a similar age, there is a risk that when the person who has made the will dies, the proposed executor will have predeceased them or lack the mental...

Online Selling - What About the VAT?

It is often optimistically considered that trading on eBay and similar online sales platforms is effectively outside the tax system. That, of course, is not true and anyone undertaking economic transactions for profit needs to comply with the tax laws to...

Sharing Principle - Court of Appeal Gives Guidance

The application of the 'sharing principle' to big money divorces is more than a matter of simple mathematics, and what family judges aim to achieve is a broadly fair outcome for both sides. That was certainly so in one case in which the Court of Appeal...

Doing an Important Business Deal? Make Sure You Get it in Writing!

The existence of oral agreements is easily asserted but very hard to prove, and that is one good reason why important deals should be in writing and professionally drafted with the benefit of legal advice. In a case on point, a businessman received nothing...

Take Care if You Have a Carer

Many people employ carers or cleaners to assist them with daily living. Quite often, such arrangements are informal and can last many years. However, failing to put them on a proper footing can prove to be an expensive mistake. Where an agency is used and...

Overcautious Approach Means Compensation for Pension Scheme Member

With significant losses being reported in 'pension transfer scams', it is no surprise that when the administrators of a pension scheme receive a request to transfer a pension to a new scheme, they are expected to conduct an appropriate due diligence process....

Look Before You Leap With Trade Names

The first Intellectual Property Enterprise Court case heard outside London took place recently , when the court sat in Birmingham at the request of both parties involved in the dispute. It concerned an allegation of improper use of a registered trade mark...

Disinheriting Relatives Can Be a Recipe for Discord

You may have good reasons for writing close relatives out of your will but, as any lawyer will tell you, the consequence of doing so can be family discord after you are gone. That was certainly so in one case concerning a father who disinherited his...

Trading in the Winter Period - A Cautionary Note for Landlords

Weak economic growth and increasing competition is still wreaking havoc in the High Street and the quarter that starts in January is often make or break for retailers as it is traditionally the worst trading quarter of their year. Many commercial properties...

Judges and Firefighters Triumph in Age Discrimination Test Case

To defeat a claim of direct discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 , the employer must show that the treatment complained of is in pursuit of a legitimate aim and is a proportionate means of achieving that aim. The aim must be objectively and reasonably...

Tribunal Paves the Way for Suburban Garden Development

Restrictions on land use appear in the title deeds of many properties – but the law permits their deletion or modification if they become obsolete over time or stand in the way of reasonable development. Exactly that happened in one case in which the...

Commercial Surrogacies Abroad Are Not Illegal - Court of Appeal Ruling

Although commercial surrogacy businesses have long been banned in the UK, the Court of Appeal recently ruled that a clinical negligence victim would not be breaking the law were she to enter into such an arrangement in California, where a more liberal...

Licence Revocation Threat Averted by Prompt Action

Government regulatory decisions can have an instant and catastrophic impact on businesses, but prompt legal action can ensure that such damage is not unfairly inflicted. The point was made in the case of a company whose licence to warehouse duty suspended...

Digital Filing - Bar Set High for Opt-Out

The 'making tax digital' project will require VAT-registered businesses to submit their VAT returns online from 1 April 2019 and to use accounting software that is integrated with the Government's digital gateway to do it. This in turn means, in effect, that...

Social Media - Be Careful!

The legal dispute between Elon Musk and Vernon Unsworth, the man who helped to rescue boys trapped in a cave in Thailand, may have dropped out of the press over the last few weeks, but a recent case shows the lack of accuracy of Mr Musk's assertion that...

Quality of Occupation Determines Tax-Free Status of Residential Property Gain

The supposition that residential properties are exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is a common, but incorrect, one. You would think, for example, that if a person only owns one property, sleeps there quite often, has post sent there and tells the council...

This Is Why You Need Professional Support to Protect Your Trade Marks

The validity of trade marks can be challenged post-registration and that is one good reason why it is essential to enlist professional support in protecting them. In a case on point , the Cypriot authorities had their own disorganisation to blame after they...

Landlord's Redevelopment Plans Must Not Be Conditional

A recent case in which a landlord sought repossession of a property from its tenant on the ground that it intended to redevelop the property has gained a great deal of attention, but may not be as important as it first seems. The facts of the case were that...

Son Who Did Not Do Enough Excluded From Farm Inheritance

When parents changed their wills to exclude their son from inheriting their £1 million farm after a family falling-out in 2016, he took the unusual step of challenging their right to do so. Normally, such challenges are made against the estates of...

Thinking of Dispensing With Legal Advice on a House Sale? Think Again!

Home-made contracts, particularly for the sale of land, are a singularly bad idea and can lead to costs that dwarf the modest sums needed to secure proper professional advice. Exactly that happened in one case in which a house purchase contract was so...

Untaken Paid Holiday - Does Failure to Request Leave Result in its Loss?

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has supported the opinion of the Advocate General that the mere fact that a worker did not apply to take annual leave cannot automatically mean the loss of the right to payment in lieu of untaken leave at the...

Procedural Unfairness Stops Council Care Action

When the mother of a teenage daughter who had been taken into care in 2016 with her agreement had another child, the local council's social services department became involved. The woman's daughter had been removed from home as a result of her mother's...

Just Because a Debt is Small...

Many people think that the costs and difficulty of litigation mean that it is not worth pursuing relatively small debts. However, a High Court case in which a carpenter won the right to be paid for his work on a building project showed how wrong that...

Bank Fined for Failure to Distribute Assets to Beneficiaries

Recently, Santander was fined more than £30 million for failing to distribute more than £180 million held in deceased customers' accounts to their personal representatives or entitled beneficiaries. More than 40,000 account holders were involved...

Does Your Business Owe the Tax Man?

If your business is struggling to meet VAT and other tax payments on time, take advice quickly. The decision by the Government to restore 'Crown preference' regarding debts due to the Exchequer from April 2020 could impact negatively on you. Leaving aside...

Ignorance Not a Reasonable Excuse for Tax Disclosure Failure

When an 18-year-old woman bought a derelict end terrace property in London in 2006 and sold it to developers the following year, she made no entry on her tax return, believing that principal private residence relief applied. Having made a 'discovery' of the...

Court of Appeal Guidance on Use of Pay Less Notices

When a construction dispute arises and a pay less notice is issued, the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 requires that the notice should specify the sum considered to be due and the basis on which that sum is calculated. In a recent...

Court Visit Required to Give Clarity to Will

Many wills contain clauses which alter the distribution of assets in the event of changing circumstances, such as the death of one of the beneficiaries under the will before the person making it. When drafting such clauses, it is essential that they are...

Trade Marks and the Territorial Limits on the High Court's Jurisdiction

UK and EU trade marks are a highly effective means of protecting your brand – but they are subject to territorial limits. The High Court made that point in ruling that it had no power to entertain infringement proceedings brought by British airline...

Fraud Victim Sacrificed His Home by Delay in Seeking Legal Advice

If you have a legitimate legal complaint, any delay in consulting a solicitor is highly likely to benefit the wrongdoer. A man whose home was taken from him by fraud, but who delayed over 20 years before taking legal action, found that out to his cost. The...

Deliveroo Riders Are Self-Employed, High Court Rules

The High Court has dismissed a claim by the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) seeking to overturn a decision of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) that Deliveroo riders are self-employed, not workers within the meaning of Section 296(1)...

UK Fairness Test Mitigates Italian Pre-Nuptial Agreement

The law relating to the division of family assets on divorce varies widely across the world and the UK is generally regarded as one of the fairer jurisdictions for such financial arrangements in that the assets tend to be divided more equally than in many...

Gold Visas Scheme Relaunch With Vetting Proposed

The Government has taken steps to halt the 'Tier 1 Investor' visa scheme after it became clear that it was being used to launder the proceeds of criminal activity and tax evasion. The scheme allowed wealthy individuals to enter the UK and obtain indefinite...

What is the Tax Status of Compensation for Financial Product Mis-Selling?

Is compensation paid to individuals whose businesses have failed due to mis-selling of financial products subject to Income Tax? In a decision that will disappoint many victims of bank wrongdoing, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has answered that question in...