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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...