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In a move that sends out a clear message to other companies that the customer data they hold is not theirs to do with as they wish, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) recently fined a Leeds-based online pharmacy company £130,000 under the ...

When a child is taken away from one parent by the other against a ruling of the Family Court, the consequences can be severe for anyone who withholds information as to the child's whereabouts, as a recent case illustrates . Following the break-up of his...

Words are the very stuff of law. Whilst in most instances the legal meaning of a word is the same as its meaning in everyday use (and the courts generally use the everyday meaning of a word when a variety of interpretations are possible), this is not always...

When a company ceases to exist and is struck off the register of companies at Companies House, any assets it owns become the property of the Crown. The Crown has the ability to disclaim the property if it chooses. Recently, the High Court had to consider ...

In a bid to preserve the attractiveness of arbitration in the wake of the faster and less expensive procedures for dealing with disputes by litigation announced recently, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has announced a 'fast-track' arbitration...

Arguments over property ownership are very common, despite being easily avoidable provided the correct legal paperwork is put in place. A recent case dealt with the ownership of a property after an unmarried couple broke up. At no point had they created...

For a property to qualify for private residence relief from Capital Gains Tax (CGT), it must in fact have been the taxpayer's residence. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are well known for contesting claims that the private residence exemption applies to a...

It is well known that when a business passes from one VAT-registered trader to another who continues it, the transfer will normally be a 'transfer of a going concern' (TOGC) and no VAT is payable on the sale. The treatment also applies where the purchaser...

Solicitors have to have comprehensive professional indemnity insurance and are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, so you can be sure that, if anything should go wrong, you will be properly covered. When a solicitor assists in a purchase,...

A recent case shows clearly, yet again, how important it is not to rely on oral promises. When a woman gave substantial sums to the man she was in a relationship with, she claimed she had done so because he had repeatedly promised that he would leave his...