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When a homeless man from Eastbourne applied for assistance under the Housing Act 1996 , the local council accepted that he met the necessary criteria. However, he did not apply for housing in Eastbourne. Instead, he made his request to Westminster Council...

The anguish experienced by people struggling with terminal disease and their families is well understood, and a pain-free end to life by assisted suicide is a choice many people would wish to make. However, assisted suicide is a subject which fiercely...

The Finance Bill currently in Parliament will confirm that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are to be given the right to seize money directly from the bank accounts of taxpayers who have failed to pay their taxes. Under the rules, HMRC will be able to take...

Failing to do one's 'due diligence', and in particular failing to check out the bona fides and financial stability of trading partners, can prove to be a massive mistake. In a recent instance, a construction company that failed to take appropriate steps and...

It is commonly thought that pre-nuptial agreements are legally binding, but the lack of clarity in the applicable law means that they can sometimes be successfully challenged. In a recent case , a judge called for more certainty in the law concerning...

Leading anti-virus supplier Kaspersky has carried out a survey which revealed that among small and medium-sized businesses there is a very considerable degree of complacency about the risks of losing sensitive data. Two thirds of respondents admitted that...

If joint tenants of social housing fall out to the point where they can no longer live together, deciding which of them has to leave the property can be an agonising choice. That was certainly so in one Court of Appeal case where a disabled man was ordered...

A recent Supreme Court case illustrates the risks of not formally 'closing down' construction disputes, but simply sitting on your hands after an arbitration settlement that seems acceptable. A developer retained a contractor to carry out an asbestos...

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) introduced the IR35 rules in order to prevent 'one-person' companies from avoiding the payment of National Insurance Contributions by taking their remuneration in the form of dividends. Concerns that IR35, as it stands,...

A surprising decision by the Court of Appeal will disquiet anyone who wishes to leave a family member out of their will. Heather Ilott had been deliberately excluded from the will of her mother, Melita Jackson, who proceeded to leave her entire estate to...