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Many people will have read the recent reports of a 67-year-old lady, Marlene Howes, who was prosecuted for allegedly fraudulently claiming pension tax credits and for allegedly concealing that she had received a £50,000 legacy under her mother’s...

Six men who between them stole millions of pounds from a charity set up to assist asylum seekers were recently jailed for terms of up to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court. The six were found guilty of the theft of £1.8 million, but it is...

When demand for flats dried up for a property developer, it became unable to meet the required level of pre-sales on the development to secure continued financing for the project. It then suspended work on the commercial part of the development, which it had...

A recent High Court case shows the dangers of negotiating in a dispute without legal representation. It also illustrates that an agreement which disposes of an interest in land does not have to be in writing if the purpose of the agreement was something...

When a new executive fell out with the chief executive officer of the company he worked for, his employment was terminated without notice. In such circumstances, a breach of contract occurs. The executive’s contract of employment provided that should...

A mother who objected to her children being adopted by a gay couple has failed to convince the Court of Appeal to return them to her care . The Court ruled that there was no reason to doubt the prospective adopters’ ability to provide the...

When a business profits because it gives the appearance of being (or its products appear to be those of) another business, it is effectively taking the goodwill of the other company. This is called ‘passing off’ in legal terminology. In such...

A woman who shared a bank account with her son, but who did not give the money in the account to him absolutely, has left him with an Inheritance Tax (IHT) bill as a result. The woman had opened a deposit account in the name of herself and her son, who was...

When an offer to settle a legal dispute is made (called a ‘Part 36 offer’ by lawyers) and the court subsequently orders payment of a higher figure (in which case the award is said to have ‘beaten the offer’), the general rule is that...

When an elderly woman left a will that excluded one of her sons, who had been charged with (but not convicted of) several counts of fraud in relation to a business he ran with her other son, the disinherited son claimed that she had lacked the mental...