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If noise arising from major infrastructure projects disturbs your peace and diminishes the value of your home, you have a legal right to fair compensation. In a case on point, a householder living a mile away from an extended airport runway was awarded...
When registering a trade mark, it is vital to conduct a comprehensive check that you are not treading on the toes of others who may have got there before you. The point was made by a High Court case concerning two technology repair companies that applied...
The wrench of a child leaving home is a tough experience for many parents and that can be particularly so when the child is disabled. However, as a Court of Protection case showed , not even parents are entitled to stand in the way of their offspring...
Worldwide freezing injunctions (WFIs) are powerful judicial tools that can have a grave impact on the lives of those against whom they are targeted. However, as a High Court ruling made plain , they are a necessary means of ensuring that assets are not...
Can a non-executive director who receives no more than an honorarium for services that he provides voluntarily enjoy the protected status of a 'worker'? That was the thorny issue addressed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in a guideline case ( Catt v...
When making your will, it is vital to bear in mind the responsibilities you owe to those who depend on you financially. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a 12-year-old boy whose aunt treated him as if he were her own child throughout...
Those involved in the hospitality or retail trade who suppress their cash takings with a view to avoiding tax must live in fear that the next person to walk through the door will be a tax inspector. As a case concerning a takeaway restaurant showed , such...
Conducting your trade through the medium of a limited company can bring tax and other benefits. However, as a case concerning the clawback of COVID-19 support grants paid to a fitness coach showed , it can also have disadvantages, not all of which can be...
Tenants of commercial premises are often subject to rigorous repair obligations and are required to hand them back at the end of their leases in a similar condition to that in which they found them. In one High Court case, a hotel operator who failed to...
If you are a council tenant and are anxious to ensure that a loved one succeeds to your tenancy after your death, you should seek legal advice straight away. A High Court case powerfully illustrated the potentially dire consequences of failing to do so. The...
As demand for personal protective equipment exploded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business community leapt to the pumps. However, in the context of knife-edge negotiations for the supply of millions of surgical face masks, the High Court has...
Divorcees who are unwilling to give ground and negotiate responsibly with a view to achieving a financial settlement with their ex-spouses are highly likely to pay a stiff price for their lack of flexibility. The High Court emphasised the point in a...
Harassment in the workplace can descend into downright cruelty and employers who fail to stamp out such behaviour can expect to pay a heavy reputational and financial price. In a case on point, a sandwich shop worker who endured her line manager's wounding...
The trouble with wills that have not been professionally drafted is that they very often signally fail either to accurately reflect the testator's wishes or to achieve fairness. That was certainly so in the case of a man who, by his home-made will, all but...
Much of England's green and pleasant land is protected against all but agricultural forms of development. However, as one case showed, the relentless pressure to build more new homes means that such restrictions may not be written in stone. The case...
Sporting and other community facilities are obviously desirable but, as a guideline High Court ruling showed , there are effective legal steps you can take if they become a magnet for anti-social behaviour that amounts to a statutory nuisance. Three...
Public contract tendering exercises are meant to ensure fairness, transparency and, not least, value for taxpayers' money. However, as a case concerning the award of an NHS contract all too clearly showed , they can sometimes go horribly wrong. A provider...
Family judges are often called upon to make agonising decisions concerning medical treatment of those who have lost the ability to express their own choices. However, as one case showed, they bend every sinew to discern what their wishes might be and to...
International trading companies are expected to carry out careful due diligence on their clients and suppliers to ensure that they avoid unwitting involvement in tax fraud. However, in relieving a long-established business of multi-million-pound VAT...
It is commonplace for parents to put their hands in their pockets to help their children set up in business. As a High Court ruling in a bitterly contested inheritance case showed , however, a failure to formally document the precise legal basis on which...
