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A redundancy process that includes length of service or seniority as a selection criterion is always likely to be vulnerable to challenge on ageism grounds. In one case, an international travel operator fell into precisely that trap ( Irving v TUI Airways...
Even the most sophisticated companies can fall victim to ransomware and online blackmail. However, as a High Court ruling showed, judges have a formidable arsenal of powers to tackle such abuse and are on duty day and night. The case concerned a company...
In a head-turning decision, the High Court has acknowledged that increased rainfall arising from environmental changes was one cause of excess seepage of water from a landowner's field into a neighbouring domestic garden. The garden owner sought an...
Judges take a robust approach to enforcing contract adjudicators' decisions and will only overturn them if they have been made in excess of jurisdiction or in serious breach of the rules of natural justice. The High Court made that point in a case...
With many more people running businesses from home in a post-COVID-19 world, the spotlight has inevitably fallen on commonplace restrictions on the use to which domestic premises can lawfully be put. In a case on point, a couple required a tribunal's...
Should NHS trusts be permitted to provide VAT-free parking to patients, staff and visitors, or would that amount to an impermissible distortion of competition? With around £70 million in tax at stake, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has decisively answered...
Taking legal advice when making your will is more than likely to reap dividends after you are gone. In one case, a solicitor's wholly reliable evidence proved decisive in resolving an extraordinarily bitter family inheritance dispute . By his final will, a...
Waste dumping scars the landscape but it can be very hard to identify perpetrators, who commonly take steps to cover their tracks. In one case, however, a judge was able to pinpoint those responsible for depositing close to 20 tonnes of waste in a disused...
Delays in surrogacy treatment in England may be long but, as a High Court ruling showed , those who look abroad to fulfil their desire for parenthood may well be placing their own and their children's legal status at risk. The case concerned a same-sex...
When one company acquires all or part of the assets of another, is the former legally obliged to take on the latter's employees on the same terms as before? That issue was the focus of an important Employment Tribunal (ET) case arising from the insolvency of...
When it comes to tax matters, there is a tendency for fiscally inexperienced people to simply sign whatever documents their accountants put in front of them. That can be a risky approach but, as a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) ruling showed, there is often an...
When Paddington Bear took tea with Her Late Majesty the Queen during her platinum jubilee celebrations, a developing High Court dispute concerning the proper interpretation of a clause in a royalty distribution agreement (RDA) is unlikely to have featured...
If the tranquillity of your home is blighted by noise or any other form of nuisance, you don't have to just grin and bear it. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of residents who said that their lives were rendered a sleepless purgatory by...
It is increasingly commonplace for owners of vacant commercial buildings to permit their occupation by so-called 'property guardians' with a view to protecting them from squatters and vandals. As an Upper Tribunal (UT) ruling showed , however, such...
Some couples have second thoughts in the midst of divorce proceedings and get back together. However, in a unique decision, the High Court has ruled that the resumption of a toxic relationship does not amount to marital reconciliation . The case concerned...
Any ambiguity in your will creates a risk of strife amongst your loved ones after you are gone and that is one good reason why professional drafting is so important. As a High Court case showed , however, judges are adept at resolving uncertainty and...
A redundancy process in which a decision to dismiss is effectively taken in advance of consulting an affected employee will almost never be fair. The point was made by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the case of a nurse who was selected for...
In many commercial disputes one deceptively simple, but at the same time crucial, question arises: whether particular terms and conditions are incorporated in a contract. A High Court ruling provided an excellent illustration of how the legal principles that...
When buying anything, from a toothbrush to a luxury car, consumers are entitled to expect that their purchases are of satisfactory quality. The point was made by the case of a woman whose high-end sports car sprang a catastrophic leak . About 15 months...
Many a rock band's name is dreamt up by youthful musicians without the slightest regard for the value it may one day have. However, chart success tends to breed goodwill in a name and, as a High Court ruling showed , that is a sadly frequent cause of...
