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Quarry Owner Hit Hard in the Pocket for Causing Noise and Dust Nuisance

Some industrial processes simply cannot be carried on without producing noise and dust. As a High Court ruling showed , however, commercial property owners may be required to pay a high price if their activities enter the realms of nuisance. When a couple...

Motor Insurers Are Relentless in Exposing Dishonest Road Accident Claims

Road traffic accidents happen in the twinkling of an eye and it is not at all surprising that those involved often give differing accounts of what occurred. As a High Court ruling showed, however, motor insurers are relentless in their pursuit of those whom...

Property - Not Every One-Sided Bargain is a Product of Undue Influence

Where a transaction appears to be very one-sided or manifestly more advantageous to one side or the other, judicial eyebrows are likely to be raised. However, as a High Court ruling showed, such an imbalance does not necessarily mean that a bargain should be...

Registering a Trade Mark is the Best Way to Protect Your Valuable Brand

Having worked hard to establish the reputation of your product, there is nothing more annoying than a competitor marketing rival goods under a confusingly similar name. As a High Court ruling showed, however, registering a trade mark is a highly effective...

Businessman Reaps Whirlwind After Years of Inattention to His Tax Affairs

Those whose tax affairs are allowed to fall into disarray must live in permanent fear that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will in due course descend upon them. Such anxiety proved well justified in the case of a businessman who was on the receiving end of...

Are You a Crime Victim? You May Be Entitled to Damages for Your Ordeal

Crime victims often feel that they are forgotten by the legal system once perpetrators have been caught and punished. However, as a High Court ruling showed, a phone call to a solicitor may be all that is needed to start a process which in many cases yields...

Victim of Herpes Simplex Virus Awarded Millions in Damages

A young man who sustained catastrophic brain damage after contracting the herpes simplex virus when he was a baby is set to receive a multi-million-pound settlement of his clinical negligence claim. The man, in his 20s, was a few months old when the virus...

Contract Adjudicators' Decisions Must Be Honoured Promptly - No Ifs, No Buts

Those who willingly submit contract disputes to adjudication must, save in very exceptional cases, honour the outcome without delay – no ifs, no buts. The High Court resoundingly made that point in a guideline ruling . The case concerned highway...

Divorce - This is Why a Clean Break is Usually the Preferred Outcome

Most divorcees would, wherever possible, prefer to achieve a clean financial break so that they can regain their independence and move on with their lives. A High Court ruling provided a powerful illustration of why that is a sensible choice. The case...

How Much Should 1950s Employers Have Known About Asbestos Risks?

Every employer should nowadays appreciate that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. As a High Court ruling showed, however, knowledge of the risks has evolved over time and, in a personal injury context, it is not the state of understanding today...

Not Every Procedural Defect Will Render a Dismissal Unfair - Guideline Ruling

Deficiencies in a workplace disciplinary procedure will very often render a dismissal unfair – but not always. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) made that point in finding that a hospital supervisor's dismissal was fair ( Greater Glasgow Health...

Another Sad Tale of a Farmer's Disinherited Children - High Court Ruling

The tale of a devoted son labouring for years on a family farm only to be cut out of his father's will is so often told as to be almost a cliché. However, as a High Court ruling showed , such stories are often reflected in the sad and recurring...

Lawyers Step In to Protect Accident Victim With No Loved Ones to Turn To

Where seriously injured accident victims have no family or friends to turn to, they can have confidence that personal injury lawyers will fight their corner. In a case on point, a senior solicitor did not let a cancer diagnosis stand in the way of his...

Retail Tenant Forced to Relocate Receives Compensation for Permanent Loss of Profit

When retail premises are compulsorily purchased by public authorities and forced to relocate, to what extent should compensation be paid for any resulting permanent loss of profit? The Upper Tribunal (UT) considered that issue in a guideline case . ...

Family Judge Treads the Blurred Boundary Between Life and Death

The ability of modern medical technology to keep patients' hearts beating and their lungs ventilating has led to a blurring of the boundary between life and death. As a High Court ruling showed , it sometimes falls to family judges to make the desperately...

Boy Injured at Birth Receives Settlement Worth Over £18 Million

The High Court has praised the dedication and professionalism of lawyers after they achieved a settlement of a little boy's clinical negligence claim. The boy sustained injuries of near-maximum severity at or around the time of his birth and the settlement...

Suppression of Takings - HMRC Rains on Takeaway Pizza Company's Parade

Companies that suppress their takings, thereby evading tax, may live on the fat of the land for a while. However, as a tax tribunal ruling showed , the corporate veil often affords limited financial protection to their directors when HM Revenue and Customs...

False Claim to Be a Cash Buyer Ruled Fraudulent in Ground-Breaking Case

In coming to the aid of a frail and elderly householder, the High Court has ruled in a landmark case that she was on the receiving end of a fraudulent misrepresentation when a would-be purchaser of her home was falsely described to her as a cash buyer. A...

Going on an Adventure Holiday? Be Very Careful What You Sign Up To

Adventure holidays abroad are increasingly popular but, as a High Court case made plain, tourists should be extremely careful when invited to sign documents before taking part in potentially hazardous activities. A young woman embarked on what was described...

'Reckless' Travel Company Director Ordered to Compensate Customers

Those who manage companies in a reckless or incompetent manner can expect to be banned from holding directorships in future – but should they also be ordered personally to compensate customers who are left out of pocket? The High Court addressed that...

Sometimes Parental Love is Not Enough - Court Sanctions Boy's Adoption

Parents may be worthy of praise and deeply love their children, but it sadly does not always follow that they are able to provide them with a stable home. The High Court made that point in sanctioning a little boy's placement for adoption . Due to concerns...

Clinical Negligence - Sympathy for an Injured Patient May Not Be Enough

When an operation ends badly, leaving a patient seriously disabled, any sympathetic person might think that a damages award will follow as night follows day. However, as a High Court ruling made plain, it is a judge's duty dispassionately to consider the...

This is Why You Should Never Make a Will Without Taking Legal Advice

Making a will without the benefit of professional legal advice is an excellent recipe for strife between your loved ones after you are gone. That was sadly so in the case of a cancer sufferer who had no understanding that, when she signed her will, she was...

Disability Discrimination - Corner Shops Owe the Same Duties as Multinationals

Small businesses not blessed with human resources departments can find it hard to accommodate disabled members of staff who need to take time off work. However, as an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling showed, when it comes to catering for their needs, a corner...

Personal Injury and Admissions of Liability - Guideline High Court Ruling

Early admissions of liability, based on an overall assessment of the likely outcome of a contested trial, are a common occurrence in personal injury cases. However, the weight of the evidence may subsequently shift and, in a guideline ruling, the High Court...