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Disputes within families are very common indeed and one of the issues the courts see over and over again is where there is a family 'understanding' that ends in a disagreement. In a recent case , the result of one such dispute is that an 82-year-old woman...

If you have been ill-treated at work, Employment Tribunals (ETs) have the power to award damages against your employer and to compensate you for the indignity or injury to feelings you have suffered. In one case, a hard-working photographer who was sacked...

Armed forces personnel well understand that their jobs can be dangerous. However, as a High Court case showed, their submission to discipline does not make them any less entitled to compensation if they fall victim to others' negligence. The case concerned...

Rival products sometimes bear similar names but, when considering whether or not that is likely to cause confusion, judges place themselves in the shoes of average consumers. The High Court did just that in resolving a trade mark dispute in the cosmetics...

To what extent are the tax authorities entitled to delve into what would otherwise be your private financial information? The High Court tackled that issue in authorising disclosure of a wealthy businessman's credit card statements to HM Revenue and...

For a UK court to have jurisdiction over a family law case, it is necessary to show that at least one party to it has habitual residence in the UK. In a recent case, an Israeli woman divorcing her Israeli husband sought a declaration that their two-year-old...

Asbestos ruins lives, frequently decades after exposure, and you should not delay in taking legal advice if you or your loved ones are affected. New figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveal that the death toll from asbestos remains...

Although getting one's tax return right is to be recommended, there are many grey areas in tax and, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make mistakes at their end, the effect can be to exonerate the taxpayer from liability for all or part of the tax, interest...

Although the final result was not financial ruin for the defendant, a recent case illustrates how unwise it is to vent one's spleen on social media. It involved a firm of solicitors that had been involved in the sale of 'off plan' properties in Cyprus. This...

Expert legal advice is essential for those who are injured or become ill on holiday because of negligence on the part of someone who owed them a duty of care. This was highlighted in a recent case in which a woman who developed a phobia of travelling after...

Roads are inherently dangerous places but, if disaster strikes, specialist lawyers can ensure that accident victims are properly compensated. In one case, solicitors representing a young man whose life was changed forever by a crash in which three of his...

Can someone who trades in cryptocurrency futures or other sophisticated products via an online platform be viewed as a consumer? In a crucial decision for the investment sector, the High Court has answered that question in the affirmative . The case...

Planning decisions would be unpredictable and merely arbitrary if they were not based on carefully considered policies that have been subjected to public scrutiny. The High Court made that point in scotching £1.8 million plans for the expansion of a...

Happily, disabled people can live long lives and that is one reason why compensation awards to those who have been injured by negligence frequently run into seven or even eight figures. A case on point concerned an eight-year-old boy who is expected to live...

A recent case illustrates that decisions as to whether time spent by a worker who is on call counts as 'time work' for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) legislation are highly dependent on the individual facts ( Frudd and Another v The...

The purchase of properties abroad is a process that can be replete with disputes and financial losses for the unwary or unadvised. Whilst some foreign countries have presented few issues, others have had more chequered histories. Recently, investors went...

Almost all businesses are insured against fire damage but, when the worst happens, insurers are understandably anxious to make sure they do not pay out any more than they have to. That situation provides fertile ground for dispute, which was certainly so...

We have often stressed the importance of obtaining high-quality legal advice in any dispute and starting any necessary legal action as soon as possible, and a recent divorce dispute illustrates why . It involved a couple who were divorced in 2015. The...

It is normally essential when creating a legal document to get the procedures right, and failure to do so can cause unnecessary complications. A recent case dealt with the problem of what happens if a person creates a document that contains an error but...

In any civilised society, the state has a monopoly on punishing criminals – but that does not mean victims of violent offences must go uncompensated. The point was proved by a case in which a woman who was subjected to physical and sexual assaults by...

There are hundreds of thousands of companies in tax havens and the true commercial value added by them is probably trivial, whereas the tax avoided or evaded runs into billions, so it is no wonder that governments are mounting an ever-increasing effort to...

Yet another sad case reported recently shows the wisdom of appointing only those who are absolutely trustworthy and/or insured professionals as trustees over your assets. The court heard how a trustee appointed to safeguard the assets of a 17-year-old boy...

Many successful businesses have experience of others seeking to ride on the coat-tails of their expensively established goodwill. However, as was shown by one High Court case , expert legal advice can help ensure that credit is only given where it is due. ...

English judges enjoy an unrivalled reputation for delivering even-handed justice and that is why our courts are under siege by those who want their cases heard in this country. One such case was brought by a French professional diver who was seriously...

Ignoring tree preservation orders can prove to be a very expensive mistake and if your property has a protected tree on it, you should make sure any order is understood and followed and any necessary permissions obtained. Felling a protected tree without...