If your human rights are breached, you may well have a right to compensation and should consult a solicitor without delay. In a case on point, a teenager whose father died in prison achieved a substantial settlement of her claim against an NHS trust that...
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There will always be some people who believe that making your own will represents a sensible economy. However, as a High Court ruling strikingly showed , saving the modest expense of having your will professionally drafted may come at a frightful emotional...
Brave and determined road accident victims often make remarkable recoveries even from the most serious injuries and go on to achieve great things in life. However, as a case concerning a talented artist showed, such success need not lead to the sacrifice of...
Vindictive bloggers who hide behind a cloak of anonymity may feel that they can use the internet to subject innocent people to abuse with complete impunity. However, in coming to the aid of an academic falsely accused of being a sexual predator, the High...
Freehold owners of land generally believe that, subject to planning permission, they can develop their properties in whatever way they wish. However, as a High Court ruling strikingly showed, that is by no means always the case. Two men wished to build...
Recent census 2021 data discovers that an astounding number of properties are left uninhabited in the Swansea and Rhondda areas. The first batch of data from the 2021 Census has been released, and it has revealed some surprising statistics regarding the...
It is obviously right that fathers should pick up a fair share of the tab for raising their offspring, but exactly how deep into their pockets should they be made to dig? The High Court tackled that issue in considering whether a wealthy father should be...
Couples generally either own their homes as joint tenants or as tenants in common. The distinction between the two may not be widely understood but, as a High Court ruling in an inheritance case showed , it can matter very much indeed. The case concerned a...
In the heat of the moment, people are wont to express strong, binary opinions as to where blame for a road accident lies but, from the legal perspective, liability issues can be much more difficult to resolve. That was certainly so in the case of a cyclist...
Religious leaders by definition have influence over their congregations. However, as a High Court ruling showed, where that influence is alleged to have been abused, the law will not turn away those who claim to have suffered. The case concerned the former...
At what point can it be said that an embryonic business has begun to trade? A tax tribunal pondered that fundamental issue in a case concerning a claim for entrepreneurs' relief on the sale of a nascent business asset. An investor sold his minority stake...
Pre- and post-nuptial agreements that do not fairly meet the reasonable needs of one divorcing party or the other are unlikely to be worth the paper they are written on. The High Court made that point in refusing to hold a wife to the disadvantageous terms ...
Roadside trees can pose a hazard to motorists, but that has to be balanced against their important contribution to the beauty of the streetscape and wildlife habitats. A judge made that point in a case concerning a cherry tree that fell in stormy weather,...
Failing to make a professionally drafted will positively invites disputes between your loved ones that can take on the proportions of an ancient Greek tragedy. As a High Court case showed, such discord can even extend to the disposal of your body. The case...
Football is a fast-moving contact sport involving inevitable risk of injury and, if judges were to impose impossibly high standards of care on players, that would be the end of the sport. The High Court powerfully made that point in subjecting an allegedly...
When lending money to friends, acquaintances or anyone else, the terms on which sums are advanced may be entirely clear to you in your own mind. However, as a High Court ruling showed , the absence of a professionally drafted loan agreement is a positive...
There is nothing wrong with an employee being paid in a tax-efficient manner. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling showed, however, where such arrangements stray into the realms of unlawful evasion the consequences are likely to be severe. The case...
Accident victims' injuries can be subtle and not apparent to the casual observer but that does not make them any less devastating. In one case, a young man who sank into a life of apathy due to catastrophic head injuries sustained in a road collision...
Children do not, as a matter of law, have capacity to make important decisions for themselves – but that does not mean that their wishes and feelings are irrelevant. In an unusual case on point, the High Court gave effect to a teenage foster child's...
Sick and vulnerable people can be prone to the malign, even fraudulent, influence of relatives or others who are intent on maximising their inheritance. However, as a High Court case showed , such conduct is unlikely to go undetected. The case concerned a...
The fundamental principle of law that no one should be permitted to profit from their own wrongdoing is very easy to state but can be far more challenging to apply in practice. That was certainly so in a unique High Court case concerning a man who was in the...
Restrictive covenants that forbid property owners from causing annoyance, nuisance or disturbance to their neighbours commonly appear in title deeds – but how are they to be interpreted? In the context of a dispute between residents of a housing...
Rich individuals often have their feet firmly planted in more than one country and that can give rise to disputes as to where they should be taxed. In a guideline case, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) considered the position of an extremely wealthy man with...
Some of the most seriously injured accident victims have no close family or friends to look after them and are essentially alone in the world. However, as a High Court case showed, that in no way deters personal injury lawyers from battling for justice on...
So-called 'big money' divorces may grab the headlines, but lower-value disputes can often be the hardest to resolve. In a case on point, a family judge laboured to meet the reasonable needs of a divorcing couple whose debts far exceeded their modest...
There is ultimately only so much that you can do to prevent your loved ones falling out over inheritance issues after you are gone. However, as a High Court decision showed, the threat of bad blood developing can be greatly reduced by making an expertly...
Some personal injury claims pose a much greater challenge than others but, even in the toughest cases, specialist lawyers can achieve life-changing results. That was certainly so in the case of a young man who suffered catastrophic injuries when he fell...
When buying land it is vital to have a full understanding of any restrictions on the use to which it can be put. In a striking case on point, a couple were caught unawares by one such restriction and had their hopes of constructing an equestrian training...
A farmer at the wheel of a tractor on a narrow country lane owes precisely the same duty of care to pedestrians as an ordinary driver on a motorway. In a case on point, the High Court ruled that a farmer's inattention and excessive speed was the entire cause...
No matter how much you respect and trust your friends, lending them money can be fraught with risk and should never be done without first taking professional advice. A case on point concerned a couple who lent £210,000 to a neighbour to help him fund...
Some personal injury cases throw up huge challenges for lawyers. However, a case in which a six-figure settlement of a road accident victim's claim was achieved showed that there are few hurdles that cannot be overcome. The middle-aged man was riding his...
Overseas surrogacy arrangements are an effective means of completing families. As a High Court ruling showed , however, they are notoriously replete with legal pitfalls and should never be entered into without first taking professional advice. The case...
When paying money to settle Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings, employers are not infrequently motivated by a desire to make what they perceive as a nuisance go away – but how should such payments be treated for tax purposes? The First-tier Tribunal...
Even with the most careful drafting, there is always a risk that a will may be capable of bearing more than one meaning. In resolving a family inheritance dispute, the High Court considered the extent to which extraneous evidence of a will-maker's...
Judges often have to steel themselves to make tough decisions. In one such case, the High Court reluctantly concluded that a motorist was distracted by her mobile phone and bore at least partial responsibility for a collision with a freight train in which a...
Finding your way around the intricacies of the planning system without professional advice is, for most people, a near impossibility. The point was powerfully made by the case of a couple whose intimate living space was overlooked by a skylight fitted to a...
When people dispose of assets shortly before having themselves declared bankrupt, it is inevitable that eyebrows will often be raised. However, as a judge's ruling showed, it is one thing to allege an improper motive and quite another to prove it. The case...
Dark secrets lurking in your family background are likely to cause you untold pain. As one case showed , however, bringing the truth to light in the safe environment of a family court can draw the sting and bring peace to you and future generations. The...
Road accidents that happen in the blink of an eye can have lifelong consequences and that is why awards in such cases frequently run well into seven figures. In a case on point, a young man who was catastrophically injured in a collision after his car broke...
The categories of business that enjoy VAT exemption are highly restricted and any attempt to extend them is likely to encounter stiff opposition from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). That was certainly so in the case of a woman who provided private tuition in...
The sun came up as usual the day after Brexit but, from a legal point of view, much has changed. The point was made by a personal injury claim in respect of a skiing accident in France that was issued in England shortly after transitional arrangements...
Judges have no power to rewrite your will after your death so as to achieve a result which, in their view, better reflects your wishes. The High Court made that point in upholding the validity of a Parkinson's disease sufferer's will although, at least in...
It is increasingly common for accident victims to be accused of fundamental dishonesty in exaggerating their compensation claims. However, as a judge's ruling in the case of a delivery driver who tripped on a garage forecourt showed, those who make such...
When it comes to divorce, it is very common for one spouse to argue that he or she should receive the lion's share of the marital wealth. However, as a guideline case concerning an entrepreneurial couple showed , fairness usually demands that an equal...
Apparently trifling neighbours' disputes over a few inches of land have a nasty habit of taking on the proportions of a state trial, with legal costs to match. That was sadly so in a case concerning the positioning of a fence between two suburban gardens. ...
The intense vulnerability of many negligence victims requires lawyers to take careful steps to protect them from exploitation by others and the consequences of their own poor decision-making. A case on point concerned a recipient of a seven-figure...
It makes perfect sense that the market value of shares given to charity is deductible from the donor's tax liabilities. However, as an important tax tribunal ruling showed , discerning exactly what that value is can be very far from straightforward. The...
Those who allow themselves to be driven by motorists who are obviously drunk are likely to be held at least partially responsible for their own injuries if the journey ends in disaster. The Court of Appeal made that point in a guideline case. The case...
Keeping your will up to date is a very good idea, but making changes that are likely to disappoint members of your family who might expect to inherit can be a recipe for dispute after you are gone. That was certainly so in a High Court case concerning a...
Court orders are sometimes obtained by improper means, but when the truth emerges – as it almost always does – those responsible are bound to pay a crushing price. That was certainly so in the case of a businessman who obtained a divorce on the...
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