A recent case illustrates the sort of unanticipated problem that can arise as a result of owning property abroad. The case involved an English man who owned a property in Brittany. He was in receipt of social security benefits – in particular,...

A total of £75,000 has been awarded in compensation to six people who fell and were injured whilst enjoying a night out at a Council-run nightclub. The clubbers had all attended special theme nights at the club in Wolverhampton Civic Hall. The...

An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that an easement does not lapse through...

Firms that offer vouchers to employees in exchange for salary sacrifices may face a VAT charge, following a recent opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It involved AstraZeneca, which had given employees vouchers in...

In a recent case , the executors of a woman's estate have been ruled to be liable for Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the value of her pension fund, after she failed to take her pension when she was terminally ill. The woman was diagnosed with cancer five months...

The family of a man who died of an asbestos-related disease has secured a settlement of £57,500. John Scott, who was 76 when he died of mesothelioma, had worked as a foreman and electrician for the Atomic Energy Authority for almost forty years until...

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Britain. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts, and affect more than 500,000 people every year. They are often...

The principle that British persons divorced abroad can look to the courts in England and Wales to ensure that their ‘reasonable needs’ are met in the divorce settlement has been firmly established following a recent case involving a divorced...

The comedian Jimmy Carr was recently successful in using a loophole in the law to avoid a fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving. The argument was based on the fact that he was using his mobile phone as a dictating machine, rather than as a...

An argument over a narrow strip of land has left a mother and son facing massive costs after their case was heard in the Court of Appeal recently. The dispute arose because their neighbour wanted to put up a fence on what he considered to be the dividing...

A pedestrian who was hurt in a road accident in East London has won the right to compensation from Newham Council because it failed to trim the shrubs in the middle of a busy road. Mrs Pervin Yetkin, 54, was attempting to cross Stratford High Street when...

The problems which can arise when there is an intestate estate that involves business assets were made clear recently when the High Court had to rule on a complex claim relating back to a death that occurred many years ago. At stake was a share in a farm,...

Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had no jurisdiction to refuse to accept a claimant’s ET1 claim form, on the ground that it found some of the handwriting illegible, because the form did contain the required...

Litigation can be expensive and there are good reasons in many cases for achieving a resolution by mediation when possible. The best course of action will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. Recently, a court case was settled after a...

It is often thought that, when couples live together, they have similar rights to those who are married or in a civil partnership. However, this is far from the truth, as a barrister found out recently when she lost her case in the High Court . The...

After a seven-year legal battle, a college lecturer has won compensation after delays in his medical treatment left him paralysed. Tim Joplin, 58, an artist and lecturer at Dudley College, was admitted to Russells Hall Hospital with pain in his shoulder and...

The Court of Appeal has ruled that a man who knew that he and his daughter were about to become homeless, and who wrote to the council seeking its assistance in obtaining accommodation, had done enough to trigger the council’s obligation to provide...

When someone breaches a confidence and uses confidential information to make a profit, one of the legal remedies which may be sought is to require the person committing the breach to account for the profit made as a result. In a recent case , two...

HM Revenue and Customs have announced that non-UK resident persons who remained in the UK due to disruption of their travel plans because of the volcanic ash cloud and who, as a result, spent more than 90 days in the UK at one time, will not be treated as...

A woman who was left paralysed after a tragic fairground accident has secured compensation of £35,000 from the company responsible testing the equipment. She is also pursuing further claims to compensate her for her injuries. Jessica Oseland, 28, was...

Breach of copyright on the Internet is relatively common, but it is still a breach of the law and one for which there is no defence based on ignorance. Copyright is an absolute right, which arises automatically. Nothing has to be done to obtain it: it arises...

The Court of Appeal has ruled in a case which establishes an important precedent for the setting of fines for breaches of environmental law. Thames Water had appealed against a fine of £125,000 for a mistake which had led to pollution of the river...

Employers should be aware that problems may arise during major sporting events as a result of employees supporting different national teams. In a recent case , a woman claimed that remarks made to her by a colleague during the 2006 FIFA World Cup amounted...

In many countries, bribery and corruption are commonplace. IKEA recently ceased its expansion in Russia, for example, because of the difficulties in obtaining permission to build new stores without being willing to engage in corrupt practices....

A will made two months before the death of an elderly woman has been set aside by the High Court after it heard evidence that by 2006, when the new will was made, she was ‘seriously losing her grip’. The new will left the woman’s entire...

A man who suffered permanent eye damage in a workplace accident has won compensation from his employer. Phillip Heeney, 25, was helping a colleague move a drum of acid when the accident happened. As they were removing the lid, the acid splashed into Mr...

A recent case in the Court of Appeal has resulted in a 92-year-old widow being given the right to evict her daughter and son-in-law, after a bitter family dispute that has lasted, on and off, for 20 years. The judges dismissed the couple's claims that they...

Social Housing providers will greet a recent decision of the Supreme Court with relief. The Court upheld a local council’s decision that it had discharged its duty to secure accommodation for persons who were homeless by sending each of them a...

Taxpayers who evade more than £25,000 of tax will now be ‘named and shamed’ by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) where the evasion affects a period after 1 April 2010. It is expected to be 2011 before the first tax evaders will be publicly...

Following a four-year legal battle, a motorcyclist who lost his leg after being involved in a collision with a car has won a lump sum of £640,000 in compensation. The accident happened when a car pulled out in front of the motorcyclist without...

Recently, two issues relating to foreign travel have arisen which are relevant for taxpayers. Firstly, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have advised that taxpayers who expect to have problems paying tax on time as a result of the volcanic ash cloud should...

Over 1,500 people who suffered chemical burns and allergic reactions after buying ‘toxic sofas’ are to share a compensation settlement worth £20 million, in what is thought to be the largest consumer class action in English legal history. ...

In the light of research carried out by the Health and Safety Laboratory, which shows that worker participation in implementing occupational health and safety measures has a positive effect on health and safety performance, the Health and Safety Executive...

A fitter has won nearly £7,000 in compensation after suffering damage to his hearing as a result of exposure to noise at work. The 66-year-old man began working for his employer in 1967 but was not provided with hearing protection until the early...

When a wife agrees to allow the family home to be used as security for her husband’s debts, the legal situation is normally clear and the creditor can rely on her consent in order to take possession. However, a recent case , in which a wife...

A recent case illustrates the extent of the investigative powers available to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). It involved a company that HMRC suspected of evading Excise Duty. A raid on its premises was undertaken and HMRC officers found quantities of alcohol...

A total of 15 people died from carbon monoxide poisoning associated with domestic gas appliances in the year 2008/2009, mainly a result of gas appliances being fitted badly or not being serviced properly. All landlords have a statutory obligation under the ...

The first prosecution under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been pending for some time and is eagerly awaited as it will provide guidance in practical terms on the likely level of fines in such cases, following the issue of...

A pensioner who developed a deadly form of lung cancer decades after coming into contact with asbestos in the workplace has won a six-figure compensation settlement. The 72-year-old man worked as an engineer for a motor vehicle manufacturer between 1953 and...

Little publicised, but nonetheless important for many private landlords, are changes implemented by the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010 , which mean that, in certain circumstances, a landlord wishing to let out a...

With tax rates on the rise and the coldest winter in years still a vivid memory, it may be a tempting prospect to leave Britain behind and settle somewhere in the sun. One of the drawbacks with this approach is that it is, in practice, difficult to sever...

An executor who stole more than £80,000 from the estate of a client faces a jail sentence for his crime. The man, who operated as a ‘will writer’, also faces a confiscation order against his assets. Much of the money was used to finance a...

An accountant who stole nearly £900,000 from his employer over a 10-year period was ordered to repay £150,000 (the maximum amount of assets available for seizure) and was sentenced to three years in prison. The employee used his illicit gains to...

A man who was left in agony after a failed operation has won a six-figure sum in damages. In October 2004, Gerald Morgan, 60, had a spinal stimulator implanted at the Royal London Hospital to help combat pain he had suffered from for many years. However,...

A Procurement Policy Note issued in March by the Office of Government Commerce requires government departments and non-governmental bodies over which the Government has direct control to pay its contractors within 30 days. However, before hard-pressed...

In a case now before the courts, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which is currently responsible for regulating the financial services industry in the UK, claimed that three men had unlawfully taken deposits from acquaintances, with a view to making...

An easement is a right over someone else’s land, such as a right of way. Once granted, rights of easement are frequently forgotten about, but a recent case shows the importance of making sure that an easement does not lapse through disuse. It...

As part of the pre-election ‘wash-up’, the Digital Economy Act 2010 became law, bringing with it the right for the Secretary of State to create secondary legislation to require Internet Service Providers to take ‘technical measures’...

A man who suffered a broken leg in a workplace accident has agreed a £17,500 compensation settlement. The man was using overhead lifting gear to turn over a metal plate weighing approximately one and a half tonnes when the accident occurred. He was...

A person is regarded as being disabled for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) if they have 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day...