The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is urging the government to make it compulsory for restaurants to print allergy information on menus, in a bid to better inform consumers and limit the risk of extreme allergic reactions. There is currently no legal...
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In the realm of social housing, there are few more controversial issues than a child's entitlement to succeed to the secure tenancy of a parent on the latter's death. As a Court of Appeal ruling showed , however, succession rights may quite easily be...
The end of a relationship will often have important tax implications which might only be apparent to a trained professional. That was certainly so in the case of a woman who, following the collapse of her marriage, was saddled with a substantial Capital...
Tourists or overseas workers who suffer accidents in the UK may feel that they are a long way from home, but they can be confident that English lawyers will pursue their damages claims with professionalism and vigour. That was certainly so in the case of a...
Making a will when your death is imminent is almost never a good idea and is often a positive invitation to dispute between your loved ones after you are gone. In a case on point, the first salvo in a tragic inheritance dispute was fired even before the...
For every headline-grabbing 'big money' divorce case there are hundreds of others where a former couple's assets are simply insufficient to meet their reasonable needs. As a High Court ruling showed, judges take a gender-neutral approach to such cases,...
To state that location is the only important factor when it comes to valuing a home is a cliché and something of a generalisation. However, as an Upper Tribunal (UT) ruling showed , if public infrastructure works render the location of your property...
Couples who run businesses together are often tempted to dispense with paperwork and rely solely on trust. As a High Court ruling showed, however, any relationship may come to an end, leaving both sides wishing they had taken a more formal approach at the...
It is a very rare event for the Court of Appeal to find that a judge's assessment of factual evidence is plainly wrong. However, that is what occurred in an unusual case concerning serious injury said to have been sustained by an unborn child. The boy's...
If you have not been reasonably provided for in a loved one's will, the law may come to your aid. However, as a High Court ruling made plain , your ability to seek legal redress cannot itself be inherited and will expire on your death. Following the deaths...
Most investors would agree that the price at which shares are listed on an accredited investment exchange is as reliable a guide as any to their open market value. A tax dispute concerning a gift of shares to charity , however, showed that such an...
As a matter of common humanity, most people would wish damages to be paid to children who are seriously injured in road accidents. As a High Court ruling made plain, however, judges must put sentiment aside and dispassionately weigh the evidence in deciding...
Fathers who are denied access to their children are frequently heard to complain that judges do not do enough to support them. In coming down hard on a defiant mother who refused to countenance her child having contact with her father , however, a family...
There are often few, if any, witnesses to accidents at work and accounts of how they occurred may differ dramatically. As a case concerning an injured fairground worker showed, however, judges are adept at weighing up the evidence before reaching conclusions...
Law firms focused on ensuring their clients' peace of mind generally provide secure storage facilities for their important documents. A High Court inheritance dispute triggered by a landowner's missing will underlined the risks of keeping such documents at...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Upcoming deadline for Landlords in Wales Landlords and agents in Wales will now be aware of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 which was implemented in Wales on 01 December 2022; it in effect changed the scope landlords and agents operate and it...
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...
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...
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...
Landowners intent on developing their properties can find it intensely annoying when neighbours resist their plans. However, as a High Court ruling made plain, the right to object to planning applications is one of the benefits of living in a democratic...
Those who attempt to lie their way to a favourable result in divorce proceedings are more than likely to be found out and hit hard in the pocket. That was certainly so in the case of an elderly entrepreneur who treated his ex-wife's financial claims as if...
Borrowers who take out loans at high rates of interest with their eyes wide open may have only themselves to blame. As a High Court case showed , however, such loans may be vulnerable to arguments that they amount to a penalty or are the product of an...
Even where there is a clear-cut answer to the question of who is to blame for a road accident, assessing the damages due to victims requires the highest level of professional skill. That was certainly so in the case of a taxi driver who suffered devastating...
People may be blinkered, difficult and downright ruthless but that does not mean that they are incapable of making a rational will. The High Court made that point in the case of a highly successful businessman who all but disinherited his children. By his...
Many families whose loved ones are in hospital on life support understandably cling to the hope that they will in time recover. As a High Court ruling showed, however, where such hopes run contrary to the weight of expert medical evidence, judges have the...
There will always sadly be a few accident victims who exaggerate their injuries with a view to maximising their compensation. A High Court ruling, however, showed the extent of legal and surveillance resources that insurance companies are willing to deploy...
Many householders are familiar with the often traumatic experience of falling out with builders. However, as a High Court case showed , if their work is not up to scratch or left unfinished, lawyers will bend every sinew to ensure that fair compensation is...
Judges frequently impress on divorcing couples that it is in their own best interests to put conflict behind them and focus on achieving a sensible resolution. However, as a case in which a couple spent £8.4 million fighting over money and their...
An important Court of Appeal ruling provided a clear warning to employers that their indirect – or vicarious – responsibility for the unlawful acts of those who work for them may not be confined to those who are formally on their payroll. The...
There is a big difference between moral and legal obligations. The High Court made that point in finding that mirror wills signed by a married couple did not impose on either of them a binding obligation not to change their bequests in future, save by...
Residential landlords who neglect their legal obligations to the point of criminality can be hit with banning orders that are likely to put them out of business. In a case of importance to property professionals, the Upper Tribunal (UT) for the first time...
Every right-thinking person would agree that those guilty of fundamental dishonesty in their pursuit of personal injury claims should leave court empty-handed. As a High Court ruling showed, however, defining exactly what is meant by 'fundamental' is far...
No amount of internet research can ever replace professional legal advice. A man found that out when his reliance on flawed web content very nearly cost him the opportunity to complete his family by adopting his stepson. The man applied for an adoption...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) adopts a tough approach when considering whether a person who claims non-resident tax status has spent more than the permitted number of days in the UK. It certainly brooked no compromise in the case of a woman who ended up with...
It is quite common for people to get married in the knowledge that they only have a short while to live. However, as a High Court ruling underlined , such a step is often fraught with legal difficulty in terms of inheritance and should never be taken...
A woman's financial claims against her ex-husband following their overseas divorce did not survive his death. In reaching that conclusion, the Supreme Court noted that the case had exposed a defect in the law that can only be remedied by Parliament. After...
If you suffer an accident at work that is not your fault, you can be reassured that a good personal injury lawyer will see to it that you are compensated fairly. In a case on point, a tree surgeon who was struck by a falling branch was awarded six-figure...
A new ruling by the Welsh Government is set to make drastic changes to the speed limit on many roads in Wales, with the speed limit to be lowered to 20mph in Wales. In a vote held in the Senedd on July 12 th , 2022, the Welsh government voted in favour of a...
Even if you do not hold legal title to a plot of land, you may well be entitled to have it transferred into your name if you have been in adverse possession of it for over 10 years and you have reasonably believed throughout that it belongs to you. That is ...
Some people who trade online do so in the fond hope that the income they generate will fall beneath the tax authorities' radar. A tax tribunal ruling that left one such trader on the verge of bankruptcy showed how very wrong they are. On his relevant tax...
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