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Fraudulent investment schemes are perennially tempting to the unwary and it really does make sense to take independent professional advice before parting with your money. In one case, the High Court found compelling evidence that hundreds of small investors...
Your privacy rights will die with you, but that does not mean that just anyone will be permitted access to your medical records after you are gone. The extent to which such records should remain under wraps post mortem was analysed in a High Court test case...
One of the most distressing aspects of road traffic accidents involving young people is that they can shatter their hopes for the future. In a case on point, a crash victim received eight-figure compensation for injuries which wrecked her prospects of...
Where blame, if any, attaches for the breakdown of a marriage is generally irrelevant when it comes to dividing assets following divorce. However, as a cruelly deceitful husband discovered to his cost, bad behaviour can have consequences in that it is hardly...
Those who allow themselves to be driven in unlawfully taken vehicles put their lives in jeopardy and are unlikely to be covered by insurance in the event of a crash. A guideline High Court case on point concerned a young car owner who faced a familiar...
Lordships of the manor, whilst sounding grand, are often viewed as arcane titles with little real significance in terms of property rights. However, that is not always so and, in one High Court case, a lordship which was bought for just £100 almost...
A woman whose hopes of bearing children were stymied by the failure of medical staff to detect early signs of cervical cancer has won the right to substantial damages – including the reasonable cost of funding commercial surrogacy arrangements in...
Few people nowadays care whether a child is born within wedlock, but the law is in some respects behind the times. In a ground-breaking ruling, however, the High Court has opened the way for illegitimate members of an extended family to receive shares of a...
Parents can take comfort from the fact that, if they die as a result of someone else's negligence, the law will ensure that their loved ones are compensated. In one case, the disabled daughter of a woman who lost her life when a taxi in which she was...
The full rigour of formalities that must be gone through in order to solemnise a marriage have been upheld in a landmark case. The Court of Appeal found that a ceremony performed in a restaurant which was not registered as an authorised wedding venue was a...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are always on the lookout for unexplained cash earnings which have not been declared for tax. However, in one case, a former professional gambler was relieved of a six-figure Income Tax bill after convincing the First-tier...
Children cannot be wrapped in cotton wool and ordinary play inevitably involves an element of danger – but specialist lawyers are thankfully there to help if the worst happens. In one case, a girl who was blinded in one eye when she fell on her face...
Disputes with neighbours have a way of getting horribly out of hand, but legal advice taken at an early stage can help to draw the venom and save incalculable heartache and money in the long run. A case on point concerned flat dwellers who for years engaged...
Employers usually bear indirect legal responsibility for misdeeds committed by their staff in the course of their jobs – but what if they are unpaid volunteers? The High Court tackled that issue in awarding substantial damages to a man whose childhood...
Those who engage in speculative litigation on the basis of weak evidence can expect to be hit hard in the pocket. In a case on point, a couple who sued a friendly architect after she provided them with free assistance in re-landscaping their garden found...
Road accident victims who are injured by uninsured drivers need not worry that their right to compensation will be compromised. In one case, a seven-figure settlement was negotiated on behalf of a pedestrian who almost died when he was struck down by a...
Most people would consider it an honour to be chosen as executor of a friend's or relative's will. However, as a High Court ruling showed , the legal responsibilities that go with such a role can be extremely onerous and it usually makes better sense to...
A gender-neutral and non-discriminatory approach to divorce generally requires an equal division of marital assets – but it is not always that simple. In one big-money case, complexities arose in respect of the husband's inherited assets and his wish...
Mediterranean sunshine and sandy beaches attract millions of British holidaymakers every year, but swimming in the sea can be hazardous. In a case on point, a woman who was struck by a yacht tender and badly injured whilst swimming off the coast of a Greek...
If offered the opportunity to shelter their homes against future Inheritance Tax (IHT) liabilities whilst retaining the right to live in them rent free, most people would jump at the chance. However, as one case strikingly showed, that holy grail of tax...
It is the mark of a society governed by the rule of law that, where people suffer injury or death due to the misconduct of the servants or agents of the state, compensation is paid in full. In a prime example of that happening, the loved ones of a civilian...
If you are a property occupier and have noise, dust, noxious smells, vibrations or other forms of nuisance inflicted upon you by a neighbour, the law will provide you with a remedy. However, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a landmark case that that...
Road traffic accidents frequently have more than one cause, but judges are adept at uncovering where responsibility for them lies. A case on point focused on a demolition site hoarding that obstructed sight lines of a stretch of road where a teenager was run...
Unmarried couples frequently intermingle their property whilst love still blooms, but sorting out who owns what after separation can pose a serious challenge. That was certainly so in the case of a former couple who, between them, owned two former council...
You are in principle entitled to bequeath your worldly wealth to whoever you choose. However, as a High Court decision made clear, the law will intervene if you ignore your moral obligations when making your will. A successful motor dealer and property...
DIY house builders are entitled to refunds of VAT they pay on materials used in their projects. However, as a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed , seeking such rebates is far from straightforward and a strict time limit applies. A man applied...
If you are injured whilst holidaying abroad, obtaining just compensation can present serious difficulties. A case concerning a holidaymaker whose life was wrecked by a swimming pool accident in Ibiza showed, however, that specialist English lawyers are well...
A change to intestacy law recently announced by the government has increased the sum of money that spouses and civil partners of people who die without having made a will are entitled to receive. The change has been introduced via a statutory instrument...
Those who have suffered sexual abuse are entitled to expect that the perpetrator will be punished by the criminal courts – but they may also be due compensation. In one case, a junior member of a religious organisation who was raped by one of its...
Adoption of children outside their natural families is always a last resort and will only be permitted if nothing else will do. The Court of Appeal made that point in coming to the aid of a couple whose son was taken from their care when he was just two...
Road accidents which have lifelong consequences frequently occur in the blink of an eye and that can make it very difficult to ascertain who was to blame. However, as a High Court case showed, experienced lawyers are adept at cutting such gordian knots and...
If you are involved in a dispute with your builder, taking sound legal advice is by far the best means of ensuring that matters do not get out of hand. One householder who failed to take that sensible course found himself embroiled in costly legal...
Co-ownership of land by family members can be intensely problematic if they do not see eye to eye as to the use to which it should be put. A High Court case on point focused on a naturalist's ambition to 'rewild' farmland he and his brother had jointly...
New rules surrounding the payment of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on profits made on the sale of a residential property are now just weeks away. Taking effect on 6 April 2020, the changes will reduce the amount of time individuals have to pay their CGT bill and...
Accidents are always unexpected, but some are more so than others. In one case, a businessman who was struck on the head by a falling rugby post whilst watching his son play in a junior game received substantial compensation for his injuries. The man, aged...
It is hardly surprising that confidential or privileged documents which have or may have been illegitimately obtained cannot be used in evidence. However, as the High Court made clear in the context of a big money divorce case , that rule does not apply...
Victims of serious accidents often believe that they face a long wait before receiving just compensation – but the wheels of justice can move surprisingly quickly. In one case, it took little more than a year to achieve a seven-figure settlement for a...
Letting your land stand vacant, going to rack and ruin, inevitably carries the risk that a squatter will obtain title to it. A woman who inherited a small but strategic strip of land from her builder father came within an ace of suffering that fate. The...
Accident victims who suffer head injuries often have no memory of how they came to grief and, in the absence of other witnesses, that can create obvious difficulties in claiming compensation. However, as a High Court case showed, overcoming such problems is...
There is a general principle that a person may leave their estate to anyone they wish, but legislation exists – the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 – to allow people dependent on a deceased person to claim against the...
The Government is warning people to be on alert for fraudsters posing as court bailiffs and enforcement officers on the telephone. After claiming to be County Court bailiffs, High Court Enforcement Officers (HCEOs) or Certificated Enforcement Agents (CEAs),...
Cyclists almost always come off worst in collisions with motor vehicles, but they at least have the comfort of knowing that specialist lawyers are there to ensure they are fairly compensated. In a case on point, a man who suffered catastrophic injuries when...
Race discrimination may not be intentional, but it can be deeply hurtful and, with the right legal advice, victims can both express their disgust and secure compensation. In a striking case on point , a Sikh couple who were rejected as potential adopters...
Slips and trips can have devastating consequences and, if you are a victim of such an accident and believe someone else was to blame, you should seek legal advice without delay. A mother who did just that after slipping on the damp floor of a supermarket...
Couples can sometimes be tempted to enter into property transactions together without taking legal advice, on the basis that the love and trust between them will last forever. However, a High Court ruling strikingly showed how misguided such assumptions can...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may appear a very big battalion indeed but, with the right legal advice, individuals can succeed in overturning their decisions. Exactly that happened in a case concerning a couple who lost over £6 million in a disastrous...
Public authorities are under a duty to protect mentally ill people for whom they bear responsibility from foreseeable risks of injury. In a case on point, a schizophrenia sufferer who was gravely injured in a fall from a first-floor window after being...
What exactly is a will? The High Court addressed that fundamental issue in resolving a bitter family dispute in respect of where a much-loved son and husband should be buried. Following the man's death from cancer, his mother insisted that he should be...
Road accidents occur in seconds but have consequences that often last a lifetime. That was certainly so in the case of a young woman who received seven-figure compensation after being struck down by a hit-and-run motorist. A few days before Christmas, the...
One of the hardest tasks that family judges have to undertake is to remove children from the care of parents who are incapable of looking after them. However, as one case showed , adoption of children outside their natural families is only ever a last...
