A man who slipped on a wet floor during a fitness class has been awarded damages of £8,000. The man was taking part in a circuit training session at a leisure centre and was running a lap of the hall when he slipped. He fractured his left wrist and...
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The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a homeowner's appeal against a decision that he had not acquired a right of way over part of a driveway belonging to one of his neighbours. The row of houses in which the man and his neighbour lived had originally been...
Court and tribunal hearings usually take place in public, as part of the principle of open justice. However, a judge can decide to hold a hearing in private if it is deemed necessary for the proper administration of justice. Recently, the Court of...
A man who fell down a flight of stairs in his apartment building after the lights went out has received compensation for the injuries he suffered. The man, who is in his 70s and had recently been widowed, was walking down the stairs from his apartment when...
The High Court recently upheld a claim that an elderly man's final will was invalid on the grounds that he lacked testamentary capacity. The man and his wife had made mirror wills in 1985. After their eldest son sadly died in 2007, they made new mirror...
The Family Court recently considered an application by the parents of a 15-year-old boy for authorisation to accept a gift of a share in a property on his behalf, in exercise of their parental responsibility. The boy's father owned a property in...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing changes to the safeguarding regime that applies to payments and e-money firms, in order to better protect customers. Funds held by payments firms are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation...
A motorcyclist who was hit by a car at a junction has secured damages for the injuries he suffered. The 78-year-old man was riding his bike when a car failed to stop at a give way sign and pulled out in front of him. He braked and tried to swerve around the...
A tyre refurbishment company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a worker was injured by a tyre buffing machine. The worker was drawn into the machine by his T-shirt as it was freewheeling to a stop. He came into contact with...
A homeowner has successfully argued before the Upper Tribunal (UT) that an application by the owner of adjoining land to modify a restrictive covenant should be refused . A small cottage had originally stood on the adjoining land, but had been badly...
When deciding whether it is in a patient's best interests to continue life-sustaining treatment, the courts will look to the patient's views and beliefs, where known, as well as the medical evidence. In a sad case concerning a 66-year-old man in a state of...
A woman who was injured when she slipped on a wet floor in a hotel room has secured compensation from the travel operator that provided her holiday. The accident happened on the day she was due to fly home after a package holiday in Morocco. She and her...
The High Court has recently ruled that a man is entitled to benefit under a family trust despite finding that he was not the biological child of the settlor. The trust had been set up by a businessman in 2003 and included as its beneficiaries 'the...
A girl who was hit by a car as she was starting her paper round has achieved a settlement for the life-changing injuries she suffered. The girl was just 14 when the accident happened. Her mother had dropped her off at a local shop to collect the newspapers....
A pre-nuptial agreement (PNA) will be taken into account when a couple divorces, as long as it has been freely entered into and it is fair to hold the parties to it. Recently, the Family Court was called upon to decide how the terms of a PNA affected the...
Individual taxpayers often rely on advisors to handle their tax affairs, but it is wise to make sure they are doing everything that needs to be done. In a recent case, a man whose accountant failed to file tax returns on his behalf was refused permission to...
When accidents at work lead to injuries which are relatively minor and heal within a short time, compensation may still be warranted. This point was illustrated by the case of a foundry worker who suffered a burn to his hand. He accident happened when he...
When prospective tenants are asked to pay a holding deposit, they should ensure that they disclose any information that might affect a landlord's decision whether to offer them a tenancy. Recently, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) dealt with an application for...
Unmarried couples who hope to have children together via fertility treatment must comply with a number of requirements in order for both partners to be legally recognised as parents, but if a mistake is made in the documentation, the courts can often assist....
Determining responsibility for road traffic accidents can sometimes be complex. In ruling on two personal injury claims arising from an accident involving four cars, the High Court had to consider where liability for the accident lay. As a Volkswagen was...
The High Court has ruled that a businessman's final will, which left most of his estate to his two youngest children and largely disinherited his two eldest children, was invalid. The businessman had been diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2010. Before making...
A body responsible for managing a forest has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a husband and wife were struck by a tree that was being felled. The couple were walking their dog along a deer track in the forest. As the tree was...
A man recently succeeded in his argument that a property he had purchased consisted of two separate dwellings and therefore qualified for Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR) from Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). Although MDR was abolished earlier this year, it can...
A man who suffered permanent injury to his shoulder when he fell through an opening in a mezzanine floor has obtained damages from his employer. The man had been cleaning the booth of a crushing machine, used to loosen large amounts of waste material, and...
In cases of serious injury or disability, judges may be called upon to make difficult decisions about whether it is in the patient's best interests to continue life-sustaining treatment. A tragic High Court case concerning a severely disabled four-year-old...
When couples divorce, the courts will take pre-marital agreements (PMAs) into account but will also consider the needs of each spouse. This principle was demonstrated recently in financial remedy proceedings before the Family Court. The couple had signed...
A motorcyclist who suffered life-changing injuries when he collided with a car has succeeded in his claim of liability against the car's driver. The motorcyclist, then aged 55, collided with the back of the car, which also struck a car in front of it. There...
A woman and her ex-husband who allegedly lost substantial funds belonging to the woman's mother have been ordered by a judge to pay back the missing money. After the mother died in 2019, at the age of 86, the woman's sister brought proceedings in an effort...
A crane operator who was severely injured in a workplace accident has reached a settlement with his employer. The man was de-rigging a crane when its head hit his right elbow. He sustained severe fractures and nerve damage, and had to have metal plates...
Tenants who feel that they are being overcharged for services in connection with their properties are able to challenge the reasonableness of their charges. The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) recently reduced the amount a tenant was required to pay for insurance...
An unauthorised mortgage broker and its associates who exploited vulnerable consumers have been ordered by the High Court to pay £4 million to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) . The order was obtained against a company that arranged mortgages...
The Court of Appeal has overturned a Family Court decision that tibia fractures sustained by a 10-month-old girl had been inflicted deliberately or recklessly by one of her parents. The parents were in a long-standing, stable relationship. The girl had...
Settlements in personal injury claims can include amounts for psychological as well as physical injuries, as demonstrated by a case in which a pedestrian obtained significant damages after she was hit by a motorbike. The accident happened on a busy street....
The will of a man who married his carer less than a year before he died and left everything to her has been set aside after his daughter challenged its validity. The man was 93 years old when he married his carer, who was then aged 54. Following the...
A railway signalman who was injured when he tripped over debris on an unlit walkway has secured compensation. He was taken to A&E after the accident. X-rays showed that he had fractured his finger and he was fitted with a splint. He was unable to work...
Under Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 (Regulation 261), an airline is not obliged to pay compensation where flights are delayed or cancelled due to 'extraordinary circumstances' which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) recently ruled on an appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that a sign saying there was no public right of way over a staircase did not prevent a private right of way being acquired over it. The staircase had...
Taxpayers would be well advised to give prompt attention to any correspondence they receive from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). In a recent case, a man who appealed tax assessments and penalties several months late failed to convince the First-tier Tribunal...
On 22 May, the then Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, announced that he had completed his statutory review of the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 , following a call for evidence earlier this year. However, publication of the review was delayed as a result of...
The High Court has ruled that a financial remedies order requiring a husband to transfer his half share of the former matrimonial home to his wife could not stand because he had been made bankrupt by the time it was made. The couple had separated in 2017,...
A protracted legal battle has led to judgment being obtained in the case of a man who was fatally injured while working on a building site. The man died when he was hit by pieces of metal scaffolding that fell from a crane after a strap holding them...
An allegation that a will is a forgery can be hard to prove. However, such an allegation was successfully made out in a High Court case concerning an elderly man who died during the COVID-19 pandemic. The man had passed away in February 2021. A firm of...
Under Section 28A(4) of the Taxes Management Act 1970 , taxpayers whose returns are under enquiry may apply for a direction requiring HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to issue a closure notice. It is for HMRC to show that there are reasonable grounds for...
When making decisions about where and with whom a child should live, the courts will prioritise the welfare of the child and will take the child's own views into consideration where appropriate. In a recent case, the High Court rejected a father's...
Cases involving life-changing injuries can be very complex and arriving at a fair settlement can take time. However, it may be possible to secure interim payments while the case is ongoing. Recently, a seven-year legal battle culminated in substantial...
Lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) allow you to appoint someone else to make decisions in respect of your property and financial affairs, and/or your health and welfare, in the event that you lose the capacity to do so yourself. However, an LPA must comply...
The Right to Manage (RTM) is a method by which leasehold property owners can take over the management of the building they live in. However, an RTM company is bound by the terms of leases that existed before it was set up, as demonstrated by a recent case ...
A rugby player has succeeded in his claim before the High Court that an opponent who collided with him during a match was liable for the severe injury he sustained. The man was participating in an amateur Rugby Union match. As the second half began, an...
Those responsible for administering an estate are generally entitled to recover the costs properly incurred in doing so from the estate. Recently, the High Court ruled on whether costs concerning a dispute over a will and an application to remove the...
A recent decision of the Court of Appeal in a big money divorce case clarified how the sharing principle should be applied and when assets are subject to it. The couple had married in 2005. The husband had had a successful career in financial services...
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