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In the throes of family breakdown, parents often focus on their own personal battles – but it is the best interests of their children that are always uppermost in family judges' minds. In a case on point, the wishes and feelings of two teenagers ...
Holidaymakers who suffer accidents abroad can face an uphill struggle to obtain just compensation, but specialist English lawyers are well equipped to rise to the challenge. In one case, a woman who was injured when she tripped over a sun lounger at a hotel...
Trusts can be an invaluable means of providing for vulnerable loved ones, but they need careful handling by a professional if they are not to have serious unforeseen consequences. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a retired GP whose...
Thanks to telephone conferencing and video link technology, delivery of civil justice has continued almost unabated during the COVID-19 pandemic – but are remote hearings fair? A judge considered that fundamental issue in ruling that a clinical...
A temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief measure has taken immediate effect in England and Northern Ireland after being announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his summer economic statement. The measure has been introduced by the Government to try and...
A fine imposed on a householder for parking her Land Rover on her own land put the conflict between private ownership and public access to the road network in high relief and provided the subject matter for an important High Court test case . For many...
In order to be divorced you obviously have to be validly married, and bigamy remains a surprisingly common occurrence. In one case, the High Court found that a couple's overseas wedding did not render them husband and wife – because she was already...
Psychiatric damage suffered by road accident victims can be just as serious, if not more so, than their physical injuries. In one case, a nurse who was traumatised for months following her involvement in a pile-up was awarded more than £40,000 in...
If someone upon whom you depend financially dies leaving you nothing in his or her will, judges have the power to ensure that you do not go empty-handed. As a High Court case showed, however, that power will only be exercised in your favour if your need for...
The COVID-19 pandemic represents a public emergency which is threatening the life of the nation. A High Court judge wrote those words in reaching the momentous conclusion that, whilst the crisis persists, derogation from certain fundamental human rights is...
Insurance cover under many motor policies is restricted to private vehicles which are used for social, domestic or pleasure purposes only – but what exactly does that mean? The High Court has provided an authoritative answer to that question. The case...
To say that parents bear a moral responsibility to ensure that their children behave themselves in public is uncontroversial – but are they also under a legal duty to do so? The High Court addressed that issue in ruling that the sins of an allegedly...
If a neighbour obtains planning permission for a building project to which you object, that does not always mean you just have to grin and bear it. In a case on point, objectors to a householder's plans to extend his garage succeeded in blocking his proposal...
Reforms to the law surrounding whiplash claims have been delayed by the Ministry of Justice as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Originally due to be implemented this August, the reforms have now been postponed until April 2021. The forthcoming reforms...
If you die without making a will, there is a real risk that your loved ones may be left high and dry. In one case, a man who said that he was grieving over his partner's death found himself bereft of legal rights and locked out of the flat they once shared. ...
The law has a very long memory and will ensure that victims of misconduct by state agents are properly compensated, however long it takes. In a striking case on point, the High Court awarded six-figure damages to the loved ones of an innocent docker who was...
HMRC are scrapping cheques for the payment and repayment of Inheritance Tax (IHT) and temporarily accepting printed signatures on IHT returns, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The introduction of new ways of processing IHT and returns is to reduce...
Most road accidents happen in seconds, and working out their exact causes after the event is exceptionally difficult. However, a case in which a woman who was knocked down by a lorry was awarded substantial compensation showed the lengths to which judges...
The Channel Islands may be separated from the UK mainland by miles of water, but they are not overseas countries. In an unusual case, that simple fact was enough to defeat a woman's claim for a pension-sharing order following her divorce in Jersey. After...
One of the benefits of building your own home is that you can claim back VAT paid on materials used in the project – but rebate applications have to be made within three months of the property's completion. That time limit came under analysis in a case...
Reconstructing road accidents which involve multiple vehicles and individuals, all of them coming together in complex sequences of events lasting seconds, poses an enormous challenge. In guaranteeing a gravely injured pedestrian substantial compensation,...
Even people of the greatest intellect can be affected by diminished mental ability in old age and that is one good reason why it makes sense to execute a professionally drafted will sooner rather than later. A case on point concerned an eminent former judge...
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...
