Latest News
A woman who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run incident in a supermarket car park has obtained substantial damages. The driver had been involved in a violent confrontation before leaving in his car. He was driving recklessly through the car park and ran...
Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 gives the Court of Protection the power to exercise its functions under the Act in relation to an adult who is habitually resident in England and Wales. It is therefore sometimes necessary for the...
The licensing regime for houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) exists to protect the safety and welfare of tenants. Recently, four tenants of an unlicensed HMO obtained rent repayment orders totalling £23,177. The tenants had rented a four-bedroom...
A man who was left with permanent paralysis when the carbon forks on his gravel bike snapped has secured compensation. The accident happened when the man, who worked as a doctor for the NHS, was riding on a grass slope. He suffered a severe spinal cord...
Anyone who requires assistance with their tax affairs should ensure that they deal with a reputable and appropriately regulated advisor. Recently, a courier who claimed rebates for work expenses on the basis of misleading advice was unsuccessful in his...
A young man whose finger had to be amputated after his hand became trapped in a machine is set to receive compensation. The teenager was an assistant supervisor at a recycling centre. He had been working there for less than two months when his hand became...
The Family Division of the High Court has granted a mother's application for her younger daughter, who was living with her father in the USA, to be returned to the UK. The mother and father had decided to separate in 2020 but, due to the COVID-19...
Recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that the waiting time for grants of probate has remained steady for several months, following delays in processing probate applications in recent years. The average time from submission of a probate...
A substantial compensation settlement has been secured for a man who suffered life-changing injuries when his motorcycle was hit by a car. He was riding back from work at night when a car that was involved in a police chase hit him at high speed while...
In certain circumstances, a member of a club whose membership is unfairly terminated may be able to obtain legal redress. In a recent case, a woman who was expelled from a prestigious golf club after she was accused of cheating in a competition has succeeded...
The leaseholders of a flat in a separate wing of a country house have succeeded in their appeal against a determination that they were liable to pay service charges in respect of the common parts of the house. The leaseholders had purchased the flat in...
Under the Animals Act 1971 , a keeper of an animal that does not belong to a 'dangerous species' is liable for damage caused by the animal if: the damage is of a kind which the animal, unless restrained, was likely to cause or which, if caused by the...
The Family Court has ruled on an application for financial remedies in a case which involved a range of assets and was characterised by animosity and dispute. The husband and wife had married in Cyprus in 2008 and subsequently lived in London. They...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has rejected a woman's argument that her former husband was liable to tax on half of the income from a rental property they jointly owned. She and her husband had bought the property in 2013. In 2015 her husband went on...
In cases regarding medical treatment, judges sometimes have to make difficult decisions urgently in very sad circumstances. Recently, the Court of Protection ruled that it was in the best interests of a woman with anorexia to be fed while under general...
A steel fabricator has secured damages after his foot was crushed in an accident at work. His employer had instructed him to weld together a skid for use in the mining industry. However, he was not given appropriate instructions on how to carry out this...
A woman who stole her daughters' inheritance has been handed a prison sentence and ordered to pay back the money. The woman's mother passed away in 2013. The woman received an inheritance of about £40,000 from her mother's house, while £50,000...
An investigation by consumer champion Which? has revealed that a number of 'eco plugs', which are widely available on online marketplaces, are ineffective and potentially dangerous. The plugs are marketed as being able to reduce electricity usage by...
The Family Division of the High Court has granted a couple's application for a parental order in respect of a boy who was born to a surrogate mother in California. The case raised an important welfare issue in that the intended parents were both in their...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has rejected a landowner's appeal against the dismissal of his application for the determination of a boundary between a strip of land he owned and the garden of a neighbouring house. He had originally owned a large house with...
Compensation has been obtained for a woman who was seriously injured when she slipped on a wet floor in a supermarket. No signs had been put in place to warn shoppers that the floor in an aisle of the supermarket was wet. The 60-year-old woman, who worked...
A taxpayer who had completed her tax return but had not taken the final step of submitting it has successfully appealed against late filing penalties totalling £1,600 after the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) ruled that she had a reasonable excuse for...
A woman who was badly injured when she was hit by a moped has obtained compensation from the driver's insurer. The woman was on her way to meet her sons for a Mother's Day dinner when the accident happened. She was knocked to the floor when the moped...
The Family Division of the High Court has refused a mother's application for an order that her three children should be returned from England to Lithuania . The mother and father were both Lithuanian nationals who had met and begun a relationship in the...
A woman who suffered severe injuries to her ankle while using a slide in a public park has secured compensation from the council responsible for the park. When she landed at the bottom of the slide, her feet became caught in a pit of mud that was not...
The Law Commission has published a report, Modernising Wills Law, containing its recommendations to reform the law governing wills. The recommendations are aimed at supporting testamentary freedom, protecting testators, and increasing clarity and certainty...
A North London council has paid out almost £600,000 in compensation over five years for pedestrian accidents. Most of claims brought against it related to injuries caused by potholes and defects in pavements. Figures obtained following a Freedom of...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has ruled that a restrictive covenant which required the owners of land to obtain approval from the vendor before a house could be built on it was personal to the original vendor and did not benefit his successors in title. The land...
The High Court has ruled on a case in which a deceased man's son and daughter were unable to agree on the funeral arrangements that should be made for him. The man had been born in India but had lived in England for over 70 years. He passed away in...
In a divorce case involving a couple with assets of more than £260 million, the Family Court has ruled that the husband should buy out the wife's shares in three private companies . The couple had started their life together with few assets. They had...
Compensation has been secured for a tourist from Brazil who was seriously injured when a car hit his motorbike. The young man was thrown from his motorbike when the car pulled out of a side road and collided with him. He suffered serious injuries, including...
Making a will not only ensures your assets will pass to those you wish to benefit but also simplifies the administration of your estate. However, recent research from the Money and Pensions Service shows that more than half of people in the UK aged 50-64,...
Tenants who are unhappy with the service charges they are asked to pay can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) for a determination of their liability to pay service charges. Recently, a tenant who made such an application succeeded in achieving...
Compensation has been obtained for an HGV driver whose hand was crushed by a large metal bin while he was collecting household waste. The bin's wheels were stiff and the driver and his colleagues had to push it in order to move it towards his vehicle. As...
Taxpayers should always ensure that they keep up to date with their tax affairs and obtain any assistance they need in meeting their obligations. This point was demonstrated in a recent case in which the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) dismissed a taxpayer's...
A woman who was hit by a car while crossing a road has achieved damages after a settlement of her claim against the driver's insurer was reached. The woman suffered a number of injuries in the accident, including a fractured vertebra in her back, a...
The Family Court recently ruled on a divorced couple's cross-applications for enforcement and variation of a periodical payments order originally made in 2012. The husband had been ordered to pay the wife £2,000 per month on a joint lives basis,...
The courts have the power to order claimants to provide financial security to ensure that the defendants can recover their costs if the claim is unsuccessful. Recently, the sons of a deceased man sought security for costs from a woman from Thailand who...
A girl who was injured when she tripped outside her home has secured compensation from the local authority. The girl tripped on uneven paving, fracturing her forearm. She was in a plaster cast for six weeks and experienced pain in her arm for more than a...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a 15-year-old child should be allowed to legally change their given name , overturning an earlier decision of the High Court. At the age of 12, the child had told their parents that they believed themselves to be...
An army chef who claimed he had suffered injury on a cold weather survival course has obtained £5,000 in compensation for frostbite to his ear, although the High Court found that he had not sustained non-freezing cold injury (NFCI) on his hands. The...
A person who is in adverse possession of registered land may apply to the Land Registry to be registered as its owner on the basis of ten years' adverse possession of it, ending on the date of the application. If the application is opposed by the existing...
A tenant whose health was adversely affected by damp and mould in his property has secured compensation from his housing provider. Over several years, the man had made a number of complaints about damp and mould. Mould growth was reported in multiple rooms...
The Income Tax rates and allowances for the 2025/26 tax year are largely unchanged from the 2024/25 year. The Personal Allowance – the amount you can earn before you begin to pay Income Tax – remains at £12,570. It reduces by £1 for...
A cyclist who was injured in a road accident has obtained compensation from the insurer of the driver responsible. The cyclist was riding along a country lane when a car approaching from the opposite direction moved into his path while overtaking a jogger....
The Family Court has granted a husband's application for a divorce he obtained in India to be recognised by the English courts . The husband and wife were both Indian nationals who now had British citizenship. They had married in India in 2010 and had...
An indoor skiing company has received a £100,000 fine following an accident in which a 12-year-old boy died. The boy was at a tobogganing party to celebrate a friend's birthday. He was descending the main ski slope on a toboggan when it ran into the...
A TV producer's partner who was left nothing in his will has commenced High Court proceedings seeking financial provision from his estate. The producer passed away in 2019, at the age of 58. He had been in a long-term relationship with his partner and had...
The Court of Protection recently granted an application by two NHS trusts for authorisation to carry out a planned caesarean in respect of a woman who was due to give birth. The 29-year-old woman had treatment resistant paranoid schizophrenia. She had...
A mother who tripped and fell while dropping her daughter off at school has obtained compensation for the injuries she suffered. She had taken her daughter to her classroom and was walking along a path when she tripped on a raised paving slab. She fell...
