A recent case illustrates the sort of unanticipated problem that can arise as a result of owning property abroad. The case involved an English man who owned a property in Brittany. He was in receipt of social security benefits – in particular,...
A total of £75,000 has been awarded in compensation to six people who fell and were injured whilst enjoying a night out at a Council-run nightclub. The clubbers had all attended special theme nights at the club in Wolverhampton Civic Hall. The...
ACAS, the independent employment relations service, have recently published their annual report and accounts for the 2009/10 period. The report provides an insight into the volume of disputes arising out of employment relationships. ACAS reports that...
An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that an easement does not lapse through...
Firms that offer vouchers to employees in exchange for salary sacrifices may face a VAT charge, following a recent opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It involved AstraZeneca, which had given employees vouchers in...
Unsubstantiated allegations of exaggerated claims could be costly (Clarke v. Maltby QBD, 26/07/10) This case focused on the issue of unsubstantiated allegations of an exaggerated claim and reiterated the fact that for such allegations to be successful,...
Recent Cases on Part 36 There have recently been a number of Part 36 cases shedding more light on this topic. Sampla v Rushmore Borough Council & Crowley [2008] EWHC 2616 (TCC) In this case, two Defendants (Rushmore and Crowley) were contesting...
Recent survey reveals the increasing number of insolvencies affecting building contractors is causing alarm for local authorities A survey conducted by Constructionline has worryingly revealed that 70% of local authorities they contacted have seen a...
Court of Appeal finds Council liable to pedestrian after failure to cut back vegetation on highway (Yetkin v London Borough of Newham [2010] EWCA Civ 776) A new ruling from The Court of Appeal has held that Newham Local Authority had a duty of care to all...
Duty of care decision could have implications for Local Authorities (Harvey v. Plymouth City Council, CA, 29/7/10) In this interesting case, the Court of Appeal concluded that the main question in determining whether a licensee or visitor is owed a duty of...
In a recent case , the executors of a woman's estate have been ruled to be liable for Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the value of her pension fund, after she failed to take her pension when she was terminally ill. The woman was diagnosed with cancer five months...
Threat of closure facing one third of UK Local Courts MP’s, lawyers and magistrates have slammed the Ministry of Justices’ plans to close nearly a third of UK courthouses in an apparent cost saving measure. These plans include closing 157 out of...
The family of a man who died of an asbestos-related disease has secured a settlement of £57,500. John Scott, who was 76 when he died of mesothelioma, had worked as a foreman and electrician for the Atomic Energy Authority for almost forty years until...
The principle that British persons divorced abroad can look to the courts in England and Wales to ensure that their ‘reasonable needs’ are met in the divorce settlement has been firmly established following a recent case involving a divorced...
Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Britain. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts, and affect more than 500,000 people every year. They are often...
Have you ever wondered why some Claimant solicitor firms do not enter into After The Event insurance policies to run alongside their Conditional Fee Agreements? Have you ever thought ‘marvellous, we avoided that particular liability’ but never...
The comedian Jimmy Carr was recently successful in using a loophole in the law to avoid a fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving. The argument was based on the fact that he was using his mobile phone as a dictating machine, rather than as a...
An argument over a narrow strip of land has left a mother and son facing massive costs after their case was heard in the Court of Appeal recently. The dispute arose because their neighbour wanted to put up a fence on what he considered to be the dividing...
A pedestrian who was hurt in a road accident in East London has won the right to compensation from Newham Council because it failed to trim the shrubs in the middle of a busy road. Mrs Pervin Yetkin, 54, was attempting to cross Stratford High Street when...
The problems which can arise when there is an intestate estate that involves business assets were made clear recently when the High Court had to rule on a complex claim relating back to a death that occurred many years ago. At stake was a share in a farm,...
Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had no jurisdiction to refuse to accept a claimant’s ET1 claim form, on the ground that it found some of the handwriting illegible, because the form did contain the required...
It is often thought that, when couples live together, they have similar rights to those who are married or in a civil partnership. However, this is far from the truth, as a barrister found out recently when she lost her case in the High Court . The...
Litigation can be expensive and there are good reasons in many cases for achieving a resolution by mediation when possible. The best course of action will depend on the individual circumstances of the case. Recently, a court case was settled after a...
After a seven-year legal battle, a college lecturer has won compensation after delays in his medical treatment left him paralysed. Tim Joplin, 58, an artist and lecturer at Dudley College, was admitted to Russells Hall Hospital with pain in his shoulder and...
The Court of Appeal has ruled that a man who knew that he and his daughter were about to become homeless, and who wrote to the council seeking its assistance in obtaining accommodation, had done enough to trigger the council’s obligation to provide...
