In a ruling of interest to landowners and property lawyers, a gypsy squatting on a plot of Surrey wasteland has failed to convince the High Court that, on a correct reading of section 15 of the Land Registration Act 2002, he is entitled to register a caution against first registration of the site. The gypsy had planning permission to occupy the site in his...

In a salutary warning to employers that they can be held responsible for actions taken by their staff, even if they are carried out contrary to instructions, a company has been held in contempt of court after one of its salesmen breached undertakings to refrain from soliciting prohibited clients. Two of the company’s directors had established a business to...

In a triumph of co-operation between the UK and South African tax authorities, the Court of Appeal has dismissed a challenge to the scope of the Joint Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the convention) and ruled that £7.8 million held by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) company in a London bank account was rightly frozen. A BVI company...

In a major blow to regulators, owners of licensed sex shops in London’s Soho and Covent Garden districts have convinced the Court of Appeal that Westminster City Council had no lawful authority to add to their licence fees the substantial costs of taking enforcement action against unlicensed operators. The court’s strict interpretation of the Provision of...

The owners of Britain’s largest privately-owned stately home have achieved a major success in their quest for more than £100 million in compensation to repair damage done to its monumental architecture by mining subsidence. The Court of Appeal ruled that the property’s owners had submitted valid damage notices that met the requirements of the Coal Mining...