Fortunes spent on establishing successful brands would be largely pointless without trade mark protection and, as a High Court case showed, that is why professional advice from an intellectual property expert represents a sound investment. The case concerned a company that provided psychiatry and mental
As relationships and working arrangements change, self-employment can morph into an employment relationship over time. Exactly that happened in the case of a live-in agency carer who worked 12 hours a day for the same client for over three years. The agency for which the
Bankruptcy orders are discretionary and judges will not make them if they serve no useful purpose. The High Court made that point in overturning one such order that had been issued against an all but penniless woman – on the basis that she was simply
Judicial separations, which recognise the breakdown of marriages without formally bringing them to an end, are nowadays relatively rare. However, as the High Court made clear in a ‘big money’ case, they should never be confused with divorce. A former couple aged in their 70s
In an increasingly health-conscious world, eating habits have changed dramatically and the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) took that into account in ruling that an egg-, dairy- and gluten-free brownie should be classified as a cake for VAT purposes. The ruling entitled the product’s manufacturer to a
Non-solicitation and non-compete covenants in employment contracts impinge on workers’ personal freedoms and, as a High Court case showed, examples that are unclear or too broad in their effect are highly likely to be declared unenforceable. That is one very good reason why professional drafting
The modern phenomenon known as ‘cuckooing’ – whereby drug dealers set up shop in the homes of vulnerable householders – poses an increasing problem for social housing providers. However, as a High Court case showed, judges are willing and able to take firm action to protect the
Official decision making is frequently imperfect, but judges will only intervene if errors made have a real impact on the final outcome. In a case exactly on point, the High Court upheld planning permission for a major regeneration project despite having identified a mistake in
Those who fail to make reasonable provision for their dependants in their wills can have their wishes overridden by judges after they are gone. However, in one case, a woman failed to increase her share of her aristocrat father’s £1.3 million estate after a judge
Where a company defaults in meeting its tax obligations, its directors may in certain circumstances be held personally liable. However, as an instructive decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) showed, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) face an exacting task in piercing the corporate veil in
