The high seas may be wild and uncontrollable, but they are not lawless. In one case that proved the point, the High Court broke a commercial impasse that had left an oil tanker drifting at anchor thousands of miles from her home port for almost
Some contracts are better drafted than others, but the courts are always keen to give effect to the intentions of the parties and are equally reluctant to find that provisions are void for uncertainty. Those points were clearly made in a case concerning a subcontract
Paying the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is a strict legal requirement and employers that fail to do so can be hit with punitive penalties. In one case, an employment agency that laid on thousands of underpaid workers at a warehouse received a six-figure fine. Following
Confidence in the insurance industry, and peace of mind for policyholders, demands that transfers of insurance business between providers are closely scrutinised by the courts. In one such case, a judge approved the dissolution of a technically insolvent insurer and the transfer of its policies
Dealing with insurers following a loss can be an intricate business, involving detailed analysis of policy terms, so it is always wise to seek legal advice. In one case, a designer clothes company’s abortive claim against its insurers following a spate of thefts ran up
Planning permission is usually all that you need to turn your development plans into reality – but not always. In one case, a restrictive covenant enshrined in title deeds before the Second World War was enough to defeat proposals for a new bungalow. The covenant
Government ministers cannot be expected to know everything that civil servants are doing in their name. However, as one High Court ruling emphasised, it is vitally important that decisions that bear their signatures are reasonably consistent. The case concerned a planning permission that had been
The so-called ‘grey market’ in genuine branded goods, the sale of which is prohibited by trade mark proprietors for quality control or other reasons, is just as illegal as trading in counterfeits, the Supreme Court has ruled in an important test case. The case concerned
Universities were once easily defined institutions, but the increasingly diversified and commercial nature of the higher education estate has muddied the waters. In that context, the Court of Appeal considered the tax treatment of a private company that was accredited to provide degree courses on
It is possible to be resident in more than one country at the same time and those who have been resident in England for three months or more are generally also viewed as domiciled here. The High Court made those points in considering the position
