Rumours can have a grave impact on businesses and, where the source is an official one, they can be particularly damaging. The point was illustrated by a case in which the owner of a property management firm launched defamation proceedings against a local authority and
In a decision with vital implications for the shipping industry, the Court of Appeal has ruled that – despite the complete innocence of her owners – a merchant vessel that was seized in a Venezuelan port after more than 130 kilos of cocaine were found
The UK government has received a stern rap over the knuckles from the European Court of Justice after failing in its obligation to limit nitrogen oxide emissions from one of the country’s largest coal-fired power stations. The European Commission had launched proceedings against the UK
UK law enforcers are relentless in their efforts to ensure that criminals do not profit from their misdeeds. In one case, a man who pocketed door receipts from a nightclub where drug dealing was rife was hit with a bill for over £1 million in
Traveller encampments are not always popular with neighbouring landowners, but one High Court case has underlined the overarching aim of planning policy that travellers should be fairly and equally treated and their traditionally nomadic way of life respected. A local authority had granted planning consent
Money often changes hands between life partners on the basis of trust – but one case in which a woman was left holding nothing but a disputed IOU in respect of £175,000 she claimed to have lent her husband showed how important it is to
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has published the draft rateable values for commercial properties that will be used by local authorities to set business rates from April 2017. The VOA has provided an online tool so that business ratepayers can review their draft rateable value
Companies are entitled to protect their trading position by insisting that their former workers desist from joining competitors for a reasonable period after their departure. However, balancing such contractual rights against the liberty of workers to earn a living and plan their careers can be
Internet businesses operate in the ether and many of them call no country home. In one case involving an alleged online gambling fraud, a High Court judge observed that tracking down their centre of operations can have something of the grin of Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire
The focus on corporate governance, always a matter of considerable public interest, has been amplified by events leading up to the recent collapse of retailer BHS and what many see as excessive executive pay. The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee of the House of Commons
