Frequent restructuring and transfers of liabilities within the insurance industry can make it hard to discern where legal responsibility for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling should lie. However, in one case, the High Court has ruled that the financial burden must fall on the company
Every careful employer should be aware that the duty not to discriminate arises at the very moment when a prospective employee applies for a job. In one case, a nursery school was accused of prejudice by a Muslim interviewee who claimed that she had been
A pharmaceutical company which obtained an injunction to protect its patent rights in respect of one of its most successful products ended up being hit with a record £27 million damages bill after the order turned out to have been wrongly granted. Company A held
Property managers who fail to fairly consult residential tenants before embarking on major renovation projects can be blocked from recovering the cost of such works through service charges and can end up carrying the financial can themselves. A company which managed a block of 30
The wheels of justice have a reputation for moving slowly, but a case in which three directors quit a technology company, taking a cohort of its strategic staff with them before setting up in rivalry, showed just how quickly the courts can move. The High
In ruling that the services which the BBC provided to the Open University (OU) over a period of more than 16 years were exempt from VAT, a tax tribunal has proclaimed the broadcaster’s independence from government and its public educational value. Between 1978 and 1994,
City dwellers who are disturbed by ‘party venues’ sprouting around them can take comfort from a guideline High Court decision which reinforced the powers of local authorities to quell noise nuisance and late night drinking. A restaurateur had turned his premises into a drinking establishment
The threat of copying is an ever-present one for product designers but copyright laws are a powerful tool which can be used to protect their original thoughts. In one case, the designer of a novel range of bone china tableware won more than £30,000 in
A businessman who invested £50,000 in a hi-tech company without any kind of formal contractual protection has failed to convince the High Court that he was entitled to a stake in the company. He argued that he was to receive a ‘reasonable shareholding’ in the
Fraud in the workplace can be very hard to detect – particularly where trusted senior managers are involved. In one case, the chief financial officer of a leading media company treated it as his personal piggy-bank, helping himself to about £227,000. The man was jailed
