Housing estate neighbours, who fell out bitterly after some of them extended their gardens onto amenity land which had for years been used for communal recreation, have been urged not to let their dispute escalate into a Dickensian saga. The case centred on a small
In an embarrassing case for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), it has been ordered to pay up to £7 million in legal costs following a botched prosecution. The High Court found that the SFO’s handling of the case against two businessmen and their legal advisers
The Court of Appeal has criticised the ‘extraordinarily labyrinthine quality’ of import duty regulations in ‘reluctantly’ concluding that a mastectomy bra is an article of clothing, not an orthopaedic appliance, and is thus subject to 6.5 per cent duty. The bra was designed to hold
The power of judges does not extend to the mending of personal relationships, as a senior doctor discovered when the High Court refused to order his return to work almost four years after he was excluded from the operating theatre. The surgeon had been excluded
In a warning to property investors that the advent of the Localism Act 2011 means that broad issues of community welfare may stand in the way of their plans, a tribunal has stepped in to protect a rural pub from the prospect of development. The
Buy-to-let property investors who were incensed when their ‘tracker’ mortgage rates were increased out of the blue have been told by a High Court judge that, had they read their contracts carefully, they would not have been surprised. An action group made up of more
E-cigarettes are becoming more and more popular and, as is common when an innovation occurs, the law struggles to keep up. In a recent case, the Employment Tribunal (ET) had to consider a claim for constructive dismissal brought by a school canteen worker who contended
In a fresh warning to companies that falling out with the tax authorities can have the most severe consequences, a Court of Appeal ruling has significantly boosted the armoury of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in dealing with defaulters. During a period of little more
In a vitally important decision for public sector workers, the High Court has ruled that a government department had no lawful right to unilaterally change the terms of its employees’ contracts to their detriment without first obtaining their consent. Staff handbooks given to all Department
Most commercial tenants will know that they have a right to apply for new tenancies at the end their leases. However, many will be ignorant of the fact that their security of tenure can be undermined if their landlord plans to demolish and reconstruct the
