In a ruling which helps to define the concept of ‘public open space’, the High Court has rejected a challenge to a tree preservation order (TPO) brought by the owners of a landed estate who objected to local authority interference in their ambitious forestry management
In a cautionary tale for international traders, an importer of child bicycle seats from China has been held liable for thousands of pounds in additional import duty and VAT after the Upper Tribunal (UT) ruled that, notwithstanding that the product consisted of various components, its
In a test case decision which draws a clear distinction between the ‘occupation’ and ‘use’ of commercial property, the High Court has ruled that a charity which leased empty buildings nationwide at peppercorn rents, installing broadband boxes within them to transmit public safety messages to
In the context of winding up proceedings, the High Court has emphasised that applications for validation orders under section 127 of the Companies Act 1985 are not to be used to ‘buy time’ to pay off creditors. Where a substantial debt to Her Majesty’s Revenue
A police officer is due substantial compensation after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a ruling that he was discriminated against, harassed and victimised in the workplace. The officer, who is of mixed race and gay, had endured repeated victimisation by colleagues on grounds of
In a ruling which gives useful guidance on the interpretation of a standard term incorporated into many grain shipping contracts, the High Court has rejected a seller’s plea that it was excused from performing its contractual obligations by difficulties it encountered with officialdom at the
Investors who lost billions of pounds when Northern Rock was nationalised to save the banking system from collapse will go without a penny in compensation after the Court of Appeal ruled by a majority that their shareholdings were justifiably valued at nil on the basis
A businessman has succeeded in overturning a £500,000 VAT assessment on the basis that it was issued outside the three-year time limit set out in section 80(4) of the VAT Act 1994. In ruling on the case, the First-Tier tribunal gave useful guidance on the
The dangers of downloading and making use of apparently ‘free’ photographs and other potentially copyright material from the internet have been amply illustrated by a case in which a professional photographer sued a nightclub that used one of his exclusive celebrity snaps in its marketing
In a case where a flat tenant objected to being charged for gas supplies up to seven years in arrears, the High Court has ruled that, on a correct interpretation of section 20B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, utility costs are ‘incurred’ not
