You do not have to be in prison to be imprisoned. The accuracy of that statement was confirmed by the Supreme Court as it upheld an award of damages to an immigrant who was for years subjected to an unlawful home curfew. On being released
Some professional landlords may view their primary role as the collection of rent, but they owe wide duties to ensure the safety and reasonable comfort of their tenants. One landlord who signally failed to match up to those obligations found himself on the receiving end
Clerical errors in the drafting of your will can have the very serious consequence of frustrating your true wishes. As a High Court case showed, however, judges thankfully have the power to correct them even after you are gone. The case concerned a retired joiner
Anyone who is asked to personally guarantee repayment of a corporate loan should take a deep breath – and expert legal advice – before signing on the dotted line. The point was powerfully made by a High Court case in which a businessman found himself
Compensating victims of clinical negligence costs the NHS many millions of pounds every year – but it is no more than is needed to ensure that they are properly cared for. In two cases, heard on a single day, an NHS trust which admitted liability
Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) are a potentially powerful tool that can be used by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to track down criminally tainted money and assets. Although only one such order has been issued to date, they may well become more common following a
When is life not worth living? The High Court grappled with that fundamental issue in authorising doctors to withhold life-sustaining treatment from a baby boy who can neither see nor hear and experiences only pain. The boy’s mother conceived him following a one-night relationship and
Commercial contracts usually provide that they are to be governed by the law of a particular country or state – but what happens if no such choice is explicitly made? The High Court tackled that thorny issue in a case concerning the overseas sale of
Paying those who work for you without deducting tax at source is a high-risk strategy which leaves the door wide open to dispute. A man found that out to his cost after a woman who provided him with childcare and property management services failed to
Must food that is beyond its ‘use by’ date always be considered unsafe as a matter of law? Or is that merely a presumption that can be displaced by expert evidence? That fundamental issue was raised in a High Court case of great importance to
