If others’ building proposals threaten to harm your enjoyment of your home, you should not delay in consulting a solicitor. In a case on point, a householder did just that and successfully blocked her neighbour’s plans for a roof terrace. The woman objected after her
Pre-nuptial agreements are a useful and entirely legitimate means of dealing with situations where one prospective spouse is much richer than the other, whether as a result of inherited wealth or otherwise. However, as a High Court case showed, if such agreements lead to unfair
When people are declared bankrupt, all of their ‘property’ passes automatically to a trustee so that it can be used to pay off their creditors. In a guideline case of great interest to insolvency practitioners, the Court of Appeal has ruled that that word embraces
If you are domiciled in England, you can be sued in England. Behind that deceptively simple statement, however, lies a vista of legal complexity, as was illustrated by a bitter High Court battle between two prominent Russian businessmen. The case concerned a dispute in respect
Maintaining community facilities in small settlements is obviously important, but that must sometimes take second place to the pressing need for affordable homes. In a case on point, the High Court opened the way for a village pub once frequented by the novelist Evelyn Waugh
Those who believe that they can escape the financial consequences of divorce by dissolving their marriages abroad are mistaken. In a big money case on point, a businessman who obtained a divorce in Oman was nevertheless ordered by an English family judge to pay more
Arguments that a compensation award to a Royal Opera House (ROH) musician, whose hearing was damaged by exposure to the noise of brass instruments, will curtail music making in the UK have been rejected by the Court of Appeal. The case concerned a professional viola
The foundations of the legal system would totter if judicial orders were not rigorously enforced and that is why people who disobey them can expect stern punishment. In a case on point, a woman was jailed for repeatedly breaching an asset freezing order even though
One of the difficulties lawyers face is to define the precise meaning of words in the context of the ever-changing English language. That was certainly so in one case in which a judge relied too heavily on the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in trying to
Contract adjudications are meant to provide a speedy, cost-effective and conclusive means of resolving disputes and, as a High Court case showed, judges are extremely reluctant to see them deteriorate into satellite litigation. A construction company referred its dispute with two other companies to an
