Husbands and wives have no right to directly inherit their spouses’ estates. The High Court made that point in rejecting a widow’s complaint that her wealthy husband had left her at the mercy of others by placing her inheritance in trust. The husband was a
The commercial courts in London are well used to untangling intricate international frauds and ensuring that those responsible are made to pay for their dishonesty. In a case on point, a judge came to the aid of a natural resources company which was defrauded out
The Equality Act 2010 affords important rights to disabled people in employment and other fields, but less well known is the fact that it also created new criminal offences. A case on point concerned a taxi driver who switched on his meter before loading a
No matter how many letters or emails are exchanged, they frequently do not reach a binding conclusion and can never replace a professionally drafted contract. The High Court made that point in dismissing an architecture firm’s claim for allegedly unpaid fees in respect of a
Officialdom can sometimes be faceless, but the law is always there to ensure that individual circumstances are taken into account. In an example of that happening, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was severely criticised for its pursuit of a homeless man who failed to file
One of the quirks of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 is that those who launder dirty money can be hit harder in the pocket than the criminal sources of the tainted funds. The Court of Appeal made that point in the case of an
Partnership agreements commonly set out the percentage of profits and losses to be respectively enjoyed and borne by each partner. Such terms can subsequently be varied by conduct but, as a High Court case showed, written documents will generally prevail in the absence of compelling
In a guideline decision which underlined the duty of landlords to ensure that their tenants are not placed in danger by defective premises, the Court of Appeal has ruled a local authority liable to compensate a mother after she fell through a defective manhole whilst
Relatively minor injuries that have catastrophic consequences can pose particular difficulties to lawyers in their quest for just compensation. However, a case in which a man won over £1.8 million in damages after the ceiling of his rented home fell on his head showed that
The Court of Appeal has given important guidance on the correct interpretation of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) in ruling that a railway signalman’s rights were not breached by his employer’s failure to afford him a 20-minute uninterrupted break in every six hours he
