Crime may appear to pay handsomely in the short term, but when the law catches up with wrongdoers they are routinely stripped of everything they have dishonestly gained. In a case on point, a man who engaged in a multi-million-pound VAT fraud failed to protect
Mental or physical conditions that give rise to a tendency to commit various criminal acts are excluded from the protection that normally applies to disabilities under the Equality Act 2010. An instructive case on point concerned a council worker who walked out of a shop
Planning conditions may be inconvenient, but those who persist in breaching them can expect to be prosecuted and severely punished. In one case, a bar owner and his company received fines of £146,000 after flagrantly defying planning enforcement notices. The man had obtained planning consent
A great many companies pay their directors largely in dividends, rather than through the PAYE system, as a more tax-efficient means of remunerating them. As a Court of Appeal insolvency case illustrated, however, it is vital to remember that companies that do not make profits
One very good reason why you should sign an up-to-date and professionally drafted will is to ensure that your chosen beneficiaries are accurately identified. A High Court case on point concerned gifts to a cottage hospital that did not exist and to equally illusory maternity
Party walls and the joint responsibilities that go with them are frequently a bone of contention between neighbours. That was certainly so in an instructive High Court case concerning the flank wall of a house that adjoined a communal garden. The house had formerly been
Traders who engage in commercial practices that are likely to mislead an average consumer are subject to criminal sanction – but what if the ‘customer’ concerned is not a consumer but a trading standards officer? The High Court considered that issue in a case of
So-called cash-for-crash frauds have cost the motor insurance industry billions and it is ultimately honest drivers who have to pay that cost in the form of higher premiums. However, a High Court case in which three men involved in a staged accident were handed stiff
When divorcing couples have contributed equally to their marital fortune, the general rule is that assets will be split 50/50. However, as one ‘big money’ case showed, it is not always as simple as that and complications can arise in respect of wealth that has
Rights to daylight really do matter to homeowners and, if you feel that yours is under threat, you should consult a solicitor right away. The point was powerfully made by a case in which the High Court heeded an objector’s concerns and overturned planning permission
