The widespread belief that an Englishman’s home is his castle can all too easily lead the unwary into breaching planning rules. That was certainly so in a case concerning a householder who found herself in
Healthy competition is one thing, but using a rival’s confidential information to gain an unfair edge in the marketplace is quite another. That distinction was at the heart of a bitter commercial dispute between competitors
The Buildmark scheme, whereby the quality of new homes is underwritten by the National House Building Council (NHBC), provides peace of mind to thousands of householders. However, as a High Court case showed, making claims
Under the law as it stands, employers are not required to give paid leave to grieving parents. Section 57A(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 gives employees the right to take a reasonable amount of
Those who set out to deceive family judges in divorce proceedings rarely succeed and usually end up being hit hard in the pocket for their pains. A successful buy-to-let property entrepreneur found that out to
Judges frequently have to tread the tricky dividing line between interpreting contracts and illegitimately re-writing them so as to conform to subjective views as to what does and does not makes business common sense. However,
A recent tax case will interest people who are DIY home builders. It involved a couple who started building a home in 2004 and completed it in 2007. During the construction of the property they
A huge amount of property in the UK – especially commercial property and purpose-built buy-to-let properties such as student accommodation – is owned through the medium of overseas entities, usually in well-known tax havens. Such
Inheritance Tax (IHT) represents a huge burden on many estates but, with the right professional advice, there are effective ways of reducing it. In one case on point, a High Court ruling had the effect
Employment Tribunals (ETs) can, in certain circumstances, require the payment of deposits as a condition of proceeding with a complaint. However, as one case clearly showed, deposits must be affordable and must not act as
