Despite their sometimes fearsome reputation, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are not all powerful and, with the benefit of sound legal advice, any wrong decisions that they make can be overturned. That happened in one
Land which is listed as having community value under the Localism Act 2011 enjoys some important protections against development. However, one case involving a disused golf course has underlined that such a listing will only
A battle of wills between crime investigators and an alleged computer hacker – who has repeatedly refused to reveal the password to encrypted pieces of hardware – gave rise to an important ruling which helped
It has been reported that more than a third of sick notes given to employers are from people feigning illness. Whatever the cause, employee absences can be both costly and disruptive. It is important
In an important decision for the financial services and insurance industries, the Court of Appeal has given a wide interpretation to the term ‘regulated activity’ and ruled that it encompasses preliminary, fact-finding, inquiries made of
In an important decision which emphasised everyone’s right to pursue their religious convictions, a teacher who considered her marriage vow sacrosanct, and stood by her husband despite his conviction for sex offences, won the right
Neighbours’ disputes can get badly out of hand – but lawyers are trained to defuse ill-feeling and foster compromise. In one case, a couple who engaged in a fruitless six-year boundary dispute, largely without legal
Any level-headed lawyer will warn you that litigation is not for the faint-hearted and that compromise is almost always a better option. In one case that proved the point, neighbours ran up legal costs of
Leases generally mean what they say and judges will only imply additional terms where to do so is necessary to achieve sense or business efficacy. That point was made in a case in which a
A controversial shift in government policy – designed to boost house building but which means that smaller residential developments will no longer have to include affordable homes – has received the blessing of the Court
