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In November 2018, a motor industry worker, Mustafa Kasim, was given a six-month prison sentence for accessing motorists' personal data on his employer's computer system without authorisation and selling it to rogue telemarketers. The case was brought by the...
Can businesses owe a duty to protect customers on their premises from the criminal acts of others? In a test case concerning a horrific attack on three hotel guests , the High Court has ruled that, in certain circumstances, the answer to that question is...
Property purchases are, for the majority of people, the highest-value deals they ever enter into and that is why they should never be undertaken in haste or without expert legal advice. A case in which an amateurish, home-made agreement led to years of...
Unreasonable delay in fulfilling the terms of a contract is an unwise policy, as a recent dispute that ended up in the Court of Appeal shows. When a developer wished to build an ice-skating rink, its first priority was to secure a clear title to the...
It is usual for occupational pension schemes to allow the spouse or partner of a scheme member to receive a reduced pension in the event that the member predeceases them. Normally, the appropriate beneficiary is set out in the scheme rules. With defined...
If you have been divorced abroad but are habitually resident in this country, English family judges have the power to ensure that you receive a fair share of the marital assets. In a case on point , the High Court awarded a woman whose marriage was...
In spite of the obvious risks involved, a great many businesses have no choice but to entrust confidential information to their employees. A High Court case showed that, where such trust turns out to be misplaced, judges have a range of powers to deal...
When there is a fatal accident involving a person with dependants, a claim for compensation may be able to be made not only by the estate of the deceased person but also by their dependants, whether children or adults. In a recent case , the estate and...
Businesses in the construction industry are reminded that on 1 October 2019 the new VAT domestic reverse charge will come into force. This is being introduced as an anti-fraud measure and will see a major change in accounting for VAT on some construction...
When the sale of a company is taking place, it is usual for warranties to be given regarding how the company being sold has conducted its affairs prior to the sale. Making sure these are accurate is essential. In a recent case, the purchaser of a company...
Covenants that restrict the use to which properties can be put lurk undetected within many title deeds and can have a dramatic impact on a property's value. That was certainly so in the case of one unfortunate couple who said that tight restrictions applying...
Contract adjudications can provide a swift and cost-effective alternative to litigation. Adjudication decisions are not immune from error but, as a High Court case showed , they are meant to be final and those who challenge them face an uphill struggle. ...
Disputes within families are very common indeed and one of the issues the courts see over and over again is where there is a family 'understanding' that ends in a disagreement. In a recent case , the result of one such dispute is that an 82-year-old woman...
If you have been ill-treated at work, Employment Tribunals (ETs) have the power to award damages against your employer and to compensate you for the indignity or injury to feelings you have suffered. In one case, a hard-working photographer who was sacked...
Rival products sometimes bear similar names but, when considering whether or not that is likely to cause confusion, judges place themselves in the shoes of average consumers. The High Court did just that in resolving a trade mark dispute in the cosmetics...
To what extent are the tax authorities entitled to delve into what would otherwise be your private financial information? The High Court tackled that issue in authorising disclosure of a wealthy businessman's credit card statements to HM Revenue and...
For a UK court to have jurisdiction over a family law case, it is necessary to show that at least one party to it has habitual residence in the UK. In a recent case, an Israeli woman divorcing her Israeli husband sought a declaration that their two-year-old...
Although getting one's tax return right is to be recommended, there are many grey areas in tax and, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make mistakes at their end, the effect can be to exonerate the taxpayer from liability for all or part of the tax, interest...
Although the final result was not financial ruin for the defendant, a recent case illustrates how unwise it is to vent one's spleen on social media. It involved a firm of solicitors that had been involved in the sale of 'off plan' properties in Cyprus. This...
Planning decisions would be unpredictable and merely arbitrary if they were not based on carefully considered policies that have been subjected to public scrutiny. The High Court made that point in scotching £1.8 million plans for the expansion of a...
