Latest News

Are Bonus Clawback Provisions an Unreasonable Restraint of Trade?

Employment bonuses are commonly awarded on the basis that they must be repaid if recipients leave their jobs within a given period of time. In an important ruling, the High Court considered whether such clawback arrangements are capable of amounting to an...

Relationship Come to an End? Do You Understand the Tax Implications?

The end of a relationship will often have important tax implications which might only be apparent to a trained professional. That was certainly so in the case of a woman who, following the collapse of her marriage, was saddled with a substantial Capital...

First Salvo in Bitter Inheritance Dispute Fired Before Deceased Laid to Rest

Making a will when your death is imminent is almost never a good idea and is often a positive invitation to dispute between your loved ones after you are gone. In a case on point, the first salvo in a tragic inheritance dispute was fired even before the...

Football Club's Crowd Control Challenge to Development Kicked Into Touch

Commercial property owners are often concerned that residential developments may prejudice their longstanding use of their premises. In a High Court case on point , a football club argued that planning consent was granted for thousands of new homes without...

Divorce - What Happens When Assets are Simply Insufficient to Meet Needs?

For every headline-grabbing 'big money' divorce case there are hundreds of others where a former couple's assets are simply insufficient to meet their reasonable needs. As a High Court ruling showed, judges take a gender-neutral approach to such cases,...

Selling a Company? Put Lipstick on a Pig at Your Peril

When marketing a company, it may be perfectly legitimate to paint its business and prospects in the best possible light. However, as a High Court ruling showed , the thick application of lipstick to a pig may enter the realms of fraud. The case concerned...

Has Your Home Been Devalued by Public Infrastructure Works?

To state that location is the only important factor when it comes to valuing a home is a cliché and something of a generalisation. However, as an Upper Tribunal (UT) ruling showed , if public infrastructure works render the location of your property...

Going Into Business with a Loved One? Don't Dispense with Legal Formality

Couples who run businesses together are often tempted to dispense with paperwork and rely solely on trust. As a High Court ruling showed, however, any relationship may come to an end, leaving both sides wishing they had taken a more formal approach at the...

Resignation in the Heat of the Moment - EAT Sets Out the Legal Principles

When an employee utters words of resignation in the heat of the moment, employers are often left in doubt as to whether they should take them at face value. In an important ruling, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has for the first time drawn together...

Where in a Supply Chain Does VAT Come Home to Roost? Guideline Ruling

In deciding where in a supply chain VAT liabilities come home to roost, tax tribunals look to the economic reality of commercial relationships. That was certainly so in a case of critical importance to the burgeoning online trade in academic papers . The...

Inheritance - Your Right to Seek Reasonable Provision Dies With You

If you have not been reasonably provided for in a loved one's will, the law may come to your aid. However, as a High Court ruling made plain , your ability to seek legal redress cannot itself be inherited and will expire on your death. Following the deaths...

Gender Transition - Deadnamed Employee Wins Substantial Compensation

Those who undergo the challenging process of gender transition are entitled to their employers' full understanding and support in establishing their new identity. A local authority which woefully failed in that obligation by persistently deadnaming a...

How Good a Guide is an AIM Listing to a Share's Open Market Value?

Most investors would agree that the price at which shares are listed on an accredited investment exchange is as reliable a guide as any to their open market value. A tax dispute concerning a gift of shares to charity , however, showed that such an...

Applications for Fresh Commercial Tenancies - Court of Appeal Guidance

How does one decide whether a commercial tenant 'ought not' to be granted a new tenancy under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ? The Court of Appeal addressed that and other important issues in a guideline case. The tenant of two newsagents'...

Defiant Mother Sentenced for Refusing Father Contact with Their Child

Fathers who are denied access to their children are frequently heard to complain that judges do not do enough to support them. In coming down hard on a defiant mother who refused to countenance her child having contact with her father , however, a family...

Director of Counterfeit COVID-19 Face Masks Supplier Cleared of Fraud

The corporate veil affords no protection to directors who have behaved fraudulently. However, as was made plain by a case concerning the frenzied market in the supply of face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a great difference between...

This is Why You Should Store Your Will Securely in a Law Firm's Vault

Law firms focused on ensuring their clients' peace of mind generally provide secure storage facilities for their important documents. A High Court inheritance dispute triggered by a landowner's missing will underlined the risks of keeping such documents at...

Treating Every Employee in the Same Way May Itself Be Discriminatory

Anti-discrimination laws are often viewed as requiring employers to treat all their staff in the same way. However, as an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling made plain, the positive duty to make reasonable adjustments to cater for disabled workers' needs may...

Quarry Owner Hit Hard in the Pocket for Causing Noise and Dust Nuisance

Some industrial processes simply cannot be carried on without producing noise and dust. As a High Court ruling showed , however, commercial property owners may be required to pay a high price if their activities enter the realms of nuisance. When a couple...

Property - Not Every One-Sided Bargain is a Product of Undue Influence

Where a transaction appears to be very one-sided or manifestly more advantageous to one side or the other, judicial eyebrows are likely to be raised. However, as a High Court ruling showed, such an imbalance does not necessarily mean that a bargain should be...
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