Latest News

Financial Remedy Proceedings Remitted to High Court

The Court of Appeal has set aside a financial remedy order in a divorce between a wealthy couple, finding that it was necessary for the case to be reheard. The couple had begun a relationship in Bahrain in 2011. They had moved to England in January 2013...

Professor Who Forged Dean's Signature Was Not Unfairly Dismissed

An Employment Tribunal (ET) has ruled that a university professor who submitted a promotion application which included the dean's signature without authorisation was not unfairly dismissed. The professor had begun working for the university in 2013. She had...

Council Worker Sentenced for Unlawfully Accessing Personal Records

A council worker has been handed a suspended sentence after an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office established that he had unlawfully accessed hundreds of personal records, including records relating to children. The worker was employed...

Businessman Was Domiciled in England, FTT Rules

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has dismissed a businessman's appeal against a decision of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) that he was domiciled in England. The businessman, who had been born in England to Irish parents in 1942, had filed his self-assessment...

Leases Did Not Permit Landlord to Build Up Reserve Fund

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has ruled that the terms of a woman's leases did not permit her landlord to demand contributions to a 'reserve fund' by way of her service charges. The woman held a long lease of her flat and a further lease granting easements over...

Agency Did Not Have Reasonable Excuse for Late VAT Payment

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has dismissed an appeal by a recruitment agency against penalties for late payment of VAT, finding that it did not have a reasonable excuse for failing to pay the VAT on time. The agency provided flexible workers across all...

Court Authorises Care Plan for Pregnant Woman Who Lacks Capacity

The Court of Protection has granted declarations sought by two NHS trusts that a pregnant woman lacked capacity and that a care plan which provided for the possibility of her undergoing a caesarean section was in her best interests. The woman was pregnant...

Part-time Status Need Not Be Only Reason for Less Favourable Treatment

The Supreme Court has clarified the meaning of Regulation 5(2) of the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 , ruling that it does not require that part-time status be the sole ground or reason for less favourable...

Two Thirds of People Do Not Have an Up-to-Date Will, Poll Finds

A poll recently commissioned by the charity will-writing campaign Will Aid has revealed that two thirds of people either have not made a will or have a will which is out of date. The survey of more than 2,000 adults in the UK found that 57 per cent of them...

Court Refuses to Stay Divorce Proceedings on Jurisdictional Grounds

The Family Court has dismissed a woman's application to stay divorce and financial remedy proceedings , finding that she had not demonstrated that it would be more appropriate to litigate the issues in Florida. She had met another woman in Switzerland in...

Improvement Notice Appeals Assessed on Facts When Notice Served

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that, when ruling on an appeal against an improvement notice served under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 , the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) should consider how matters were at the date of service, rather than at the date of...

Permission to Bring Late Appeal Against Closure Notices Refused

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a decision refusing a taxpayer permission to bring a late appeal against closure notices issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). After HMRC issued closure notices determining an increase in the taxpayer's Income Tax...

Summary Judgment Granted on Meaning of Share Purchase Agreement

When ruling on the interpretation of a contractual agreement, the courts' primary focus is on the wording of the agreement itself. Recently, a man who had sold a company successfully applied to the High Court for summary judgment by way of declarations as...

Disability Discrimination and Victimisation Claims Remitted to ET

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a man's appeal against the rejection of his complaints of discrimination arising from disability and victimisation ( Shah v Home Office ). The man had been employed by the Home Office. He had been off sick...

Couple Who Abused Husband's Parents' Powers of Attorney Imprisoned

A husband and wife who abused their positions as attorneys of the husband's elderly parents have been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to return the money they stole. The couple had made over 100 transfers from the husband's parents' bank...

Owner of 'Portaloo' Trade Mark Secures Transfer of Domain Name

If a UK domain name held by someone else is similar to your own name or trading style, you can seek to have it transferred to you by making a complaint to Nominet UK through its Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). To succeed in a DRS complaint, it is necessary...

Covenant Modified to Allow House to be Used for B&B Business

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has modified a restrictive covenant to allow a couple to run a bed and breakfast business from their home. The couple owned a two-storey, four-bedroom house. In 2023 they had started running a B&B, having created two en-suite...

FTT Has Jurisdiction to Consider Availability of BADR

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has refused to strike out the entirety of a taxpayer's appeal against a closure notice issued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), finding that the issue of whether the taxpayer could make a claim for Business Asset Disposal...

Court of Appeal Sets Aside Order for Boy's Return to Texas

The Court of Appeal has allowed a mother's appeal against the High Court's refusal to set aside or stay an order for the return of her son to Texas. The boy's father was an Indian national who lived in the USA. He and the boy's mother had met in 2023 and...

Taxpayer Granted Permission to Appeal Against Assessments

The value of obtaining legal representation when seeking to challenge decisions made by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) was illustrated by a recent case in which the Upper Tribunal (UT) granted a taxpayer permission to appeal against a decision upholding a...
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