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Can a purchaser of a property be said to 'own' it after contracts are exchanged but before the transaction is completed? The Court of Appeal's answer to that fundamental question delivered a substantial Capital Gains Tax (CGT) saving to an off-plan flat...
Does an agreement to enter into a commercial lease come to an end if the identity of the prospective landlord changes? The High Court tackled that thorny issue in a case concerning new-build restaurant premises. A restaurant chain agreed with pension...
The trouble with informally agreeing with your loved ones what is to happen to your assets after you are gone is that you may not have considered all eventualities, and disputes can arise as to what has and has not been promised. Exactly that lay at the root...
Workplace disciplinary investigations require careful handling and employers who fail to act fairly are likely to be hit hard in the pocket. That was certainly so in the case of a property manager who was ambushed at an investigatory meeting and left feeling...
English judges are respected around the world – but they are not the sole arbiters of fairness and the decisions of foreign courts must be respected. A family judge made that point in shutting the door on divorce tourism and refusing a Russian...
One secret of a happy life is to get on well with your neighbours and taking legal advice is often the best way of defusing rows before they get out of hand. The point was resoundingly made by a case in which escalating boundary and right of way disputes...
Trade marks are a powerful means of protecting your unique brand, even against much larger or more prestigious potential competitors. In one case, a small clothing company which sold its wares under the name 'Bentley' scored a High Court win over household...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are warning self-assessment customers to be on alert for potential scams, as the 31 January tax return deadline approaches. HMRC's dedicated Customer Protection team is tasked with identifying and shutting down scams but the...
The legal position of 'cryptoassets' – those which exist in electronic form and are held on distributed ledgers, bitcoins being the best-known example – has not been certain in the past. However, a recent legal statement by the Chancellor of the...
Most leases contain covenants that forbid tenants from doing certain things without their landlords' consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. The meaning and effect of such provisions came under Supreme Court analysis in an important test...
Failing to take professional advice and keep accurate accounts is like holding a red rag up to the HM Revenue and Customs bull. In a case on point, an international businessman who claimed to keep details of his income and expenditure 'in his brain' was...
It is only too easy for businesses dealing with office politics, poor trading or cashflow difficulties to take their eye off the ball when it comes to their employees' rights. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision strikingly showed, however, it is...
Litigation can be long and bitter, but it is the prime objective of the justice system to eventually bring it to a satisfactory end. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a husband in drawing a line under his divorce . The case concerned a...
Consumers do not always read labels, so the packaging of a product, and its colour in particular, can be crucial in establishing brand loyalty. In a guideline case, the High Court considered whether the purple livery shared by rival pharmaceutical products...
For a Will to be valid, the testator (the one making the Will) must be ‘of sound mind’ at the time of making and signing the Will. This means that they must be capable of understanding and approving of the contents and effects of the Will. With...
VAT can be reclaimed on motor vehicles that are used, and made available for use, solely for business purposes – but that can be extremely difficult to prove. In one case, however, a computer specialist was granted a £20,805 VAT rebate after...
Landowners who neglect or fail to make use of their properties put themselves at risk of losing them to squatters. In a recent case on this subject, a woman faced a neighbour's claim that he was entitled to her field, having cut the grass for years. The...
It is a sad fact that sophisticated fraudsters can intercept emails or other digital traffic in order to divert payments away from their intended recipients – but where should losses arising from such deceit fall where there is more than one innocent...
Neighbourhood plans are an increasingly common means by which local people are given the chance to express their views on the future character and appearance of the areas where they live. However, in a legal first, the High Court ordered postponement of a...
Establishing a company to act as an intermediary between yourself and the clients to whom you provide your services can have substantial tax advantages. As a case involving a broadcast journalist showed, however, such arrangements are pointless if the...
