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Tenants should take professional advice before renting out their homes to short-term paying guests via Airbnb, Booking.com or other internet booking sites. In a case on point, a couple who failed to take that sensible step placed themselves in jeopardy by...
The process of selecting staff for redundancy is fraught with legal pitfalls and seeking professional advice at the outset can in the long run save you from serious financial and reputational damage. In a case on point, a local authority reaped a whirlwind...
Contract adjudicators only have jurisdiction to resolve disputes after the points in issue have crystallised. The difficulty of discerning exactly when that point has been reached was underlined by a High Court case concerning a delayed laboratory...
For many parents, the objective of a will is to ensure even-handed treatment of loved ones, particularly children. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed, some may be more needy than others and that too should be taken into account. The case...
Contracts often require payments for services to be made in advance in order to get the ball rolling and provide liquidity, but this gives rise to obvious risks. An instructive High Court ruling, however, showed how effective bank guarantees are in ensuring...
It is easy to be tempted by exotic investment schemes that promise spectacular returns. However, as a High Court case strikingly showed , they are often too good to be true and it is always wise to get an independent professional to check them out before...
If you have spent time and money building up public recognition of your trade mark, you do not have to just stand by and watch others taking unfair advantage of your investment. In a case on point, a tea supplier saw off an attempt to use its brand name in...
Despite the drive towards achieving economic equality between the sexes, it remains common for women to give up their promising careers to support their husbands and devote themselves to child rearing and home-making. An important High Court ruling ...
The vexed distinction between 'workers' and 'independent contractors' could hardly be more important for many businesses but remains perennially controversial. An important ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is likely, however, to...
Ramblers love footpaths, but the same cannot be said for landowners concerned to protect their privacy and security. That was certainly so in one case in which homeowners with a high media profile won the right to divert a footpath which crossed their...
Contract adjudicators' awards, even if disputed, must generally be satisfied straight away. That principle – often referred to as 'pay now, argue later' – was applied by the High Court in ordering an immediate six-figure payment to a small...
Part-time referees who officiate at professional football matches on a game-by-game basis are not employees. Confirming their self-employed status in a guideline case, the Upper Tribunal (UT) noted that they are so motivated to work that there is no need to...
If you are an entrepreneur and own your own company, that is all the more reason why you should take professional advice regarding the consequences that might arise on your death. In an unusual High Court case on point , a farm contracting business was left...
Few would quarrel with the long-standing rule of law that anyone who unlawfully kills another is barred from benefiting, financially or otherwise, from his or her crime. In a unique decision, however, the High Court waived that rule in the case of an...
The freeholds of a great many blocks of flats are held by tenant-owned companies which operate on democratic principles. Such arrangements are, however, not a panacea and disagreements can arise. A guideline Supreme Court decision will, however, make it...
In the throes of family breakdown, parents often focus on their own personal battles – but it is the best interests of their children that are always uppermost in family judges' minds. In a case on point, the wishes and feelings of two teenagers ...
Sexual harassment proceedings against disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein gave rise to a thorny jurisdictional issue that threatened to undermine the power of Employment Tribunals (ETs) to make evidence disclosure orders against those who are not...
Trusts can be an invaluable means of providing for vulnerable loved ones, but they need careful handling by a professional if they are not to have serious unforeseen consequences. In a case on point, the High Court came to the aid of a retired GP whose...
Businesses that handle personal data but fail to take appropriate steps to guard against cyber attacks expose themselves to grave financial and reputational damage. That was certainly so in the case of an international airline whose flawed systems...
A temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) relief measure has taken immediate effect in England and Northern Ireland after being announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in his summer economic statement. The measure has been introduced by the Government to try and...
