A recent case illustrates the sort of unanticipated problem that can arise as a result of owning property abroad. The case involved an English man who owned a property in Brittany. He was in receipt of social security benefits – in particular,...

A total of £75,000 has been awarded in compensation to six people who fell and were injured whilst enjoying a night out at a Council-run nightclub. The clubbers had all attended special theme nights at the club in Wolverhampton Civic Hall. The...

An easement (such as a right of way) is a right over someone else’s land. A right of easement, once granted, is quite often forgotten about. However, a recent case shows how important it can be to make sure that an easement does not lapse through...

Firms that offer vouchers to employees in exchange for salary sacrifices may face a VAT charge, following a recent opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). It involved AstraZeneca, which had given employees vouchers in...

In a recent case , the executors of a woman's estate have been ruled to be liable for Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the value of her pension fund, after she failed to take her pension when she was terminally ill. The woman was diagnosed with cancer five months...

The family of a man who died of an asbestos-related disease has secured a settlement of £57,500. John Scott, who was 76 when he died of mesothelioma, had worked as a foreman and electrician for the Atomic Energy Authority for almost forty years until...

The principle that British persons divorced abroad can look to the courts in England and Wales to ensure that their ‘reasonable needs’ are met in the divorce settlement has been firmly established following a recent case involving a divorced...

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common occupational illness in Britain. They include problems such as low back pain, joint injuries and repetitive strain injuries of various sorts, and affect more than 500,000 people every year. They are often...

The Court of Appeal has ruled in a case which establishes an important precedent for the setting of fines for breaches of environmental law. Thames Water had appealed against a fine of £125,000 for a mistake which had led to pollution of the river...

The comedian Jimmy Carr was recently successful in using a loophole in the law to avoid a fine for using a mobile phone whilst driving. The argument was based on the fact that he was using his mobile phone as a dictating machine, rather than as a...