Home renovations are a notoriously frequent source of dispute and, if you feel that you have been let down by a builder, you should consult a solicitor straight away. In a case on point, a householder won a £200,000 asset freezing order against a builder who he claimed left his home in a dangerous condition…. Read more »

A firm management style is all well and good, but where it descends into harassment the financial and reputational consequences can be severe. In an employment case on point, a professional firm was landed in legal hot water by its senior partner’s uncompromising attitude and sometimes volcanic temper. The case concerned a middle-aged barrister who… Read more »

Anyone who witnesses a shocking event may suffer psychiatric injuries as a result – but should they be compensated if that event arises from negligence? The High Court confronted that burning issue in a ground-breaking case. The case concerned a father who suffered a fatal heart attack whilst on a shopping trip with his two… Read more »

Many workers are employed by one company to provide services on the premises of another and that can give rise to debate about their legal status. In a guideline case on point, an Employment Tribunal (ET) found that a woman who managed a concession counter at a department store was a contract worker. Space was… Read more »

When long-term relationships between unmarried couples break down, disentangling their property and financial affairs can be challenging, particularly where children are involved. As one case showed, however, a clean break is often the best option for all concerned. The case involved a middle-aged couple who had continued to live uncomfortably under the same roof for… Read more »

It is an enduring misconception that internet users can post whatever they like on their social media profiles so long as they are set to ‘private’. In a case on point, a man whose vile and grossly offensive comments on Instagram risked stirring up racial hatred received a deterrent prison sentence. In a series of… Read more »

The requirement that workers must have two years of continuous employment before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim means that the precise date on which they started work can be of critical importance. Precisely that issue arose in the case of a safety supervisor who unofficially began work a week before his employment by… Read more »

One of the most controversial aspects of divorce is the extent to which pre-existing family wealth should be taken into account when dividing assets. A case on point concerned a couple whose comfortable lifestyle was throughout their 22-year marriage underpinned by the wife’s family trusts. During the marriage, the trusts had funded the school fees… Read more »

Every employer presumably knows that sex and race discrimination are unlawful, but fewer may be aware that marriage and civil partnership are also protected characteristics. An unusual case on point concerned a vicar who claimed that his dismissal was an act of discrimination arising from the acrimonious breakdown of his marriage. The ethos of the… Read more »

Occupiers of land are generally aware of their duty to keep visitors to their properties reasonably safe – but it may surprise many of them that that obligation extends to trespassers. A High Court case in which this issue was in point concerned a teenager who was injured whilst clambering over an anti-intruder fence. The… Read more »