When a consultant commenced work for a company, her intention was to carry out the work through the medium of a limited company. She delayed forming the company, however, and this led to her first consultancy invoice being sent to…
An unwise decision taken in the heat of the moment which led to a land dispute is set to have permanent and costly consequences for a couple. They face a substantial legal costs bill after unsuccessfully resisting a neighbour’s application…
A widely reported recent case has potential implications for those entrusted with the care or safety of others who delegate that responsibility – for example by the use of subcontractors. The tragic case concerned a boy who suffered brain injuries…
The economic value of a well-known brand having a registered trade mark is illustrated by two recent court cases involving British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), US IT giant Microsoft and free Internet phone service Skype. Microsoft launched a cloud-based data storage…
When a subsidiary in a group does something, what is the legal position of the holding company that owns it? In some circumstances, the courts might hold the parent company responsible for the actions of the subsidiary – especially if…
Many arrangements with carers are informal and it is easy to forget that this does not mean that ‘anything goes’. Where a carer is paid, an employer/employee relationship will normally arise. This carries implications as regards – for example –…
In a case which raised new issues on the inter-relationship between insolvency rules and the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), the Court of Appeal has dismissed the unfair dismissal claims of four employees who lost their…
The pitfalls of not getting documentation exactly right have become all too clear for a lender following a recent Court of Appeal hearing. The case arose because the lender wished to rely on the guarantees given over a debt by…
A school janitor from Inverclyde who lost his job after he suffered leg and back injuries when he slipped on a frozen surface at work has been awarded £30,000 in damages. Stephen McKeown, 61, was covering for a colleague at…
If you are concerned about the future mental capacity of a relative or any other person with whom you have a joint bank account, it makes sense to consider setting up the appropriate power(s) of attorney. The British Bankers’ Association’s…