Legal News
People have a great level of freedom to leave their estates as they choose and disappointed relatives must overcome a high hurdle to successfully challenge a will. Recently, the daughter of a woman who made a will leaving her entire estate to one of her sons...
An armed forces veteran has secured compensation for damage to his hearing. During his service in the Army, he was exposed to noise from guns being fired, as well as from helicopters and other vehicles. Initially, he was only provided with sponge ear plugs....
Rule 22 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 provides that, where the Upper Tribunal (UT) refuses permission to appeal against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) or gives only limited permission, it must give reasons for its...
If you previously made a Will with Daniel & Edwards Solicitors, you may be seeking confirmation of where your original Will is now held or whether it can be updated. In 2023, the original Wills held by Daniel & Edwards Solicitors were transferred...
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its annual statistics on ill health and injuries in the workplace for the year 2024/25. The number of employees who reported suffering from work-related ill health was 1.9 million. This is an increase from...
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has found that a repayment of Income Tax due to a taxpayer who had died during the relevant tax year formed part of her estate for Inheritance Tax (IHT) purposes. The taxpayer had died on 18 December 2020. Her son, who was...
Interim payments have been secured for a man who suffered a devastating stroke after failings by an NHS trust. The man was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation after being admitted to hospital with COVID-19. However, he was not treated with blood thinners and...
The government has announced the new rates of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and parental leave pay that will apply from 6 April 2026. The rate of SSP will increase from £118.75 per week to £123.25 per week. The rates of Statutory Maternity Pay,...
A guide to issues relating to property boundaries is available on the government's website. The guide notes that, in England and Wales, there is usually no record of the exact boundary between two properties or the ownership of boundary features between...
A manufacturing company has been fined after an apprentice suffered serious injuries in a workplace accident. The 18-year-old apprentice had been working for the company for less than a year and was still learning how to operate machinery. His shirt became...
The Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill, which was announced by the government in the King's Speech following the last general election, was introduced to Parliament on 12 November 2025. The Bill will reform and add to the ...
The Family Court has rejected a husband's application to set aside a financial remedy order made in his absence after he ceased to participate in the final hearing. The husband and wife had separated in 2022 after 15 years of marriage. On the first day of...
A compensation settlement has been agreed for a woman whose leg had to be amputated after she was involved in a head-on collision. Her car was hit by another vehicle which was trying to overtake traffic. She was airlifted to hospital and spent more than two...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) recently set aside a decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) upholding prohibition orders in respect of 15 flats, finding that the FTT had erred in accepting the local authority's calculation of the risk posed by the lack of space...
The best way to minimise the risk of a successful challenge to your will is to have it drawn up by a qualified solicitor. Recently, a woman's challenge to her elderly father's final will was rejected by the High Court . The man had made the will in March...
Can an employee who brings a claim for unfair dismissal on the basis of having made protected disclosures also bring a detriment claim where the alleged detriment is the dismissal itself? The Court of Appeal has reluctantly answered that question in the...
Damages have been obtained for a shop assistant who tripped over some shopping bags in the department store where she worked. The 23-year-old shop assistant was working behind the tills when she tripped over the bags, which had been left on the floor, and...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has outlined plans to reform the mortgage market, which could make it easier for first-time buyers and self-employed people to purchase properties. The reforms also aim to help homeowners access housing wealth in later...
A six-figure compensation settlement has been secured for the widow of a man who died of mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace. The man had worked for a firm of builders in the early 1970s. His colleagues regularly used to cut...
A company that was incorporated by members of an insurance broking partnership and acquired the partnership's business has failed to persuade the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that amortisation of the goodwill it acquired was deductible for Corporation Tax...
Compensation has been obtained for a baby girl who developed bacterial meningitis in hospital when she was four months old. She had undergone a biopsy which led to bacteria in her bloodstream, and developed bacterial meningitis after the infection was...
A recent High Court decision concerning whether a man and woman who planned to open a hotel in France were in partnership illustrates the wisdom of formally documenting agreements to set up in business and of taking appropriate legal advice. In June 2018,...
Compensation has been obtained for a cyclist who was injured when his bicycle hit a pothole. After going for a ride with his cycling club, he was cycling home when he ran into a deep pothole and came off his bicycle, suffering injuries to his hip and...
When patients lack capacity to decide whether to undergo medical treatment, the Court of Protection is often called upon to decide what is in their best interests. Recently, the Court ruled that it was in the best interests of a young man to undergo surgery...
The High Court has refused a mother's application for her five-year-old daughter's return to Dubai , instead granting an application by the girl's father for her to remain in England. The mother and father had married in 2019 and moved to Dubai, where the...
The Employment Rights Bill has now received Royal Assent, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025 . The changes will be introduced in phases over a two-year period, ensuring that employees and employers have time to plan and prepare. The majority of the...
A woman has been awarded compensation after contracting salmonella poisoning during a cruise. She began to feel ill within two days after the cruise began, suffering from symptoms including vomiting and abdominal cramps. She was diagnosed with salmonella...
If a UK domain name owned by someone else is similar to a business's own name or trading style, the business can seek to have the domain name transferred to it by making a complaint to Nominet UK through its Dispute Resolution Service (DRS). To succeed in a...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has granted a landowner's application to modify a restrictive covenant to allow a small bungalow to be constructed in place of a workshop. The landowner had sold land near his house to a local developer in 1999. The developer built...
A man who was injured in a chemical explosion at his place of work has received a settlement from his employer. He had been told that the chemical compound he was mixing was completely safe. However, when he returned to his workstation after overseeing...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the High Court's rejection of a challenge to a grant of planning permission for an energy recovery facility, finding that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government had complied...
The manager of a care home has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison for forging the will of an elderly woman who lived in the home. The woman had moved into the home in 2020 after becoming ill. She was described by the judge as 'particularly...
Compensation has been obtained for a motorcyclist who was seriously injured in a road traffic accident involving two separate vehicles. After a van turned into his path, he was unable to avoid a collision and was knocked from his motorbike. The traffic came...
A taxpayer has successfully argued before the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that a company's purchase of shares he owned in it was wholly or mainly for the purpose of benefiting its trade under Section 1033 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 . The consideration...
The government is seeking responses to a working paper on options for reform of non-compete clauses in employment contracts. According to previous analysis, around 5 million employees in Great Britain work under contracts that contains non-compete clauses,...
Under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 , an unmarried parent can apply for financial provision for their child from the other parent. The Family Court recently granted a mother's application for interim relief in Schedule 1 proceedings, ordering the...
A young man has obtained compensation for a failure to diagnose a fractured bone in his wrist. He had attended A&E after he injured his wrist playing football. An X-ray was taken and no fracture was visible, but his wrist was placed in a splint as...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a casino company against a ruling that it had failed to show that apportioning VAT on overhead costs by reference to floor space gave rise to a fairer and more reasonable result than the standard,...
The Upper Tribunal (UT) has allowed a landowner's appeal against the rejection of his application to be registered as the proprietor of a parcel of land on the basis of adverse possession. The landowner and the owner of adjoining land both carried on...
The High Court has rejected a son's claim that he was entitled to inherit his father's farm based on promises his father had made during his lifetime. The son's claim that his father's last two wills were invalid was also rejected. The father had died in...
The Court of Appeal has dismissed a supermarket chain's appeal against a decision of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) upholding the validity of a trade mark it was alleged to have infringed. The mark was registered for goods and services...
A man has secured compensation for hearing loss as a result of noise exposure during his time in the Royal Navy. Despite being regularly exposed to high levels of noise from weapons and machinery, he was not provided with adequate hearing protection. Over...
The government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) which will take effect from 1 April 2026. In announcing these increases, the government has accepted in full the recommendations made by the Low Pay...
A holidaymaker has obtained five-figure damages for injuries she suffered in a fall on a flight of stairs in her hotel during a package holiday. She was on her way to the hotel's restaurant when the accident happened. The lighting in one of the flights of...
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) have fined a self-employed lead generator £200,000 for sending unsolicited text messages regarding debt reduction schemes and energy saving grants. The lead generator had previously come to the ICO's...
When deciding what is in the best interests of a patient who lacks capacity to make decisions about their care, the courts will take into account any wishes and feelings the patient has previously expressed, as well as the medical evidence. Recently, the ...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found that the Employment Tribunal (ET) did not err in law in rejecting a postman's complaints of discrimination because of something arising in consequence of disability and unfair dismissal ( Kirby v Royal Mail...
A man who had to have a finger on his left hand amputated following a workplace accident has obtained a compensation settlement. The 65-year-old man, who worked as a manufacturing technical manager, was investigating a problem with a packaging machine when...
From 1 December 2025, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) deposit protection limit is increasing from £85,000 to £120,000. If you hold deposits or savings with a UK-authorised bank, building society or credit union and it goes out...
Under Section 168 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 , a landlord under a long lease may not serve a notice of forfeiture on a tenant in respect of a breach of covenant unless the tenant has admitted, or the appropriate court or tribunal has...
