The “systemic failings” of the family justice system violated an “irreproachable” father’s human rights by denying him contact with his daughter over a decade, senior judges have ruled. In a ground-breaking judgment the Court of Appeal judges said that they had never encountered a case in which the family justice system had “failed a family so completely”. The man, 60, had endured a dozen years of legal battles against his mentally unstable ex-partner who was “implacably hostile” to any contact between him and their daughter. His daughter now nearly 14, was aged 1 when her parents separated in 2001 and…
In Feltham v Bouskell [2013] solicitors were delayed in preparing held liable in negligence for failing to prepare a will, where there were doubts about the testamentary capacity of the client. Hazel Charlton (the testatrix) was a 90-year-old. She had made a number of wills and since 1990 the same firm had acted for her in relation to her wills and members of the firm were appointed executors. Her step-granddaughter, Lorraine Feltham, was not a beneficiary in any of these wills. The 1998 will left the residue, after some minor legacies to be divided three ways between: Mrs. Atkinson, an…
The simple answer is that yes, you can still leave the country if you are being investigated for benefit fraud. That said, if you have been specifically asked by the investigators not to leave the country, you must not do so. The vast majority of benefit fraud cases are small scale, so it is very unusual for people who are being investigated for defrauding the DWP to be asked not to leave the country. Those suspected of high-level benefit fraud are far more likely to be directed not to leave the country by the investigators. However, if you are being…
Before retirement The value of money-purchase pensions is only decided when you take an income from them. This means that when they are split before the person who has built up the pension has retired, they are rarely divided 50/50. Investment-linked pensions grow more the longer you leave them, so if your spouse is younger than you, their chunk will be worth more when they finally retire (provided you retire at the same age). This has to be factored in when splitting the pension. If it is a defined-benefit pension you are dividing, you will be asked to disclose your…
Life in crime | A narrow ambit for dangerous driving The Supreme Court has raised the bar in respect of strict liability in relation to dangerous driving, and rightly so believes Benjamin Newton This article first appeared in the solicitors Journal on 13TH August 2013 and is reproduced with their kind permission. Strict liability in crime is a controversial principle. In R v Hughes [2013] UKSC 56 the Supreme Court grappled with the prospect of double strict liability – i.e. an aggravated offence where both the underlying offence and the aggravating feature were both of strict liability. The offence of…
Drawing up a ‘watertight’ contract is nearly impossible, especially when it comes to exclusion clauses. Clients need to be made aware of the risks and advised accordingly, says Jonathan Silverman This article first appeared in the solicitors Journal on 20th August 2013 and is reproduced with their kind permission. It has always been a problem for lawyers faced with the client asking one to draw up ‘watertight’ terms and conditions of business, especially when it comes to exclusion clauses. Trying to explain that it isn’t as straightforward as it first appears merely curries favour. The reality is that the days…
This article first appeared in the solicitors Journal on 20th August 2013 and is reproduced with their kind permission. Vulnerable witnesses do not have to give oral evidence to employment tribunals, the Court of Appeal has ruled. Its guidance on correct procedure should be noted, says Anna Macey InDuffy v George [2013] EWCA Civ 908 the Court of Appeal provided guidance on the correct procedures an employment tribunal (ET) should adopt when a witness claims to be too frightened to be cross examined. The appellant Michael Duffy, was accused by a fellow employee, Susannah George, of sexual harassment. She brought…
The Insolvency Act 1986 provides that a company is deemed to be unable to pay its debts if: ‘the company is unable to pay its debts as and when they fall due’; and ‘the value of the company’s assets is less than the amount of its liabilities, taking into account its contingent and prospective liabilities’. The former limb being the so-called ‘cashflow test’, the latter limb the ‘balance sheet test’. The Supreme Court decision in BNY Corporate v Eurosail-UK concerned the interpretation of what constitutes balance sheet insolvency, and the treatment of contingent and prospective liabilities. The facts Eurosail was…
Making ends meet can be difficult. Some months paying the bills is a struggle, but not paying your rent is something you have to be particularly careful about. If you leave your rent unpaid for too long your landlord could take you to court and, eventually, evict you. However, being evicted is not something that happens overnight, no matter what your landlord says. If you are renting a property it makes sense to know your rights, so here we will give you the basics. That way, should your landlord try to evict you because you are a week or two…
The simple answer to this question is Yes. However, being long term sick is not a valid reason for a firm to choose you for redundancy over another employee. The Job Has to No Longer Exist The redundancy has to be genuine. Any firm who makes an employee redundant and then employs someone to do that same job or an extremely similar job could potentially be sued. Employers cannot use redundancy to “sack” people. They can get rid of them, but the employee must be failing to perform their duties, and a full traceable disciplinary process has to be followed.…
