In a case of significance to charities and the investment community, the University of Cambridge has won the right to reclaim a substantial proportion of the VAT it paid to fund managers who oversaw the deployment of its £1 billion investment portfolio. Although the university is a charity and its provision of education is exempt[…]
In a landmark victory for music industry organisations which will resound throughout Europe, the High Court has declared unlawful the Government’s decision to create an exception to copyright protection based upon personal private use. The organisations objected when the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills decided to introduce a new section to the[…]
Everyone knows that working at sea can be dangerous but, in one case, a tugboat skipper was handed an eight-month prison sentence after his reckless disregard for safety resulted in the drowning of his friend and crewman. The tug was engaged in towing a motor cruiser in high winds and heavy seas when the tow[…]
If you are planning a new venture or product launch, registering relevant Internet domain names in advance is essential. One local authority which failed to do so ended up in costly dispute with a member of the public who got there first. Two days after Derby City Council announced its plans to develop a state-of-the-art[…]
Good customer services are essential for any business dealing with the public and lapses can be stamped on by regulators who have power to impose heavy fines on defaulters. The point was well made by a High Court ruling that a foul-mouthed mobile phone salesman was justifiably given his marching orders. The salesman was under[…]
Businesses which rely on migrant workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are increasingly feeling the heavy hand of regulators. However, in one case, a care homes provider won a High Court ruling that it was treated unlawfully by the Home Office. The provider, part of a group which ran 80 care homes and[…]
In an important case for the business community, the scope of the Competition and Markets Authority’s power to intervene in corporate mergers came under the High Court spotlight after the demise of a cross-channel ferry company and the inheritance of its fleet and many of its staff by a workers’ co-operative. More than 1,000 of[…]
Frequent restructuring and transfers of liabilities within the insurance industry can make it hard to discern where legal responsibility for payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling should lie. However, in one case, the High Court has ruled that the financial burden must fall on the company which originally sold the policies. Company A had marketed the[…]
In ruling that the services which the BBC provided to the Open University (OU) over a period of more than 16 years were exempt from VAT, a tax tribunal has proclaimed the broadcaster’s independence from government and its public educational value. Between 1978 and 1994, the BBC charged more than £20 million in VAT to[…]
The wheels of justice have a reputation for moving slowly, but a case in which three directors quit a technology company, taking a cohort of its strategic staff with them before setting up in rivalry, showed just how quickly the courts can move. The High Court found that it was arguable that the directors had[…]