LATEST NEWS

Almost everyone who has flown much has a story (or more than one) about lost or damaged luggage, and holiday insurance claims regarding these are commonplace. A Finnish man who took a holiday to Malaga found that some items went missing from his luggage on the return trip and he proceeded to make a claim against his insurance policy. He had used Finnair's website to see what to do and concluded that he could telephone their customer helpline to report the matter. Finnair refused to settle with the insurer because the...

If you are faced with an unwelcome proposal for development nearby, a recent case shows how tenaciousness and a knowledge of past planning history can help to prevent it.Consistency of decision making is a fundamental principle of planning law and local authorities can only depart from it if they give cogent reasons for doing so. In one case in which this was in point, planning permission for a new home in a Green Belt village was overturned by the Court of Appeal.The relevant site had a depressingly protracted planning...

London has gained a reputation as 'the divorce capital of the world' because settlements reached are, by international standards, very generous towards women. It is no surprise, therefore, that the courts in this country are a very popular choice of venue for wives seeking to divorce their husbands on the best possible terms. However, the English courts are not the right place to deal with all divorces – they are for those who are domiciled in this country. Domicile is a complex notion but corresponds with 'where someone belongs'. It...

If you accept appointment under a power of attorney, it is essential to understand the responsibilities this entails. A recent case shows what can happen if a less than thorough approach is taken. It dealt with arrangements made by a 95-year-old widower now suffering from Alzheimer's disease and resident in a care home. He had given his younger son an enduring power of attorney (EPA) in 2006, which was registered in 2013. The son acting as attorney under the EPA had for several years been his father's full-time carer and had paid...