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The dangers of 'letting fly' on the Internet are legion and not sufficiently appreciated by some. Freedom of expression is not an absolute right, as one Internet blogger discovered to his cost. The High Court ordered him to pay £10,000 in libel damages to a film maker whom he falsely vilified as a fascist with right-wing and racist views. The blogger had maliciously targeted the film maker in a prolonged online campaign which blackened his reputation and which was said to have resulted in the loss of lucrative business opportunities....

Family trusts often date back many years, and those who drafted them could not have been expected to foresee all the dramatic social changes that have happened since pen was put to paper. In one case, the High Court's intervention was required to vary a trust so that same-sex partners could be recognised as potential beneficiaries. The trust had been set up in the 1960s to preserve assets which included a stately home that had been owned by the same family for over 300 years. It made provision for spouses...

Family trusts often date back many years, and those who drafted them could not have been expected to foresee all the dramatic social changes that have happened since pen was put to paper. In one case, the High Court's intervention was required to vary a trust so that same-sex partners could be recognised as potential beneficiaries. The trust had been set up in the 1960s to preserve assets which included a stately home that had been owned by the same family for over 300 years. It made provision for spouses...

With an ageing population, purpose-built retirement properties are becoming more and more prevalent. It is important when considering the purchase of such a property to look very carefully at the detail of the contract (this is normally in the form of a long leasehold) and, in particular, to understand the implications of clauses which relate to future events as well as those with more immediate impact. A recent case illustrates the point. It involved residents of a retirement village in Hampshire who wished to sell properties they held under long leases....