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There are few things more concerning than a proposal by your neighbours to extend their property in a way that may threaten the structural integrity of your home. As one case showed, however, voicing your opposition to such a proposal via the planning system may not be the only way of making your objections count. The owners of a terraced townhouse wished to build a three-storey extension that would increase the property's frontage by more than 50 per cent. The works were projected to last at least six months. Although...

Some divorcees drag their feet in a misguided attempt to put off the hour when they must divide their assets with their ex-partners. However, a case involving a husband who caused costly delay when he asserted that he had COVID-19 showed that family judges are well able to detect and deal with such behaviour. Ruling on the financial aspects of the man's divorce, a judge found it highly likely that he had engaged in various delaying tactics with the aim of doing all he could to prolong the litigation and...

The acrimonious end of intimate relationships is sadly often marked by the making of wounding accusations. However, as a High Court case made plain, anyone involved in such personal disputes should think long and hard before resorting to defamation proceedings. Following the end of a businessman's lengthy relationship with a woman, he claimed that she had subjected him to a vitriolic campaign, accusing him of domestic abuse, business malpractice and discreditable personal behaviour. He launched a defamation claim, complaining of 22 statements that she had made to others, mainly in...

It is a sad fact that many people lose their ability to make rational decisions in old age and that is why it is so vital to make a professionally drafted will before time catches up with you. The point was powerfully made by a High Court ruling. About three years prior to his death, aged 97, an unmarried and childless man made a will by which he bequeathed the lion's share of his estate to two of his sisters. They having predeceased him, his numerous nieces and nephews were...