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Losses incurred on the disposal of an asset can be set against future profits on other investments for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes. As a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) ruling showed, however, behind that simple statement lie layers of complexity. The case concerned a commercial property investor who purchased a property in 1989 for more than £1.3 million. A combination of high interest rates and a property recession, however, proved ruinous and he was constrained to sell the property in 1998 for £990,000. For CGT purposes, he sought to set that...

In a unique decision arising from a woman's tragic death when pregnant with twins, the High Court gave posthumous effect to her longstanding wish to have a child by granting her bereaved husband permission to make use of an embryo stored in a fertility clinic. The woman was 18 weeks pregnant when she died without warning. Desperate to have children, she and her husband had endured the roller coaster of repeated IVF cycles. Stored at the clinic was a single embryo that had been created using their gametes. The husband...

Those in the early stages of asbestos-related illness often receive an initial award of damages on the basis that they can seek further compensation in the event that their condition deteriorates. In a ruling which broke new legal ground, the High Court has ruled that entitlement to such provisional damages lives on even after victims have died. The case concerned a man who was exposed to asbestos whilst working for three employers between 1956 and 1977. He developed pleural plaques and asbestosis but was asymptomatic when he launched proceedings. The...

If your land has been compulsorily purchased to make way for a public infrastructure project, you are entitled to full and fair compensation. Local authorities may be keen to pay as little as possible in such cases but, as an Upper Tribunal (UT) ruling showed, you are not required to take their lowest offer. The case concerned a plot of land measuring just over 10 acres, most of which was used for grazing. Its owners were offered less than £300,000 in compensation after it was compulsorily acquired by a local...