Corrupt Charity Officials Jailed
Six men who between them stole millions of pounds from a charity set up to assist asylum seekers were recently jailed for terms of up to four and a half years at Birmingham Crown Court. The six were found guilty…
Volunteers without contracts not protected
A recent Supreme Court decision will be welcomed by charities and other voluntary sector organisations who are concerned about the extra burden enhanced rights for volunteers could potentially bring. The court confirmed that an unpaid Citizen Advice Bureau volunteer, who…
Judge Refuses to Prolong Catastrophic Litigation
When compromise fails, waging a war of attrition by litigation can often prove to be a disaster, as a recent Court of Appeal decision has underlined. After engaging in lengthy litigation over the division of their assets and the care…
Inherited Property ‘Invaded’
A couple’s assets on divorce can include matrimonial property – i.e. assets acquired during the course of the marriage – and non-matrimonial property, which is commonly defined as property acquired before the relationship began or property that was inherited by…
Hearing for Dismissed Care Home Managers
Two care home managers are to have their cases reheard by the Employment Tribunal (ET) after the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that not every piece of information held by an employer is confidential and it is not necessarily gross…
Missed Deadlines in Employment Cases
The Court of Appeal has said that there will be more missed deadlines in employment cases unless litigants seek legal advice and representation (O’Cathail v Transport for London). After a delay of one day in submitting documents to the Employment…
Gay Sperm Donor Ordered to Pay Child Support
A gay man who agreed to father a child with a lesbian woman has been ordered by the Child Support Agency (CSA) to pay thousands of pounds in child maintenance. The man befriended a lesbian couple who wished to have…
No Presumption of Equality
When a couple heeded the advice of their mortgage adviser and put the property they bought together into only one of their names, an eventual dispute over who owned what was always a possibility. The man paid all of the…
Fraudulent Trading Knows No Boundaries
Trading with the intent to defraud creditors is an offence under the Insolvency Act 1986 (Section 213). Proceedings can be brought against the directors (including ‘shadow directors’ – people who run the company but are not formally directors) of an…
Father Has Right to See Allegations Against Him
When a mother was informed that an allegation of serious sexual abuse had been made regarding her former husband, she went to court to have his rights to contact with their children restricted. The complaint against the man was made…