The recent much publicised case of Marley v Rawlings & Another  has once again highlighted the need for specialist advice to be taken when making a Will. The case concerned the estate of the late Mr Rawlings. Mr & Mrs Rawlings made wills in 1999 leaving their estates to Mr Marley who was not a […]

The Supreme Court in London has today delivered judgment ending a 16-year dispute for Mr Richard Durkin over a laptop bought from the Aberdeen branch of PC World. In 1998 Mr Durkin bought a laptop for £1,499and took it home in a sealed box. He was assured that the laptop would contain an internal modem, […]

Many leaseholders have a right of renewal over their leasehold title for a term equal to the unexpired residue of the existing lease plus 90 years. Do you have the right to make an application for a lease extension? You must be able to satisfy the following: The lease must be a long lease exceeding […]

The sensitive and controversial topic of assisted suicide has frequently appeared in the media ever since Tony Nicklinson launched a legal battle in 2010 challenging legislation that made ‘mercy killings’ unlawful. Under the 1961 Suicide Act it is a criminal offence to help somebody to take their own life and carries a sentence of up […]

Various staff members here at Blacks Solicitors LLP are privileged to have taken part in the Dementia Friends Scheme and have now become Dementia Friends ourselves. The scheme is an Alzheimer’s Society initiative which is funded by the Cabinet Office and Department of Health.  The aim of the scheme is to educate people about dementia […]

A recent case has highlighted the emotional difficulties that can occur when parents object to the treatment of their sick child proposed by the doctors. Doctors at the Birmingham children’s hospital applied to the Court for a ruling that a baby suffering from heart disease should receive blood during surgery. The case was reported in […]

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana, Philosopher The £1.5m loaned to Leeds United by Massimo Cellino last week is a further addition to the list of liabilities which demonstrate that the Whites owe three of the parties that have attempted to purchase a controlling stake of the club […]

John Hartson was quoted recently that his manager whilst at Celtic Martin O’Neill had said that even the best managers are only three or four games away from the sack. There has been a growing trend that has seen Malky Mackay, Steve Clarke and most recently Brian Laudrup lose their positions as managers of Cardiff […]

After a case which bore all the hallmarks of US litigation, Courtney Love, the often-outspoken singer and wife of the late Kurt Cobain, successfully defended a libel claim brought against her by her former lawyer. The claim was for damages in the region of $8m, it lasted for almost two weeks and attracted nationwide interest. […]

Part 2 of our blog looks at two more aspects of the newly-arrived Defamation Act 2013: Libel Tourism This practice, which has achieved some notoriety over the years, involves foreign claimants bringing libel proceedings in England when there’s only a tenuous link between the claim and this country. The law now states that the courts […]

Section 21(1) of the Housing Act 1988 states that: On or after the end of a fixed term assured shorthold tenancy, the court can order possession of the property if the below applies: (a)    The assured shorthold tenancy has ended and no other tenancy exists other than a periodic tenancy; (b)   The landlord has given […]

The Defamation Act 2013 is now in force. The government has hailed its arrival as a sea-change in English (and Welsh) defamation law and proudly claimed that it will reverse the so-called ‘chilling effect’, the negative impact, of the old law on freedom of expression in this country. But what do the new changes mean and […]