Law360: The FCA has come under pressure this year from the Labour government to tackle the cost of insurance, which has soared because of rising claims caused by the ongoing repercussions from Brexit and the war in Ukraine.

Law360, London: The overturning by the UK Supreme Court of the convictions of two traders imprisoned for rate rigging, the first use by the anti-fraud agency of a rare legal power to recover criminal cash and the first-ever conviction for sanctions breaches are among the big corporate crime cases of 2025.

The legal principles which apply where there is a civil dispute between parties about the disposal of the body of a deceased person are considered, including the transportation of the body out of the jurisdiction, the timing and mode of disposal and the ceremonies to be carried out. Naturally, the emotional stakes in these disputes are often high. Entitlement to possession of a corpse It is well known that in English law ‘there can be no property in the dead body of a human being’, as stated by Kay J in Williams v Williams. For that reason, a provision in the deceased’s Will that the body be given by the executors of the Will to another person was of no effect. In general, the same principle applies also to parts of bodies as stated in R v Kelly, although the same case recognised the existence of exceptions. This statement of principle that there can be no property in a corpse is generally accurate. Instead of rights analogous to proprietary rights

The remedies available to a lender will depend principally on: • when the misstatement was made (ie before or after the contract was entered into, and before and after drawdown; and • what specific provision is made for such a misstatement in the loan documentation Express provision The loan documentation may specify the statements which the borrower is taken to have made on contract, and is often deemed to restate those statements on important dates such as the dates of drawdowns. If the statement is no longer true, depending on the terms of the contract, it may be possible to treat the untruth as an Event of Default. Again depending on the terms of the contract, this may have the effect of, for example: • cancelling any further commitment to make drawdowns • accelerating the existing debt • triggering cross-default provisions • causing security to

The right to cut branches from a neighbour’s tree The courts have held that where the branches of a tree overhang a neighbour’s land, the neighbour himself has a right to cut off the parts of the tree which overhang their land: Earl of Lonsdale v Nelson at 311 per Best J. The right to cut the offending branches exists in order to end a nuisance in law which is being caused by their overhanging. The courts have further held that the aggrieved neighbour does not have to give advance warning to the landowner on whose land the tree is situated that he is going to cut the parts of the tree which overhang: Lemmon v Webb. In that case, Lord Macnaghten summarised the legal position on cutting overhanging branches: ‘I

Dispute Resolution analysis: On an appeal against orders dismissing an application to set aside an order striking out a claim, the appellate court held that the Deputy Master had been justified in using the Denton principles as the framework for his decision. The parties had agreed the hearing be conducted on that basis, appropriate weight was given to the failure to serve particulars of claim (requiring relief from sanctions), to pay an outstanding costs order, and to the consequence of refusing to set aside the order, and in any event Denton requires (and the court considered) proportionality. The case is a reminder to parties carefully to consider the basis on which a case is argued and advanced. Written by Danielle Carr, partner at Rosenblatt Ltd.

Local Government analysis: This case concerned an application for judicial review for an asylum-seeking qualifying young person requesting accommodation from the local authority in circumstances where the local authority declined to accommodate him and instead directed him to asylum support accommodation. The claim was allowed. The court found that that the support powers of the Secretary of State for the Home Department under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 were residual and therefore the local authority was not entitled to look to the availability of such support when determining whether to support a young person under sections 24 and 24A of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989 ). Written by Silvia Nicolaou Garcia, associate at Bindmans LLP.

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: Where an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) was challenged by a creditor under section 262 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) but the applicant did not join as respondents the creditors who supported the IVA, and those creditors did not file evidence to support their claims, it was open to the court to revoke the IVA on the basis that the creditors had failed to discharge the burden of proving their claims. The court also found that the debtor had ‘control’ over a company for the purposes of IA 1986, s 435(10) by virtue of his position as protector of a British Virgin Island (BVI) trust. Written by Stephen Ryan, barrister at Three Stone.

You are correct that there is an exclusion for breakdown insurance under Article 12 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544 and it is not classified as a specified activity in certain circumstances. As the commentary

Stamp duty land tax (SDLT) is charged by reference to the chargeable consideration given for the interest acquired. Chargeable consideration is defined in section 50 and Schedule 4 to the Finance Act 2003. It includes money and money’s worth and also other means by which value is given to the transferor of the land. For more detail, see Practice Note: SDLT chargeable consideration. Introduction fee payable to estate agent An introduction fee payable to an estate agent might constitute chargeable consideration for SDLT purposes. If it

Commercial analysis: Amazon UK Services Ltd (Amazon) was recently found guilty of breaching dangerous goods rules. Nevil Phillips, barrister at Quadrant Chambers, explains the background to Amazon’s prosecution and provides a summary of this area of law.

Environment analysis: Carol Day, Consultant Solicitor for the RSPB and co-chair of Wildlife and Countryside Link Legal group, Dave Timms, Head of Political Affairs, Friends of the Earth (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), David Wolfe KC and Kate Cook of Matrix Chambers, consider why the UK needs an Environmental Rights Bill, what the key elements of the proposed Bill are and the next steps.