Continue reading "Quistclose trusts: A high threshold of facts"
Prickly Bay Waterside Ltd v British American Insurance Company Ltd [2022] WTLR 1115
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2022 #188Prickly Bay was engaged in the development of houses and apartments at L’Ance Aux Epines, St George, Grenada. Its principal director was Richard Lee, husband of Rosa Lee. Two adjacent properties were owned by a Mr Steele. Following a dispute between Prickly Bay and Mr Steele a consent order was entered into providing that Prickly Bay would purchase the adjacent properties for US$5m. It was a term of the consent order that Prickly Bay would provide a bank guarantee for US$2.25m. The respondent, BAICO, gave the guarantee.
Mr and Mrs Lee, and Prickly Bay, entered into a loan agreemen...
Wang v Darby [2022] WTLR 327
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2022 #186The parties entered into contracts whereby they exchanged specified quantities of cryptocurrencies, namely Tezos and Bitcoin, on terms of reciprocal restoration of the same amounts of each currency upon or after an agreed period of two years. The claimant applied to continue a worldwide freezing order and proprietary injunction. The defendant applied to strike out/enter summary judgment on the proprietary claims.
Held – applications granted in part
- 1) Principles:
- a) Fungible and non-identifiable digital assets constitute property ...
Breach of trust: Time for a new law?
Continue reading "Breach of trust: Time for a new law?"
Group Seven Ltd & anr v Notable Services LLP & anr [2019] WTLR 803
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2019 #176These appeals arose from the a ‘brazen fraud’ by which Allseas Group SA was defrauded of €100 million. After the fraud took place, there was an attempt to launder the proceeds through the client account of a London firm of solicitors, Notable Services LLP, whose partners included Mr Landman. Police intervention secured the return of €88 million – the present proceedings concerned attempts to recover the remainder of this sum from Notable, Mr Landman, Mr Louanjli (a bank employee who provided information to Notable) and LLB Verwaltung, the bank who employed him (”the Bank”).
In add...
Trusts: Test of dishonesty revisited
Continue reading "Trusts: Test of dishonesty revisited"
First City Monument Bank plc v Zumax Nigeria Ltd [2019] WTLR 511
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2019 #175The claimant held accounts in Nigeria with IMB International Bank, whose rights and obligations had been inherited by the defendant through a series of mergers. IMB itself held ‘correspondent’ accounts with a London bank. The claimant often received funds to an Isle of Man nominee which held a bank account in London.
In a series of 10 transfers between 2000 and 2002, the claimant’s nominee gave instructions to its bank to transfer sums to one of IMB’s accounts variously identifying the ‘beneficiary’ as IMB but in eight cases ‘for further credit to’ the claimant. Sums totalling $3,...
Bellis v Challinor [2015] EWCA Civ 59
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | January/February 2016 #156The case concerned a property investment scheme relating to land at and around an airport known as Fairoaks (the Fairoaks scheme). The Fairoaks scheme was the last in a substantial series of schemes (the Albemarle schemes) which, prior to the Fairoaks scheme, were unregulated collective investment schemes promoted by Egan Lawson (later ECS after its takeover by Erinaceous Group PLC (Erinaceous)) involving investment through a single purpose vehicle (SPV). The underlying subject matter of each scheme consisted of either commercial or development property or a mixture of both. The schemes ...
The Law Society v Elsdon & ors [2015] EWHC 1326 (Ch)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | November 2015 #154The first defendant practised as a solicitor under his own name until 2013. In that year he began to practise through the third defendant company, which was authorised as a ‘licensed body’ for the purposes of the Legal Services Act 2007. The directors of the third defendant were the first and second defendants.
On 8 December 2014 the Solicitors Regulation Authority decided to intervene in the practice of the first and third defendants and sent notices to the defendants advising them of this.
The decision of the adjudication panel recorded that it decide...
Libertarian Investments Ltd v Hall FACV Nos 14 & 16 of 2012
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | March 2015 #147W and the defendant embarked on a project with the aim of acquiring a substantial interest in an English company, TSE, which started with the acquisition of 125,000 TSE shares in 2002 (the first tranche). In 2003 they attempted to make additional acquisitions of TSE shares, such attempts involving three of W’s companies, including the plaintiff. The overall scheme was that funds would be provided by one company, Assanzon, for the acquisition of shares for another company, Momentum, which were held for its beneficial owners which were principally the plaintiff company, Libertarian. The fu...