Court: Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Bellis v Challinor [2015] EWCA Civ 59

January/February 2016 #156

The 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 ...

Barnes v Phillips [2015] EWCA Civ 1056

January/February 2016 #156

88 Leyland Road, London (property) was purchased by the parties in January 1996 for approximately £135,000 using approximately £25,000 from their savings for the deposit and taking out a joint repayment mortgage for the balance with HSBC. It was registered in their names as joint tenants. Both contributed to the cost of installing double glazing, resurfacing the driveway and landscaping the garden. The appellant, who had acquired other buy-to-let properties in his sole name, told the respondent in early 2005 that he wanted to remortgage the property because of debt problems. The property...

JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank & Anor v Pugachev & Ors [2015] EWCA Civ 906

December 2015 #155

In 1992 Mr Pugachev founded the first claimant bank (Mezhprom). In November 2010 the Moscow Arbitrazh Court declared Mezhprom to be insolvent, opened liquidation proceedings and appointed the second claimant (the DIA) as liquidator. On 25 January 2011 the Russian authorities began a criminal investigation with regard to the insolvency of Mezhprom and three days later Mr Pugachev fled Russia. On 2 December 2013 the claimants began proceedings against Mr Pugachev in the Moscow Arbitrazh Court.

On 11 July 2014 Henderson J granted a worldwide freezing order without notice in aid of th...

Crossfield v Jackson [2014] EWCA Civ 1548

November 2015 #154

The dispute between the parties concerned the ownership of a four-bedroom London apartment (the property). Monica Elaine Crossfield (the appellant) had become the council tenant of the property in 1987 under a secure tenancy with the London Borough of Lambeth (LBC). By a lease dated 26 August 2003 (the lease), LBC demised the property to her for a term of 125 years in consideration of a premium of £109,500 (the premium). The premium was calculated by the market value of the property, minus a right to buy discount by virtue of the appellant being a secure tenant. The premium was provided ...

Herbert v Doyle & anr [2010] EWCA Civ 1095

November 2015 #154

The appellant (Mr Herbert) owned the freehold of a house and a large garden. The respondents (Mr Doyle and Mr Talati) owned the freehold of an adjacent property comprising a dental surgery with nine parking spaces. They also leased part of the ground floor in the main house from Mr Herbert. They carried on a practice as dental practitioners from the freehold and leasehold premises and they and their clients used the parking spaces. Mr Herbert wished to develop the former walled garden of Mansfield House and to build mews houses, but to do so he needed Mr Doyle and Mr Talati to exchange s...

Bagum v Hafiz & anr [2015] EWCA Civ 801

October 2015 # 153

The claimant and two of her sons, the first and second defendants, were trustees of a residential property in Copenhagen Street, Islington which they held on trust for themselves as tenants in common in equal shares. The parties had all contributed financially to the purchase of the property, in which they lived for some time along with the claimant’s other children. The crowded conditions led to tensions, and to the second defendant leaving the property.

The claimant issued proceedings seeking an order obliging the second defendant to sell his interest in the property to th...

Ilott v Mitson [2015] EWCA Civ 797

October 2015 # 153

The appeal concerned the quantification of an award for maintenance pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act). Section 1 of the 1975 Act confers the right on, among others, a child of the deceased to apply for an order if the will of the deceased or the intestacy rules did not make reasonable provision for that person. The provision was limited to awards of maintenance.

The appellant, who was an adult, was the only child of the deceased and was raised by the deceased, her father having died about t...

King v The Chiltern Dog Rescue & anr [2015] EWCA Civ 581

September 2015 #152

June Margaret Fairbrother (deceased) lived at 12 Kingcroft Road, Harpenden (property) with a number of cats and dogs, of which she was very fond, as she had no children. It was common knowledge within her family that she intended to leave her estate to animal charities which she supported. By a will dated 20 March 1998 (last will) the deceased left her residuary estate to seven such charities (charities). The claimant, who was a nephew, came to live with the deceased, when she was 78 years old, in the summer of 2007. The arrangement was that he would care for his aunt in return for a hom...

Akers & ors v Samba Financial Group [2014] EWCA Civ 1516

July/August 2015 #151

The claimants appealed a decision to stay their claim on the ground of forum non conveniens.

The fourth claimant (C4) was a Cayman company and was massively insolvent, owing US$2.815bn plus interest to a syndicate of banks including the defendant (D). The first (C1), second (C2) and third claimant (C3) were the liquidators of C4. A winding up petition was presented to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands on 30 July 2009, commencing the winding up of C4. On 18 September 2009, the winding up order was made.

The claim was brought by C1, C2 and C3 pursuant to s127 of the I...