Court: High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division)

Hudson v Hathway [2022] WTLR 973

Autumn 2022 #188

The parties had started a relationship in 1990. Mr Hudson had moved into Ms Hathway’s home and become joint owner. They did not marry and had two sons. The home was sold and another bought in joint names. In 2007 they purchased Picnic House with a mortgage. It was again purchased in joint names with no declaration of trusts. They separated in 2009, with Ms Hathway staying at Picnic House. The mortgage was converted to an interest-only mortgage. It continued to be paid from a joint account into which both of their salaries had been paid.

In July and August 2013 there was an exchang...

JXM v An NHS Trust [2020] WTLR 1327

Winter 2020 #181

The claimant, who was born in 2013, was subject to a criminal assault by his father such that he needed to attend the defendant’s hospital which, unfortunately, failed to identify non-accidental injuries and discharged him home to the ‘care’ of his parents. A subsequent assault by his father caused devastating brain damage and resulted in a custodial sentence. The defendant admitted liability for the injuries sustained by the claimant through its breach of duty in failing to detect non-accidental injuries and then arranging for investigations to be carried out which would have enabled hi...

Borrows v HM Coroner for Preston
 [2018] WTLR 365

Summer 2018 #172

.This case concerned the burial arrangements of Liam McManus (Liam), who 
took his life aged just 15. Liam had a difficult upbringing. His parents 
were heroin addicts and so he was brought up by his maternal grandparents 
in Liverpool until he entered foster care aged 5. Two years later he moved in 
with the claimant, Mr Burrows, (who was Liam’s paternal uncle) and his family in St Helens and a full residence order was made in favour of the claimant 
and his wife. Mr and Mrs Burrows were described as his psychological
 parents.

In the year before he died, Liam made contact with h...

R (Haworth) v HMRC [2018] WTLR 459

Summer 2018 #172

On an application for judicial review, the claimant challenged the decisions of HMRC to issue him with a follower notice and an accelerated payment notice in relation to gains arising to the Trustees of a settlement (‘the Trust’) from the disposal of assets. The claimant was the settlor and, along with his family, a beneficiary of the Trust. The notices were issued under Part 4 of the Finance Act 2014.


A follower notice can be given where the principles laid down or reasoning given in a final judicial ruling would, if applied to the taxpayer’s chosen arrangements, deny h...

OH v Craven
 [2018] WTLR 275

Spring 2018 #171

Two applications were before the Court, involving the proceeds of personal injury actions that had been paid into the Court Funds Office following compromises. During each action and its compromise, the claimant was represented by a litigation friend: for OH, as a minor, and for AKB, lacking in litigation capacity.

OH’s litigation friend applied to the Court for payment of the proceeds of his compromise (just under £2m) to a trustee to hold them on the terms of a bare trust for his benefit. The trustee was to be a trust corporation that was incorporated and operated by his litigat...

Khouj v Acropolis Capital Partners Limited & anr [2016] EWHC 2120 (Comm)

January/February 2017 #166

The claimant was the administrator of the estate of Mr Mansouri who died in 2010. He sought declarations that the two defendant companies, ACP and ACM, were the agents and fiduciaries of the deceased and that they were therefore under a duty to provide him with records in relation to transactions or other business conducted on behalf of the deceased. The deceased had been a wealthy man during his lifetime and the claimant sought to understand what had happened to his wealth.

Held:

1. 1) The relationship between principal and agent can only be established by the consent...

Aster Healthcare Limited v The Estate of Mohammad Shafi [2014] EWHC 77 (QB)

April 2016 #158

This was an appeal from a decision to grant summary judgment to the claimant (C) in a claim against the defendant (D) for outstanding care home fees.

C is a company that owns and runs care homes registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 including a residential nursing home in Southall specialising in caring for elderly persons suffering from dementia (the Home). The majority of referrals to the Home are made by the local authority (LA). Mr Shafi was a resident of the Home from 29 January 2010 until his death on 28 March 2012. The total outstanding fees claimed amounted to £...