Orb A.R.L & ors v Ruhan & ors [2022] WTLR 1049
Autumn 2022 #188The case concerned various agreements (including a sale purchase agreement, a headstay agreement and an alleged oral agreement) transacted between the claimants and the defendant (among others) in connection with a business venture. It was alleged that the oral agreement obliged the defendant to redevelop, restructure, manage and/or dispose of assets within a hotel portfolio in order to maximise the financial benefit realised from such assets, and then to pay a share of the net financial benefit from such activity to the claimants. The true intention behind the oral agreement was a matte...
Pangou v Nzoulou [2022] WTLR 1093
Autumn 2022 #188The deceased died intestate in England at the age of 45. The defendant was his partner who was pregnant with his third child. The claimant was one of his children from a previous relationship. Both wished to dispose of his body. The claimant wished to bury the body in France (where two of the deceased’s six children, his two sisters, his mother, and other family members lived). The defendant wished to bury the body in England (his home for the last 13 years of his life, and where she and most of his children lived). A joint expert report indicated that a journal entry stating that the de...
Parsons & anr v Reid & anr [2022] WTLR 1103
Autumn 2022 #188William Reid (the deceased) died on 20 March 2018. He left a will dated 20 December 2004 and codicil dated 8 February 2012 (together the will), which appointed the claimants, Nicholas Parsons and Mark Hill (respectively the deceased’s solicitor and land agent), as executors and trustees, and left the residuary estate on discretionary trusts for classes including his children and grandchildren. The defendants, Stephen Reid and Judith Shaw, were the deceased’s children. The deceased also left a letter of wishes which expressed the wish that payments be made to Stephen reflecting various mo...
Whittle v Whittle & anr [2022] WTLR 1153
Autumn 2022 #188The deceased executed his will on 15 November 2016 and died on 7 December 2016 from leukaemia. Pursuant to the will, a bequest of cars and other chattels was made to the claimant (the deceased’s son), while the defendants (the deceased’s daughter and her partner) were made executors and beneficiaries of the residuary estate. The will justified the provision to the claimant on the basis that he had become estranged from the deceased.
The claimant challenged the will on the basis of fraudulent calumny, undue influence and want of knowledge and approval. In particular, the claimant c...
Chandler v Lombardi [2022] WTLR 487
Summer 2022 #187The parties were children of Concetta Chandler, who had died on 24 January 2019. C was her son and executor. D was her daughter.
On 4 June 2018, Mrs Chandler had transferred her house into the joint names of herself and D as tenants in common in equal shares. C sought a declaration that the transfer was void and rectification of the land register to reflect this.
From 2005 (when it was purchased) until the transfer, the house had been held in Mrs Chandler’s sole name.
On 28 November 2018, D had registered with the Office of the Public Guardian a lasting power of atto...
Goodrich & ors v AB & ors [2022] WTLR 525
Summer 2022 #187W was the founder of WBL, an internationally renowned publisher of children’s books. In 1989 W instructed solicitors to create an employee trust (WBET) for WBL and transferred 51% of the WBL shares into WBET. The remainder of the shares were divided amongst family trusts established by W.
W died in 1991 and the shares in WBL held by the family trusts were distributed to employees and officers of WBL through a qualifying employee share ownership trust and a share incentive plan. Some of those shares were acquired from employees by the WBL Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).
<...HM Attorney General v Zedra Fiduciary Services (UK) Ltd [2022] WTLR 557
Summer 2022 #187The Attorney General applied for a cy-près scheme to be made pursuant to the Charities Act 2011, ss62 and 67 with respect to a charitable trust known as the National Fund. The defendant as trustee of the National Fund (the trustee) invited the court to direct an alternative scheme.
The National Fund had been established in 1928 for the purpose of the discharge of the National Debt. By the date of the hearing the National Fund held £600m, and the National Debt, as at the end of October 2021, was £2,277.6bn.
In its judgment of 20 November 2020 (...
Johnston v Wackett [2022] WTLR 575
Summer 2022 #187Sidney Albert Johnston (the deceased) died on 27 March 2017. In prior proceedings, the deceased’s son, Colin Johnston (Colin), had brought a successful claim against the deceased’s estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (the 1975 Act claim).
Following trial of the 1975 Act claim, Colin received a lump sum award of £125,000 (the award) and an order for costs.
A point of importance in the 1975 Act claim had been historic litigation between Colin and the deceased. This had resulted in a costs order being ...
Mattingley v Bugeja [2022] WTLR 601
Summer 2022 #187Kim Mattingley (Kim) died on 28 June 2020. C was Kim’s daughter. D was Kim’s administratrix and sister (ie C’s aunt). Kim left an English will dated 31 May 2016 (the 2016 will). Letters of administration with the will annexed (limited to English assets) were granted to D.
Under the 2016 will, Kim left her residuary estate to C, but in fact there was little or no residuary estate. The 2016 will provided that Kim’s interest in 8 Crabtree Close, Ings Hill, West Malling (the property) and certain effects within it be devised absolutely to D. The 2016 will expressed a wish that D permi...
Morris v Fuirer & ors [2022] WTLR 659
Summer 2022 #187The claimant, who was the only child of Cynthia Morris (the testatrix), was the principal beneficiary under her will dated 25 October 2000 but not under later wills made on 28 November 2006 and 14 July 2010 (the wills). The testatrix died on 7 August 2017. Under the terms of her last will, the second and third defendants were appointed as executors; pecuniary legacies were bequeathed to the claimant (£35,000), the first defendant (£70,000) and the fourth defendant (£10,000); and her residuary estate was gifted to the sixth to ninth defendants who were charities. The claimant first intima...