Watson v Kea Investments Ltd [2020] WTLR 351
Spring 2020 #178In 2012, the claimant trustee (K) invested £129m into a joint venture (Spartan), which was alleged have been procured by the deceit of Mr Watson. The action between K and Spartan was settled, with certain agreements between Spartan and K set aside. As a result, K was entitled to treat Spartan as constructive trustee of £129m, which also gave rise to a right to interest under the equitable jurisdiction of the Court, or s35A Senior Courts Act 1981. K continued its claim against Mr Watson, who was found liable to pay equitable compensation to K of all sums which were due f...
Lomax v Lomax [2020] WTLR 191
Spring 2020 #178The claimant made an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 as a widow of the deceased. She wanted the parties to engage in Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE), but the defendant refused to do so. The claimant asked the court to order an ENE under CPR r3.1(2)(m).
At first instance, Parker J made it clear that she believed that an ENE would be of benefit to the parties, but declined to order this. The claimant appealed against the decision not to order an ENE.
The single issue on appeal was whether a court can order an ENE in cir...
Blackwell Deceased [2018] WTLR 1243
Winter 2018 #170The applicant, Mr Warner, was the unmarried partner of the deceased. Before her death they had lived together for 19 years at a property in Tewkesbury. Mr Warner continued to live in this property after her death. Mrs Lewis, the daughter of the deceased, brought a claim in the County Court for possession of the property and for the return of certain items under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Mr Warner defended this claim, and made a separate application for relief under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (‘the 1975 Act’). It was agreed by the pa...
Barclays Wealth Trustees (Jersey) Ltd & anr v HMRC [2017] WTLR 917
Autumn 2017 #169This appeal concerned the first periodic charge which fell due on a Jersey-resident discretionary trust established by the settlor, Mr Dreelan (‘the Settlor’) on 21 June 2001 (‘the 2001 Settlement’).
The Settlor transferred £100 to Barclays Wealth Trustees (Jersey) Limited (‘the Trustee’) to hold on trusts in broad discretionary form. The beneficiaries were the Settlor, his spouse and his children then living or born during the trust period. At this date the Settlor was not domiciled in the UK for IHT purposes.
The Trustee lent part of the settled funds to a wholly-owned Je...
Randall v Randall [2016] EWCA Civ 494
September 2016 #162This appeal concerned when a party has standing to bring a probate claim. The appellant (H) and respondent (W) were divorced. As part of the divorce settlement, they agreed that if W were to inherit more than £100,000 from her mother, she would keep the £100,000 and the balance would be split equally between H and herself. On her death, W’s mother left £100,000 to W in her will and (after some small specific legacies) the balance of her estate (estimated at £150,000) to W’s children.
H brought a probate claim to challenge the validity of the will alleging that it was n...
Burns v Burns [2016] EWCA Civ 37
June 2016 #160On 21 May 2010 the deceased died, aged 89, leaving two sons: the appellant and the respondent. The respondent claimed pronouncement in solemn form of an alleged will of the deceased dated 26 July 2005, which divided the deceased’s estate equally between the appellant and the respondent. The appellant challenged the validity of the 2005 will on the basis that the deceased lacked testamentary capacity at the date of its purported execution and on the basis that the deceased did not know and approve of the contents of the same.
In September 2003 social services began to assist with t...
Lim v Walia [2014] EWCA Civ 1076
January/February 2015 #146Jocelyn Walia died on 25 March 2011 aged 38. She had married Mr Walia in July 2003 and they had a daughter Emma-Kaur in November 2004.
In 21 May 2002, they bought a fixed-term life insurance. On the first death the survivor would be paid the sum insured. On proof of one of the life insured was suffering a terminal illness then the payment was brought forward and then no death benefit would be payable.
After they separated Mrs Walia moved to the Philippines and had a son Philip Lim in July 2009. In February 2011 she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Mrs Walia died i...
HMRC v Lord Howard of Henderskelfe (dec’d) [2014] EWCA Civ 278
June 2014 #140Lord Howard of Henderskelfe was the owner of a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds portraying a South Sea Islander called Omai. When he died on 27 November 1984, the painting devolved to the respondents as part of his estate and, eventually, they sold it at Sotheby’s on 29 November 2001 for £9.4m which, after deduction of commission and value added tax, represented a substantial gain over the value of the painting at the date of death. Ordinarily, the gain would be chargeable to capital gains tax and, initially, it was classified as such in the respondents’ trust and estate retur...
Sharma v Sharma & ors [2013] EWCA Civ 1287
January/February 2014 #136In April 2003 qualified dentist Anushika Sharma acquired her first dental practice. In January 2007 she acquired a second practice and in July 2007 she was provided with an opportunity to purchase a third. This opportunity prompted a family meeting to discuss Anushika’s expanding empire. Jagesh Sharma (Sunny), Keshbala Sharma and Rajesh Sharma (Anushika’s then husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law respectively) and Anushika were in attendance. During this meeting it was determined that a company (ADC Ltd) would be set up to purchase the third practice rather than Anushika doing this ...