Continue reading "Charity: Where duty lies"
Introduction
This case involved two inclosure awards made in the nineteenth century under powers conferred by s73 of the Inclosure Act 1845. Each award allotted land to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor for the parish “to be held by them and their successors in trust as allotments for the labouring poor of the said parish …” The land, which is in Buckinghamshire, is now held by Hughenden Parish Council.
The Charity Commission considered that the land held for local allotments was subject to charitable trusts for the relief of the...
Continue reading "Charity: Good governance"
In November 2007 the claimant stood for election as chairman of the Korean Residents Society (the ‘society’). He was unsuccessful and, the result of the election being disputed, commenced proceedings in the Queen’s Bench Division against the first and second named defendants acting on behalf of the society. The trial took place on 12 March 2008 at the conclusion of which Judge Mackie QC declared that the election had been conducted by the Election Committee in breach of the duties owed to the claimant, gave directions as to the conduct of a further election and ordered ...
The Commonwealth Institute (CIC) (a charitable company limited by guarantee) was placed in members’ voluntary winding-up on 19 July 2007. The CIC had a complex history which dated back to 1887. In the 1950s HM Government (HMG) proposed that the predecessors to the CIC trustees should surrender their lease of their premises in South Kensington (the Kensington building) and move to a new premises at Holland Park. The predecessors of CIC were in receipt of rent and benefited from free utilities (the associated entitlements) under the terms of a sub-lease of the Kensington building. Th...
The testatrix, T, died on 1 September 2011 leaving an estate with a net value of £680,805. Her will, dated 2 February 2001, included provision for a nil rate band legacy for her children and grandchildren under clause 5 which stated:
‘MY TRUSTEES shall set aside out of my residuary estate assets or cash of an aggregate value equal to such sum as is at the date of my death the amount of my unused nil rate band for inheritance tax and to hold the same for such of the following as shall survive me.’
The residue was left to the first defendant, the Woodland Trust ...
The appellant, a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital, was a registered social landlord. Originally incorporated in January 2001, the appellant was registered as a charity on changing its memorandum and articles of association in November 2004. However, unless the appellant could establish that its objects were carried on for exclusively charitable purposes during the prior period from October 2001 to November 2004 there was a liability on rents received of £6m in corporation tax due to the respondent. The objects were the provision of housing, accommodation, assis...
Mrs Elizabeth Longman (D) died on 18 April 2008, leaving the residue of her estate equally to six charities if they were in existence at the date of her death. One of the six was the International Bible Society (UK) (IBS). When the will was made, IBS was an unincorporated association, but it had incorporated in May 2007 by transferring all its assets to a new charitable company, IBS-STL Ltd. Clause 6.3 of D’s will (see para [2] of the judgment below) provided that if one or more of the named charities merged or ceased to exist her trustees could pay its share of the residue to a...
A Notice of Reference dated 27 January 2011 was made by Her Majesty’s Attorney General following concerns expressed by the Charity Commission that the Charities Act 2006 (2006 Act) had cast doubt on the continued charitable status of certain charitable trusts. The trusts affected were trusts for the relief of poverty where the class of potential beneficiaries were defined by a family relationship, employment or former employment status or membership of an unincorporated association. There were 11 parties and 19 interveners. Other than the Charity Commission, each of the pa...
Wedgwood Museum Trust Ltd (the museum company) was insolvent. Directions were sought by the administrators of the museum company as to whether or not a unique museum collection of pottery and other artefacts built up over many years by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd (the trading company) was available to pay liabilities arising in the insolvency of the museum company.
The museum company was incorporated in 1962 and received the collection as a gift from the trading company in 1964. At the time of the gift, it was not contemplated that the museum company would acquire liabilities. Th...