Jopling v Leavesley & anr [2013] EWCA Civ 1605
June 2014 #140Mr Jopling was the executor of the will of Kenneth Smith. On 6 January 2012 Mr Jopling issued proceedings against the deceased’s stepdaughter Mrs Leavesley and his niece, Mrs Thompson alleging that they had each obtained a cheque for £25,000 drawn on Mr Smith’s bank account and they between them had drawn £14,750 from ATMs by using his debit card. He alleged that these moneys had been obtained by undue influence and the estate was entitled to recover them.
In May 2012 via his solicitors he made a Part 36 offer to each of the two defendants offering to settle for £25,0...
Santander UK PLC v R.A. Legal Solicitors [2014] EWCA Civ 183
June 2014 #140Abbey National Building Society (now Santander UK PLC) (A) agreed to lend £150,000 to an individual (V) for the purpose of purchasing a property subject to taking a first legal charge. RA Legal Solicitors (R) conducted the conveyancing, acting for both V and A. The vendor’s solicitors (S) were a real firm but acted dishonestly, falsely representing that they acted for the vendor. On 17 July 2009 A transferred £150,000 (plus fees) to RA’s bank account. S notified an account to which the completion monies should be sent and on 28 July 2009 S purported to exchange and complete and RA arrang...
Swetenham v Walkley & anr 2CL10307
June 2014 #140The claimant brought a claim for reasonable financial provision under the Inheritance Provision for Family & Dependents Act 1975, against the estate of Alexander Graham Bryce (the deceased), on the basis that she had been living in the same household as the deceased, as his wife, in accordance with s1(A) of the Act. Otherwise, as the deceased had died intestate, his c£600,000 estate fell to be distributed to his numerous intestacy beneficiaries, a class to which the claimant, who was never married to the deceased, did not belong.
The first issue before the court was whether th...
Williams v Central Bank of Nigeria [2014] UKSC 10
June 2014 #140In connection with a transaction dating back to 1986 the respondent paid $6,520,190 to a solicitor in England to be held in trust on terms that it should not be released until certain funds were made available to him in Nigeria. The solicitor pocketed $500,000 and, in fraudulent breach of trust, paid out the balance to the appellant’s account with Midland Bank in London. It was alleged that the appellant was a party to the fraud. The respondent obtained permission to serve a claim form out of the jurisdiction and an application was made to set aside that permission.
Supperstone J ...
Ilott v Mitson & ors [2014] EWHC 542 (Fam)
May 2014 #139This was an appeal against quantum in an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. The deceased was called Melita Jackson and the appellant was her estranged daughter.
The proceedings had a protracted history. There was an initial hearing of the claim in front of District Judge Million on 7 August 2007. He found as facts that the appellant and her husband and family lived modestly in a housing association house. They were heavily dependent on state benefits. The appellant did not work and her husbands income was small. The family’s current s...
Loring v Woodland Trust [2013] EWHC 4400 (Ch)
May 2014 #139The 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 ...
Markou & anr v Goodwin & ors [2013] EWHC 4570 (Ch)
May 2014 #139Mrs Eileen Rand died on 4 November 2007 aged 79 having executed two wills during her lifetime – one dated 20 June 2007 and the other 18 December 1969.
Mrs Rand had two siblings – Horace (known as Bill) and Derek. Bill married twice, the second time to Mrs Rand’s best friend since school Lillian (known as Pat).
In 1967 at the age of 38 Mrs Rand married for the first and only time to Edward Rand (known as Ted). Ted was already a widower and much older than Mrs Rand. Ted died after 18 months of marriage and left his entire estate including the martial home to Mrs Rand. Ted had...
National Westminster Bank plc v Lucas & ors [2014] EWHC 653 (Ch)
May 2014 #139The television presenter Jimmy Savile (the deceased) died on 29 October 2011. His estate had an approximate value of £3.3m after the deduction of various expenses incurred by the date of this hearing. By his will, the deceased appointed National Westminster Bank plc (the bank) to act as his personal representative. The deceased’s will makes gifts to a number of individual beneficiaries, one of which was the fifth defendant, the deceased’s niece, who was appointed to represent the interests of these individual beneficiaries (the individual beneficiaries). Thereafter the deceas...
Pullan v Wilson & ors [2014] EWHC 126 (Ch)
May 2014 #139The claimant (Mr Pullan) was a beneficiary of ten high-value family trusts. The first defendant (Mr Wilson) was an accountant who had been appointed as a professional trustee of those trusts. Mr Wilson was also a non-executive director of three of the companies in which the trusts held shares. The second and third defendants were the co-trustees of the ten trusts and were not subject to the relief sought by Mr Pullan.
Mr Pullan brought a claim against Mr Wilson as he considered that the professional charges of £849,890 for the period from 12 March 2007 to 4 November 2010 exceeded...
R (on the application of Walford) v Worcestershire County Council & anr [2014] EWHC 234 (Admin)
May 2014 #139The claimant challenged the decision of Worcestershire County Council to uphold its reversal of a previous decision to disregard a property, (Sunnydene) owned by her mother (Mary) in calculating her mother’s ability to pay care home charges.
Mary had lived at and owned Sunnydene for many years. Mary entered long term care on 24 November 2006. Shortly thereafter the claimant was informed that the property would not be disregarded after the 12 week statutory period. The claimant responded and requested a disregard. The claimant is over 60. She explained that although, since 1...