Vimercati v BV Trustco Ltd & ors [2012] EWHC 1410 (Ch)
January/February 2013 #126The claimant, Ambra (A), who had been a beneficiary under the MBV Trust, disputed the price obtained by BV Securities for its 20% shareholding in Air Italy in view of certain subsequent transactions involving Meridiana and Air Italy Holdings, a company in which the third defendant and protector of the trust (G) had an interest through his investment holding company. A also threatened breach of trust proceedings against the trustees. G and the fourth and fifth defendants, his wife and son, remained beneficiaries under the trust but A’s interest had been severed under a deed of appoi...
Bieber & ors v Teathers Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1466
January/February 2013 #126The defendant (Teathers) promoted a series of unregulated collective investment schemes intended to take advantage of tax reliefs available on investments in TV productions. UK tax payers were entitled to write down 100% of any expenditure on a film or TV production certified as a British Qualifying Film. The schemes had not proved successful. Many of the productions were commercial failures and a number of them had not been certified as British Qualifying Films and were illegible for the tax relief that was the rationale behind the schemes. The claimants argued that money invested in th...
Bradbury & ors v Taylor & anr [2012] EWCA Civ 1208
January/February 2013 #126William Samuel Taylor (deceased) and his late wife lived in a large property, set in 15 acres of grounds, called Lower Manaton (property), near Callington in Cornwall. The deceased made a will in 1998 by which the defendants, who were his nephew and niece, were to be allowed to occupy the property for seven years after his death, on stated terms and conditions. At the same stage in late 2000 the deceased proposed that the defendants, who lived in Sheffield, should move to Cornwall and occupy part of the property with their two children. The first defendant favoured the idea; the second d...
Buzzoni & ors v HMRCC [2012] UKUT 360 (TCC)
January/February 2013 #126On 5 June 1996 Mrs Kamhi purchased a lease (the headlease) of a flat in Knightsbridge, London. On 21 November 1997 Mrs Kamhi granted an underlease (the underlease) to Ovalap Nominees Ltd. The underlease was granted without rent or premium being payable. On the same day Mrs Kamhi created by deed a settlement. The trustee was Legis Trust Ltd and the trust property was the underlease. Ovalap entered into the underlease as bare nominee for Legis Trust Ltd.
On 24 March 2004 Parkside (Knightsbridge) Residents Ltd then granted Mrs Kamhi a new lease over the flat commencing 1 April 2003. ...
Re Clarke 10370284
January/February 2013 #126A previous order of the court had invited any parties seeking costs to lodge written submissions. Family members and the professional deputy submitted that their costs should be charged to Mrs Clarke’s estate.
Michael Clarke (the son of Mrs Clarke) wanted this decision postponed and an order for disclosure and for production of further accounts of the deputy and OPG.
Held (allowing the costs to be charged):
- (1) There was no basis for departure from the general rule.
- (2) Michael Clarke’s application was refused.
Curati v Perdoni & anr [2012] EWCA Civ 1381
January/February 2013 #126Pierluigi Curati (Mr Curati) had a domicile of origin in Italy. He moved with his wife (Mrs Curati), a British national, to England in 1955. Mr and Mrs Curati ran a family restaurant (inherited from Mrs Curati’s parents) until 1970, when they sold the restaurant and invested the proceeds in real property which added to the property portfolio which they had already started to build up in England. They also held real property in Italy which they rented to third parties. On 18 December 1980, Mr and Mrs Curati made formal mirror wills in England, drawn in English which were limited t...
Helmsman Ltd & anr v Bank of New York Trust Co (Cayman) Ltd [2009] CILR 490
January/February 2013 #126The defendant Bank of New York Trust Co (Cayman) Ltd (BNY Cayman) was sole trustee of the Beverley and Howden Settlements from June 1999 until February 2005 and trustee of the London Settlement from March 2000 until November 2002. The first plaintiff, Helmsman Ltd (H(1)), is a Bermudian company and now the sole trustee of the Beverley and Howden Settlements. The second plaintiff, the Hotham Trustee Co Ltd (H(2)), is an English company and the sole trustee of the London Settlement. The Beverley and Howden Settlements (the UK settlements) provide that the proper law of the settlement is th...
Lawie v Lawie & ors [2012] EWHC 2940 (Ch)
January/February 2013 #126The claimant (SL) sought rectification of a deed of trust that he and his late wife (PL) had executed in 2006.
SL and PL determined, on the advice of Mr Tollins (a financial advisor at the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (the building society)) that they wanted £100,000 (just under half of their net assets at the time) to be held in a Legal & General portfolio bond, which was to be held on a flexible trust for the benefit of their children and grandchildren. They expressed an intention to be able to alter the class of discretionary objects and the percentage entitl...
Matthews v HMRCC
January/February 2013 #126The late Mrs Matthews (D) invested approximately £95,000 in a Building Society account with her son, the claimant, John Matthews (M) in 1999. The words ‘either signature’ were included in the special instructions for operation of the account. Between 1999 and 19 January 2007 when D died there were no withdrawals from the account and both D and M included half the interest on their tax returns. M claimed that D intended to make an immediate gift of the moneys in the account to him on the date it was opened and that he could have used that money for what ever purpose he wished,...
Pankhania v Chandegra [2012] EWCA Civ 1438
January/February 2013 #126The claimant appealed from the decision of Judge Charles Harris QC to dismiss his claim seeking an order for sale of 7 Cossington Street, Leicester (the property) and the division of the sale proceeds in equal shares between him and the defendant. A declaration had been made by the judge that beneficial ownership of the property was vested solely in the defendant, despite the property having been conveyed into the joint names of the claimant and defendant. A simultaneous express declaration of trust had been made in the transfer declaring that the parties were to hold the property as ten...