Estera & anr v Singh & ors [2020] WTLR 127
Spring 2020 #178The Petitioners brought an unfair prejudice petition against the First Respondent in respect of their management of the Fourth Respondent (the Company). Following a liability trial, the First Respondents and the Company were ordered to purchase the Petitioners’ shares in the Company at a price to be determined. A quantum trial followed in which the purchase price was determined and an initial sum to be paid on account of the full price within 28 days, with the balance to be paid within 6 months. The wording of the order was left to the parties.
A purchase from the First Petitioner...
Charnley & anr v HMRC [2020] WTLR 93
Spring 2020 #178Mr Gill’s estate included the house in which he lived, a brick barn and outbuildings and 21 acres of permanent pasture. During the relevant period Mr Gill did not own any livestock. He allowed farmers to graze their livestock on his agricultural land under annual grazing licences. It was not disputed that the house was of a character appropriate to the farm.
HMRC refused agricultural property relief (‘APR’) in respect of the value of the house, barn and outbuildings on the basis that neither the house nor outbuildings were occupied for the purposes of agriculture, and refused the ...
Barnaby & anr v Johnson [2020] WTLR 67
Spring 2020 #178Mrs Maudlin Bascoe (T) died on 29 August 2015. Cs sought to prove a will dated 27 April 2005 (the 2005 will) naming them as executors. C1 was T’s son. C2 was T’s former solicitor and the draftsman of her wills from 1988 2005. D was T’s daughter. T also had two other children – a son, G, (who pre-deceased her) and a daughter, B (who died after T in 2017).
Under the 2005 will, D received a legacy of £100. There was an earlier will dated 25 October 1992 (the 1992 will) leaving D a legacy of £10,000 the validity of which D did not dispute at trial.
D challenged the 2005 will, a...
Banks v HMRC [2020] WTLR 19
Spring 2020 #178The appellant taxpayer, Arron Banks, appealed against a notice of determination issued by HMRC. This notice assessed Mr Banks as owing inheritance tax of £162,945.34 on donations of £976,781.38 that he and companies that he controlled made to the UK Independence Party (UKIP) between October 2014 and March 2015 (the donations).
It was common ground that no UKIP MPs were elected at the 2010 UK General Election. UKIP did not therefore meet the statutory definition under s24(2) IHTA 1984 and so the Donations were not treated as exempt from VAT. The appellant argued that this ...
Bagguley v E [2020] WTLR 1
Spring 2020 #178The claimant was the Property and Affairs Deputy for the defendant (E). The claimant applied for authority for buccal cell samples to be taken from E for the purposes of DNA testing to establish whether E was the father of three adults (D, P, and A).
E was expected to die within the year though his health was not currently critical ([28]). The procedure for collecting the sample was probably no more intrusive than assisting E to clean his teeth.
Earlier DNA tests were undertaken on E’s instructions in 1991. They indicated a 99.9% probability of paternity, provided no close ...
Perry v Neupert & ors [2020] WTLR 199
Spring 2020 #178The claimants were the widow and the daughter of the deceased who died on 8 March 2015. The deceased executed an English will (“the Will”) dealing with his UK assets and appointing a Swiss lawyer (the 1st defendant) as his executor and trustee. The widow (the 1st claimant) was the sole beneficiary of the English estate. There was a breakdown of relations between the 1st claimant and the 1st defendant. The daughter (the 2nd claimant) supported the widow. The claimants applied for an order under section 50 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 removing the 1st defenda...