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...
Southwell v Blackburn [2014] EWCA Civ 1347
January/February 2015 #146In 2002, the appellant and the respondent set up home together in a house in Droitwich. They remained unmarried. The property was purchased in the appellant’s sole name with his money alone, and he took on sole responsibility for the mortgage. On the breakdown of their relationship, the respondent claimed that the appellant held the property was held by him on constructive trust for both parties in equal shares. That claim failed before His Honour Judge Pearce-Higgins QC, but her alternative proprietary estoppel claim succeeded. The respondent was awarded £28,500 in satisfaction of the e...
The Woodland Trust v Loring & ors [2014] EWCA Civ 1314
January/February 2015 #146The Woodland Trust brought this appeal on the basis that the Chancery Court judge at first instance had not determined the construction of a will correctly. The matter involved the estate of Valerie Smith who died in 2011 leaving a will executed on 2 February 2001 which left her residuary estate (totalling £680,805), to her family (the respondents) and the Woodland Trust. The relevant clauses for construction were clauses 5 and 6. Clause 5 stated as follows:
‘MY TRUSTEES shall set aside out of my residuary estate assets or cash of an aggregate value equa...
Novoship (UK) Limited & ors v Nikitin & ors [2014] EWCA Civ 908
November 2014 #144Mr Mikhaylyuk (M), a manager for the first respondent, NOUK, with responsibility for negotiating the charters of vessels owned by companies within the Novoship group, the remaining respondents, owed fiduciary duties to all the respondents. M had arranged a series of schemes by which he defrauded his principals and enriched himself and others by the payment of bribes given to him by those who chartered his principals’ vessels. These schemes included one concerning vessels chartered to companies owned and controlled by Mr Ruperti (R) which R then sub-chartered at substantially higher rates...
Patel v Mirza [2014] EWCA Civ 1047
November 2014 #144The appellant was a property dealer and the respondent was a foreign exchange broker, who had a personal spread-betting account with IG Index. In August 2009, a third party informed the appellant of a deal offered by the respondent that involved a bet on the movement in the value of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The defendant claimed to know people who sat in on meetings between the heads of RBS and officials from the government, and it was expected the Chancellor would make a public statement which would have an effect on the share price of RBS. Following an initial telephone ...
Hart & anr v Burbidge & ors [2014] EWCA Civ 992 On appeal from: [2013] EWHC 1628 (Ch)
October 2014 #143and
1. ARTHUR KENNETH GERALD SAMWAYS
2. GRAHAM DOUGLAS SAMWAYS
3. CHRISTINE MARGARET GARLINGE
4. PETER KENNETH HART
5. LEWIS ROGER HART
6. GEMMA LOUISE HART
v
1. SUSAN ANNE BURBIDGE
2. BRIAN JEFFERY BURBIDGE
3. KENNETH CHARLES HART
4. PAUL ROGER HART
The appellants appealed a decision in two actions that had been tried together ...
Hart & anr v Burbidge & anr
October 2014 #143In 2006 the deceased made a will directing a sale of two properties, No 7 and No 43 (the properties), with the proceeds to be shared between her sons (the Harts). On the same date the deceased gave another property, Unit 15, to her daughter and son-in-law, Mr and Mrs Burbidge, and also released them from a debt of £44,000. In 2007 the deceased made a further will leaving No 7 to the Harts and No 43 to her siblings and any grandchildren surviving her with the residue to be divided equally amongst her children.
Having decided to live with the Burbidges, the deceased transferred her...
Lewis v Lewis [2014] EWCA Civ 412
July/August 2014 #141This was an application for permission to appeal from a decision of HHJ Seys Llewellyn QC in a case concerning wills. Peter Lewis contested the will of his father, Kenneth Lewis on the basis of undue influence and/or fraud. David Lewis, the beneficiary under the will, issued proceedings to determine the issue. The judge below found for David.
The application concerned Peter’s litigation capacity. Peter suffered from Asperger’s syndrome. In the earlier stages of the litigation Peter was in receipt of legal aid and represented by solicitors. At their request and on the basis of an e...
Simon v Byford & ors [2014] EWCA Civ 280
July/August 2014 #141The appeal dealt with the issue of whether the late Constance Simon (1) had testamentary capacity and (2) knew and approved her will she executed at or immediately after her 88th birthday party on 18 December 2005. The judge below answered the questions in the affirmative, on of Mrs Simon’s sons, Robert Simon appealed.
Mrs Simon had originally had four children, who each owned 24.99% of the shareholding in a family company. Mrs Simon owned the other 0.04% of the shares. Robert was the managing director. Her sons Hilary and Johnathan did not play a part in the business. Davi...
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...