Court: High Court of Justice

Gavriel & anr v Davis [2022] WTLR 943

Autumn 2022 #188

The claimants were the only beneficiaries of the estate of the deceased, who died in May 2016. The defendant executor in December 2016 obtained probate of the deceased’s will, which did not authorise remuneration of executors or trustees. Upon completion of the administration, the defendant sought to impose a charge of £27,300 for her time in administering the estate.

The claimants brought proceedings under CPR 64 seeking directions as to whether the defendant was entitled to remuneration. In her evidence in response, the defendant asserted an oral agreement with the clai...

Orb A.R.L & ors v Ruhan & ors [2022] WTLR 1049

Autumn 2022 #188

The case concerned various agreements (including a sale purchase agreement, a headstay agreement and an alleged oral agreement) transacted between the claimants and the defendant (among others) in connection with a business venture. It was alleged that the oral agreement obliged the defendant to redevelop, restructure, manage and/or dispose of assets within a hotel portfolio in order to maximise the financial benefit realised from such assets, and then to pay a share of the net financial benefit from such activity to the claimants. The true intention behind the oral agreement was a matte...

Pangou v Nzoulou [2022] WTLR 1093

Autumn 2022 #188

The deceased died intestate in England at the age of 45. The defendant was his partner who was pregnant with his third child. The claimant was one of his children from a previous relationship. Both wished to dispose of his body. The claimant wished to bury the body in France (where two of the deceased’s six children, his two sisters, his mother, and other family members lived). The defendant wished to bury the body in England (his home for the last 13 years of his life, and where she and most of his children lived). A joint expert report indicated that a journal entry stating that the de...

Parsons & anr v Reid & anr [2022] WTLR 1103

Autumn 2022 #188

William Reid (the deceased) died on 20 March 2018. He left a will dated 20 December 2004 and codicil dated 8 February 2012 (together the will), which appointed the claimants, Nicholas Parsons and Mark Hill (respectively the deceased’s solicitor and land agent), as executors and trustees, and left the residuary estate on discretionary trusts for classes including his children and grandchildren. The defendants, Stephen Reid and Judith Shaw, were the deceased’s children. The deceased also left a letter of wishes which expressed the wish that payments be made to Stephen reflecting various mo...

Whittle v Whittle & anr [2022] WTLR 1153

Autumn 2022 #188

The deceased executed his will on 15 November 2016 and died on 7 December 2016 from leukaemia. Pursuant to the will, a bequest of cars and other chattels was made to the claimant (the deceased’s son), while the defendants (the deceased’s daughter and her partner) were made executors and beneficiaries of the residuary estate. The will justified the provision to the claimant on the basis that he had become estranged from the deceased.

The claimant challenged the will on the basis of fraudulent calumny, undue influence and want of knowledge and approval. In particular, the claimant c...

Chandler v Lombardi [2022] WTLR 487

Summer 2022 #187

The parties were children of Concetta Chandler, who had died on 24 January 2019. C was her son and executor. D was her daughter.

On 4 June 2018, Mrs Chandler had transferred her house into the joint names of herself and D as tenants in common in equal shares. C sought a declaration that the transfer was void and rectification of the land register to reflect this.

From 2005 (when it was purchased) until the transfer, the house had been held in Mrs Chandler’s sole name.

On 28 November 2018, D had registered with the Office of the Public Guardian a lasting power of atto...

Goodrich & ors v AB & ors [2022] WTLR 525

Summer 2022 #187

W was the founder of WBL, an internationally renowned publisher of children’s books. In 1989 W instructed solicitors to create an employee trust (WBET) for WBL and transferred 51% of the WBL shares into WBET. The remainder of the shares were divided amongst family trusts established by W.

W died in 1991 and the shares in WBL held by the family trusts were distributed to employees and officers of WBL through a qualifying employee share ownership trust and a share incentive plan. Some of those shares were acquired from employees by the WBL Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).

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HM Attorney General v Zedra Fiduciary Services (UK) Ltd [2022] WTLR 557

Summer 2022 #187

The Attorney General applied for a cy-près scheme to be made pursuant to the Charities Act 2011, ss62 and 67 with respect to a charitable trust known as the National Fund. The defendant as trustee of the National Fund (the trustee) invited the court to direct an alternative scheme.

The National Fund had been established in 1928 for the purpose of the discharge of the National Debt. By the date of the hearing the National Fund held £600m, and the National Debt, as at the end of October 2021, was £2,277.6bn.

In its judgment of 20 November 2020 (...