First City Monument Bank plc v Zumax Nigeria Ltd [2019] WTLR 511
Summer 2019 #175The claimant held accounts in Nigeria with IMB International Bank, whose rights and obligations had been inherited by the defendant through a series of mergers. IMB itself held ‘correspondent’ accounts with a London bank. The claimant often received funds to an Isle of Man nominee which held a bank account in London.
In a series of 10 transfers between 2000 and 2002, the claimant’s nominee gave instructions to its bank to transfer sums to one of IMB’s accounts variously identifying the ‘beneficiary’ as IMB but in eight cases ‘for further credit to’ the claimant. Sums totalling $3,...
Curran v Collins [2015] EWCA Civ 404
March 2016 #157This was an appeal against a decision that Ms Curran, the appellant, had not acquired a beneficial interest in property in the sole name of Mr Collins, the respondent. Mr Collins and Ms Curran were in a relationship from about 1978 until 2010. However, she did not move in to live with Mr Collins until 2002, having maintained a close relationship with her own family.
From about 1994 onwards, the couple bred Airedale terriers. Over the course of the relationship, Mr Collins owned three properties in his sole name, referred to as the Bendfont flat, the Feltham house and The Haven. He...
JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank & Anr v Pugachev [2015] EWCA Civ 139
July/August 2015 #151In the early 1990s, Mr Pugachev founded the JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank (the bank) in Russia. It became one of Russia’s largest privately owned commercial banking groups. On 4 October 2010, the Russian Central Bank revoked its banking licence and appointed a ‘temporary administration’ and on 30 November 2010 it was declared insolvent by the Russian court and placed into temporary administration. The state corporation ‘Deposit Insurance Agency’ (the DIA) was appointed as liquidator. Mr Pugachev left Russia for London in 2011. The Russian liquidation of the bank was recognised by...
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...
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...
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...
Ham v Ham & ors [2013] EWCA Civ 1301
March 2014 #137The respondents, who had been in a partnership together, were the owners of the land on which their farming business was carried on, together with buildings, live and dead stock, farm machinery and other assets. The accounts recorded that the business was financed by the balance standing to the credit of their capital account with the land recorded year after year at book value. The appellant was bought into the partnership by the respondents on 1 October 1997 and their respective rights and obligations were set out in a partnership deed dated 15 December 1997 (the agreement). The accoun...
The Pollen Estate Trustee Co Ltd & anr v HMRC [2013] EWCA Civ 753
November 2013 #134The Pollen Estate Trustee Company (PETCL) held various London properties on trust for the beneficiaries of the Pollen Estate Trust (PET). Two of the beneficiaries of the PET were charities, being the Church Commissioners and Greenwich Hospital. From time to time PETCL bought and sold property. The appeal concerned four properties bought by PETCL on behalf of the PET between 2006 and 2008.
KCL is a charity. It operates a shared equity scheme under which it participates in the acquisition of homes for its employees in return for a share in the equity in the property proportionate to...
Day & anr v Day [2013] EWCA Civ 280
June 2013 #130The appellants appealed from a first instance decision by Mr Recorder Chapman QC on 15 May 2012, which refused their application for an order for rectification of a conveyance that was executed on behalf of their mother (Mrs Day) by her solicitor (Mr Froud) who was acting as her attorney. The conveyance was dated 6 June 1985. The conveyance had transferred Mrs Day’s home from her sole name into the names or her and her son (the respondent) as beneficial joint tenants. The purpose of the transaction was to enable borrowing to be secured against the property by the respondent. Mrs Day died...