Re JC 11757467

September 2012 #122

JC had four biological children: A, B, C and D. A was born in 1942 to a 15-year old mother. He was subsequently fostered, but throughout his life always understood JC to be his father and in the forty years preceding trial had worked and been in regular contact with him. JC denied parentage of A, but paternity was conclusively established by a court authorised DNA test. B and C were born in wedlock, in 1953 and 1955 respectively. However, they first had contact with their father in or around 2006/7. Their relationships remained strained, C in particular refusing to attend the hearing as ...

North Shore Ventures Ltd v Anstead Holdings Inc [2012] EWCA Civ 11

September 2012 #122

The substantive action concerned a written agreement between North Shore Ventures Limited (North Shore) and Anstead Holdings Inc (Anstead) made in March 2003 (the agreement). In 2008 Anstead’s assets were transferred into trusts of which Mr Fomichev and Mr Peganov (the appellants) and their family members were discretionary beneficiaries (the trusts). On 20 August 2008 North Shore issued a claim against Anstead and the appellants for monies owing under the agreement. On 21 June 2010, Newey J gave judgment against the appellants for sums in excess of $50m. On 9 March 2011, the Court...

Oakhurst & ors v Blackstar (Isle of Man) Ltd & anr [2012] EWHC 1131 (Ch)

September 2012 #122

The first claimant (the principal employer) set up employee retirement benefit schemes (ERBS) for three of its directors, the second to fourth claimants on 23 November 2007, under which the directors were each members of their own schemes. The first defendant, Blackstar (Isle of Man) Ltd (Blackstar) was the trustee for all three schemes. Under the ERBSs, the trustees were given an express power that they could exercise by lending all of the trust fund to the member or other beneficiary on uncommercial terms, and in each case Blackstar received some £2m from the principal employer and it ...

Phillipe & ors v Cameron & ors [2012] EWHC 1040 (Ch)

September 2012 #122

The claimants were the trustees of the St Andrew’s (Cheam) Lawn Tennis Club Trust (the trustees). The trustees sought declarations as to the beneficial ownership of land occupied by the St Andrew’s (Cheam) Lawn Tennis Club (the club) since 1938 (the land).

The church now known as St Andrew’s United Reformed Church Cheam (the church) was originally founded in the 1920s. From the church’s inception many of its members played tennis together and in 1930 they established a tennis club which was to become the club. The club’s first general meeting was held...

Lilleyman v Lilleyman & anr [2012] EWHC 821 (Ch)

July/August 2012 #121

Mrs Barbara Lilleyman applied for reasonable financial provision from the estate of her late husband Mr Roy Lilleyman pursuant to the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (1975 Act). Nigel and Christopher Lilleyman, who were Mr Lilleyman’s sons from a previous marriage, were the executors of Mr Lilleyman’s estate under his will dated 20 May 2008. Nigel and Christopher Littleman were the principal beneficiaries of Mr Lilleyman’s estate and were the defendants to Mrs Lilleyman’s application.

Mr and Mrs Lilleyman had each been married previously and each had two...

Lilleyman v Lilleyman & anr (costs) [2012] EWHC 1056 (Ch)

July/August 2012 #121

Briggs J gave judgment in relation to costs occasioned by Mrs Barbara Lilleyman’s successful claim for reasonable financial provision from the estate of her late husband, reported as Lilleyman v Lilleyman [2012] WTLR 1007.

There had been extensive without prejudice negotiations and offers (both Part 36 offers and without prejudice offers) had been made by both sides. On 27 July 2011, the defendants had made two simultaneous offers: a Part 36 offer (the July Part 36 offer) and a without prejudice offer (the July without prejudice offer). The defendants made a further without ...

Public Trustee v Butler & anr [2012] EWHC 858 (Ch)

July/August 2012 #121

The public trustee brought a Part 8 claim concerning the construction of the will dated 22 June 1967 of Saral Kumar Bose (testator). The testator had been born in India on 3 May 1893 and had subsequently moved to England where he had worked as an electrical engineer for London Underground. He was married to Florence Katie Bose (widow) and had died childless on 13 September 1972. The widow had died on 23 May 1998. At the time of his death, the net value of the testator’s estate was £137,307 and on 17 September 2012 it comprised investments of £581,150 with unapplied income of £265,6...

Rai & ors v Charity Commission for England and Wales [2012] EWHC 1111 (Ch)

July/August 2012 #121

Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha (Sabha), an incorporated registered charitable association, was based at a temple in Southall. Ravidassias were followers of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji (b 1377), some of whose teachings were incorporated in the Shri Guru Granth Sahib (the Granth). The constitution of 14 December 2007 set out the objects of the Sabha which were the worship of God in accordance with the teachings and philosophy, mission and principles of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji derived from the Granth and research of Holy Scriptures of Shri Guru Ravidass Ji. Over the years such research had uncovered othe...

Rondel v Robinson Estate & ors [2011] ONCA 493 (CanLII)

July/August 2012 #121

Blanca Robinson, the testator (T), owned property in Spain, England and Canada. She executed a will in 2002 intended to deal only with her European property (the 2002 Spanish will). By this she granted a life interest in her London flat to Dr Richard Rondel, the Appellant (A), with whom she had a long relationship and made it clear she had made another will dealing with her property outside Europe. In 2005, T sent her lawyer drafting instructions regarding a Canadian will (the 2005 Canadian will). The instructions related to the ‘entire residue of [her] estate’. Her lawyer, M...

WF v HF [2012] EWHC 438 (Fam)

July/August 2012 #121

H and W married in December 1993 when W was 32 and H was 62. They have three children aged between 17 and 12. H’s first wife died and he had four children, (the elder children) from that marriage – all now adults aged over 35. His second marriage ended in divorce, but he had no continuing financial ties to his second wife. W had not been married before. Her limited assets, £152,000, the net sale proceeds of her flat, had been invested in an investment portfolio supplemented by contributions from H (including a transfer of shares worth £2.477m). H was the chairman of a com...