Category: equity

Clear as mud: Proprietary Estoppel after Guest v Guest – Trusts & Trustees

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, equity, estoppel, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The dust should now have settled since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Guest v Guest (2022). However, in exploring recent case law, this article exposes that the rules applied to decide proprietary estoppel cases remain as uncertain as ever. Some commonality can be identified, but only in the persistent favouring of promisors over promisees. This article criticises the practical and theoretical underpinnings of proprietary estoppel and proposes further reform. In particular, the article draws new links from the doctrine of secret trusts to suggest a more just and certain basis for proprietary estoppel’s future application.’

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Trusts & Trustess, 19th March 2024

Source: academic.oup.com

Case Comment: Byers and others v Saudi National Bank [2023] – UKSC Blog

Posted March 27th, 2024 in appeals, breach of trust, Cayman Islands, equity, insolvency, news, Supreme Court, trusts by sally

‘In this post, Adam Ferris (Senior Associate) in the Finance Disputes Team at CMS and Henry Powell (Associate) in the Real Estate Disputes Team at CMS comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court in Byers and Ors v Saudi National Bank [2023] UKSC 51, which was handed down on 20 December 2023.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th March 2024

Source: ukscblog.com

Lord Sales, The Interface Between Contract and Equity – Supreme Court

Posted January 2nd, 2024 in contracts, equity, fiduciary duty, lectures, news by tracey

‘Lord Sales, The Interface Between Contract and Equity – Equity Conference 2023’

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Supreme Court, 19th December 2023

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

Court of Appeal rules equity partner’s demotion was not conduct extending over a period but a one-off act with continuing consequences – Farrar’s Building

Posted January 21st, 2022 in accountants, age discrimination, appeals, employment, employment tribunals, equality, equity, news, retirement by sally

‘Claimants wishing to bring a discrimination claim under the Equality Act 2010 must do so within 3 months of the discriminatory conduct. Claimants can bring their claim in respect of conduct extending beyond 3 months if the conduct was a sequence of events and the last chain in the event occurred within 3 months of the claim. But when is conduct extending over a period and when is the conduct simply a one-off act with continuing consequences? In Parr v MSR Partners LLP (Formerly Moore Stephens LLP) and Others [2022] EWCA Civ 24, the Court of Appeal held that an equity partner’s demotion to salaried partner was not a continuing act even if he suffered losses many years after the demotion. The demotion was the point at which limitation ran.’

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Farrar's Building, 19th January 2022

Source: www.farrarsbuilding.co.uk

Relief from forfeiture – Don’t dilly dally on the way – Nearly Legal

Posted April 19th, 2021 in appeals, delay, equity, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, news, time limits by tracey

‘Keshwala & Anor v Bhalsod & Anor (2021) EWCA Civ 492. This was the second appeal, to the Court of Appeal, of a relief from forfeiture matter for commercial property that we have previously seen in the High Court (our report here). The issue was whether a relief from forfeiture application made just within 6 months of the date of forfeiture was brought with ‘reasonable promptitude’ for the purposes of the equitable relief from from forfeiture.’

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Nearly Legal, 18th April 2021

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Imposing Quistclose trusts—knowledge, not notice, as the golden rule (Goyal v Florence Care Ltd) – New Square Chambers

Posted April 2nd, 2020 in chambers articles, delay, equity, fiduciary duty, joint ventures, news, solicitors by sally

‘Goyal emphasises the importance of knowledge over notice in generating a Quistclose Trust. Solicitors and commercial fund managers should be alert to the possible implications arising from the allocation and management of communications received, mindful that attributed knowledge may still suffice in the right circumstances. Goyal provides an important reminder of the gateway function of an order for an account through which substantive remedies can be accessed. A party’s entitlement to an account following breach of fiduciary duty should not be circumscribed by judicial assumptions that little may be gained from the exercise, nor by considerations of the delay between relevant events and trial. An account may prove to be fruitless but a claimant should be entitled to find this out for themselves.’

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New Square Chambers, 23rd March 2020

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Supreme Court to review equitable lien ruling – Litigation Futures

Posted December 6th, 2019 in airlines, compensation, delay, equity, fees, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court is to review a controversial ruling that a law firm handling uncontested flight delay claims was not conducting litigation and so did not have an equitable lien over the compensation.’

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Litigation Futures, 5th December 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

SC judge calls for ‘expert commission’ on algorithms – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted November 14th, 2019 in artificial intelligence, equity, judges, news by tracey

‘A Supreme Court justice has added his voice to calls for the regulation of computer algorithms handling crucial decisions about people’s lives. An “expert commission” could help ensure that automated decision making processes have “a capacity for mercy”, Lord Sales (Philip Sales QC), said last night.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 13th November 2019

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

For this relief, much thanks – Nearly Legal

Posted October 30th, 2019 in appeals, equity, forfeiture, leases, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Just a quick note to record that the Supreme Court has held that the equitable remedy of relief from forfeiture is not restricted to those with a proprietary interest (lease/tenancy, mortgage etc) but can also extend to licensees with possessory rights (ie a right to occupy or use the land). The whole thing is fascinating, but this is not the place to get into the details of the history of equitable relief.’

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Nearly Legal, 29th October 2019

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Bleak Choses? Trusting in equity – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted October 10th, 2019 in assignment, equity, news, third parties, trusts, warranties by tracey

‘For many common lawyers – certainly me – trusts and equity seem exotic things. At one point, I supposed the closest I would get to equity in action was by reading Bleak House, which in length and majesty even rivals some of the equity textbooks. But in this (as many other things) I was proved wrong. One cannot properly understand the law of assignment – a bedrock of the commercial construction lawyer’s practice – without comprehending equitable assignment. And it is at the outer fringes of assignment where one may bump – or even lapse – into trusts.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 9th October 2019

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Rectification Rectified – FSHC Group Holdings Ltd v GLAS Trust Corporation Ltd – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 30th, 2019 in appeals, contract of employment, equity, interpretation, jurisdiction, news, rectification, security companies by sally

‘In this key decision, the Court of Appeal gives detailed consideration to the principles underpinning various doctrines in contract to ascertain the correct test for rectification of a written instrument because of the presence of a common mistake.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 12th August 2019

Source: hardwicke.co.uk

Lord Briggs at the Denning Society Annual Lecture, Lincoln’s Inn – Supreme Court

Posted November 16th, 2018 in equity, estoppel, fiduciary duty, forfeiture, lectures, rectification, solicitors by tracey

‘Lord Briggs at the Denning Society Annual Lecture, Lincoln’s Inn.’

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Supreme Court, 8th November 2018

Source: www.supremecourt.uk

“Off-Plan” Investment Schemes: Equitable Compensation – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 9th, 2018 in breach of trust, client accounts, compensation, equity, indemnities, insolvency, insurance, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘The SRA has issued warning notices[1] to solicitors regarding whether they should act and how they should act towards their clients in relation to purported transactions concerning investment schemes. However, for many the warning will have come too late since many investors have previously parted with deposits (in some cases amounting to the client’s life savings) in return for worthless insurance bonds and unsecured interests in land or property which are also found to be worthless when the developer defaults on the development and becomes insolvent.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 12th July 2018

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Court rejects call by council for pensions set-off from officer convicted of fraud – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 27th, 2017 in equity, fraud, interpretation, local government, London, news, ombudsmen, pensions, regulations, set-off by sally

‘The High Court has rejected a London borough’s bid to set off the pension benefits of a former senior finance officer who defrauded the council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th November 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Speech by Sir Terence Etherton MR: Equity and Conscience – Eldon Professor’s Lecture – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Posted November 2nd, 2017 in equity, speeches by tracey

‘Speech by Sir Terence Etherton MR: Equity and Conscience – Eldon Professor’s Lecture.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 30th October 2017

Source: www.judciary.gov.uk

The equity of exoneration reconsidered: Williams v Onyearu [2017] EWCA Civ 268 – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted May 16th, 2017 in appeals, equity, housing, matrimonial home, news by sally

‘The equity of exoneration is a principle which arises at the difficult intersection of the law of sureties and proprietary interests in jointly-owned property – commonly, family homes. It is a common law doctrine which saw much development in the latter part of the 19th Century, and had not been properly considered by the Court of Appeal since 1898 before the case of Williams v Onyearu.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 9th May 2017

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Proprietary Estoppel: Recent Updates – Henderson Chambers

Posted July 13th, 2016 in appeals, compensation, equity, estoppel, news by sally

‘Proprietary estoppel is a flexible and useful cause of action. Instances of parties claiming entitlement to equitable relief by way of proprietary estoppel have increased markedly in the last few years. Proprietary estoppel is often pleaded in addition to other causes of action, such as resulting trusts, common intention constructive trusts and contract claims. Consequently it is an important area of law for property, family and commercial practitioners.’

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Henderson Chambers, June 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Priority in Sale and Leaseback – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted March 19th, 2015 in contracts, equity, leases, mortgages, news by sally

‘Scott v. Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd, in which the Supreme Court gave judgment on 22nd October 2014, has finally determined, in favour of the mortgagees, the question of priority between home owners, who had sold their homes under sale and leaseback schemes after getting into financial difficulties in return for the grant of a tenancy from the purchaser, and the mortgagees who provided the finances for the purchases. In order for the home owners’ unregistered interests to override a registered disposition under the Land Registration Act 2002, the interest had to be a proprietary interest, but prior to acquiring the legal estate a purchaser could not grant equitable rights of a proprietary character, as opposed to personal rights.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 10th February 2015

Source: www.radcliffechambers.com

Suspending belief – Nearly Legal

Posted December 15th, 2014 in appeals, equity, land registration, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, Supreme Court by tracey

‘We have dealt with the basic facts in Scott v Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd [2014] UKSC 52 when considering its previous incarnations (Cooke v Mortgage Business [2012] EWCA Civ 17 and Re North East Property Buyers Ltd [2010] EWHC 2991 (Ch)). In summary, the basic question for the Supreme Court was this: where a seller has agreed, prior to the contract of sale, that the buyer will grant the seller a tenancy after the sale, does the seller have that right so as not only to bind the buyer but also the buyer’s lender? I think, when framed as a question like that, the answer seems obvious. Call me a weak-kneed liberal, but all the equity (colloquially speaking) is in favour of the seller. They have entered in to the transaction on that basis and would not have entered in to the transaction otherwise. We all make bad deals which the law doesn’t get us out of, but the equity isn’t really in our favour: why should the law get us out of a bad deal?’

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Nearly Legal, 14th December 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Magic beans for that cow? – Zenith Chambers

Posted November 17th, 2014 in appeals, equity, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, mortgages, news, rent, Supreme Court by sally

‘The North East Property Buyers litigation test cases finally reached the Supreme Court and judgment was handed down on 22nd October 2014. Any practitioner in property and housing litigation in the North East, and indeed further afield, will have had some knowledge of, or dealings with, schemes such as were in these cases examined. They concerned sale and lease back agreements, a simple enough notion, involving the purchase of a vendor’s home by a nominee, often at an undervalue, in return granting the vendor a lease of the property, thereby releasing equity to the vendor and allowing them to remain in the property at a reduced rent.’

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Zenith Chambers, 24th October 2014

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk