Author Archives: Kit Molloy

The court of construction will not improve a document (A licence in this case)

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IT IS NO PART OF THE COURT OF CONSTRUCTION TO IMPROVE A DOCUMENT

HARRY FITZHUGH v ANTHONY FITZHUGH EWCA Civ 694

The Claimant and Defendant were brothers. They were joint administrators of their father’s estate. This consisted of a farm and land. Anthony and his partner were granted a licence to graze cattle, cultivate, mow fields and collect grass from the land. This was subject to an annual licence fee of £1.

As administrators the brothers were jointly the Licensor for the purpose of granting this licence to the Licensee. The Licensee was in breach of the licence for failing to pay the £1 for several years.
The Licence provided … Read the full post

Crumbs of comfort for those ‘too poor to go bankrupt’

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Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Payne & Cooper (test case) [2011] UKSC 60

This is a decision of the Supreme Court. It considers the issue of whether deductions in respect of Social Fund Loan repayments and overpaid benefits can continue to be made after the making of a DRO during the moratorium period of 1 year after which time the debt will be written off. It also tidies up the existing law and introduces coherence which both parties sought.

Mrs. Payne had received a Social Fund loan of £843 in September 2007. In August 2009 she obtained a DRO listing the SF loan as a qualifying loan. … Read the full post

Taken out does not mean taken over

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Secretary of State for Work and Pension v Neera Mohammad [2011] EWCA Civ 1358 [not available on Bailii yet]

This is a case which turns very much on its facts and as far as the Income Support claimant is concerned, turned out badly.

Mrs. M. was the divorced wife left in occupation of the matrimonial home. Her husband had first acquired the home without a mortgage for the sum of £69,950 in 1987. 15 years later he took out a borrowing charged on the property in the sum of £114,000. In the ancillary relief proceedings in 2007, Mrs M agreed to indemnify her husband against this borrowing for the transfer … Read the full post