Tag Archive for 'trust'

Intention, intention, intention

By Dave on 19/07/2010. 0 Comments

Wright v Wright [2010] EWHC 1808 (Ch) is a near perfect example of a fundamental principle of property law, which we tutors seek to ingrain into our students (mostly, it must be said, with limited success, having looked at hundreds of exam scripts), that intention is what determines the type of interest created or transferred (trust, gift, loan, bailment etc).

The circumstances were also rather unfortunate.  Anthony (Tony) Wright had built up a successful battery business, and sold it to another company for £2.3 million; he joined the new company but, in breach of covenant, allegedly set up a competing battery business.  The new company claimed damages against him of … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , , , .

Less than ambulatory intentions

By NL on 31/05/2010. 11 Comments

Kernott v Jones [2010] EWCA Civ 578

This was the Court of Appeal hearing, on a second appeal, of a case on equitable interests in a property. We reported the first appeal to the High Court and were uneasy about the outcome of that appeal, which seemed to turn more on an idea of fairness than on any of the scant facts in imputing intention as to the distribution of equitable shares. The Court of Appeal judgment, while perhaps harsher on one of the parties, goes some way towards re-establishing certainty for those who, foolishly but inevitably, purchase property jointly while remaining unmarried.

The facts are set out in the … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , , , , .

Imputed fairness?

By NL on 28/07/2009. 4 Comments

Jones v Kernott [2009] EWHC 1713 (Ch) [not on Bailii yet] was an appeal from the County Court on a Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 case. At issue is the question of fairness and whether and how far a change in common intention can be inferred or imputed.

Ms Jones and Mr Kernott had bought the property involved in joint names in 1984. Both lived there until 1993 when their relationship ended. They were not married. Mr K moved out and in 1996 bought another property in his sole name. Ms J remained in the first property.

Mr K ceased to pay mortgage and other outgoings … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , , , , .

Redolent of Improbability

By J on 30/04/2009. 0 Comments

I don’t think there is any significant point of law or practice in Lemas and Sealy v Williams [2009] EWCA Civ 360, but it is a strange case (although one suspects many readers will have been involved in similarly chaotic cases at one stage or another) and worthy of a short note.

Mr & Mrs Lemas were, at one time, the joint registered proprietors of a house, with a mortgage secured in favour of Abbey National. Mr Lemas got into financial difficulties and was made bankrupt. Despite that, Mr Lemas managed to arrange for the sale of the property to Mr Sealy. Before that sale could be completed, Abbey National … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , , .

Families, eh

By Dave on 08/01/2009. 0 Comments

The one key message of property law is never trust your family. Mirza v Mirza [2009] EWHC 3 (Ch) is a further example of this truism and I can only marvel at the way Stephen Smith QC, sitting as a Deputy Chancery Judge, dealt with the case. The Claimants, Nasir and Naim, were brothers who sought possession of a property in Birmingham against another brother, Jahangir, who was the tenant and who lived in the property with his (ex-)wife, and their six children. This simple possession claim was based on the fact that Jahangir – who seems to be an unpleasant individual, against whom exclusion orders had been made on … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Possession and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , .
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