INSIGHTSNews & Events

By Rowan Morton HHJ Matthews sitting as a High Court Judge gave Judgment yesterday following a costs application following a split trial liability only hearing, in what he described as tragic family litigation. https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2025/1711.html Sheila Wills had 9 children, six of whom survived her. At the time of her death in April 2020 one of...

By Rowan Morton What constitutes a “subsequent agreement” to an express declaration of trust? Back in 2007 the landmark case of Stack v Dowden [2007] UKHL 17 saw the Supreme Court establish a general rule that an express declaration of trust is conclusive unless varied by a subsequent agreement (or affected by proprietary estoppel, fraud...

Rowan Morton – TOLATA: AW v RH (Preliminary Issue: Third Party Rights), Re [2024] EWFC, when the legal title does not reflect the beneficial interest, the jurisdiction of the family court in tolata disputes. Laura Smallwood — A walk in the forfeiture jungle: The Tropical Zoo Ltd v The Mayor and Burgesses of the London...

Guildford Chambers are pleased to have a number of barristers ranked as Leading Juniors in the South Eastern Circuit, in the latest Edition of The Legal 500.   George Coates – ‘George is hard-working, clever and strong in detail.’ Christine Julien – ‘Christine is client-focused and excellent with vulnerable individuals in particular. She is direct with her advocacy but...

By Rowan Morton The Claimant’s own deceit to a lender and his creation of a sham lease were not sufficient to undermine his claim for a contradictory common intention constructive trust in a family dispute between father and son in Parker v Parker-Bowyer [2024] EWHC 2239 (Ch). A recent Judgment of 5 September 2024 in...

Guildford Chambers are pleased to have a number of barristers ranked as Leading Juniors in the South Eastern Circuit, in the latest Edition of The Legal 500.   George Coates – ‘George heads up the practice and is highly regarded for his excellent track record of handling high-value matrimonial finance cases.’ Christine Julien – ‘Christine has real attention to...

By Laura Smallwood In this recent county court case the meaning of ‘return’ of a tenancy deposit for the purposes of the Housing Act 2004 was considered in the context of delivery by the landlord of a cheque which was not cashed or credited to the tenant’s account. Although only of persuasive value, the decision...

Guildford Chambers are pleased to have a number of barristers ranked as Leading Juniors in the South Eastern Circuit, in the latest Edition of The Legal 500.   George Coates – ‘George is supremely experienced and a solid tactician. He has a reassuring manner and a keen eye for detail.’ Claire Shrimpton – ‘Claire is very approachable and...

Hudson v Hathway [2022] EWHC 631 (QB) Detrimental Reliance in Common Intention Constructive Trusts A starting point for considering a common intention constructive trust dispute may well be Lewin On Trusts 20th Edition, specifically Section 4: Beneficial Interests of Two of More Persons. The courts have increasingly recognised that, at least in the context of a...

Rowan Morton recently acted for the Claimant in a 4-day “TOLATA” claim before HHJ George in Guildford, whereby the jointly owned property (constructed by the Defendant) did not have the necessary building regulation approval, or energy performance certificate to be fit for sale or for residential rental. The Defendant had been living there for 7...

By Kimberley Clifton   Is delay sufficient to defeat an application to set aside default judgment? Unsuccessful applications There has been a flurry of recent cases from the last three years dealing with the significance of delay in applications to set aside a default judgment. The following cases are some interesting examples of applications...

Family finance 2021 – George Coates & Hannah McSorley TOLATA 2021 – Rowan Morton & Hannah McSorley Children Public Law update 2021 – Dominique Gillan & Suzanne Kelly Private Law Children update 2021 – Nicola Holland & Andrew Austin Tenancies and Covid – an end of year review Laura Smallwood – November 2021 Removing Executors...