Amanda Hadkiss (led by Richard Wormald QC of 3 Raymond Buildings) represented the executor of an estate in the trial of various claims between members of a family relating to a portfolio of residential and commercial properties and certain chattels. The case was heard in a seven-day trial before the Chancery Division of the High Court in Leeds. Judgment was handed down on 18 June 2021 and is available on Bailii here.

The case centered on the beneficial ownership of a valuable residential property and surrounding land. The executor succeeded in defending a claim advanced by two family members, who asserted the existence of a constructive trust/proprietary estoppel in their favour allegedly entitling them to the entire beneficial interest in the property. The Court rejected their claim on the basis that no agreement, arrangement or understanding had been reached the family members in the 1980s regarding their ownership of the properties.

The executor also succeeded in establishing her entitlement to an equitable account of rental income received in relation to a commercial property, and in her claim for mesne profits in respect of certain residential properties.