“Robert Hubbard and Ann Hubbard declare that they hold the First Property and the Development Land as trustees of land and Robert Hubbard, Ann Hubbard and Andrew Hubbard declare that they hold the Second Property as trustees of land on trust as follows: 3.1 In respect of the Development Land only: (a) as to Robert’s Plot for Robert Hubbard absolutely; Then as to the Remaining Development Land: (b) as to 80% for Robert Hubbard and Ann Hubbard as set out in clause 5 (c) as to 10% for Andrew Hubbard absolutely (d) as to 10% for Nighat Hubbard absolutely 3.2 In respect of the First Property and the Second Property (a) as to 40% for Robert Hubbard absolutely (b) as to 40% for Ann Hubbard absolutely (c) as to 10% for Andrew Hubbard absolutely (d) as to 10% for Nighat Hubbard absolutely”
“a plot for a single private residential dwelling on the Development Land as indicated on the plans or drawings that accompanied the application for Planning Permission and to be selected or determined in accordance with clause 4;”
“4.1 Within 10 Working Days of the date on which Planning Permission is granted, Robert Hubbard shall select a plot for a single private residential dwelling on the Development Land … which he shall be entitled to absolutely”
“While D2 cannot speak to the specific factual allegations underlying D1’s response, she does not disagree with it. To the extent that the Court accepts D1’s response, D2 adopts and relies upon it.”
“The accounting party must therefore be prepared to document each item, and presumptions may be made against them if they have not kept proper records or have destroyed them. The court will lean particularly hard against a professional who has not kept adequate records or anyone who destroys records in bad faith. In other circumstances, the court may not require documentary evidence for every entry in an account. A non-professional fiduciary who has acted in good faith may be granted fair and reasonable allowances despite having neglected to keep proper accounts.”
“… the case is very different when the transactions to which they relate are recent, where the accounts arising from them have not been finally adjusted, or the balance ascertained or paid, and still more when that destruction takes place by the person who has actually filed a bill to have the accounts taken of those very transactions to which these books relate. In such a case some very cogent reason must be given to satisfy the Court that the destruction was proper or justifiable, and, in the absence of any such satisfactory reason, which is the fact here, I am compelled to act on the principle laid down in the well-known case of Armory v. Delamirie (1 Strange, 505), and presume, as against the person who destroyed the evidence, everything most unfavourable to him, which is consistent with the rest of the facts, which are either admitted or proved.”
“I cannot conclude this case without expressing my regret that I have felt it my duty to make a decision on these points which will lead to so stringent a decree against Mr. Gray. It cannot, however, be too generally known or understood, amongst all persons dealing with each other, in the character of principal and agent, how severely this Court deals with any irregularities on the part of the agent, how strictly it requires that he who is the person trusted shall act, in all matters relating to such agency, for the benefit of his principal, and how imperative it is upon him to preserve correct accounts of all his dealings and transactions in that respect, and that the loss, and still more the destruction of such evidence, by the agent, falls most heavily on himself.”
“A claimant to an account in common form need not allege or prove any default in the trustee’s dealings. An order for an account of administration in common form requires the trustee to account only for what he has actually received, and his disbursement and distribution of it. Accordingly, such an account enforces the trustee’s primary duty to hold the trust property for the beneficiaries, paying out sums only as he is authorised to do under the terms of the trust. It is thus incumbent on the trustee to justify any payments made, and not on the beneficiary to prove any breach of trust.”
“If it appears to the court that a trustee … is or may be personally liable for any breach of trust, whether the transaction alleged to be a breach of trust occurred before or after the commencement of this Act, but has acted honestly and reasonably, and ought fairly to be excused for the breach of trust and for omitting to obtain the directions of the court in the matter in which he committed such breach, then the court may relieve him either wholly or partly from personal liability for the same.”
“As I prepare for the final hearing, following the submissions of the C’s objections to the accepted Account, I am still unsure what the actual dispute is.”
“After the C’s and Ann’s beneficial interests had been fully paid, I became the sole beneficiary of the trust. Therefore, the trust was closed, this position being formally ratified by the trustees in December of 2023. The value of the remaining trust assets were insufficient for my own beneficial interest to be fully discharged.”
“46.1 Externally- 1) All windows resized and replaced with wooden framed, double-glazed units. 2) All external brickwork waterproofed, rendered and painted. 3) A wooden framed, double-glazed conservatory was constructed. 4) Landscaping to the land adjacent to the property. 5) Installation of underground LPG tank. 6) Laying down several hundred meters of fencing and hedging. 46.2 Internally – 1) All internal walls, ceilings and floors were removed and reconstructed. 2) The internal square footage was increased from approximately 1,900 sq ft to approximately 2,970 sq ft, a consequence of the construction of a new first floor running the full length of the property. 3) The whole property was rewired, replastered, new central heating system, new Kitchen, bathrooms, new floor coverings throughout, new internal woodwork, including staircase, doors etc, with the whole property being decorated to the required standard.”
“21.3 Bidwells carried out a lot of the early work, beginning in 2005. My recollection is that they were paid large sums for this work, which involved putting together the planning applications. As far as I can remember, I would have been involved alongside Robert in instructing them and signing documents (but I cannot remember the specifics).”
“D’s were not empowered to take out loans and D’s have to date provided no evidence that the loan was used for authorised purposes and not Ds’ personal expenses and purposes.”
“No objection to£76,395 expense but Cs seek an order for assessment unders71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 ”
“Amounts received by Barker Gotelee and paid out by them.”
“£891,115 proforma invoices from Williams Solicitors LLP. Less amounts paid on account of£347,457 .”
“Objection is deficient in (a) the understated amount received by the accounting party, (b) how much more the accounting party should be treated as having received, (c) the respects in which account is not accurate; and (d) the grounds on which each contention is made (CPR PD 40A paragraphs 3.2 (a) to (d). Trustee authorised (TA s. 8). Proforma invoices produced with daily entries in narrative produced contemporaneously as work done. Costs considerably exacerbated by C’s 8 threats of injunctions and HMLR notices designed to stop the sale to Countryside Properties to bust the trust [Costs Bundle Part 2 pp6-118, 156-221]”
“67. Mr Williams has assured me that the pro forma invoices represent a true final position of his charges. He always supplied a detailed narrative in the invoices he supplies at the time he performs the work.”
“This income has been received since 2005. Any income generated from the farm rental has been used to cover farming costs.”
“This item represents some of the spending on the farm paid by Robert as shown in the RH Account column of the Account.”
“40. … looked after the cutting of 6 acres of grassland, arranging for and looking after any tools necessary for the maintenance of 1.5 miles of hedging to be cut, keeping the weeds and brambles at bay, and reducing the rabbit population.”
“41. We paid him every month for his work as well as paying for invoices for tools, lawn mower servicing repairs and fuel.”
“Costs reimbursed to RH have been deducted from the total reimbursement due.£825,000 due to RH – 15% commission fee on sale. Less amounts paid.”
“81. …. In practice this£25,000 was no more than a contingency fund, necessary to cover the numerous costs that did not warrant being recorded in the common account as a ‘payment for my time’ done so in order to simplify the accounting process.”
“50.£25,000 was paid for 17 years and recorded correctly, which covered all monies paid to Robert for running the development and covering all other business expenses not in the account.”
“30. It was agreed by Robert, Andrew and I (I cannot remember exactly when) that Robert would be paid in return for the works he was overseeing in relation to the property developments. I do not recall the agreement ever being formalised or written down. I know that Nikki was not privy to these conversations, but I always assumed she would have been told by Andrew.”
“In 2010, it was agreed that R Hubbard would receive from the consortium a total of£42,200 per year, calculated retrospectively from 2005, which would cover ongoing consortium expenses. Consortium members were to pay their pro-rata amount. No money was paid to me by anybody until 2016. At the end of 2014, following the sale of a property, I effectively paid myself back from the money that I earned (up to the end of 11/14).”
“This appears to be borrowing of Ds or D1’s for Ds or D1’s living expenses or purposes.”
“My Lords, the question with which your Lordships have to deal in this case does not admit of very precise treatment. How much money belonging to a ward may be spent upon his bringing up must in each case depend upon the circumstances of the case, and no rule applicable to every case can ever possibly be laid down so as to bring out a definite sum. … The only rule that can be laid down in such a case is that the boy should be brought up in such a way as is appropriate to the position which he is afterwards to fill.”
“I do not propose to go into details. As I have said, I do not think the matter is susceptible of being treated as if one could go through every item of this account, or even heads of the account, and say what was spent, or what ought to have been spent, in a particular month or in a particular year.”