Ali Tabari acted for the Claimant in a High Court trial concerning a company whose shareholding was the subject of a dispute involving 4 brothers. The Claim had been pleaded and run for the majority of the litigation by Natalie Kearney before the start of her maternity leave, and was conducted throughout by George Green LLP (Liam Owen, now at Keelys LLP, and Rachel Humphries).
A link to the reported judgment is here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/ch/2024/3222
Ali’s client established his assertion before HHJ Richard Williams sitting as a High Court Judge, that, despite the First Defendant brother legally holding a 50% shareholding, in fact he held the vast majority of that shareholding on trust for two other brothers who, together with the Claimant, have now been found to hold the majority controlling interest.
The trial involved the detailed consideration of questions around proprietary estoppel, constructive trusts, and the Pallant v Morgan equity, and the witness evidence contained many allegations of serious wrongdoing. Ultimately, the First Defendant was found, after cross-examination, to have been an unreliable witness in several key aspects set out in the judgment, and his core factual case was rejected.
The trial demonstrated, once again, the need for business affairs to be conducted with at least some documentary formality, particularly when they involve family members who might otherwise not see the need to do so. However, it also demonstrated that equity is willing to come to the assistance of those who are in need of it, particularly in circumstances where (as the Judge found in this case) they have been taken advantage of.
