''Holder v Holder''
968
Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Byzantine Empire
* Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...
Ch 353 is an
English trusts law
English trust law concerns the protection of assets, usually when they are held by one party for another's benefit. Trusts were a creation of the English law of property and obligations, and share a subsequent history with countries across the ...
case concerning
conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
.
Facts
Victor Holder was an
executor
An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used.
Overview
An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...
of his father’s will. He wanted to renounce executorship, after he had performed some tasks in that capacity. Unfortunately that technically meant the executorship could not be properly renounced. The remaining executors put two farms up for
auction
An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...
, on which Victor was a tenant. Victor bought them at the auction. The other beneficiaries of the trust claimed he could not make the purchase, because it would constitute a
conflict of interest
A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...
.
Judgment
Harman LJ and
Danckwerts LJ delivered judgments distinguishing this from Lord Eldon’s strong words in ''
Ex parte James
''Ex parte James'' (1803) 32 ER 385 is an insolvency and company law case, concerning conflicts of interest, and the absolute duty to avoid them.
Facts
A bankrupt's estate was purchased by a solicitor to the commission of the bankrupt.
Judgm ...
'' and ''
Ex parte Lacey'' because everybody concerned knew that the purchase was planned, and maybe Lord Eldon exaggerated in saying that you can never determine what somebody knows.
Sachs LJ concurred that there was no conflict of interest. He took the view that a hard and fast rule prohibiting all transactions was unnecessary and could be unjust. The courts should examine the facts and then determine whether setting the sale aside is appropriate.
See also
*''
Keech v Sandford
is a foundational case, deriving from English trusts law, on the fiduciary duty of loyalty. It concerns the law of trusts and has affected much of the thinking on directors' duties in company law. It holds that a trustee owes a strict duty of ...
''
*''
Ex parte James
''Ex parte James'' (1803) 32 ER 385 is an insolvency and company law case, concerning conflicts of interest, and the absolute duty to avoid them.
Facts
A bankrupt's estate was purchased by a solicitor to the commission of the bankrupt.
Judgm ...
'' (1803) 32 ER 385
*''
Boardman v Phipps
''Boardman v Phipps'' 966UKHL 2is a landmark English trusts law case concerning the duty of loyalty and the duty to avoid conflicts of interest.
Facts
Tom Boardman, Baron Boardman, Mr Tom Boardman was the solicitor of a family trust.See the cas ...
''
Notes
{{reflist, 2
References
*M Conaglen (2006) argued that if a beneficiary has given fully informed consent and the price is fair then a sale to a trustee will be unimpeachable
English trusts case law
Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases
1968 in case law
1968 in British law