Ruby Keeler-Williams

We successfully acted for Trustees in a significant, complex and protracted claim for determining the distribution of monies held from a trust fund with sums in excess of £5,000,000. This claim was very complex as it involved a contested element and was a ‘hybrid’ Part 7 and Part 8 claim. 

The disputed element of the claim was settled after a 17-hour mediation involving Hong Kong-based clients. Overall, the case was conducted over four years, and the settlement agreements were, following complex submissions, approved by the High Court.

These claims, whilst involving different developments were similar in that a Developer marketed and sold units in an off-plan project, predominantly to overseas buyers. These buyers intended to let the units upon completion. The developments use a fractional sales model and buyers typically paid large deposits of 50%-80% of the total purchase price. These deposits were due to be used to fund completion of the project and were held on trust within a ‘buyer company’, usually with the Sellers solicitor as director, pursuant to a legal charge.

The money held within the buyer company was then spent on construction and more pertinently marketing and the buyers lost their deposits with little to no building work completed.

Elysium Law have obtained many multi-million pound recoveries for client groups.

For more information please read our article on this topic.

We represented individuals often working for an umbrella company or for their own personal service company. These individuals had been marketed a tax avoidance scheme which in short involved the payment of minimum wage and the remainder of earnings due were paid by way of a ‘loan’, which they were informed would never need to be repaid. In some cases they were told the scheme was a condition of joining the umbrella company.

Unusually, the purported ‘loans’ had been assigned out of the Trust and have either directly or via other companies ended up being assigned to a company who made demands for payment.

Elysium reviewed over 107,000 pages of documents disclosed in this matter and it was clear from the review of these documents, together with evidence from Our Clients, that the loans were ‘circular’ and were never intended to be repaid. This was clearly a tax avoidance arrangement, and the loans were, in our view, unenforceable.

Elysium Law facilitated a mediation in order to narrow the issues in dispute. Following that Mediation, Elysium Law subsequently served upon the company a comprehensive letter of response that rebutted the claims on the grounds of collateral contract, misrepresentation and breach of trust.

For more information please read our article on this topic.

This related to work done by the employee both prior and post leaving the company and thus the breach of express and implied terms of the contract, together with breach of post termination restrictions and a duty to account were pleaded.

This matter was successfully settled following negotiation between Elysium Law and the Defendant.