Duties and Breaches Flashcards
(74 cards)
Powers of investment
A) express
B) statute
C) extension of powers
s3 TA 200
Statutory general power of investment:
Powers available unless they are restricted/excluded by trustee or other legislation. The trustee act applies to general trust, there are specific rules in other legislation which deal with specific trusts, authorised unit trusts etc.
s3:
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, a trustee may make any kind of investment that he could make if he were absolutely entitled to the assets of the trust.
(2) In this Act the power under subsection (1) is called the “general power of investment”.
(3) The general power of investment does not permit a trustee to make investments in land other than in loans secured on land (but see also section 8).
(4) A person invests in a loan secured on land if he has rights under any contract under which-
One person provides another with credit, and
The obligation of the borrower to repay is secured on land.”
(5) “Credit” includes any cash loan or other financial accommodation.
Section 8 (1) A trustee may acquire freehold or leasehold land in the United Kingdom- as an investment, for occupation by a beneficiary, or for any other reason.
Extension of powers
s57 TA 2000 & s1 VTA
- Need agreement of all Bs (all of age, ascertainable and agree to it)
A) Duty of care and skill in investing
Section 1 Trustee Act 2000
Applies to most actions of trustees, does apply to actions of trustees under duty of investment whether they do so under act itself or under trust deed.
This duty will apply unless excluded/modified by trust deed.
Trustees of the British Museum v Attorney General.
Trustees are under obligation to act honestly and in good faith, in best interests.
What that involves varies depending on what duty being looked at.
But in relation to duty of investment, content comes from case law and statute.
B) Fiduciary obligations in choosing investments
- Taking into account relevant criteria (s4 TA)
fairness between Bs, moral objections, - Ts must obtain proper advice (s5 TA)
- Duties in retention of investments: Periodic review (s4(2))
s4 TA 2000
Specifies certain criteria that trustees must take into account when making decision. Referred to as the standard investment criteria.
(1) In exercising any power of investment, whether arising under this Part or otherwise, a trustee must have regard to the standard investment criteria.
(3) The standard investment criteria, in relation to a trust, are-
(a) the suitability to the trust of investments of the same kind as any particular investment proposed to be made or retained and that particular investment as an investment of that kind, and
(b) the need for diversification of investments of the trust, in so far as is appropriate to the circumstances of the trust
Nestle v Natwest Bank 1993
fairness between Bs and moral objections
paramount duty is to act in best interests of all Bs which normally means best financial interests.
Cowan v Scargill
Concerned mineworkers’ pension fund.
Personal objections to a plan could not be taken into account. Trustees not allowed to take own views into account. Held to be breach of duty to refuse to accept investment plan.
Bishop of Oxford v The Church Commissioners for England [1992] 1 WLR 1241.
Trustees under charitable trust also under duty to obtain max financial return consistent with commercial prudence, but in limited circumstances can refuse to invest even though they are in risk of financial detriment.
- Ts should not make arrangements which conflict with the aims of a charitable trust in question.
- except in such limited circumstances, financial critieria and motivations prevail. Moral objections connected with charity only relevant if it would not of no significant detriment to do so.
s5 TA 2000
Duty to seek advice:
Section 5 TA 2000
(1) Before exercising any power of investment, whether arising under this Part or otherwise, a trustee must (unless the exception applies) obtain and consider proper advice about the way in which, having regard to the standard investment criteria, the power should be exercised.
(3) The exception is that a trustee need not obtain such advice if he reasonably concludes that in all the circumstances it is unnecessary or inappropriate to do so.
(4) “Proper advice” is the advice of a person who is reasonably believed by the trustee to be qualified to give it by his ability in and practical experience of financial and other matters relating to the proposed investment.
advice from people like tax experts/property advisors.
Look to whether its reasonable to not take advice (small investment + large legal costs, not worth it?)
s4(2) TA
Duties in retention of investments:
Periodic review of investments“
A trustee must from time to time review the investments of the trust and consider whether, having regard to the standard investment criteria, they should be varied.”
Section 5(2) TA 2000 “When reviewing the investments of the trust, a trustee must (unless the exception applies) obtain and consider proper advice about whether, having regard to the standard investment criteria, the investments should be varied.”
Re Chapman (duties in retention of investment)
No liability imposed on trustee for mere error in judgments whilst carrying out duties in retention of investment
Bartlett v Barclays
Where Trustee owns a controlling interest in a private company…
The company managed real property and embarked on a programme of hazardous and, as it turned out, disastrous property development. The trust company took little notice and simply relied on the company directors. They only received such information as was available at AGMs.
Held: Obligation to receive the information they would have received if they were on the board of directors: Bartlett v Barclays Bank Trust Co Ltd (No 1) [1980] Ch 515.
PROVING BREACH OF TRUST
The beneficiary must prove that he has suffered loss because of investment decisions that cannot be justified. Not enough to assert that T acted for the wrong reasons, need to show unjustified decision making was the cause.
Hard to prove breach
Nestle v Natwest
- T was a corporate trustee which had undoubtedly made some bad mistakes: it had failed to understand the width of the investment clause in the trust deed and took no legal advice and had also failed to comply with the obligation to review investments.
- The fund was worth £50,000 in 1922 and £270,000 in 1986.
- Had the fund maintained its real value it would have been worth £1 million.
- Had it kept pace with the average increase in the value of shares it would have been worth £1.8 million.
Leggatt LJ went so far as to say that no-one would choose this bank for effective management of his investment.
Held: Failed to show that no reasonable trustee would have made same decisions- no breach of trust.
PERSONAL LIABILITY FOR BREACH OF RUST/DUTY
- Election between remedies
- Equitable compensation
- But for test
- Profit in one transaction and loss in another
Tang Man Sit v Capacious Investments
There is an obligation to elect remedy between inconsistent ones after judgment to prevent double recover for a loss.
- Joint venture for development of land: D provided the land, C provided money for the development.
- Agreement D would transfer some houses to C when built. Effect of agreement was that D held property on trust, and the failure to transfer was a breach of trust.
- D rented the properties out
- C claimed:
a) an account of profiles from rent, made by D on basis they were unauthorised profits in breach of fiduciary duty
b) damages for loss caused by breach of trust (rents C could have obtained from properties if he owned them himself)
Equitable compensation
T liable to pay equitable compensation if Bs have suffered any loss.
How is liability measured for compensation?
“But for test” (Target Holdings v Redfern)
- Applicable to breach of trust and breach of fiduciary duty
If D can show that the loss would have been suffered anyway, trustee not required to pay compensation.
But for test applies to all claims for equitable compensation for breach of trust… under the but for test, need to show loss was caused by D and not otherwise.
remedy for proving but for test?
If successful, C entitled to be put in the position he would have been in had there been no breach.
compensation is assessed at the date of judgment. If trust fund still in existence, trustee may pay compensation into trust fund.
Target Holdings v Redfern
The defendant solicitor held money in his client account for the claimant, to be released upon completion of a property purchase
The solicitor released some of the money early, making a significant personal profit
- Early release (before borrower acquired legal estate) and released to another body in chain of companies, not borrower itself.
HL: Solicitors only liable if can be shown that fraud wouldn’t have gone ahead without the early release of money.
Although there was a breach of fiduciary duty (early release), it would not have changed the financial position of the claimant had it not occurred.The loss did not result from the defendant’s act
Swindle v Harrison
- Breach of fiduciary duty by a solicitor who had failed to disclose to his client that he was making a profit on a bridging loan which he made to enable her to complete the purchase of a hotel to be run as a family restaurant business and on the security thereof.
- The client had also raised money on the security of her house.
- The restaurant failed and the client’s house, the value of which had fallen, was repossessed.
- Relying on Brickenden, the client argued that all she needed to show to recover her loss was that the solicitors’ breach of duty enabled her to complete the transaction. Attempted to argue that it was irrelevant whether or not she would have completed the purchase regardless.
HELD: she was not entitled to recover as damages or as equitable compensation the value of her equity in her house at the time of the transaction: the probabilities, as found by the trial judge, were that the client would still have entered into the bridging loan even if the
solicitors’ breach of fiduciary duty had not occurred because she would still have borrowed the money to complete the purchase of the hotel whatever independent legal advice she had received.
Canson Enterprise v Boughton
- C had bought property. His solicitors were in breach of fiduciary duty in failing to disclose an improper profit being made by the sellers.
- The claimant built a building which was defective due to the negligence of the builders and engineers.
- It was claimed that the solicitors were liable to pay compensation for the defective building on the grounds that if there had been no breach of duty the claimant would not have bought the land and consequently would not have built the building.
Held: Obviously a fiduciary should not be held liable for loss that does not flow from a breach of fiduciary duty. In a claim for loss suffered as a result of non-disclosure amounting to a breach of a fiduciary duty, the plaintiff is required to prove that the loss flows from the
breach of the duty.