A husband resisted his former wife’s claim under the section against his brother, her brother-in-law. He asserted, with a view to deceiving both his wife and the Court, that his brother, who held the fee of a house, did not hold any share beneficially for the husband but held entirely for himself, the brother. That would have denied the wife any beneficial interest in the house. He fell out with his brother and adjusted his stance in the related proceedings that were heard at the same time to assert instead that the brother held in part beneficially for him, the husband.
Held: The court considered refusing relief to the husband on the ‘clean hands’ principle but had decided not to do so, because (i) that to do so would harm the former wife, who was not only innocent of the husband’s fraud but was its intended victim and who could recover only if the husband succeeded against his brother and (ii) that the husband had made a clean breast of the falsity of his assertions ahead of the hearings.
Judges:
Anthony Lincoln J
Citations:
[1985] Fam LR 97
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Gonthier and Another v Orange Contract Scaffolding Ltd CA 25-Jun-2003
The question of a proprietary estoppel as between landlord and tenant arose. An agreement had been reached subject to contract for the grant of a lease, with an option to purchase. The tenant was allowed into possession before the documentation was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Equity, Land
Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.188283