The Rt Rev. Nicholas Baines, Lord Bishop of Leeds & anr (claimant/respondent) –v- Dixon, Coles & Gill (a firm) & ors (def/appellant)
Thursday 8th July 2021
The First Defendant/Appellant, appeals the Order of HHJ Saffman, sitting as a Deputy High Court Judge, dated 1 December 2020, whereby he ordered that an account be taken of all sums of money possessed or received by the First Defendant as trustee for the Claimants in relation to the disposal by the Second Claimant of certain properties. The First Defendant/Appellant appeals the Order in part relating to the conveyancing transactions listed under positions 5-8 in paragraph 2 of the Order.
Permission to appeal has been granted by HHJ Saffman in paragraph 14 the same Order to the effect that the First Defendant/Applicant has permission to appeal the issue whether the claims to account in relation to the conveyancing transactions are barred by section 21(3) of the Limitation Act 1980. The judge observed that the matter relates to the construction of ‘party or privy’ in section 21(1)(a) of the Limitation Act in the context of the issue of partners pursuant to the Partnership Act 1890. The judge further observed that that there is no relevant case law and the text book ‘Levin on Trusts’ appears to be equivocal. The judge said that this was thought to be an important issue justifying seeking authoritative guidance by the Court of Appeal.