Petrodell -v- Prest: Appeal to be heard by the Supreme Court in March 2013

The Court of Appeal, comprising of Lord Justices Thorpe, Rimer and Patten, gave permission recently to Yasmin Prest to appeal to the Supreme Court against its decision in Petrodell Resources Ltd –v- Prest [2012] EWCA Civ 1395.

Many of you will have read my previous ‘blog’ about the Court of Appeal decision in this case. The Court of Appeal had allowed the companies appeal against an order of Moylan J who had concluded that the assets held within the companies were effectively the husband’s property. After assessing an award to the wife of £17.5 million, he ordered the husband to transfer or cause to be transferred to the wife the London properties held by the companies along with three properties in another company.

In the Court of Appeal, Rimer LJ held (with Patten LJ agreeing) that the appeals should be allowed because the judge (namely Moylan J) having determined that there was no impropriety (wrongdoing on the part of the husband), he was left with no choice but to reject any claim by the wife that the husband was ‘entitled’ to the properties. Rimer LJ concluded therefore that the properties simply could not be transferred to the wife. Rimer LJ further held that Moylan J was wrong to find that the husband’s sole control of the companies as their 100% owner enabled him to deal as he wished with the companies’ assets and that it was also wrong of him to find that the husband was therefore the beneficial owner of such assets and so ‘entitled’ to them.

Petrodel Resources Ltd & Ors v Prest & Ors, which has been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court by the Court of Appeal, will be heard on the 5th and 6th March 2013. The court will comprise of five Justices.

 

Satvinder Sokhal

Family Law Solicitor