Lorenz v Caruana [2025] EWCA Civ 606

The Court of Appeal has handed down judgment in Lorenz v Caruana  [2025] EWCA Civ 606, overturning the decision to grant summary judgment against the Claimant’s claim that half of his brother’s residuary estate was held on secret trust for the Claimant and his two siblings. The Defendant argued that the contemporaneous documents established that the deceased’s intention was to give his estate outright to her in order to avoid inheritance tax and that the claim therefore had no prospect of success. The Court of Appeal noted, however, that the contemporaneous documents did not speak with one voice and accepted that an intention to avoid inheritance tax does not inevitably mean that the deceased cannot have intended to impose an enforceable obligation on the Defendant. The Court considered that there was a real prospect of further evidence being available at trial that would support the Claimant’s case, particularly in light of the limited evidence given by the Defendant as to the instructions given to her by the Deceased. The decision is a reminder that it is only in rare cases that summary judgment will be granted where there are disputed issues of fact, particularly where what lies at the heart of the claim is the content of oral discussions.

Richard Wilson KC and Jamie Randall acted for the successful appellant.