Acting in successful Z Trust litigation

Court of Appeal rules former trustee has priority to trust assets in precedent setting judgment

International law firm Taylor Wessing has acted for Equity Trust (Jersey) Limited (ETJL), the former trustee of an insolvent trust in a precedent setting case from the Court of Appeal in Jersey.

Commenting on the decision, Advocate Emma Jordan, partner at Taylor Wessing, who represented ETJL in the appeal, comments:

"This is a precedent setting judgment for the trust industry and for trust legal practitioners. It provides much needed clarity as to what protection a former trustee has when it incurs liability after it has handed trust assets over on retirement.""This is the first case of its kind to discuss these issues in any jurisdiction and provides confirmation that the former trustee has priority over the trust assets even when a trust is insolvent. It allows a former trustee to know it has real security against liability even if it no longer has possession of the assets. It will no doubt have significant ramifications in all trust jurisdictions."

The Court of Appeal panel, consisting of the Bailiff of Jersey (Sir William Bailhache), Roy Martin QC and John Martin QC heard the appeal on 23 and 24 January 2019. They handed their judgment down on 28 June 2019.

The team was led by Emma Jordan with support from senior associate Kate Silbermann (Private client).