The Hon. Miss Justice Carol Edwards

Division of matrimonial property - Family home deteriorating and destroyed after separation - New structure built on land - Land appurtenant to still existing - No application to vary equal share rule - Division of other matrimonial assets - Principles applicable - Property (Rights of Spouses) Act, S. 6, 12, 13 and 14.

Contract - Agreement for the provision of telecommunication services - Services

Provided under three separate contracts - Contracts suspended for non-payment

On invoices - One contract provided for manner in which invoices presented for

Payment should be disputed - Whether there was any legitimate dispute over

Invoicing - Whether there was any right to suspend or to terminate all contracts

For non-payment of invoices due under one contract - Whether damages payable as

a result of the termination of services under the contracts.

Civil practice and procedure - Application to enforce a foreign judgment - Application made at common law - Defence of fraud, public policy and natural justice raised to impeach judgment - Whether judgment successfully inpeached.

Civil practice and procedure - Service by alternative method - Affidavit of service filed with request for default judgment - Rules requiring court to be satisfied as to service - Affidavit of service to be endorsed by Court that services is satisfactorily proved - Affidavit not endorsed by Registrar but request for default judgment granted - Whether failure by registrar to endorse affidavit renders the service defective - Application to strike out claim and for summary judgment due to defect in service - Civil Procedure Rules, 2002, Part 5, Rule 5.13. 

Civil practice and procedure – Application for summary judgment – Debt owed by one party to another – Attempt by debtor to assign debt – Assignment ineffective – Declaration of trust - Trustee refusing to bring claim against his debtors – Beneficiary of the trust bringing claim against third party debtor – Whether there exist any basis for summary judgment – Civil Procedure Rules 2002, part 15, rule 15.2.

Contract for services – Contract providing for provision of consultancy services in letter of engagement – Payment terms incorporated into the letter of engagement – Employer refusing to pay fees under the contract – Whether basis for payment under the contract was triggered – Whether any basis outside of contract for payment on a quantum meruit basis.

Loan contract – Monies borrowed for the benefit of interrelated companies – Each company receiving a separate portion of the loan with obligation to repay that portion with interest – Corporate and cross guarantees signed by each company – Separate personal guarantees also provided for the said loan by two individuals – Loan in default – Guarantors called on by the bank to honour the guarantee – Loan repaid by one guarantor – One individual guarantor seeking to claim from the other an indemnity under the guarantee – Whether guarantor obliged to sue the principal debtors first – Whether loan

Civil practice and procedure – Application to register foreign judgment – Judgment registered by the local court not the correct judgment of the foreign court – Omission in judgment corrected by the foreign court prior to application to register in the local court – Authenticated copy of judgment presented to local court for registration without a copy of the order of amendment – Defendant not applying to set aside the registration of the foreign judgment in the time competent for him to do so – No extension of the time to apply to set aside was applied for or granted within the time compet

Contract - Dispute as to nature and validity of contract - Contract referring to loan/eqity - Whether monies advanced was for a loan or an equity investment - Whether the written contract was so ambigious as to call into question the contra proferentem rule - Whether contract in breach of the Moneylending Act.

Contract - Sums paid under an earlier agreement - Later agreement superseding the earlier agreement by incorporating its terms - Whether consideration past.

Trusts - Trust for sale - Application by administrator general for directions regarding the sale of trust property - Duty of administrator general - Independent valuation of trust property commissioned by administrator general - Valuation partially dependent on company’s audited financial statements - Whether there is actual or apparent bias or conflict of interest in the manner in which the audit was conducted to affect the reliability of the valuation - Sections 39, 40, 43 and 44 of the Administrator General’s Act