List Member Jennifer Hewson successfully appeared for a Plaintiff awarded equitable compensation for improvements he had contributed to a property owned by the defendant (his partner at the time).
The case had started off as a simple debt claim, however, Ms Hewson formed the view that, naturally enough in the context of their domestic relationship, there was no enforceable contract between the parties for the repayment of the monies the Plaintiff had expended on the property. The case was amended to seek equitable compensation based on a constructive trust.
Simple debt claims aren’t always as straightforward as they seem, particularly where parties are in a familial or other personal relationship and won’t always have agreed or even discussed arrangements for repaying sums of money. In such circumstances, equity may provide an alternative remedy.
Read full judgment here
