Young v Lauretani, Court of Appeal - Chancery Division, May 23, 2007, [2007] EWHC 1244 (Ch)

Reporting Judge: [2007] EWHC 1244 (Ch)

President: Young v Lauretani

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Young v Lauretani, Court of Appeal - Chancery Division, May 23, 2007, [2007] EWHC 1244 (Ch)

Neutral Citation Number: [2007] EWHC 1244 (Ch)

Case No: HC06C03454

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

CHANCERY DIVISION

Royal Courts of Justice

Strand,

London, WC2A 2LL

Date: 23rd May 2007

Before :

THE HON. MR JUSTICE LINDSAY

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Between :

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Tom Weekes (instructed by Pearson Maddin) for the Claimant

David Burles (instructed by Parsonage & Co) for the Defendant

Hearing dates: 18th, 19th and 20th April 2007

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Judgment

Mr Justice Lindsay :

1. This action is concerned with the always-vexed questions which arise when the relationship between parties who have lived together as if man and wife has broken down; where, sadly, only bitterness has proved to have flourished in the soil in which once hope and love had briefly seemed viable and where obligations and accounting between the parties relating to the acquisition and enjoyment of the quasi-matrimonial home cannot be agreed. The Claimant, Mr Barry Young, in his Claim Form and Particulars of Claim of September 2006 asks for declarations as to the quasi-matrimonial home, 20 South Road, Twickenham (``South Road''), as to an alleged obligation on the Defendant, Miss Rebecca Lauretani, to bring in proceeds of sale of a property, 44 Sedgeford Road, Shepherd's Bush (``Sedgeford Road'') in which she had a beneficial interest and for an equitable account. He asked also for rectification of a Trust Deed which regulated beneficial ownership of South Road between them but that claim was, ultimately, not pressed. Mr Young wishes to buy out Miss Lauretani's interest in South Road.

2. In her Defence and Counterclaim Miss Lauretani alleges that, in terms of contribution, she has done all that was required of her; that she was under no obligation to bring in any of the net proceeds of Sedgeford Road; that, if anything, she is owed money by, rather than owes money to, Mr Young and that she now wishes to buy out his interest in South Road.

3. That is a bald outline of what is before me; I shall first say something of the parties, who both gave oral evidence, then turn to a chronology and finally state the agreed issues and reach a conclusion upon them.

4. Mr Young, who was born on 2nd July 1958, is, by trade, a carpenter. He, either as a partner or as a shareholder and director, carries on with another or others what I take to be a successful small builders' business in which he deploys his skills. He was not long since earning of the order of £70-80,000 per annum, greatly more than Miss Lauretani's £8,400-£9,600 per annum. He is not, I would think, a man either of much education or of even temper; the papers before me include inarticulate, angry and often coarse notes that he has written. Whilst he is a practical man and, no doubt, familiar with such business matters as come his way in his trade and is not unfamiliar with dealings with property, at the material times he lacked familiarity with, understanding of or confidence as to the use of trusts. He gave his oral evidence, despite its weaknesses at points, in an uncalculating, direct and spontaneous manner, at times readily accepting points which might tell against him. He had been married before when he met Miss Lauretani in late 2001.

5. Miss Lauretani, some eight or nine years younger than Mr Young, would, I would expect, be fairly seen by Mr Young (an older and far less educated or polished figure) to be a very attractive ``catch'' for him. She, too, had been involved in an earlier relationship and there is reason to believe that it ended very sourly so far as finance was concerned. Perhaps for that reason, she was very desirous of being safe and protected in her dealings with property and was hesitant and anxious in her financial arrangements in relation to the acquisition of South Road. That carried over, too, into her oral evidence;...

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