Medieval echoes of feudal land law resonate in castle ownership dispute (Hamilton v Her Majesty’s Attorney General and others; Walton Properties Ltd v Her Majesty’s Attorney-General) (first published by Lexis PSL on 7th September 2022)

This article by David Nicholls was originally published by Lexis PSL on 7th September 2022.

Hamilton v Her Majesty’s Attorney General and others; Walton Properties Ltd v Her Majesty’s Attorney-General [2022] EWHC 2132 (Ch) - EXC0005669

Restructuring & Insolvency analysis: What happens when a foreign registered company that owns land in England, on trust of land, is dissolved? Who owns the land and who is entitled to a vesting order? The court grappled with these questions in this fascinating case revolving around the ownership of Walton Castle in Somerset. The court concluded that the applicable law was the common law of England (not the law of the jurisdiction in which the company was registered).

The freehold of the castle passed to the Crown upon the dissolution of the company, but the freehold did not determine, so there was no escheat. The court was empowered to make a vesting order under section 44(ii)(c) of the Trustee Act 1925 (TA 1925) and considered the principles that apply to the exercise of its discretion. In exercising that discretion, the court declined to re-create the trust, and instead vested the castle in its majority beneficial owner.

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