Date: 04 September 2026 (Wednesday) Time: 9:30am–12:45pm Language: English Level: Elementary
Speaker: Stephen Gallagher, Professor of Practice in Law, Associate Dean (Academic & Student Affairs), the Faculty of Law, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Lawyer CPD / ACCA CPD / SFC CPT / Insurers’ CPD Pts: 3 points Fee: HK$1,800
Highlights:
Highlights: In Whitlock v Moree [2017] UKPC 44, at [23], the majority of the Privy Council (Lord Briggs, with whom Lady Hale and Lord Sumption agreed) observed that there are “well established principles which assist the courts in resolving disputes as to beneficial ownership of property, and the order in which what may be described as the contents of an equitable toolkit are to be deployed for that purpose.” That toolkit, the Board emphasised, is grounded in first principles of equity.
Disputes concerning the ownership of property arise in a wide range of contexts and at different stages of life. This three hour seminar examines how equity responds to such disputes. It begins by identifying the core equitable principles that underpin the resolution of property disputes generally, before exploring their application across different factual settings. It considers disputes arising while all parties are alive, those involving the death of one or more parties, and disputes concerning the administration of a deceased person’s estate.
The seminar then turns to disputes arising out of personal relationships, including those involving married couples, parties to a marriage, and cohabiting partners. It highlights the extent to which equitable reasoning may differ depending on the legal and relational context in which the dispute arises.
Attention is also given to whether equity treats particular forms of personal property differently. Illustrative examples include disputes involving shares, joint bank accounts, safe deposit boxes held in joint names, and motor vehicles, raising issues of ownership, registration, and, in some jurisdictions, the distinction between legal owner and registered keeper. Other categories of personal property are also considered.
The seminar concludes by asking whether equity operates with a universal toolkit for resolving property disputes, and, if so, identifying the tools it contains and the principles governing their use. Outline:
- The basic principles that equity should apply to all property disputes;
- Disputes among the living; Disputes with the dead;
- Disputes over the deceased’s estate;
- Special rules and principles of equity for intervivos and testamentary trusts and gifts;
- Disputes among the married or the cohabiting, and with the married or cohabiting;
- Disputes involving land and personal property; Disputes involving special forms of personal property;
- Disputes involving land, shares, joint name bank accounts, safe-deposit boxes rented in joint names, the registered owner(s) or keeper(s) of a vehicle, and other forms of personal property.
