On 3 May 2023, HHJ Paul Matthews handed down judgment in James -v- Scudamore [2023] EWHC 996 (Ch). Nalders, instructing James Kirby of Counsel, acted for the successful First Defendant, confirming the validity of the Wills and Codicils of her late aunt and uncle. Coodes acted for Martyn James, the son of the late Ivor James, who had sought an order revoking the grant of probate that Nalders’ client had obtained, had his claim dismissed at trial, and an Order was made requiring him to pay indemnity costs for 15 months of the litigation, including the trial.
The Judge decided, on the facts and agreeing with Nalders’ client’s assertion, that Mr James had ‘waited until Christine herself is dead and additionally (as it happens) one of the two attesting witnesses is dead as well. The only surviving attesting witness is his former partner’s mother. As I have found on the evidence, the claimant, the former partner and her mother have concocted a story about how the codicil was executed, which I have rejected’. He determined that the Will and Codicil were properly executed.
As a result of the deliberate delay on the part of the Claimant in bringing a formal Will challenge (and in addition to the finding that the Claimant and his witnesses had concocted a story), the Judge went further in his legal decision, and decided (which is without recent authority) that Nalders’ client was also entitled to rely on the probate doctrine of laches to defeat his claim. In doing so, he has given guidance to future cases of this nature where a Claimant has selectively delayed a challenge to a Will, making available a defence of laches in such cases.
When preparing a Will, a testator should be certain that the person that they appoint as executor is appropriately commercial and robust and capable of putting their wishes into effect; there are often relatives who will make allegations to attempt to challenge a Will’s validity, particularly in the case of a complex family dynamic. The late Christine James did so when appointing her niece as executor so that any allegations were defeated, and Nalders have been proud to support her in honouring her aunt’s intentions. She has been pleased to be able to say that she was able to defend her aunt and put into effect her wishes and we are pleased to say that we played our part in assisting procedurally and strategically in setting up a successful outcome for the estate.