Bermuda Law Blog

01 Sep 2017

Louise Charleson
Church Bay Trust Co. Ltd. v Her Majesty’s Attorney General for Bermuda [2017] SC (Bda) 34 Civ (1 May 2017) In this case, the Plaintiff Trustee sought rectification of a Settlement on the grounds of mistake as the terms of the Trust Deed conferred a power upon the Trustee to add and exclude beneficiaries only during the lifetime of the Settlor. The Court held that the quality of the evidence supporting the mistake was very high because it was derived from prior to the execution of the Deed and was based on communications between the Trustee and Settlor. It was clear that the Settlor did not intend the Trust property to go to charity (the ultimate beneficiary) when there were alternative persons identified by him to be added as beneficiaries. Therefore, in an effort to give effect to the true intentions of the Settlor, the application was granted to rectify the Trust Deed in the terms prayed.
14:24 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government / Litigation & Dispute Resolution / Wills, Trusts & Estates
31 Aug 2017

Fozeia Rana-Fahy
The Chief Justice has recently considered the impact of the Children Act 1998 (“the Act”) as amended by the Children Amendment Act 2002 (“the 2002 Amendments”) upon the ability of trustees to change the governing law of a foreign law trust to Bermuda. The 2002 Amendments, which came into force in January 2004, created a new rule for construing all instruments, including international trusts. On one reading of the Act, a person can no longer validly give a gift or make dispositions of property to their “legitimate children” only (unless each legitimate child is identified by name), since such a gift/disposition would be construed as a gift/disposition to their legitimate and illegitimate children.
20:44 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Legislation / Litigation & Dispute Resolution / Wills, Trusts & Estates
31 Aug 2017

Jordan Knight
Recently in the news there have been increasing reports of rescue efforts and road accidents where members of the public have been praised for assisting the victims until emergency services personnel arrived. For some people, leaping to action in those circumstances is an instinctual response to seeing a fellow man or woman in need. But what happens if in doing so that person makes the matter worse?
19:44 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Legislation / Litigation & Dispute Resolution / Miscellaneous
30 Aug 2017

Jennifer Haworth
In December 2016, the legislature in Bermuda passed the Bribery Act 2016 (the “Act”) which will come into force on 1 September 2017. The Act is based on the UK Bribery Act 2010. Currently, there are several separate laws dealing with bribery and corruption offences in Bermuda, such as the Criminal Code 1907 (Section 111 Official Corruption and Section 112 Extortion By Public Officers), the Parliament Act 1957 and the Parliamentary Election Act 1978. But as of Friday, there will be one comprehensive statute which sets out what constitutes bribery in Bermuda.
20:33 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Fraud & Anti Money Laundering / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
29 Aug 2017

Agathe Holowatinc
Jeremy Leese and Brian Holdipp, members of MJM’s Corporate Department, will be attending London International Shipping Week in early September, as part of a Bermuda delegation which includes The Hon. Walter Roban, JP, MP, Minister of Transport, and Ross Webber, CEO of the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA). As part of the week’s programme, the BDA will be hosting a Bermuda Reception on the evening of Monday, 11th September 2017. If you are interested in attending, please contact Jeremy Leese (e-mail: jleese@mjm.bm) for an invite to the event. In addition, if you are in London, and wish to meet Jeremy and Brian outside of such event to discuss any legal matters with which the firm may assist you, they may have time on Monday (11th Sept) or Wednesday (13th Sept) to visit your offices. Please contact Jeremy via e-mail if you would like to schedule a meeting.
15:44 / Company & Commercial Law / MJM Barristers & Attorneys
23 Aug 2017

Agathe Holowatinc
Samuel Martin was called to the Bermuda Bar on 17 August 2017 by the Hon Chief Justice Ian Kawaley. Sam’s call to the Bar was moved by his Dad, Andrew Martin, and seconded by his uncle, Peter Martin, who are both shareholders and directors of MJM Limited. Sam went to Warwick Academy until the sixth form, when he transferred to the Bermuda High School to complete his IB studies. Sam is a keen musician and performed regularly as a member and then leader of the Menuhin Youth Orchestra when he lived in Bermuda. Sam then went to the University of Swansea to read mechanical engineering, and then changed to read law, graduating with an upper second class honours degree. Sam then completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (LPC) at the University of Law at Guildford, Surrey, before undertaking his training contract at Cheyney Goulding LLP in Guildford. Sam was admitted to the Law Society as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales on 15 February 2017. Sam is now junior in house counsel at a media distribution company in London.
20:39 / Miscellaneous / MJM Barristers & Attorneys / Uncategorized
30 May 2017

Agathe Holowatinc
"While, in the vast majority of cases, people exercise their right of access to justice through the services of a lawyer, over the last decade, there have been an ever increasing number of litigants in person appearing in the Bermuda Courts," reads the Preface in the newly released Handbook for Civil Litigants in Person. Although not short, the 47 page Handbook is clear and comprehensive, detailed and accessible, and aims to help individuals appearing on their own behalf to navigate the civil justice system as effectively as they can.
20:06 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Bermuda Government / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
19 May 2017

Jennifer Haworth
On May 5, 2017, Supreme Court Justice Charles-Etta Simmons ruled that the Registrar-General’s decision to reject a marriage application from a same-sex couple was discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation, declaring that “same-sex couples are entitled to be married under the Marriage Act”. The case had been brought by Bermudian Winston Godwin and his Canadian fiancé Greg DeRoche, who took their case to the Supreme Court after the Registrar-General refused to publish their marriage banns, arguing that the Human Rights Act (the “HRA”) took primacy in Bermuda and protected their right to marry. “The facts of this case are relatively simple and straightforward,” Justice Simmons wrote in her introduction. “The Applicants are both male. Each states by affidavit that they met in Canada, the home of the second Applicant, and started dating in 2015. They both love Bermuda, the home of the first Applicant. It is their wish to be married in Bermuda irrespective of their gender as recognition of the feelings that they have for one another.”
20:01 / Bermuda Case Law & Legislation / Family Law / Litigation & Dispute Resolution
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