Rationalising Constructive Trusts

Description

Constructive trusts significantly interfere with the rights of an apparent legal owner of property. This makes it necessary for their imposition to be properly explained and justified. Unfortunately, attempts to rationalise constructive trusts as a whole—as opposed to specific doctrines or particular aspects of constructive trusts—have been few and far between. Rationalising Constructive Trusts proposes a new structure for a coherent understanding of constructive trusts. By using a combination of conceptual tools, it provides answers to a number of crucial questions, for example: What are the ingredients of a constructive trust claim? What are the limits of constructive trusts? How can we rationalise the imposition of constructive trusts in particular situations? Why do judges exercise varying degrees of remedial discretion in different doctrines? From a wider perspective, the structured understanding helps us to appreciate the precise ambit and role of express, constructive, and resulting trusts. Volume 25 in the series Hart Studies in Private Law Preface Acknowledgements Contents Table of Cases Table of Legislation 1 Introduction 1.1. Aim and Reasons 1.2. Scope and Definition Trusts 1.3. Methodology 1.4. The Structure of the Book PART A 2 Building Blocks 2.1. 'Qualified Interest' and 'Absolute Interest' Situations 2.2. Primary and Secondary Rights 2.3. Breach, Causation, Remoteness, and Mitigation 2.4. Types of Remedies 3 The Structure of the Law of Constructive Trusts 3.1. Categories of Causative Events: Bilateral, Unilateral, and Court-Based 3.2. Bilateral Events 3.3. Unilateral Events 3.4. Court-Based Events 3.5. 'Non-Core' Doctrines PART B 4 The Doctrine in Rochefoucauld v Boustead 4.1. The Nature of the Trust 4.2. Promise and Reliance 4.3. The Rationale 4.4. 'Fraud' 4.5. The Outer Limits of the Doctrine 5 Secret Trusts 5.1. Nature of the Trust 5.2. Rationale 6 The Doctrine in Pallant v Morgan 6.1. A Discrete Doctrine 6.2. Rationale 6.3. Three-Party Cases 7 Proprietary Estoppel 7.1. The Nature of the Constructive Trust 7.2. Objections 7.3. The Rationale 7.4. Lessons 8 Specifically Enforceable Contracts of Sale and Future Property 8.1. Specifically Enforceable Contracts of Sale 8.2. Future Property 8.3. Assimilating the Doctrines 9 The Rule in Re Rose 9.1. Requirements 9.2. The Trust Response 9.3. Rationale 10 Gains Made In Breach of Fiduciary Duty 10.1. Fiduciary Relationships: Some General Points 10.2. Categorising the Constructive Trust 10.3. Three Questions 11 Remedial Constructive Trusts 11.1. The Present Understanding 11.2. Recharacterisation 11.3. Evaluation PART C 12 Mutual Wills 12.1. The Present Understanding 12.2. A Re-Analysis 12.3. Explaining the Mutual Wills Doctrine 12.4. Lessons 13 The Quistclose Doctrine 13.1. The Present Understanding 13.2. A Re-Analysis 13.3. Lessons 14 The 'Common Intention Constructive Trusts' 14.1. The Present Understanding 14.2. Deficiencies 14.3. The CICT as a Reflective Remedy 14.4. Going Further: The CICT as a Specific Application of Proprietary Estoppel 15 Donatio Mortis Causa 15.1. Requirements 15.2. A Re-Analysis 16 Conclusion 16.1. Scope 16.2. Comparing and Contrasting Different Categories 16.3. The Historical Context Index