John Smart B.Sc, Dip.Law, T.E.P
John Smart was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in November 1989. He read Chemistry at Bristol University and law at City University. He has been a member of these chambers since 1992.
Before joining chambers he spent a period doing corporate tax advisory work for KPMG.
He has a broad general chancery practice, with particular emphasis on direct tax matters, and on the traditional areas of practice, such as wills, trusts, probate, and family provision. He appears from time to time in the Court of Protection. He also acts in commercial contractual disputes, and undertakes cases involving confidential information, company law, partnership, property, insolvency and related professional negligence.
He is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, the Revenue Bar Association, and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
John Smart is joint editor of the Trust Quarterly Review.
He is recommended by the Legal 500 (2009 Edition) as a leading Junior in the Private Client- Personal Tax Trusts and Probate category.
Recent Cases include:
- Bhatt v Bhatt [2009] STC 1540 (rescission of deed of variation and declaration of trust for mistake)
- Lee v Dean [2007] (unreported) CLCC Chancery List - undue influence - sale of cottage by widow for £2,400, right to reside for life and with purchasers obliged to pay for her funeral and look after her pets.
- Otuka v Alozie [2005] All ER (D) 265 (Ch D - Probate action involving issues of testamentary capacity and due execution of will)
- Robson v Mitchell (Inspector of Taxes) [2005] STC 893 (Court of Appeal - capital gains tax - relief for payment made under a guarantee)
- R.(on the application of Hitch) v Special Commissioners [2005] 1 WLR 1651 (Administrative Court - Judicial Review)
- Qauod v Republic of Tunisia [2005] All ER (D) 205 (Jan) (QBD - appeal against execution - tourist office attempting to claim state immunity on appeal)
- Clore v MacNicol [2004] NPC 116 (Court of Appeal - succession to rent act tenancy -construction of letter seeking to assign rights from brother to sister - construed as surrender)
- R.(on the Application of Werner) v IRC [2002] STC 1213 (Court of Appeal - application for permission to apply for judicial review of decisions of Inspector of Taxes and General Commissioner concerning notice under s.20(1) of Taxes Management Act 1970 seeking information)
- Ling v Ling [2002] WTLR 553 (Ch D - construction of will - class gift to children - whether grandson of testator took in substitution for son of testator under s.33(2) Wills Act 1837)
- Audergon v La Baguette Ltd and others [2002] C.P.L.R. 192; The Times, January 31st 2002 (Court of Appeal - interaction between applications to dismiss for want of prosecution and to lift automatic stay imposed by Para 19 of the PD to Pt 51 of the CPR - whether appeal from Master should have been by way of rehearing)
- Taj v Ali (No.2) [2001] 33 HLR 259 (Court of Appeal - circumstances where the court should review or re-exercise its discretion to suspend a possession order)
- Hitch v Stone (Inspector of Taxes) [2001] STC 214 (Court of Appeal - capital gains tax avoidance- whether agreement for lease was a sham)
- Re Bremner (a Bankrupt) [1999] FLR 912 (Ch D - resisting application for sale of matrimonial home brought by trustee of discharged bankrupt who had inoperable cancer)
- I.R.C. v McGuckian [1997] 1 WLR 991 (House of Lords - income tax avoidance)
John Smart has contributed to Atkin's Court Forms, most recently, a new title on Summary Judgment (Vol 37, 2005,revised edition to be published July 2009). He has appeared on Legal Network TV on two occasions, the most recent programme being one on wills drafting (June 2006 Programme 1222).
He has also contributed to the chapter on statutory appeals (including tax appeals) in the Chancery Litigation Handbook (Jordans, 2005), and written various articles such as:
- The Association of Corporate Trustees (TACT) Review (January 2002), on challenges to trustees' exercise of discretion
- TACT Review (April 2002) on s.33(2) Wills Act 1837
- Trusts and Estates Tax Journal (May and June 2002) on avoiding findings of sham.
- Trusts and Estates Tax Journal (December 2003) on CGT Taper Relief for business assets
- Trusts Quarterly Review (January 2006) (Book Review)
- Trusts Quarterly Review (November 2006) on the use of Notices under S.20 Taxes Management Act 1970 to obtain documents from financial institutions
- AWS Link Magazine (Winter 2006/7) on Lasting Powers of Attorney under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
He sits part-time as a Deputy District Judge.
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