Andrew Brooke

Instructions as sole counsel include advice and representation in bankruptcy, winding up, annulment and rescission hearings. Examples of work undertaken (excluding experience gained during pupillage):

• A number of personal insolvency proceedings arising from directors’ guarantees in respect of secured bridging loans. Issues have involved the discharge of guarantee and duties owed by mortgagees to principal debtors.
• Insolvency and civil claims concerning directors’ breaches of duty, unauthorised disbursements, and overdrawn director’s loan accounts. Issues have involved the legal status of such drawings, and duties owed when a company is on the brink of insolvency.
• Contested bankruptcy petitions where the debtor’s place of residence and the court’s jurisdiction to order bankruptcy were in issue.
• Application to set aside statutory demand by beneficiary against executor involving issues of probate and law of trusts as well as beneficial ownership of property.
• Appointment of administrators, interaction with existing insolvency proceedings, advice on challenges to acts of administrators.
• Private examination of the bankrupt and third parties and question of costs of the trustee.
• Trustee’s application against bankrupt’s widow for repossession of family home, including issue of jurisdiction and costs.
• Case of unfair prejudice petition, exclusion of directors, and interlocutory remedies in respect of the control of the company.
• Case of insolvency proceedings against charitable unincorporated association and its officers arising from a loan.

Instructions as sole counsel include residential possession hearings (trials and shorter claims), forfeiture, dilapidation, nuisance, adverse possession, and service charge disputes. Examples of work undertaken (excluding experience gained during pupillage):

• Allegations of unlawful eviction, trespass, and conversion arising in the context of possession trials.
• Cases of licences to occupy, erect upon, or enjoy use of land, including the question of revocability of such licences.
• Case involving the construction of a mooring agreement, whether it amounted to a lease or licence, whether it had been forfeited, and if so, whether relief should be granted.
• Cases involving liability of the lessee to give vacant possession where statutorily-protected subtenant is in occupation.
• Multi-day FTT hearings involving service charge disputes.
• Advice in case where receivers had been invalidly appointed, issues including construction of mortgage deed and remedies.
• Advice in case of historic residential premises as to whether proposed works fell within the terms of the lease and were reasonable.
• Advice on and acting in cases of nuisance in the context of adjacent lands as well as neighbours in blocks of flats. They have touched upon owner’s liability for the acts of independent contractors, liability for acts of nature, and questions of defects in construction.
• Advice in case of enforcement of charging orders where two properties had been transferred by the judgment debtor, including consideration of the Land Registration Act, overreaching, resulting trusts, and further enforcement remedies.

The law of trust and trustees permeates most of the work undertaken by Andrew Brooke. Some examples of such work (excluding experience gained during pupillage):

• Probate claim involving allegations of fraudulent misappropriate of estate assets, tracing, and resulting and constructive trusts arising over proceeds.
• Constructive trusts over domestic properties, including an instance of interesting inconsistencies in the transfer deed.
• In the context of insolvency action against an unincorporated association, questions as to the availability of winding up procedures and liability of trustees and other officers for the association’s debt.
• In the trial of another case, the court had to consider whether a racing ‘partnership’ fell within the Partnership Act 1890 or was to be construed as an unincorporated association. Also in issue was the question of the proper division of assets upon dissolution.
• Equitable accounting and orders for sale of property held on trust.
• Undue influence and duress in the context of family gifts and transactions.

Instructions as sole counsel have included advice on construction of contracts, interlocutory relief applications, drafting of claims, and trials. Examples of work undertaken (excluding experience gained during pupillage):

• Claim by commercial solicitors’ firm against former client for non-payment of fees, questions of duress and professional duties.
• Claim for enforcement of charge over property, the issues being whether the guarantor’s signature had been procured by undue influence, whether the chargee had notice thereof, and whether the chargee had taken steps to comply with its duties following notice.
• Claim by agent against principal for non-payment of commission involving sale of subsea trenchers. One of the issues was the geographical scope of the Commercial Agents Directive, since the agent’s remit was southeast Asia.
• Claim by electricity company against landlord of commercial premises for non-payment of invoices, issue being whether the electricity company was barred by estoppel from charging its out-of-contract rates.
• Claim by construction company against owner of commercial premises for non-payment of fees. Counterclaim involving multiple allegations of defective work. One of central issues was whether agreement contained warranty by company to lay pipes in certain arrangement despite unforeseen structural impediments rendering it vastly more difficult. Another issue was whether joint-expert’s adverse findings should be adopted by the court.
• Claim for conversion by tenant of commercial premises (involving urgent interlocutory application for delivery up of goods) against landlord and substantial counterclaim for dilapidations.
• Case of machine learning software dispute which had been struck out shortly before trial. Technical issues of defective work and non-enforcement due to illegality arose. In application hearing, the question was whether the defendant should nonetheless pay the claimant’s costs following discontinuation of the counterclaim after the strike out. Permission to appeal hearing regarding the strike out order.
• Advice and drafting in partnership case where agreement to wind up the partnership had been breached. Consideration of account and winding up under the 1890 Act where agreement has been tainted by misrepresentation, and determination of the partnership’s capital and ownership of assets.
• Advice on misrepresentation arising in the context of commercial client and electricity broker.
• Norwich Pharmacal applications involving victims of fraud and third-party banks.

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
Chancery Bar Association
R3

MA (Cantab)

Andrew Brooke is an independent self-employed barrister registered with the Bar Standards Board of England; whose practice is governed by the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales which code can be found at www.barstandardsboard.org.uk; has full professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited (ref BM 2930/082) (details of the world-wide cover are provided at www.barmutual.co.uk); is registered for VAT (reg. no. 423 1978 94); and can be contacted during chambers opening hours by telephone at 020 7404 5055 or by e-mail at clerks@9stonebuildings.com.