Lydia Seymour acts for successful claimant in CRAFT. Read her analysis.

Outer Temple’s Lydia Seymour analyses the recent decision in CRAFT v POPE. Directors’ Duties – remedies when property is taken in breach of duty.

Lydia Seymour, who was instructed by Hugh James, acted for the successful Claimant in CRAFT (Ceredigion Recycling and Furniture Team), an important Chancery Division decision on remedies in cases involving misappropriation of company assets by Directors. 

This is a useful decision on how remedies should be determined in a situation in which company directors have wrongfully converted company property to themselves—should the property simply be returned in full, or is it open to the directors to argue that they should have credit for sums that they would have received had they acted in accordance with their duties? In this case, the converted property was placed in a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and the SIPP provider had been joined to the claim as innocent recipient of the property. The decision therefore also addresses the complications which arose from the property having been placed into SIPPs (a form of trust) and the appropriate order in those circumstances. Written by Lydia Seymour, barrister, Outer Temple Chambers.

The Judgment can be found here. Since then, Lydia was asked to contribute to LexisNexis with an analysis of the decision.

Lydia’s full article can be found here.

Find out more

Lydia Seymour has a specialist pensions and employment law practice as well as working in associated areas of commercial litigation. She has been recognised by the legal directories as a leading junior since 2005 and is listed for employment, pensions and professional negligence.

Her practice includes all aspects of ‘black letter’ pensions law, including: de-risking, rectification, withdrawal arrangements in multi-employer schemes and trustee duties. Her clients include the Pensions Regulator, employers, trustees, trade unions and individuals.

Lydia also appears in and advises in commercial litigation which touches on employment or pensions law issues, including Directors’ duties and insolvency matters.

She has significant experience in claims of professional negligence arising from actuarial and legal advice to pension schemes, and cases in which allegations of breach of duty have also been made in respect of professional or lay trustees and directors.

To find out more, contact Sam Carter on +44 (0)203 989 6669 or Colin Bunyan on +44 (0)20 7427 4886 for a confidential discussion.

Legal Blogs 26 Sep, 2022