Entitlement to inheritance claim not within the "wills and succession" exclusion under Article 1(2) of the "Brussels I" Regulation on jurisdiction and enforcement

The High Court has recently dismissed a tortious claim[1] for conspiracy to deprive the claimant of inheriting her late father's shares on the basis that it had no real prospect of success.

However, the court found that there was an arguable related claim that many of the same defendants had lawfully misappropriated assets and conspired to deprive the claimant of her inheritance.  The English Court was seized of jurisdiction in respect of all the relevant defendants, despite some of them being domiciled outside the EU.  Succession, which would normally fall within the "wills and succession" exception, was regarded as the basis of her entitlement rather than the principal subject matter of the claim so Article 1(2) Brussels I did not operate to require a stay of the English proceedings.

The judgment provides helpful clarification of the application of the "wills and succession" exclusion under Article 1 (2) Brussels 1.  For the full article, please click here.

This blog was written by Sarah Trimmings.

[1] Sana Hassib Sabbagh v Wael Said Khoury & ors [2014] EWHC 3233