Aslam Abbas v Shabir Hussain & Ors
[2023] EWHC 2322 (Ch)
Maghsud Azhdari v Farhang Adjari
6 November 2024
[2024] EWHC 2824 (Ch)
High Court
Two cousins fought over a takeaway restaurant and flat they owned. A judge decided they were partners in the business and that one cousin deserved half ownership of the flat. The decision was based on who had more convincing evidence, including paperwork and their actions after the main dispute began. The judge carefully evaluated the evidence and considered that the parties’ actions made more sense if they were both part-owners.
Key Facts
- •Dispute over a mixed-use property (takeaway and flat) between first cousins, Mr. Maghsud Azhdari (C) and Mr. Farhang Adjari (D).
- •C claims equal partnership in the takeaway business and equal beneficial ownership of the flat.
- •D denies C's claims, asserting sole ownership.
- •The 2014 lease was in D's name, with C as guarantor.
- •The freehold was purchased in 2018 through EPLL, initially with Bashir Ahmad as a co-director.
- •In 2018, EPLL granted a 99-year lease of the flat to D.
- •C alleges he contributed substantially to the purchase price and refurbishment.
- •D denies C's financial contribution.
- •In 2019, D fell ill, and C became a director and 50% shareholder in EPLL.
- •C initiated legal proceedings in 2022.
Legal Principles
Definition of partnership.
Partnership Act 1890, section 1(1)
Elements of a common intention constructive trust.
Matchmove Limited v Dowding and Church [2016] EWCA Civ 1233
Civil standard of proof: balance of probabilities.
Re B [2008] UKHL 35
Indicators of unsatisfactory witness evidence.
Painter v Hutchinson [2007] EWHC 758 (Ch)
Adverse inferences from missing documents and uncalled witnesses.
Re: Mumtaz Properties Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 610, Wisniewski v Central Manchester Health Authority [1998] PIQR P323, Royal Mail Group Ltd v Efobi [2021] UKSC 33
Importance of contemporaneous documents and overall probabilities.
The Ocean Frost [1985] 1 Lloyd's Rep 1, Gestmin SGPS SA v Credit Suisse [2013] EWHC 3560 (Comm)
Relevance of subsequent conduct.
Carmichael v National Power Plc [1999] 1 WLR 2042
Outcomes
Declarations that C and D were in a partnership dissolved in 2018, and C has a 50% beneficial interest in the 2018 Lease.
The judge found C's evidence more credible overall, supported by contemporaneous documents and the parties' subsequent conduct. The judge found D's testimony unreliable and inconsistent. The judge considered the overall probabilities and commercial sense, concluding that C's involvement was not solely as a guarantor.