Legal Practitioner Ordered To Pay Widowers Court Costs After Engaging In Aggressive Litigation

Bowser v Smith & Anor

Legal practitioner, Brian Bowser, was ordered to pay the costs of widow, Julie Smith, after engaging in aggressive litigation.

Husband and Father, Ian Smith, unexpectedly passed away in May 2022 leaving an estate with an approximate value of £805,000. The deceased was estranged from his wife, Julie Smith at the time of his passing yet she was named as one of the co-executors of his estate.

The other appointed executor was solicitor Brian Bowser.

Three weeks after the passing of Ian Smith, Bowser made a claim to remove Julie Smith as co-executor of the estate. Bowser persistently wrote to Julie to try and make her stand down as co-executor. Bowser argued her being a co-executor displayed a conflict of interest because of her potential claim under the Inheritance Act 1975. Julie refused to step down unless Bowser also agreed to step down as co-executor.

Eventually, the matter ended up in Court with Bowser also making an application for interim relief. Julie Smith also sought her costs and further applied for an order that would prevent Bowser from being able to recover his costs from Ian Smith’s estate.

Although it was held that Julie’s potential claim under the Inheritance Act did not pose an immediate conflict of interest, it was agreed that both Bowser and Smith be removed as executors of the estate to be suitably replaced by another executor. Bowser’s application for interim relief was denied and he was ordered to pay Julie’s costs. He was also unable to recover his costs from Ian Smith’s estate.

Bowser appealed this decision but was dismissed. In the appeal, the Judge commented that Bowser had acted unreasonably by hastily issuing a claim to remove Julie as an executor.

Comment

Issuing Court proceedings to remove an executor should be a last resort. Steps should always be taken to resolve the matter without the Court’s involvement. Mediation is a valuable tool to resolve matters quickly and should always be considered in matters such as this.