Fabre v Ley

In *Fabre v Ley*, the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning the interpretation of a will. The primary issue before the Court was whether a specific bequest of shares in a company, which had undergone a significant reconstruction prior to the testator's death, should be construed as referring to the shares as they existed at the time of the will's execution or as they were constituted at the time of the testator's death. The case involved the beneficiaries of the will and the executor.

The central legal question for the High Court was how to interpret a testamentary gift of shares in a company where the company's share structure had been fundamentally altered between the date of the will and the date of the testator's death. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether the testator's intention, as expressed in the will, was to bequeath the original shares or the new shares that replaced them following a capital reconstruction.

The Court, applying established principles of testamentary construction, held that the will should be interpreted in light of the circumstances existing at the time of the testator's death. The judges reasoned that a gift of shares in a company should generally be understood to refer to the shares as they exist at the time of death, unless the will clearly indicates a contrary intention. In this instance, the reconstruction had resulted in a complete change in the nature and number of the shares, and the Court found no evidence within the will to suggest the testator intended to bequeath only the original, now non-existent, shares. The Court concluded that the bequest should be construed as referring to the shares held by the testator in the company at the time of his death, which were the shares that had arisen from the reconstruction.