McKay v Beattie

In the case of McKay v Beattie, the plaintiffs, Alan McKay and Suzanne Gordon, sought vesting orders from the court to transfer the title of a half share in a property and shares in a company from Alan Beattie, the defendant, to Suzanne Gordon, a replacement trustee. The defendant, Alan Beattie, was previously a trustee of the JC Beattie Family Trust but had been found to be mentally incapable of exercising his duties as a trustee. The plaintiffs argued that the defendant was no longer capable of understanding the nature of the proceedings and that there would be no purpose in serving him with the proceedings.

The court considered the legal issues regarding service and representation of the defendant in the proceedings. The plaintiffs applied for orders that the defendant not be served with the proceedings, not be represented by a litigation guardian or other representative, and that notice of the proceedings be dispensed with. The court found that there was no purpose in serving the defendant with the proceedings as he lacked the mental capacity to understand the proceedings and could not make any decisions with regard to them. Additionally, the court held that since the defendant had been validly removed as trustee due to his mental incapacity, there could be no basis to oppose his interest in the property vesting in the replacement trustee. The court also found that appointing a litigation guardian for the defendant would serve no purpose and that the vesting orders sought were limited to giving effect to the lawful change of trustees and did not otherwise impact the defendant's wellbeing or interests.

The court granted the plaintiffs' application for vesting orders, transferring the title of the half share in the property and the right to transfer the shares in the company to Suzanne Gordon. The court also allowed the plaintiffs to recover their expenses related to these proceedings out of the trust property of the JC Beattie Family Trust.