A contractual right held by a trustee in its capacity as investment or asset manager to withdraw fees from a trust fund does not give rise to, or have the same incidents as, an equitable lien over the trust fund. Where a trustee defends proceedings substantially for its own commercial benefit rather than in the interests of the beneficiary, it is not entitled to be indemnified for its costs out of the trust fund. Where a contractual release applies to some but not all issues in proceedings, a broad-brush costs order is inappropriate and must be replaced with an issue-by-issue assessment.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 14 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 14 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.