Objects of a discretionary trust are not privies of the corporate trustee in tax proceedings, even where they control the trustee and the proceedings are brought for their economic benefit. However, relitigation of issues determined in such proceedings may constitute an abuse of process where the relitigating parties controlled the earlier proceeding, the issue was central to the earlier determination, and the parties have advanced inconsistent positions. The correctness of the prior decision is not ordinarily relevant to the abuse inquiry. The question whether beneficiaries of a bare trust are privies of the trustee by reason of the trustee's right of indemnity was left unresolved, with McLeish JA and Niall JA reaching different conclusions.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 13 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 13 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.