Does a trustee start proceedings with a witness statement or particulars of claim?

The trustee later sought to add allegations of unlawful means conspiracy and extend the allegations to an associated transaction.

The respondent argued that the dishonesty allegations against him were inadequately particularised and that the new allegations were time barred.

The court refused to strike out the dishonesty allegations and explained that the trustee’s witness statement commencing proceedings was not necessarily expected to be a full and exhaustive particularisation of the case. 

When a case is defended and involves dishonesty or serious disputes of fact then the court would direct that formal pleadings, i.e. particulars of claim, are served.  As for the new allegations, while these were new for the purposes of considering limitation the allegations arose out of the same facts or substantially the same facts as the claim and so were allowed.

Sandra Rene Lygoe v Stephen Hunt [2019] EWHC 327