14 July 2011 - Court of Appeal discharges injunction preventing sale of Savernake Estate paintings

The Court of Appeal has discharged an injunction against the sale of valuable paintings by the trustees of the Savernake Estate, one of the oldest landed estates in the UK.

The injunction was granted without notice and out of hours in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court to Lord Cardigan, who is the part-owner of the property subject to the trust. The paintings had been due to be sold at Sotheby's, but Lord Cardigan claimed that they were included in a lease he had granted to himself as trustee in 1999.

The Court of Appeal discharged the injunction on grounds of non-disclosure by Lord Cardigan. The court also ordered that there should be an inquiry as to damages and that Lord Cardigan should pay the trustees' costs. Penelope Reed QC successfully appeared for the trustees.