Laws 2033 / 3 Credit Hours / Equity & Trusts Syllabus Winter 2019 Class hours, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 4:00 p.m. to 5:20 p.m., Weldon Law W204 Instructor: Timothy C. Matthews, QC, TEP, BSc, JD, BCL Office: Stewart McKelvey, 900 Purdys Wharf Tower One, 1959 Upper Water Street Office Phone: (902)-420-3325 Office Hours: 8:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. Email: tmatthews@stewartmckelvey.com Course Description This course deals with both the law of trusts and the law of fiduciary relationships. After a brief historical survey of the development of the law of equity, the rules regarding the creation, interpretation and termination of express trusts are examined and, in particular, trusts drafted in wills. The course also considers purpose trusts, especially charitable trusts. The law governing trustees and their duties and powers is explored. The later part of the course deals with trusts arising through operation of law, i.e. resulting and constructive trusts. Finally trust remedies are reviewed and the special rules of tracing property are discussed. In addition and throughout the Equity and Trusts course there are important segments that deal directly with the legal concepts relevant to commercial activities. Also, a conceptual overview of doctrines relevant to business organizations is provided. In particular, fiduciary duties that may arise in the course of commercial activities are studied in the cases and discussed in class. The instruction emphasizes the importance of identifying such relationships in generally arm s length transactions, and examines the duties that devolve upon the ad hoc fiduciary. The role of the constructive trust and its relevance to insolvency and bankruptcy is addressed. In addition the theoretically complicated concepts of knowing assistance and knowing receipt, significant for commercial agents, are canvassed. Course Pre-requisites, Co-requisites and/or other Restrictions Completion of 1 st year. Required Text(s) M. Gillen & F. Woodman (ed.), The Law of Trusts: A Contextual Approach, 3rd ed.
(Toronto: Emond, 2015) Additional Resources (Canadian) D. Waters, M. Gillen & L. Smith, Waters Law of Trusts in Canada, 4 th ed. (Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2012) J. Berryman, The Law of Equitable, 2 nd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2013) E. Gillese, The Law of Trusts, 3 rd ed. (Toronto: Irwin Law, 2014) A. Oosterhoff, R. Chambers & M. McInnes, Oosterhoff on Trusts: Text, Commentary and Materials, 8 th ed. (Toronto: Thomson Carswell, 2014) Additional Resources (English) J.E, Martin, Hanbury & Martin: Modern Equity, 20th ed. (London: Sweet & Maxwell 2015) B. McFarlane & C. Mitchell, Hayton and Mitchell's Commentary and Cases on the Law of Trusts and Equitable, 14th ed. (London: Sweet & Maxwell 2015) C. Mitchell, D. Hayton and P Matthews, Underhill and Hayton's Law Relating to Trusts and Trustees, 19th ed. (London: Lexis Nexis Butterworths, 2016) L. Tucker, N. LePodevin & J. Brightwell, Lewin on Trusts, 19 th ed. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2017) Class Timetable Date Topic Text Pages 1 Tues Jan 8 Introduction 3-16 2 Thurs Jan 10 The Express Trust 69-87 II. Capacity III. Three Certainties (a) Intention (b) Subject Matter 3 Tues Jan 15 (c) Objects 87-104 4 Thurs Jan 17 IV. Constitution 104-127 (a) Introduction (b) Ways (c) Enforcement of Promises 5 Tues Jan 22 V. Formalities VII. Termination and Variation 127-134 150-164
6 Thurs Jan 24 Non-Charitable Purpose Trusts 165-183 7 Tues Jan 29 VII. Charitable 183-204 Purpose Trusts A. Introduction B. Poverty C. Education D. Religion 8 Thurs Jan 31 E. Other Purposes 204-222 Beneficial to the Community 9 Tues Feb 5 VIII. Associated 222-250 Doctrines IX. Cy-PrèsDoctrine 10 Thurs Feb 7 Administration 251-273 II. The Trustee 11 Tues Feb 112 III. Obligations of the 273-284 Trustee A. Loyalty and Good Faith B. Duty of Care C. Non-Delegation 12 Thurs Feb 14 D. Duty to Invest 284-298 13 Tues Feb 19 STUDY BREAK 14 Thurs Feb 26 STUDY BREAK 15 Tues Mar 5 VI. Liability of the 347-367 Trustee 16 Thurs Mar 7 NO CLASS 17 Tues Mar 12 Resulting Trusts 411-438 18 Thurs Mar 14 Constructive Trusts 449-470 II. Canadian Theory III. Wrongful Conduct A. Breach of Duty B. Corporate Duty 19 Tues Mar 19 C. Bribes 470-495 D. Confidence E. Criminal IV. Unjust Enrichment A. Conjugal Couples 20 Thurs Mar 21 B. Commercial 495-514 V. Equitable Fraud A. Statute of Frauds B. Mutual Wills C. Secret Trusts 21 Tues Mar 26 II. Trustees Liability III. Types of 521-551
IV. Personal A. Equitable Compensation 22 Thurs Mar 28 B. Accounting for Profits 23 Tues Apr 2 V. Proprietary VI. Other 24 Tues Apr 4 REVIEW 551-603 603-625 Course Assessment Assessment Method: 100% final examination 1. Student Requests for Accommodation Requests for special accommodation for reasons such as illness, injury or family emergency will require an application to the Law School Studies Committee. Such requests (for example, for assignment extensions) must be made to Associate Dean, Academic Michael Deturbide or the Director of Student Services and Engagement Dana- Lyn Mackenzie as soon as possible, before a scheduled exam or a deadline for an assignment, and will generally require documentation. Retroactive accommodation will not be provided. Please note that individual professors cannot entertain accommodation requests. Students may request accommodation for either classroom participation or the writing of tests and exams due to barriers related to disability, religious obligation, or any characteristic under the Nova Scotia Human Rights Act. Students who require such accommodation must make their request to the Advising and Access Services Center (AASC) at the outset of the regular academic year. Please visit www.dal.ca/access for more information and to obtain the Request for Accommodation Form A. Students may also contact the Advising and Access Services Centre directly at (902) 494-2836. 2. Submission of Major Papers and Assignments Major papers and assignments must be submitted in hard copy. Students should hand papers in to the place stipulated by the instructor and ensure they are date and time stamped. Please read the law school policy on late penalties: https://www.dal.ca/faculty/law/current-students/jd-students/academic-regulations.html Please note students may also be required to provide an identical electronic copy of their paper to the instructor by the due date. Papers may be submitted by the instructor to a text-matching software service to check for originality. Students wishing to choose an
alternative method of checking the authenticity of their work must indicate to the instructor, by no later than the add/drop date of the course, which one of the following alternative methods they choose: a) submit copies of multiple drafts demonstrating development of their work b) submit copies of sources c) submit an annotated bibliography 3. Plagiarism All students must read the University policies on plagiarism and academic honesty http://academicintegrity.dal.ca/ and the Law School policy on plagiarism http://www.dal.ca/faculty/law/current-students/jd-students/academic-regulations.html. Any paper or assignment submitted by a student at the Schulich School of Law may be checked for originality to confirm that the student has not plagiarized from other sources. Plagiarism is considered a serious academic offence which may lead to loss of credit, suspension or expulsion from the law school, or even revocation of a degree. It is essential that there be correct attribution of authorities from which facts and opinions have been derived. Prior to submitting any paper or other assignment, students should read and familiarize themselves with the policies referred to above and should consult with the instructor if they have any questions. Ignorance of the policies on plagiarism will not excuse any violation of those policies. 4. Grading Practices Policy: https://www.dal.ca/dept/university_secretariat/policies/academic/grading-practices-policy.html) 5. General Academic Support Advising Halifax: https://www.dal.ca/campus_life/academic-support/advising.html 6. Fair Dealing Guidelines: https://libraries.dal.ca/services/copyright-office/guidelines/fair-dealing-guidelines.html