Castledine v RSM Bentley Jennison
15th Sep 2011
Before: HHJ David Cooke
Citation: [2011] EWHC 2363 (Ch)
This claim concerns that most elusive of assets, partnership goodwill. The first defendant is (or strictly speaking was, since its business has now been incorporated) a well-known firm of chartered accountants. I will refer to it as “Bentley Jennison” or “the firm”. The claimant Mr Castledine joined the firm as an equity partner on 1 November 1999. The arrangements under which he did so were discussed in a series of meetings in October of that year between Mr Castledine and the firm’s national managing partner, Mr Stockdale. Mr Castledine retired as a partner with effect from 8 April 2003. It is his contention that when he joined the firm he acquired an equal share in the firm’s goodwill, and that he retained ownership of that asset notwithstanding his retirement from the firm. He seeks a declaration that he continues to own that share in the firm’s goodwill to this day. Alternatively, he makes a claim for its value, described as a claim for damages, in the event that I should find that he has ceased to own his share in the goodwill at some date after his retirement.
Jeremy Callman and Naomi Winston (instructed by Martin Kaye) for the Defendant.
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Jeremy Callman
Call 1991
Naomi Winston
Call 2006
