Confirmation of Non-Existence of Trust Real Estate Management Fee Payment Obligation, Supreme Court Reversal and Remand
We re-established who bears responsibility for management fees within a trust structure by examining the contract language and the actual relationship of control.
Background Facts
Our client held title to a commercial building as trustee under a security trust.
The management body billed the trustee for the full amount of unpaid management fees.
The first and second instance courts upheld the claim on the basis of title ownership.
Jeongpyeong's Assistance
We broke down the trust agreement and the management delegation structure to clarify who actually possessed and used the building.
We divided the management fee items into exclusively-owned and commonly-owned portions, and matched each item to its underlying cause.
We gathered lower court rulings on similar cases and incorporated the points of divergence in the standards of judgment into the grounds for appeal.
We presented an interpretation of the Trust Act regarding the scope of a trustee's liability, along with supporting academic theories.
Outcome
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case.
This case resulted in a judgment based on substance rather than title.
Facing a similar situation? We'll help you sort out the facts first.