On 4 February 2014 the Commercial Court in Ireland (the
"Court") gave its judgment in Greene and Others v Coady
& Others [2014] IEHC 38, otherwise known as the "Element
Six" case. The judgment provides insight into the duties of
pension trustees and fundamentally, in addressing liability, how
those duties will be judged. The judgment also highlights the
importance of pension trustees taking appropriate professional
advice at all material times.
The case is of particular relevance to trustees of defined benefit
schemes (namely a scheme whereby the benefits under the scheme are
calculated by reference to the members' salaries). However, the
principles derived from the case may well be relevant for trustees
and employers of other types of pension schemes. Specifically, how
much weight can the trustees give to the employer's
circumstances in making decisions.
Although an Irish case, it may be of persuasive authority in
Jersey. The Royal Court of Jersey (the "Royal Court")
will adopt a comparative law approach, which means that where there
is no Jersey precedent, the Royal Court will look to the closest
jurisdiction on the issues, mostly French or English law, depending
on the subject. As the case involves a pension scheme, which is
held under a trust structure, the Royal Court is most likely to
refer to cases in common law jurisdictions on trusts where there
are no direct Jersey cases on the issue. Indeed, the paucity of
Jersey pension precedent makes this an important case.
The briefing can be found by clicking
here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
