Artist's grandson to pay £175k costs after "improper" fraud allegations

Thursday 05 January 2023

The grandson of the late celebrated artist and collector Sir Francis Cook has been ordered to pay £175,000 in legal costs after making what the Royal Court described as "wholly improper allegations of fraud."

Richard Cook will have to pay the costs to three defendants concerned in the administration of the estate of the late Brenda, Lady Cook, seventh wife of Sir Francis, who died in 1978.

Mr Cook had his case dismissed in April and last month received a further setback before the Royal Court when he was denied permission to appeal against a judgment upholding the Judicial Greffier's decision to throw out his claims without allowing them to come to trial.

Pictured: The Sir Francis Cook art Gallery, containing the late Sir Francis Cook's art collection.

The court also found Mr Cook was liable for the legal costs of Michael Clapham and Andrew Le Cheminant – executors of Lady Cook's personal estate – and trustee Lesley Crapp.

Commissioner Sir William Bailhache imposed the costs against Mr Cook for part of the period of the litigation, making an interim order for £175,000.

Giving judgment, Commissioner Bailhache, sitting alone, described Mr Cook's allegations of fraud as "wholly improper".

"It is not just that the allegations were not properly pleaded, but rather the fact that the inability to plead them properly demonstrates how improper the allegations were in the first place. No fraudulent representation by any of the Defendants made with a view to causing and actually causing loss or gain has been identified," he said.

Sir William also referred to what he described as "a series of assertions in correspondence concerning the blood relationship between Lady Cook and the residuary beneficiaries of her estate" which were "not only irrelevant to what was in dispute but also entirely without merit".

As a result of those allegations, the first defendant Michael Clapham – who had known Lady Cook for some time – swore an affidavit which Mr Cook later described as "perjury".

"That allegation was withdrawn before the Judicial Greffier but a variation on it was subsequently advanced again before me, and in particular was raised again when the draft judgment was circulated," the Commissioner said.

Pictured: The first defendant Michael Clapham swore an affidavit which Mr Cook later described as "perjury".

For these reasons and the fact that Mr Cook tried to reinstate the fraud allegations that the had previously withdrawn, indemnity costs were awarded to the defendants for the latter stages of the proceedings.

Those costs apply from 31 October 2021, the point at which Mr Cook made what the court described as "unparticularised allegations of fraud".

The dispute, which began a year after Lady Cook's death on 25 November 2018 centred on the ownership of paintings – which the Court described as "very valuable" although no details of the works were given – which once belonged to art collector Sir Francis Cook.

His grandson claimed that they belonged to a family trust and should be returned, or the trust reimbursed for their value because they had not been properly transferred to Lady Cook before her death.

Pictured: Stormy August, Millbrook and Elizabeth Castle by Sir Francis Cook

During the course of a two-day hearing in September, Mr Cook withdrew his allegations of fraud but then tried, after the conclusion of the hearing, to reinstate those claims – something which Commissioner Bailhache described as "a remarkable volte face" – and obtain a full trial with witnesses before the court.

Mr Cook's attempts failed and his allegations of impropriety were the subject of scrutiny again last month during the hearing to determine liability for legal costs incurred in the proceedings.

Those costs had been estimated at almost £556,000 by the defendants although Commissioner Bailhache said that it was not appropriate for him to determine them at that point. However, he declined to make an interim order for half of those costs sought by the defendants, ordering instead that Mr Cook should make a payment within two months of £175,000. 

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Grandson of late artist and collector loses ownership fight over paintings