When will a court award a litigant's costs from the Trust Fund?

Canada (Federal), Canada

The following excerpt is from Nolan v. Kerry (Canada) Inc., [2009] 2 SCR 678, 2009 SCC 39 (CanLII):

Gillese J.A. identified two authorities setting out the proper approach to follow in deciding when to award an unsuccessful litigant its costs from a trust fund. The English case Buckton v. Buckton, [1907] 2 Ch. 406, notes three categories of cases in the wills and estate context. The first category is comprised of cases in which the trustees apply to a court to construe the terms of the trust deed so that they may determine the proper administration of the trust. The second category is comprised of similar cases seeking to determine the proper administration of the trust, but brought by the beneficiaries of the trust rather than the trustees. In both these cases, costs may rightfully be paid from the trust fund. However, costs will not be paid from the fund in cases that fall under the third category, that is, where a beneficiary makes a claim which is adverse to other beneficiaries of the trust.

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