The stepchildren of a multimillionaire animal medicine tycoon have won a High Court battle over control of his £8.2 million fortune after complaining they were labelled 'entitled spoilt brats' by the man left in charge of his empire.
Graham Cheslyn-Curtis, boss of the Nottinghamshire-based veterinary medical supply company Millpledge Group, died in 2018 aged 69. He left a will and a letter of wishes expressing hope that his partner's son and daughter, whom he treated as his own children, would be groomed to take over the business.
However, relations between the siblings, Leah-Jane Styring, 47, and Nathan Smith, 49, and trustees Malcolm Taylor and Paddy Campbell, 70, broke down. The trustees removed the pair from their roles, with Campbell criticising them as 'self-interested, entitled, complacent, acquisitive and greedy'.
Deputy Master Andrew Holden ruled in favour of the stepchildren, removing both trustees. He said: 'This is a case which has gone beyond mere friction and hostility... the hostile views about Leah and Nathan formed and expressed by Paddy could well have an adverse impact on the proper administration of the trust.'
The judge also removed Malcolm Taylor, noting he had 'explicitly agreed with the hostile remarks about the claimants made by Paddy'. The court heard that Cheslyn-Curtis had established a 'dynastic trust' for his son from his first marriage, his partner Suzanne Smith, and her children, with the aim of them eventually running the business.
