Peter Millett, Baron Millett

Peter Julian Millett, Baron Millett, , (23 June 1932 – 27 May 2021 ) was a British barrister and judge. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1998 to 2004.

Biography

Early life Millett was born in Hampstead, London, on 23 June 1932, to Isaac Moses "Denis" Millett and Adele Yetta Weinberg, both Jews of Polish descent. The Millett family (also spelt Millet) emigrated from Dąbrowa Tarnowska and set up several businesses. His father was prominent in Liberal Party politics in Leicestershire, and with his cousin Michael founded Millets Stores in 1928 in Leicester. His mother was a junior tennis champion from Ormskirk, Lancashire.

Millett was educated at Harrow School, London, and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he received a Master of Arts in Classics and Law in 1954, graduating with a double first. From 1955 to 1957 he served as a Flying Officer in the Royal Air Force. He was awarded an honorary fellowship by Queen Mary, University of London in 2012. creating a principle that ended and prevented many tax avoidance schemes.

Judicial career In 1986, he became a judge of the High Court of Justice and was knighted. He was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal and a member of the Privy Council in 1994. On 1 October 1998, he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, receiving additionally a life peerage with the title Baron Millett, of St Marylebone in the City of Westminster. He retired as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in January 2004.

He was a Non-permanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2000 and 2021. In 2015, Millett was awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

He retired from the membership of the House of Lords on 4 May 2017.

Personal life Millett was married to Ann Mireille Harris from 1959. They had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. In this capacity he supervised more than 1,200 Masonic Lodges in London, and more than 600 associated Chapters of Royal Arch Masons.

Millett died from hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis at his home in Westminster, London, on 27 May 2021. where a couple were denied recovery of damages for the cost of bringing up an unwanted child, born as a result of a negligently performed vasectomy. He concluded that "the law must take the birth of a normal, healthy baby to be a blessing, not a detriment." In addition, in a dissenting opinion, he concluded that damages could not be awarded for the pain and distress of pregnancy and delivery but rather that a small sum should be awarded to reflect that the parents had "lost the freedom to limit the size of their family" and thus had been "denied an important aspect of their personal autonomy."

Millett was also notable for his contribution to the law of equity and trusts. He wrote the leading judgment in Foskett v McKeown, a landmark case on the English law of trusts, concerning tracing and the availability of proprietary relief following a breach of trust. He also decided Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew, a leading English fiduciary law and professional negligence case, concerning a solicitor's duty of care and skill, and the nature of fiduciary duties. The case is globally cited for its definition of a fiduciary and the circumstances in which a fiduciary relationship arises.

List of judgments by Lord Millett Re Charnley Davies Ltd BCLC 760 Armitage v Nurse EWCA Civ 1279 Bristol and West Building Society v Mothew Ch 1 Foskett v McKeown UKHL 29, 1 AC 102 Re Brumark Investments Ltd UKPC 28 Twinsectra Ltd v Yardley UKHL 12 Shogun Finance Ltd v Hudson 1 AC 919 Collector of Stamp Revenue v Arrowtown Assets Ltd HKCFA 52, 1 HKLRD 77, (2003) 6 HKCFAR 517, FACV 4/2003 Re Cosslett (Contractors) Ltd Ch 495 (CA)

Arms