Charities' concern as RSPCA loses wrangle over estate

The animal charity failed in its challenge to a High Court ruling that stipulated it must hand over a 2.15m-valued farm near Northallerton and 200,000 in savings to university lecturer Christine Gill.

Dr Gill's mother, who suffered from agoraphobia and severe anxiety, bequeathed the entire estate to the RSPCA when she died in 2006, but the will was overturned last year following a trial at the High Court in Leeds, where Judge James Allen QC ruled that her "overbearing" husband had pressured her into leaving their daughter nothing.

Judge Allen's finding was upheld yesterday by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, sitting with Lord Justice Lloyd and Lord Justice Jackson at the Court of Appeal in London. They will give their reasons at a later hearing.

Dr Gill, a maths lecturer at Leeds University, said: "I am delighted that the Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court decision to overturn my mother's will.

"It was a matter of huge regret and disappointment to me and my family that the RSPCA chose not to accept the original decision, forcing us to endure another court hearing.

"We can now settle back into our lives on the family farm that I love, and which I have dedicated many years to maintaining.

"

The ruling has alarmed charity trustees, and the RSPCA has been joined by organisations including Barnardo's, Dogs Trust, Great Ormond Street Hospital and the RSPB in warning of its potential impact on bequests.

"This case has been troubling for many charities and we are very concerned at its possible implications for the charity sector," a joint statement read.

"It is unacceptable for charity trustees to be caught between the legal duty to secure assets to which the charity is entitled and the threat of huge legal costs being imposed for attempting to do so."

The RSPCA was ordered in February to pay the majority of the total legal costs incurred in the case, then valued at 1.3m.

The bill is likely to have risen significantly during the appeal proceedings.

Trustees refused numerous offers from Dr Gill to settle out of court – even after her husband wrote begging letters to the Queen and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the charity's patron and vice-patron.

The trial heard Dr Gill, an only child, worked on the farm for more than 30 years and looked after her parents, John and Joyce Gill, as their health declined.

Her father died in 1999, but it was only after her mother died that she realised her parents had made mirror wills which ultimately left everything they owned to the charity.