Former footballer wins court battle over house
Marcus Bent played for teams including Everton, Crystal Palace and Leicester
- Published
A former Premier League footballer has won a second High Court fight over the ownership of a house in Surrey.
Marcus Bent, who was declared bankrupt in 2019, was involved in legal action against the trustees of his bankruptcy over the ownership of an Epsom property and whether it formed part of his estate.
The trustees had appealed against a ruling that the house belonged to his daughter, Aliyah Bent, 20, and argued that the judge was wrong.
But on Wednesday, Mr Justice Edwin Johnson dismissed the appeal, and said he was 鈥渃ompletely unable to see how the judge went wrong in his analysis鈥.
Mr Justice Johnson said Mr Bent had debts that were 鈥渟aid to have been substantial鈥 and that were 鈥渟aid to have amounted to a figure in excess of 拢2.2 million鈥 at the end of 2021.
In July 2023, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Clive Jones ruled that the Epsom property 鈥渇ell outside the bankruptcy estate鈥.
He ruled trustees had 鈥渘o interest鈥 in it after Mr Bent told the court he had bought the house in 2006 and intended it to be held in trust for his daughter until she turned 18.
Mr Bent, who played as a striker for teams including Crystal Palace, Brentford, Everton and Leicester, represented himself at the two-day appeal hearing in June.
Barrister Michael Horton KC, representing the trustees, said in written submissions that the property 鈥渨as understood to be the only significant asset in the bankrupt鈥檚 estate鈥.
But Mr Justice Johnson rejected the trustees鈥 arguments, saying he could not see an 鈥渋dentifiable flaw鈥 in Judge Jones鈥檚 ruling and that it was not an 鈥渦nreasonable conclusion鈥.
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