Peter Julian Millett, Baron Millett, GBS, PC (23 June 1932 – 27 May 2021[2][3]) 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 London 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.[4] His mother was a junior tennis champion from Ormskirk, Lancashire.[5][6]
He was a member of the Law Commission working party on co-ownership of the matrimonial home in 1972 and 1973 and appointed a Queen's Counsel in the following year. From 1977 to 1982, Millett was member of the Department of Trade Insolvency Law Review Committee. In 1982 he acted for the Inland Revenue in the leading tax avoidance case, Ramsay v IRC,[8] creating a principle that ended and prevented many tax avoidance schemes.
He was an active Freemason, and served for five years as Metropolitan Grand Master of London from the inception of the new Metropolitan Grand Lodge in 2003.[13] In this capacity he supervised more than 1,200 Masonic Lodges in London, and more than 600 associated Chapters of Royal Arch Masons.
Judgments
Millett was well known for his judgment in the House of Lords in the wrongful birth case of McFarlane v Tayside Health Board[14] 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.
On a millrind fesswise an eagle displayed Sable armed and legged Gules and breathing flames Proper.
Escutcheon
Per pale Sable and Argent a crescent per pale Ermine and Ermines interlaced with two arrows in saltire heads downwards per pale Argent and Sable within eight billets in orle counterchanged.
^"Birthday's today". The Telegraph. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2014. Lord Millett, a former Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, 79
^"Statement by the Judiciary". The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region - Press Releases. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.