The House of Lords held, by a 3–2 majority, that whilst the trust company had the legal title to the option, Vandervell had not successfully divested himself of an equitable interest in the option. As such, the option was held on a resulting trust for Vandervell. It was held that a resulting trust would arise where equitable interest had not successfully been divested, because an equitable interest cannot merely hang, unattached to an owner.
The House of Lords ruled by a 3–2 majority that although the trust company had legal title to the option, Vandervell did not successfully transfer his equitable interest. Therefore, the option was held under a resulting trust for Vandervell. It was concluded that a resulting trust would occur when an equitable interest could not be effectively removed from its owner.