A chance to hear the latest on employment, property, corporate and restructuring and insolvency and to ask questions and share your opinions.
DATE: Thursday 7 May 2020, 10:00am - 11:00am- delivered via Zoom Video Conference
Search site
Contact our office
Make an enquiry
Does it really matter if your neighbour kindly assumes responsibility for the upkeep of part of your land? Say, for example, the paving stones on your patio are broken and cracked and your neighbour kindly levels the area and repaves the patio. The patio has been improved and at no financial cost to you so no harm done, right?
That’s what happened in the case of Thorpe v Frank and another [2019] EWCA Civ 150. The owner of House A repaved the forecourt of his neighbour’s land at House B. The owner of House B didn’t object and several years passed. When House B was eventually sold, the owner of House A took it upon himself to enclose the paved area with a fence. He then applied to be registered as the owner of that land; the land that he had so kindly paved years previously in an act of touching generosity.
His application was initially successful. But it was subsequently challenged and the application was rejected. The tenacious neighbour, showing the same zeal with which he had paved his neighbour’s land in the first place, appealed to the Court of Appeal. And the Court of Appeal allowed his appeal. It was finally decided that the land was indeed now owned by the owner of House A by way of adverse possession.
Adverse possession is the process by which a person who is not the legal owner of land can acquire ownership of land by possessing or occupying land for a requisite period of time. The possession or occupation can take many forms. But the possession should usually be uninterrupted. In relation to the paving in the Thorpe case, the possession was through the laying of the paving stones and was self-evidently uninterrupted.
The novel feature of this case, and as distinct from many previous cases, was that the person claiming adverse possession was not doing so on the basis of physical enclosure of the land. The land in question was actually open plan in character. It has long been assumed that one must enclose land and prevent others from passing over it in order to claim adverse possession. Not so according to the Court of Appeal. The Court ruled that it was sufficient to show that there had been a degree of exclusive physical control over the area. The courts found that by paving the land with a permanent surface material, the neighbour had demonstrated a clear assertion of possession.
Controversially, it did not matter that the paved area was actually an access way for House B, nor that the owner of House B continued to cross over it.
This is an interesting case because it shows how easily possession can be lost to a third party even when, technically, the land is still being used or accessed by the legal owner.
A chance to hear the latest on employment, property, corporate and restructuring and insolvency and to ask questions and share your opinions.
DATE: Thursday 7 May 2020, 10:00am - 11:00am- delivered via Zoom Video Conference
Cheltenham based solicitors, Hughes Paddison, have announced two promotions within their Senior Management Team. Jon Rathbone has been made an Equity Director within the firm, whilst Julie Bennett has been made a Director.
What our clients say
“Hughes Paddison have provided assistance on numerous occasions consistently acting in an exemplary fashion whilst dealing with all aspects of the issue at hand. It is extremely reassuring to know that our company is represented by such a competent and professional firm.”– Commercial Director, Ferroli Limited
“We are lucky to have the services of Paul Engelbrecht on hand. He has always met our requests and ridiculous deadlines and puts himself out to make life easier for us”– Company Secretary - Supergroup PLC
“Paul has repeatedly demonstrated a high level of legal skill, accuracy, attentiveness and most of all, commercial acumen. I particularly appreciate his eye for detail and ability to take complex legal issues and explain them in lay terms. ”– Relationship Director RBS
“Whilst constantly demonstrating his consummate professionalism and occasional wry sense of humour David has at all times supported me and acted in my best interests resulting in a successful financial settlement and my divorce.”– V
“Jennifer provided sound professional legal advice which I needed to help me to sort out the legal and financial aspects of a difficult personal situation. I wouldn't hesitate to go to her with any family legal matters I have in future.”– R
“Having the support of Marcus throughout what has been a very painful divorce has really helped me get through the last 18 months. Although this has personally been a very difficult process, I know that Marcus has done everything possible to make it as smooth as it can be. I really appreciate the honest, open feedback to all of my questions and also how quickly he responded to them. Above all else, Marcus really does seem to care about his clients and their families. I never had the feeling that this was just a job for Marcus, and Im so grateful that I was fortunate enough to have had Marcus recommended to me when I did.”– R
Clicking the Accept All button means you are accepting analytics and third-party cookies (check the full list). We use cookies to optimise site functionality and give you the best possible experience. To control which cookies are set, click Settings.
Our use of cookies.
You can learn more detailed information in our Privacy Policy
Some cookies are essential, whilst others help us improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. The technology to maintain this privacy management relies on cookie identifiers. Removing or resetting your browser cookies will reset these preferences.
Essential Cookies
These cookies enable core website functionality, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Google Analytics cookies help us to understand your experience of the website and do not store any personal data. Click here for a full list of Google Analytics cookies used on this site.
Third-Party cookies are set by our partners and help us to improve your experience of the website. Click here for a full list of third-party plugins used on this site.
Comments