London Borough of Southwark v Hyacienth 22.12.2011 is that incredibly rare, beautiful thing: a successful gateway (b) defence to a mandatory possession claim in relation to an introductory tenancy. At least, I think it is: unfortunately, it's not clear...
“I could be a lawyer with stratagems and ruses”*
Wasted costs orders are scary things. There is the censure by the Court, of course, but worst of all, the solicitors then have to pay and, no matter how much or how little, that rips shreds out of the very essence of their being. Threats to pursue wasted...
Proportionality and stay of eviction
One of the questions posed as a result of Hounslow LBC v Powell [2011] UKSC 8 [our report here] is what happens if a proportionality argument is raised after a possession order has been made, but before eviction. Powell found that s.89 Housing Act 1980,...
When is a warrant executed?
Royal Bank of Scotland v Bray Halifax County Court 25 November 2011 At what point in the course of an eviction and securing of a property is the warrant considered to be executed, so that no application for a stay can be made? This is a County Court case,...
Full of Sound and Fury…
Signifying nothing* (*And yes, I am aware that the preceding line is 'A tale told by an idiot'.) The much trumpeted Wandsworth riot related eviction has stalled even before possession proceedings were issued. According to a press release from Liberty,...
Occupy LSX update
As you may well have seen in the news, the Corporation of London was granted a possession order and injunction against the tents and camp of Occupy LSX in the churchyard area outside St Paul's Cathedral by the High Court on Wednesday 18 January. The judgment...
Substantial Dispute
Benesco Charity Ltd v Kanj & Anor [2011] EWHC 3415 (Ch) CPR55.8 has been the the subject of a surprising amount of appellate interest recently. For those of you not nodding sagely at this point CPR55.8 deals with the Courts obligations at a summary...
Proportionality, Art. 8 and Monk
Chesterfield BC v Bailey is a highly instructive case heard at first instance by Recorder Tilbury in the Derby County Court. We thank Philip Barber of Zenith Chambers for providing us with a transcript of the judgment. The Defence was run by Chesterfield Law...
Annual rituals
Happy new year to all who read, comment on or write for Nearly Legal! This is usually a moment to take stock of the past year and look forward to the next, but I'm feeling far too lazy to do it properly. Luckily, the DCLG have made the task easier by...
Policy, possession and proportionality
Denry Okpor v London Borough of Lewisham, Bromley County Court 25 October 2011 [Transcript not publicly available] This was a rolled up permission to appeal and appeal hearing (on which more later) for appeal to a Circuit Judge from a possession order made...
Estoppel and s.2 – will we find out?
In the Summer Dave and David Smith posted about the case of Kinnear v Whittaker in the High Court. Bean J allowed an appeal against the summary disposal of a possession claim where the defendant had raised proprietary estoppel as a defence. This interesting...
How Gratuitous is Your Licence
Potter v Dyer [2011] EWCA Civ 1417 This is another rather sad and complex case with a fairly convoluted set of facts. Mr & Mrs Potter (senior) acquired a farm and farmhouse as a single unit in 1947. In 1966 they let the whole of the farm and farmhouse to...