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No opportunity to litigate the same matter twice: a hard-fought neighbour dispute ends in a resounding win

21/10/2024

We are thrilled to celebrate a significant victory at the First-Tier Tribunal, marking the final chapter in a long and hard-fought dispute that began more than five years ago.

Our client initially sought our help over damage to his driveway caused by his neighbour, but the case soon escalated into a heated boundary dispute with rights of way issues and counter-claims raised.

After a gripping four-day trial in 2021, where the other side’s credibility crumbled under cross-examination, we secured a decisive win. The court dismissed the neighbour’s defence and counter-claim, and our client recovered 90% of his costs for bringing the claim and 100% of his costs for defending the failed counterclaim. The neighbour tried to appeal the High Court, but ultimately permission was refused, and our client believed the matter to be finally over.

However, the battle did not end there. The other side refused to accept the Court’s ruling and applied to the Land Registry for an easement based on long-use over the same part of the driveway that had been so hotly debated during the Court hearing. The case was referred to the Tribunal.  We responded swiftly and as we felt so strongly that we had a good case, we made a strike-out application on the basis that the application was an abuse of process (without even needing to look at the merits).  Put simply, the issue had already been tried and it could have and should have been dealt with at the original trial, relying on the case of Henderson v Henderson.  This is similar to the idea in criminal courts of double jeopardy: a defence preventing an accused person from being tried again on the same or similar charges.

The Tribunal agreed with us, and the Judge struck out the application, calling it “improper” and “oppressive,” and awarding our client over 80% of his costs.

The victory did not stop at the Tribunal. We were also successful in recovering our client’s costs in the same proportion at the Land Registry, which is particularly notable as recovery there requires unreasonable conduct on behalf of the paying party.

In total, the other side has been ordered to pay over £260,000 in costs, and our client is overjoyed with the outcome. This is not only a personal triumph for him but a proud win for our Dispute Resolution team, reflecting our relentless dedication and expertise in this area.  It is notable that the other side instructed five solicitors throughout the course of the matter, whereas our client stayed with us from the moment we were instructed, through to the bitter end!  We are proud to work together so closely with our clients from start to finish, enabling them to achieve the results that they deserve.

If you would like to speak with our dispute resolution solicitors to see how we can assist you, please contact Amelia Williams on 01202 099095, email [email protected] or Bella Rolph on 01202 204 537, email [email protected] or complete the form below.

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