Anthony Charles Clapham & Ors v Dee Narga
[2023] EWHC 3337 (Ch)
Patrick David Wigglesworth v Vanessa Kim Beetson
14 November 2024
[2024] EWHC 2886 (Ch)
High Court
Two people argued about how much land was sold a long time ago. A judge looked at all the evidence and decided that only a small part of the land was actually sold, not the larger area one of the people claimed.
Key Facts
- •Claim for specific performance of a 1982 contract for sale of land (Cotswold Hill Quarry, Gloucestershire) between the late Timothy Beetson and the claimant, Patrick Wigglesworth.
- •Subsidiary claims in proprietary estoppel, adverse possession, damages for damage to goods, and injunction to restrain trespass.
- •Defendant, Vanessa Beetson (widow and executrix of Beetson's estate), admits claim to a small part of the plot ('workshop land', 60ft x 30ft).
- •Disagreement on the extent of land sold in 1982: claimant claims a larger plot (120ft x 60ft), defendant claims only the workshop land.
- •A 'written contract' was produced by the claimant in 2021, its authenticity disputed.
- •Evidence presented included witness testimonies, documents (including a plan allegedly annotated by Beetson), and an expert report on handwriting analysis.
- •The claimant's application to the Land Registry for registration based on adverse possession was referred to the First-Tier Tribunal and subsequently declined jurisdiction.
Legal Principles
Burden of proof in civil cases – the person asserting something bears the burden of proving it.
Sadovska v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] 1 WLR 2926, SC, [28]
Standard of proof in civil cases – balance of probabilities.
Horal v Neuberger Products Ltd [1957] 1 QB 247, 256, 261, 265
Judges' role – referees, not investigators; decisions based on material and arguments presented by parties.
English v Emery, Reimbold & Strick Ltd (Practice Note) [2002] 1 WLR 2409, CA, [17]-[19]
Fallibility of memory – preference for objective documentary evidence, especially in cases with long timeframes.
Gestmin SGPS SPA v Credit Suisse (UK) Ltd [2013] EWHC 3560 (Comm), [22]; Kinled Investments Ltd v Zopa Group Ltd [2022] EWHC 1194 (Comm), [131]-[134]
Rule in Browne v Dunn – A witness's credibility cannot be impeached on a matter not challenged during cross-examination, unless the evidence is manifestly incredible.
Browne v Dunn (1894) 6 R 67; Chen v Ng [2017] UKPC 27; Griffiths v TUI UK Ltd [2023] 3 WLR 1204
Section 40 of the Law of Property Act 1925 – Formalities for contracts for sale of land (prior to 1989 Act).
Law of Property Act 1925, s.40
Constructive trust arising from a specifically enforceable contract for the sale of land.
Shaw v Foster (1872) LR 5 HL 321; Jerome v Kelly [2004] 1 WLR 1409, [32]
Proprietary estoppel – arises when a promise or assurance creates an expectation, relied upon to the claimant's detriment, making it unconscionable for the defendant to resile.
Thorner v Major [2009] 1 WLR 776, [29]
Adverse possession under the Limitation Act 1980 – requires factual possession and intention to possess for 12 years.
Limitation Act 1980, ss. 15, 17; Powell v McFarlane (1977) 38 P & CR 452; JA Pye (Oxford) Ltd v Graham [2003] 1 AC 419; Healey v Fraine [2024] Ch 133
Trespass to land – unjustifiable intrusion on land in the possession of another.
Clerk & Lindsell on Torts, [18-01], [18-02]; Anchor Brewhouse Developments v Berkley House (Docklands Developments) Ltd [1987] 2 EGLR 173
Trespass to goods – direct, immediate interference with claimant's possession of a chattel.
Clerk & Lindsell on Torts, [16-133]; Transco Plc v United Utilities Water Plc [2005] EWHC 2784 (QB)
Easement of necessity – implied easement of access where access to the public highway can only be obtained over another plot of land.
Manjang v Drammeh (1990) 61 P & CR 194; Megarry & Wade, The Law of Real Property, 10th ed 2024, [27-013], [27-014]
Outcomes
Claim allowed in part.
The court found that a contract existed for the sale of the workshop land (30ft x 60ft) and the shared use of the right of way. The claim for the larger plot failed due to insufficient evidence that the parties had agreed to its sale. Claims in proprietary estoppel, adverse possession, and trespass were dismissed.
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