header-logo header-logo

24 November 2023 / Professor Sukhninder Panesar
Issue: 8050 / Categories: Features , Property
printer mail-detail

Informal land rights, estoppel & Spencer

147360
Sukhninder Panesar covers recent developments affecting proprietary estoppel, including a son’s claim to the farm he was promised
  • Explains that the doctrine of proprietary estoppel is not affected by the Law of Property Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1989.
  • Covers the case of Spencer v Spencer & Ors, concerning a son’s claim to the family farm.

In a recent decision of the High Court in Michael John Spencer v Estate of John Mitchell Spencer (Deceased), Penelope Anne Spencer, Jane Mary Flower [2023] EWHC 2050 (Ch), [2023] All ER (D) 66 (Aug) the court was asked whether an informal right in law could be established using the doctrine of proprietary estoppel thereby bypassing the need to comply with writing. This article explores the decision in this case and explains that the jurisprudence of the High Court is cementing into the common law of England and Wales a firmly established principle that the equitable doctrine of proprietary estoppel is not affected by s 2(1) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions)

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Anthony Collins—William Hallett & Lorna Scully

Anthony Collins—William Hallett & Lorna Scully

Anthony Collins hires two talented legal directors

Switalskis—five appointments

Switalskis—five appointments

Firm expands national abuse compensation team

Mathys & Squire—nine promotions

Mathys & Squire—nine promotions

IP firm announces new partners and senior promotions across UK offices

NEWS
A High Court ruling has sent a jolt through the legal profession after a newly qualified solicitor used an internal AI tool to produce court correspondence containing a fabricated legal citation
A significant data privacy ruling has clarified what counts as valid consent under UK data protection law
Executors may be overlooking billions of pounds in estate assets hidden in forgotten investments and misplaced share certificates
Britain’s booming non-surgical cosmetics market is operating in what some critics describe as a regulatory ‘Wild West’
Family contact disputes are becoming an increasingly prominent feature of Court of Protection litigation
back-to-top-scroll