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18 April 2025 / Fern Schofield , Gwyneth Everson
Issue: 8113 / Categories: Features , Property , Landlord&tenant , Housing
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Property case law: quarterly review (April 2025)

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In the first part of a new series for NLJ, Fern Schofield & Gwyneth Everson set out the facts & the significance of the most noteworthy property cases from the past few months
  • In the Supreme Court, judgments brought much-needed clarity on the doctrine of merger and on adverse possession.
  • The Court of Appeal clarified the scope of s 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978, and the High Court ruled on rights of first refusal, complex factual and legal background, and the limits of human rights arguments in property disputes.
  • The Privy Council ruled on the repudiation of lease, and the Hong Kong Court of Appeal distinguished between two types of trustees for limitation purposes.

Staying up to date with the latest legal developments is both a growing challenge and a critical responsibility for property lawyers. The first quarter of 2025 has brought a number of significant judgments that are essential to understand. In this article, we review landmark property cases from December

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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