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13 September 2024 / Andrew Francis
Issue: 8085 / Categories: Features , Property , Local authority , Nuisance
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Property: what lies beneath?

188886
Andrew Francis considers two ‘subterranean’ property cases, highlighting the importance of knowing what’s underneath the surface—literally & metaphorically
  • Considers in depth two cases, one concerning high-voltage electricity cables and the other related to Japanese knotweed.
  • These cases show how those involved in property transactions and related litigation should ask key questions in order to avoid or resolve disputes.

Unlike the film about supernatural events under the same title, released in 2000 (observant readers may have noticed the presence of the question mark in the title, differentiating this piece from the film), the topic considered in this article concerns two court judgments of high authority relating to what lies beneath land in very different circumstances.

These judgments concern high-voltage electricity cables and Japanese knotweed. Both are ‘live’ and the evidential thread which links them is that the source of the dispute was that each lay beneath the surface. The first is about solicitor’s professional negligence and the second is about causation of loss in private nuisance claims. The cases are Spire Property Development LLP and another v Withers LLP [2022] EWCA

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NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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