PROPRIETARY ESTOPPEL

    We believe that our Agriculture Litigation team have acted in more proprietary estoppel claims concerning ownership of farmland than any other legal firm in the UK.

    We are currently representing farming clients in proprietary estoppel claims in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. This is an extremely niche and evolving area of law and it is therefore essential that the solicitors acting for you are specialists in this area.

    Our Agricultural Litigation team importantly understand the intricacies of this area of law. This comes from the experience of handling proprietary estoppel claims concerning hundreds of millions of pounds worth of farmland all over the country. We have seen many trials before many senior judges and we are therefore well placed to know which strategies work, why and when. We are well placed to advise you on the merits of a proprietary estoppel claim, whether acting for you as a Claimant or Defendant in this highly complex area of law.

    We consider that we are the ‘go-to’ firm in the country for proprietary estoppel claims.

    KEY CONTACTS

    Russell Reeves

    Partner 0117 930 9598

    Robert James

    Partner 0117 374 9614
    View Team

    MARKET LEADING EXPERIENCE

    Acting for thousands of farming families all over the country, we understand the difficult and sensitive issues that farming families face around succession. Whether you have devoted your entire working life to the farm on a promise that one day it would be yours, or are facing a claim that someone has, you can be confident being represented by our Agriculture Litigation team, ranked in Band 1 and the ‘Top Tier’ by the leading legal directories.

    There are a handful of leading queens counsel who specialise in this area of law and we regularly work with them. In instructing us, not only are you benefiting from our wealth of experience and successful track record but also our relationships with the best specialist advocates in the country.

    • Winning the appeal in one of the leading and latest proprietary estoppel cases before the Supreme Court in Guest v Guest  [2022] UKSC 27 which involved a claim by a farming son for a share of the family farm under the doctrine of proprietary estoppel.
    • Successfully representing an appellant farmer in the Court of Appeal, on the issue of equitable relief, in a partnership dispute and proprietary estoppel claim concerning promises about the inheritance of farmland worth over £10m (Moore -v- Moore [2018]).
    • Successfully represented a farming son in a High Court proprietary estoppel claim involving farm land and assets worth £8-10m. The dispute centred on a 650-acre farm in Oxfordshire. The case was successful following seven-day trial in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division. (Gee -v- Gee [2018]).
    • Acting for two farming daughters in a claim for undue influence against their brother who had unduly influenced their mother into transferring important farmland to him at a significant undervalue. The case involved issues of mental capacity resulting in assessment by a psychiatrist and a claim for proprietary estoppel. Settled successfully following a one-day mediation.
    • In a £5m dispute between a deceased’s executors and trustees, acting for two executors in ‘Beddoe’ proceedings in their making of a claim under CPR Part 8 for payment of their personal legal costs from the deceased farmer’s assets relating to the defence of a co-executor’s proprietary estoppel claim.
    • Acting for a Staffordshire farmer in a successful proprietary estoppel claim. Our farming client was assured that one day he would own the farmland however his father’s will bequeathed the farmland to his wife. Following detailed analysis and consideration of our client’s case we were able to demonstrate that the wife’s defence had little prospect of success. Consequently, we were able to successfully resolve this case without the need for court proceedings.

    Our expertise in this area encompasses:

    • Appeals against unjust Court decisions
    • Arbitration
    • Claimant and Defendant
    • Cohabitation
    • Company law
    • Constructive Trusts
    • Detriment
    • Farming families
    • Inheritance of farms
    • Mediation
    • Ownership of farmland
    • Partnership law
    • Promises, assurances and representations
    • Proprietary Estoppel
    • Succession
    • Tax issues
    • Transfers
    • Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act

    Industry Accreditations

    We have strong ties to the following:

     

    Acting as National Farmers Union panel solicitors for more counties than any other law firm in the country, we have strong ties to the following:

    • Agricultural Law Association 
    • British Institute of Agricultural Consultants
    • Central Association of Agricultural Valuers
    • Country Land and Business Association
    • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
    • Tenant Farmers Association

    We are also proud to be the sole designated legal contributor to the Farmers Weekly Business Clinic.

    Firm logouk-top-tier-firm-2021-1

     

    NFU Members

    See the source image

    As an NFU Panel Firm we offer NFU Members a 12.5% discount on our fees for qualifying cases and if you subscribe to the NFU’s Legal Assistance Scheme further funding from the NFU may be available.

    CONTACT

    LATEST

    Thrings

    Thrings LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), SRA number 510691.

    Our Offices

    Browse

    Explore

    More Info

    © www.thrings.com All Rights Reserved