The plaintiff had bought from the vendor a piece of land, bordering a field retained by him. The conveyance plan showed a vegetation boundary with a dotted line, but its precise position on the ground was unclear to them both. Accordingly, they went out together and staked out the boundary. A subsequent purchaser of the field sought to challenge the agreed line, on the basis that it conflicted with the plan attached to the conveyance.
Held: The argument was rejected. Peter Gibson LJ: ‘I have to say that it would seem to me to be somewhat absurd, in a case where there is no verbal description of the land such as would serve to identify its boundary accurately and where the plan is imprecise in showing the boundary as following a vegetation line in 1977, and where both vendor and purchasers agree its exact position, if the court were then to shut its eyes to evidence of what they agreed was the true boundary.’
Judges:
Peter Gibson LJ
Citations:
[1997] EWCA Civ 2539, (1997) 80 P and CR 126
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Kingston v Phillips CA 1976
The court was asked to construe a parcels clause in a transfer: ‘It will be observed that the parcels as there set out are really almost devoid of any particularity; all that is said about the property conveyed is that it is part of the Chicklade . .
Cited – Scarfe v Adams CA 1981
Transfer deeds for a sale of land did not define the boundary but referred to a plan which was held to be too small to show a precise boundary. The only other element of the parcels clause was that it was land adjoining Pyle Manor and that it was . .
Cited by:
Cited – Ali v Lane and Another CA 21-Nov-2006
The parties disputed the boundary between their neighbouring plots of land.
Held: In the modern law the conveyance (parchment or not) is undoubtedly the starting point. Where information contained in the conveyance is unclear or ambiguous, it . .
Cited – Piper and Another v Wakeford and Another CA 17-Dec-2008
The parties disputed the boundary between their land.
Held: The judge had been entitled to rely on the evidence he had accepted, and had been entitled to find on the factual basis asserted. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Land, Contract
Updated: 09 November 2022; Ref: scu.142937