The pursuer had bought land from the responder which in turn had bought from a company now in liquidation. On application for registration, the Keepr of the registers said the title had not been made out, and he was unable to complete the registration. The appeallant claimed breach of warrandice, the contractual warranty of title given by a vendor to a purchaser. There had been an eviction threat at an earlier stage, but the threat was made by someone whose own title had not been perfected. The Court was now asked whether the person who makes the threat of eviction has to have an unquestionable title to the property at the time when the threat is made and, if not, what the purchaser in those circumstances has to show in order to trigger the seller’s liability under the warrandice.
Held: The appeal succeeded. The Appellant was entitled to be given an opportunity to present his case before the court. A threat of eviction needd not always be made by someone with a title to the land. The law of warrandice had to allow that a threat may be properly acceeded to and therefore a claim made under warrandice, when the threat had proper substance.
Judges:
Lord Hope, Deputy President, Lord Walker, Lord Sumption, Lord Reed, Lord Carnwath
Citations:
[2012] UKSC 45, 2012 GWD 37-742, UKSC 2011/0118
Links:
Bailii, Bailii Summary, SC Summary, SC
Statutes:
Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Clark v Lindale Homes Limited SCS 1994
The court set out the conditions to found a claim for breach of warrandice on a land purchase: ‘Although eviction did not mean physical removal, it did involve the emergence of a real or threatened burden on the property which had to come from a . .
Appeal from – Morris v Rae SCS 5-Apr-2011
The complainer had purchased land from the defender, but the Keeper of the Registers refused to register the transfer, saying that the disponer was not the owner. The claim was for breach of warrandice. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Scotland, Registered Land
Updated: 06 November 2022; Ref: scu.465602