Re Jeffkins Indentures: 1965

‘a plaintiff seeking a declaration that restrictive covenants do not affect his property is expected to pay his own costs. He is also expected to pay the costs of any defendants who enter an appearance down to the point in proceedings at which they have had a full opportunity of considering the matter and deciding whether or not to oppose the application. Any defendant who then decides to continue, and appears unsuccessfully before the judge, does so at his own risk as to his own costs at that stage. Such defendant should not however be ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs.’

Judges:

Cross J

Citations:

[1965] 1 WLR 375

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

ConfirmedRe Wembley Park Estate Co Ltd’s Transfer 1968
The court confirmed the rule in Jeffkins and added that ‘the costs payable to the defendant should be paid on the common fund basis ‘since the obtaining of the order is something in the nature of a luxury to the plaintiff for which he ought to pay.’ . .
CitedUniversity of East London Higher Education Corporation v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and others ChD 14-Dec-2004
The parties had litigated the sale of land free of restrictive covenants.
Held: The rule that a party was entilted to its costs of defending an action under the Act for the discharge of a covenant at least as far as was necessary for it to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Costs, Land

Updated: 24 November 2022; Ref: scu.220711