W2 - Possession

Pierson v Post (US case) - case facts

Post hunting a wild fox in uninhabited land / Pierson knew Post was chasing the fox - intercepted and killed the fox himself / Post sued for trespass, argued he had legal property

Pierson v Post (US case) - Ruling + dissent

NY Supreme Court ruled in Pierson’s favour / property over wild animals only happens through occupancy - mere chase doesn’t create a property right / Livingstone’s dissent - hot pursuit with reasonably closeness = possession

Armory v Delamirie (first possession case) - case summary

Armory v Delamirie Chimney sweeper found a ring - gave to jeweller to estimate price / jeweller refused to return it / Court ruled it was the chimney’s sweep - finding something isn’t complete ownership, but ownership until rightful owner is found / chimney sweep = 2nd best claim

Adverse possession - definition

Adverse possession allows a person to gain legal ownership of land/property they don’t own by continuously occupying it for a set period

Asher v Whitlock (adverse possession) - case facts

Asher v Whitlock / Man was a squatter on unregistered land - built a house / died and left it to his wife and daughter - wife remarried, and her new husband, Whitlock, continued to occupy the land / daughter wanted house - Whitlock argued it was no one’s land, so he had a right

Asher v Whitlock (adverse possession) - Ruling

Asher v Whitlock / Court ruled that original man had the best right other than the original Lord - so he was allowed property rights / could therefore transfer the land to his daughter + granddaughter / first possession rule applies to land - based on practicality + efficiency

Pye v Graham (adverse possession) - case summary

Pye and Graham were farmers - agreement expired and Pye refused to renew it, asked Grahams to vacate - they refused, stayed for 12 years / Lords ruled Grahams had possession - sufficient, exclusive physical control (factual possession) + intention to possess, 12 years (legal possession)

Pye v Graham - Lord Browne-Wilkinson

Pye v Graham / Lord Browne-Wilkinson: ‘The only relevant question is whether the person in factual possession also has an intention to possess’ (2 part test)

Red House Farms v Catchpole (adverse possession) - case summary

Red House Farms v Catchpole / Small plot of land = hunting/agricultural, owned by Red House Farms but they hadn’t used it for 20 years / Catchpole used it regularly for hunting for 12 years - Red House sued for ownership + trespass / Court ruled Catchpole had adverse possession (factual control + intention)

Thorpe v Frank (adverse possession) - case summary on factual possession

Thorpe v Frank / Thorpe acquired a property - shared forecourt repaved and used - Franks moved in next door, Thorpe put a fence around it + applied to be owners of the full forecourt / Court of Appeal ruled in Thorpe’s favour + developed requirements for factual possession (don’t need to enclose land, enough to exert sufficient control as a legal landowner)

Unregistered land - legislation

Limitation Act 1980 / s15 - if it’s been 12 years, then adverse possession / s17 - after 12 years, squatter can claim to be best freehold possessor

Unregistered land - Key cases (BP v B, Z v P)

BP Properties v Buckler - consent to squatters can stop them from making a claim against being the best possessor / Zarb v Parry - possession must be continuous for 12 years

Considerations of adverse possession - justifications

Efficiently prevent + resolve disputes / protect possesses + reward their labour / promote efficient use of land

Considerations of adverse possession - Law Commission

Against a sweeping doctrine for adverse possession - should be restricted to case-by-case application (focus on fairness, not an absolute right)

Land Registration Act 2002 - protecting landowners

LRA 2002 changed the law / schedule 6 - can apply for registrar after 10 years now - registrar will ask freeholder, and freeholder will decide to reject/allow

Land Registration Act 2002 - protecting squatters

LRA 2002 para 5 - squatter can claim adverse condition if 1) proprietary estoppel (would be unconscionable to dispossess them), 2) entitlement (otherwise entitled but for failed transfer/trust), 3) adjacent land + reasonable belief of ownership

Impact of criminal law on adverse possession

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 / s144 criminalised squatting in residential buildings

Best v Chief Land Registrar - case facts

Best v Chief Land Registrar / house empty for years, Best moved into house + renovates it - applies for ownership after 10 years / rejected as Best was a criminal (trespasser) / Best sued Land Registry - couldn’t reject on basis of criminality

Best v Chief Land Registrar - ruling

Best v Chief Land Registrar / court agave Best best title - narrow v wide submission, accepted narrow submission where Best’s criminality is irrelevant in this case / but no wide submission - criminality can be relevant in some circumstances

Brown v Ridley - case facts

Brown v Ridley / they were registered owners of neighbouring plots - but with disputed land / Ridleys used disputed land for construction of a house - Brown argued this breached their land

Brown v Ridley - ruling

Brown Ridley / SC ruled in Ridley’s favour - used land for 10 years + had reasonable belief the land belonged to them (but emphasised how belief does not need to be 10 years from the date of the application, could coincide with a dispute being raised)

Law Commission 1998 report - indirectly led to LRA 2002

Critiqued existing law - traditional law harsh against registered owners (they often had no way of knowing if a squatter was there) / shift towards protecting the paper owner / distinguished between good and bad faith adverse possession (did they know land was owned or not)

Academic - Cobb and Fox - general arguments

Law Commission + LRA 2002 = backlash against urban squatters, Cobb and Fox argue this distinction is unfair + binary / landowner’s neglect of land = quasi-abandonment / moral utilitarianism - should allow squatters to benefit, invested time + money into land, land efficiency

Academic - Cobb and Fox - main argument

Cobb and Fox advocate for squatters’ rights / LRA 2002 achieved stronger protections - but not a benefit / urban squatters not less moral + absent landowners aren’t blameless / consider wider context (housing crisis)

Adverse possession for registered vs unregistered land

Unregistered - permitted under Limitation Act 1980, automatically transfers after 12 years / registered - Land Registration Act 2002, can apply after 10 years (but can be rejected)