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Oral agreements and interests in land: a walk in the park!
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Can you give away an interest in land in the course of a discussion? In
Ely v Robson [2016] EWCA Civ 774 Ms Robson argued that you could not: an oral agreement would not be compliant with s 2 (1) Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 (the '1989 Act').
Following the parties' separation Mr Ely had issued possession proceedings and Ms Robson a TLATA claim in both cases with respect to the family home which was in Mr Ely’s sole name. In 2007 they had settled this first round of litigation during the course of a discussion in Poole Park subsequently informing the court that the trial could be vacated.
In round two of the litigation the Court of Appeal considered the compliance of the oral agreement with s 2 (1) of the 1989 Act and whether the agreement was sufficiently certain or complete for equitable principles of proprietary estoppel or constructive trusts to be engaged.
In the December issue of
Family Law I have written a longer article about this. My
Family Law article examines the legal issues in this case ...
Read the full article here.
