Equitable interest/right meaning

This Checklist examines how easements come into being and whether they must, or may, be entered on the register at HM Land Registry. It addresses the following principal topics: Does an easement exist? Can it amount to a legal easement? Was the easement made by express grant? Is the express right set out in a deed of grant or a transfer? Is the right included within a lease? Has the easement arisen by implied grant? Has the easement arisen by presumed grant? Is the right merely equitable? Is the easement an overriding interest? Rights distinct from easements An application to HM Land Registry to register an easement may need supporting evidence of third party consents, or proof of compliance with a restriction on title. These matters are not explored in detail in this Checklist; see Practice Notes: Mortgages and land—dealings with land subject to a mortgage or legal charge, and Land registration—restrictions on title under...

Original news Banwaitt v Dewji and another [2015] EWHC 3441 (Ch) What issues did this case raise? This decision will interest practitioners advising judgment creditors with a charging order against a debtor’s share in jointly owned property, and anyone dealing with security over beneficial interests in land more generally. The central issue was whether a married couple, as co-owners, could have a charging order removed from the title by the wife buying the husband’s stake. The claimant had secured a substantial judgment which the debtor failed to satisfy. A charging order was then obtained over the debtor’s beneficial interest in the family home. Thereafter, the debtor and his wife transferred the property into her sole name for a modest sum. She argued the order no longer bound the title—maintaining it had been ‘overreached’ under sections 2 and 27 of the Law of Property Act 1925. The debtor tendered that sum to the claimant. However, the debtor had not obtained the claimant’s agreement in advance to the disposition and, in...

Segulah Medical Acceleration AB v Tripathi [2025] EWHC 632 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This ruling will interest practitioners advising on applications for a WFO, especially where a proprietary strand is present and cross‑border issues arise. The emphasis is on the baseline obligations placed on a WFO applicant. The court analysed the reach of the applicants’ non‑enforcement undertaking, limiting enforcement to England and Wales (the NEU); the degree to which the order could attach to assets held through a corporate vehicle; and how a cap on the injuncted sum functions when there is a mixture of cash reserves and real property within the jurisdiction exceeding the injunction limit. In relation to the NEU, the court had to determine whether a broad or narrow reading was appropriate where the applicants had taken injunctive steps in other jurisdictions to preserve the defendants’ assets. The judgment thus provides guidance on whether asset‑preservation proceedings in other jurisdictions amount to enforcement contrary to the NEU, on the WFO’s potential...

In this issue: Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Injunctions Enforcement Litigation New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts No Weekly Highlights on 24 April 2025 Key DR developments Artificial intelligence CTJ issues refreshed AI guidance and unveils Copilot Chat for judges: The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary (CTJ) has released updated guidance on the use of artificial intelligence, replacing the December 2023 version. The revision widens the glossary of AI terminology and introduces fresh sections on misinformation, bias, and the quality of datasets. It also brings Microsoft Copilot Chat to judicial office holders via eJudiciary accounts, and confirms that litigants are accountable for AI-generated material put before the courts. For further detail, see: LNB News 15/04/2025 23—Courts and Tribunals Judiciary publishes updated AI guidance and introduces Copilot Chat for judges...

Practice Note This Practice Note consists of two strands created to help dispute resolution practitioners remain up to date with developments in case law that affect their field, or which influence civil litigation procedure more generally: selected forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court are highlighted below; see Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 summaries of significant appeal decisions in England and Wales (ie rulings of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court and, where appropriate, certain judgments of the Competition Appeal Tribunal, Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Court of Justice of the European Union), and ECtHR, which we have covered; see: Key forthcoming appeal cases—2022 You can navigate this content using the table of contents in the left-hand margin. Alternatively, search this tracker using [CTRL]+[F]. This material is not intended to be a comprehensive register of every appeal or major decision relevant to dispute resolution practitioners. Key forthcoming appeals to the Supreme Court—2022 Tort and negligence ...

This Practice Note explains what proprietary estoppel is, how to advance a plea of proprietary estoppel, and gives examples of when, in practice, you may wish to rely on it. It examines proprietary estoppel from a general perspective. For sector-specific guidance on proprietary estoppel for property law practitioners, see Practice Note: for property disputes lawyers. —what is it? Unlike other species of estoppel (see Practice Note: Estoppel—what, when and how to plead), which will not usually found a cause of action, proprietary estoppel can. It is commonly deployed where a party (B) seeks to assert a proprietary right in land owned by another (A), where B has been led to believe—by promise, words or conduct and/or by A’s acquiescence—that B has, or can expect to acquire, an interest in that land. The decisions in Ramsden v Dyson and Willmott v Barber offer a helpful starting point for understanding the doctrine. In both, the claimant sought to establish a proprietary interest in someone else’s property on the footing that...

What is an assignment An assignment involves passing a right or interest held by one party (the assignor) to another (the assignee), such as transferring an employer’s rights under a building contract to the buyer of the finished works. In this Practice Note, the party required to perform the contractual obligations is called the 'obligor'. A properly effected assignment allows the assignee to require performance of contractual duties—for instance, to request rectification of defects and/or to commence proceedings. This Practice Note explores the various mechanisms available by which parties may implement an assignment within construction documentation (eg construction contracts, appointments and collateral warranties), together with the consequences of doing so. It also clarifies the practical impact of each method for parties seeking to secure or enforce rights effectively...

This Agreement is entered into on [ insert date ] (the Commencement Date) between the following entities (each a party, together the parties): Parties 1 [ insert licensor name ], a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ], with registered number [ insert company number ] and its registered office at [ insert registered office ] (the ‘Licensor’); and 2 [ insert licensee name ], a company incorporated in [ England and Wales ], with registered number [ insert company number ] and its registered office at [ insert registered office ] (the ‘Licensee’). Background (A) The Licensor owns the Photographic Works. (B) The Licensor intends to grant a licence to the Licensee over the Photographic Works, and the Licensee wishes to obtain such licence on the terms set out in this Agreement...

This Agreement is entered into on [ date ] Parties [ insert name of SaaS Supplier company ], a company registered in [ England and Wales ] with company number [ insert registered number ], whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] (the SaaS Supplier); and [ insert name of reseller company ], a company registered in [ England and Wales ] with company number [ insert registered number ], whose registered office is at [ insert registered office ] (the Reseller). Each of the SaaS Supplier and the Reseller constitutes a party, and collectively the SaaS Supplier and the Reseller are the parties. Background (A) The SaaS Supplier intends to appoint the Reseller as an authorised reseller for certain of its online software applications within the United Kingdom. (B) The Reseller agrees to promote and supply the SaaS Supplier’s online software applications in accordance with this Agreement...

INSOLVENCY ACT APPLICATION NOTICE Use with an application notice complying with Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, SI 2016/1024—see Form IAA (IR 2016, r1.35 VAR) and corporate insolvency application notice. Case No: [insert]. Court: High Court (Business and Property Courts—Insolvency and Companies List (ChD)) or County Court at [insert]. Between [Applicant(s)] and [Respondent(s)]. Matter: [company] and the Insolvency Act 1986. Under s212 Insolvency Act 1986. Applicant(s): [names/addresses]. Respondent(s): [names/addresses]. Heard by [judge level] at [court/hearing centre]. Within existing proceedings? YES/NO. Court ref: [insert]. Declaration that Respondent(s) breached fiduciary/trust/statutory duties by causing or permitting the Company to [details]. Order that Respondent(s) [jointly and severally] account to Applicant(s) (liquidator(s)) for [sum], or as the Court thinks fit. Alternatively, equitable compensation/damages of [sum], or as the Court decides. Interest in equity or under s35A Senior Courts Act 1981 at rate and period the Court thinks fit. Costs of and incidental to this application. Further or other relief as the Court thinks fit....

Section 23 of the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA 2002) states that: The owner’s powers concerning a registered estate comprise: authority to carry out any disposition allowed by the general law for an interest of that nature, except a mortgage by demise or sub-demise; and authority to charge the estate at law to secure the payment of money. At first glance, these powers appear extremely broad; nevertheless, it is evident that they are qualified by a constraint relating to the ability to grant charges over the land...

For this Q&A, it is taken that, during their joint lifetimes, both spouses were the registered legal owners. Following the first death, the surviving spouse became the legal title holder on trust, holding one half share for the late spouse and the other half share for themselves under that trust. By executing a deed of variation, the survivor then came to hold the legal title on trust so that a 50% beneficial share belonged to the deceased’s children, with the balance 50% beneficial share remaining with the survivor as their own interest. Only equitable beneficial interests can be severed. A legal estate can only subsist as a joint tenancy, pursuant to section 36(2) of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925)...

When A and B make a covenant regulating the use of B’s freehold land (presently owned by B or to be conveyed to B) for the benefit of land kept or held by A, it is, as a contractual promise, immediately enforceable. If, however, either A or B disposes of the interest in their respective parcels, the covenant is enforceable only where the equitable rules governing the enforceability of freehold covenants are fulfilled. Where A, being the original covenantee, has transferred the interest in the benefitted land to C, C may enforce the covenant solely if it is demonstrable that the covenant benefits that land and that the benefit has passed by assignment. The latter element will, in most cases, arise automatically by virtue of section 78 of the Law of Property Act 1925 (LPA 1925), as provided under that statute in equity...