Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Malik v Malik (EWCA Civ 1323): Prior denial estops adverse possession; guidance on intention to possess and reliance on litigation statements (England and Wales)

Published on: 28 November 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Property Disputes expert

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Article summary

Malik v Malik; Malik and others v Malik [2024] EWCA Civ 1323 What are the practical implications of this case?

Although several issues were resolved in the proceedings between the brothers, the key point for legal practitioners concerns estoppel by conduct. This doctrine bars a person from advancing a claim or right that conflicts with earlier statements or positions adopted through their actions. It arises where one party has relied, to their detriment, on the other’s representations or behaviour. In this appeal, the Court of Appeal determined that, at a prior application hearing in 2012, Vaqar made representations that stopped him from relying on any entitlement to the property said to arise from adverse possession. At the 2012 hearing, it was established that he told the Judge he was not advancing, and would not advance, a claim to the property by way of adverse possession. Consequently, any rights he might otherwise have claimed through adverse possession could not thereafter be asserted. For practitioners, the case underscores that estoppel by conduct arises where one party relies on another’s representation or behaviour to their detriment, and that clear statements to the court may later preclude an adverse possession claim...

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