header-logo header-logo

Boundary disputes: the solicitor’s nightmare

29 November 2018 / Mark Whittell
Issue: 7819 / Categories: Features , Profession , Property , ADR
printer mail-detail

​Mark Whittell offers a novel solution to the stresses & strains of the boundary dispute

  • Mediation can provide a quick, cheap and practical alternative to the protracted and expensive process of resolving a boundary dispute in court.

To the file we all dread—the boundary dispute.

  • The client is acting on a point of principle.
  • The client will be irrational and not act commercially.
  • The costs will be totally disproportionate.
  • The reality is one party will have to move for them to be happy.
  • No matter how well you conduct yourself, the court is going to be highly critical of the fact you have not settled and the costs you have incurred.
  • And it will hang around in your filing cabinet for ages as it will not have any priority.

It all leads to a worried and dissatisfied client and a frustrated solicitor.

The problem

You will be litigating usually over a small strip or piece of land which will have a negligible value, but because of the complexity of

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Gilson Gray—Linda Pope

Partner joins family law team inLondon

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Jackson Lees Group—five promotions

Private client division announces five new partners

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Taylor Wessing—Max Millington

Banking and finance team welcomes partner in London

NEWS
The landmark Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v FirstRand Bank Ltd—along with Rukhadze v Recovery Partners—redefine fiduciary duties in commercial fraud. Writing in NLJ this week, Mary Young of Kingsley Napley analyses the implications of the rulings
Barristers Ben Keith of 5 St Andrew’s Hill and Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers use the arrest of Simon Leviev—the so-called Tinder Swindler—to explore the realities of Interpol red notices, in this week's NLJ
Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys [2025] has upended assumptions about who may conduct litigation, warn Kevin Latham and Fraser Barnstaple of Kings Chambers in this week's NLJ. But is it as catastrophic as first feared?
Lord Sales has been appointed to become the Deputy President of the Supreme Court after Lord Hodge retires at the end of the year
Limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are reportedly in the firing line in Chancellor Rachel Reeves upcoming Autumn budget
back-to-top-scroll