A daughter’s victory in a bitter dispute with her parents suggests the bar for proprietary estoppel “may be low”.
In Davies v Davies [2014] EWCA Civ 568, Eirian Davies claimed she worked hard for a low wage for years on her parents dairy farm as they repeatedly assured her she would eventually take over the £7m, 182-acre farm. The parents countered that she was paid a fair wage and had free board and lodgings, and should receive a third equal share of the farm with her two sisters.
The court upheld an earlier decision that the daughter had established a share in the farm under proprietary estoppel.
Tamasin Perkins, senior associate at Charles Russell, says: “The test for proprietary estoppel traditionally involves promises or representations made to a person who then relies on these promises by acting to their detriment. The case suggests that the bar for establishing estoppel may be low.”
