Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd v Vauxhall Motors Ltd

The 39 Essex Chambers team of William Norris QC, Simon Edwards and Daniel Stedman Jones achieved a ground breaking win for Vauxhall Motors Ltd in the Supreme Court when, in Manchester Ship Canal Company Ltd (Appellant) v Vauxhall Motors Ltd (Respondent), the court extended the doctrine of relief from forfeiture to licences to possess land.

Simon Edwards, the lead advocate on the issue throughout, said, "this is the first time the Supreme Court or House of Lords has considered relief from forfeiture in relation to land since 1972 in Shiloh Spinners v Harding. The court has taken the opportunity to expand that doctrine to cases where relief is sought for the loss of a possessory right in relation to land bringing the law here into line with the law relating to personalty. This is to be welcomed both in terms of consistency and principle."

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