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Thorner v Curtis
Nature of assurance and reliance
Thorner v Majors
[2009] UKHL 18
Summary
In this claim by a nephew in respect of his uncle's estate the nephew has established that he was entitled to his uncle's farm on the basis of a proprietary estoppel.
Basic facts
The claim was based on the grounds that the uncle had made assurances to the nephew that the farm would be left to him after his death. The nephew had relied on those assurances by working for a period of some 28 years on the farm and thereby suffering a detriment. The trial judge had found that there was a sufficient assurance to give rise to the estoppel. The CA had overturned that decision on the ground that the judge had not found that the assurance was intended to be relied upon and that there was no material upon which he could have made such a finding.
House of Lords
The CA was wrong to overturn the decision of the first instance judge. He was entitled to come to the conclusion that he reached.
Yeomans Row v Cobbe distinguished
The other recent decision of the HL on proprietary estoppel, Yeomans Row v Cobbe, was distinguished. In Cobbe there was no doubt about the physical identity of the property. However, there was total uncertainty as to the nature or terms of any benefit (property interest, contractual right, or money), and, if a property interest, as to the nature of that interest (freehold, leasehold, or charge), to be accorded to Mr Cobbe. In this case, the extent of the farm might change, but there was no doubt as to what was the subject of the assurance, namely the farm as it existed from time to time. Accordingly, the nature of the interest to be received by the nephew was clear: it was the farm as it existed on the uncle's death. Further, in Cobbe the relationship between the parties was at arm's length and commercial, and the person raising the estoppel was a highly experienced businessman and the parties had consciously chosen not to enter into a contract. Each party knew they were not bound by a legal relationship. (Lord Neuberger, paras 94-97).
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