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Head of Chancery & Commercial, Christopher Jones acted for Mr Tamplin in the Court of Appeal in the case of  Tamplin v Elwynd Properties & Jones [2024] EWCA Civ 1599 concerning an area of mountain land, at Mynydd Eglwysilan in Caerphilly. The land is registered under the Commons Registration Act 1965.

The claimant owns grazing rights on that land.

The defendant disputed the claimant’s grazing rights, and undertook extensive excavation, discing and ploughing works to the grazing areas, drove and disturbed the claimant’s sheep and blocked up gateways.

Orders were made confirming the claimant’s rights and requiring the defendants to undertake very substantial reinstatement works to damaged areas of common land.

The defendant sought to challenge the final order on grounds of mental capacity. Christopher represented the claimant at the multi-day trial and successfully secured the dismissal of the application.  Christopher then represented the claimant at a committal trial, securing orders committing the defendant to prison for breaches of the orders.

The defendant appealed on various grounds.  The principal arguments were that section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 prevented the Defendant from undertaking many of the works, that the judge wrongly construed the terms of the obligations imposed on the defendant by the order and in the alternative that the judge had insufficient evidence before him to reach the findings of fact that he did.

Christopher represented Mr Tamplin at the Court of Appeal, securing the dismissal of the appeal.  The Court of Appeal agreed that section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 did not prevent the defendant from carrying out the works that he had been ordered to undertake, that the judge had correctly interpreted the order and that there was sufficient evidence before the judge to justify the conclusions he reached.

Christopher has acted in a number of substantial contested will and trust claims, several major proprietary estoppel claims concerning large farms which have also involved complicated partnership issues, trust claims over the ownership and use of farms and a number of ongoing agricultural tenancy disputes. Find out more here.