Matthew has a great deal of experience of acting and advising in professional negligence issues arising in the context of his other areas of expertise, i.e. land law (e.g. negligent conveyancing – recently advised on claim against solicitor for failing to advise property developer of a restrictive covenant) and trusts and probate work (e.g. negligent drafting of wills – recently advised on failure to advise testator on severance of joint tenancy). Matthew has developed a high level of expertise on the law of damages in the context of negligently advised transactions.

Over 20 years’ experience in all areas of land law (including landlord and tenant and service charge disputes). The focus of Matthew’s work is now mainly on issues surrounding property development and in particular rights of way and restrictive covenants (recently lectured on ransom strips), torts affecting land (e.g. a 6 day TCC nuisance trial concerning leaking fuel) and rectification (recently acted for brewery in mistaken inclusion of a house in a transfer of a pub).

Matthew also regularly advises local authorities and other public bodies on the exercise of their land-holding functions, particularly concerning city centre redevelopment.
 

Significant Reported Cases  (Court of Appeal only shown: in all the following cases appeared unled)

Ahmad v Secret Garden (Cheshire) Limited [2013] EGLR 32 (scope of court’s discretion to rectify lease)

Bradford v James [2008] EWCA Civ 837 (extrinsic evidence in construction of conveyance)

Latimer v Carney [2007] 1 P & CR 213 (correct approach to assessment of damages in dilapidations claims)

Tenant v Adamczyk [2006] 1 P & CR 485 (adverse possession)

Matthew has much experience in each of these areas.

In charities work, Matthew has gained particular experience in dealing with the charitable status of land held by public bodies and charitable trustees, for example recently advising on a local authority’s powers to redevelop part of a recreation ground and on the charitable status of a large city park.

In trusts work, Matthew regularly advises on the powers of trustees (for instance, recently advising on the powers of trustees in a family trust established to hold the shares in a well-known brewing company), the removal of trustees (recently in acting in a 3-day High Court removal application) and the construction and operation of trusts (for instance, on the terms of a discretionary trust set up by a lottery winner). Matthew regularly gives talks on trusts; e.g. on secret trusts to members of STEP and recently on fiduciary duties to advocates on the Isle of Man.

Matthew has longstanding expertise in the field of succession / wills and probate, in particular, contested wills (including a 2 week High Court trial and in the Court of Appeal in a death-bed will challenge (Fitzgerald v Henerty [2016] EWCA Civ 701 - led by Lesley Anderson QC)), claims under the 1975 Act (recently advising, for instance, in a claim to a £7.5m estate and in another case concerning Sharia / Nikah marriages), proprietary estoppel and estate administration (including the removal of personal representatives).