The Death of Proprietary Estoppel: Yeoman’s Row Management Ltd. v. Cobbe
Lloyds Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly, pp. 449-460, 2008
Posted: 28 Oct 2009
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
This note considers the decision of the House of Lords in Yeoman’s Row Management Ltd v Cobbe [2008] UKHL 55. It considers the effect of the decision, and of the reasoning employed in the speeches, on the law relating to proprietary estoppel, constructive trusts, and unjust enrichment. It argues that, whilst the decision reached by the House of Lords may well be justifiable, the reasoning employed by each of Lord Scott and Lord Walker is inconsistent, each in different ways, with previously settled understandings of the operation of proprietary estoppel, and would therefore cause problems if strictly applied.
Keywords: land law, Estoppel, constructive trusts, unjust enrichment
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation