Fiaz Akhtar v Slough Borough Council

Decision date: 22 October 2019

Neutral citation: [2019] UKUT 308 (LC)

Overall AI summary confidence: medium

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Short overview

This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.

AI confidence in this short overview: medium

This case concerns Mrs Fiaz Akhtar's application to alter the Land Register for 3 Montem Lane, disputing a 2007 TR1 said to transfer her title to Qazi Qureshi and contesting its attestation and whether it was signed under duress. The First-tier Tribunal found on the balance of probabilities that Mrs Akhtar did not prove the TR1 was not her signature or was improperly attested, and dismissed her application and appeal. The Tribunal also confirmed that even where a "mistake" under Schedule 4 LRA 2002 is established, alteration is not automatic unless the statutory conditions are met.

Ratio decidendi

This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.

AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: medium

From the judgment as reflected in the notes, a registration arising from a disposition that is void for formal defect (for example, improper attestation) can constitute a "mistake" for the purposes of Schedule 4 LRA 2002; by contrast, a registration resulting from a merely voidable disposition is not a "mistake" unless that disposition was rescinded before registration.

Obiter dicta

This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.

AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium

The notes record obiter observations that (1) refusal to waive legal privilege as to a former solicitor may permit an adverse inference about the solicitor's likely evidence, and (2) expert handwriting opinion that relies on documents previously treated as "known writings" can be undermined if those comparator documents are later themselves questioned.

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