Andrew Riddell Dunlop v Rostislav Rostislavavitch Romanoff
Decision date: 29 August 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKUT 200 (LC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
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: high
This appeal concerned whether a 1918 conveyance of Lunsford Farm included an adjoining lane (the application land) despite the conveyance plan excluding it. The First-tier Tribunal had preferred the plan, but the Upper Tribunal held that, read with contemporaneous extrinsic evidence, the conveyance did include the lane and alternatively that a corrective interpretation was available to treat the plan exclusion as a mistake. The Upper Tribunal directed registration of the application land to Mr Dunlop.
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: high
Where a conveyance contains a clear inconsistency between precise verbal or schedule descriptions and a plan described as "more particularly delineated", the document must be construed as a whole and relevant contemporaneous extrinsic evidence may be admitted to resolve the inconsistency; a plan will not automatically prevail where the verbal description is clear and compelling extrinsic evidence shows the plan contains a mistake, and corrective interpretation may be justified.
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 tribunal noted that authorities from easement and lease contexts (e.g. Wesleyvale, Network Rail) can inform principles of conveyance construction beyond their immediate factual contexts, and observed that schedules within a conveyance are not merely documents incorporated by reference but may carry equal weight in construction.