Fairweather v St Marylebone Property Company Ltd, 1963 AC 510
Citation:Fairweather v St Marylebone Property Company Ltd, 1963 AC 510
Rule of thumb:Does it matter what legal principle a case is based on? Yes, identifying the correct legal principle which applies to a case is extremely important.
Judgment:
The Court held that where a case has a factual aspect of it which makes it materially different from the legal principle they are saying applies, it does not apply. The Court affirmed that where another legal principle fits the facts better then this is what the Court has to apply to the case. Judgments have to be based upon sound underlying logical foundations and the correct ‘premise’ / legal principle which applies to the facts.
Ratio-decidendi:
‘It is plain that the case on each side involves several deductive steps which are claimed to follow by irrefutable logic from their respective premises. After some hesitation between 2 inviting paths, I have come to the conclusion that the appellant’s arguments are vitiated by the fact that their reasoning contains an engaging but considerable fallacy … I think it is necessary to start by recalling the principle which defines a squatter’s rights...’, Lord Radcliffe
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.