Claim Case Study: Boundary issue
Background Part of an office block owned by the insured was constructed on neighbouring land owned by another business (W Ltd), which owned an adjacent office complex within a business park. The policy was obtained for lack of title to the piece of land in question for the insured’s office block.
First Title established that it was unlikely that W Ltd would be able to obtain an injunction, but it was likely they would be entitled to damages, which would be determined on the basis of a hypothetical licence, and that the nature of the land in question (a grass bank) was not material to this.
Challenge
A surveyor’s report showed, via aerial photos, that the boundary had been in situ for some time and First Title’s search concurred with this. First Title confirmed that the insured was, on the face of it, entitled to claim title to the land by adverse possession.
The insured received an email from W Ltd’s general counsel claiming they were encroaching on its land, and requesting they demolish the structure which had been built upon it. The Land Registry plans indicated that the insured’s development did encroach on the neighbouring land, although these were not conclusive. The title plan available when the site was purchased by the insured was very poor and it appears that when the architect surveyed the site for the original development he mistook a fence for the boundary line. This resulted in an office block being constructed, but partsituated, on W Ltd’s land.
Solution In order to bring this matter to a successful conclusion, First Title started negotiations with W Ltd and these completed on a settlement payment of £22,800, including costs for the land to be transferred to the insured. The payment of this amount, the legal expenses of the transfer of the land and First Title’s legal costs in defending the claim from W Ltd were made under the terms of the policy.
Call: +44 (0)207 160 8100 Email: info@firsttitle.co.uk Visit: www.firsttitle.co.uk First Title Insurance plc is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. First Title Insurance plc is registered in England under company number 01112603. Registered office: First Title Insurance plc, ECA Court, 24-26 South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1DU.
Leading Title Insurance 1106-0219