Das v Linden Mews Ltd

Das v Linden Mews Ltd [2002] EWCA Civ 590

Easements, use of rights for the purposes of the dominant tenement

Facts

Two residents of Linden Mews formed a company called Linden Mews Ltd. The purpose of the company was the purchase a plot of land on which the residents of two other houses had a practice of parking their cars. The residents who used the land for parking asserted that they had an easement over it, while Linden Mews Ltd asserted that this was incorrect and that they were trespassing. In addition, Linden Mews Ltd demanded parking charges. The argument by Linden Mews Ltd was that any rights which the other residents went only as afar as a right to load and unload goods or take on and drop off passengers. It was asserted that broader rights would go against the decision in Harris v Flower (1904) 74 LJ Ch 127, which had established that a dominant owner could only enjoy rights attached to the dominant tenement for the benefit of that tenement and no other.

Issue

The issue in the case was whether the habitual use of the land for parking would be enough to grant them an easement and more generally how the rights attached to the dominant tenement could be used.

Decision/Outcome

It was held that on the facts of the case no easement existed to park on the land under dispute. However, it was also held that the lower court’s granting of an injunction was a flawed decision due to a failure to consider whether damages might have been a more appropriate remedy.