Rural cases to watch out for in 2020

There are a number of cases currently working their way through the courts that will be of interest to our rural landowner clients and those with an interest in the rural land market in 2020. 

Below I set out two key cases to watch out for as the new year progresses…

Kingsley v Kingsley – The Court of Appeal will decide whether the first instance court was right, following the death of a partner, to order the sale of his partnership share to the surviving partner rather than selling it on the open market and whether the surviving partner had continued to occupy the land in her role as partner, with the result that rent was payable to the partnership rather than to the deceased partner's legatee. 

 Earl of Plymouth v Rees – The Court of Appeal will decide whether the first instance court correctly interpreted an agricultural tenancy, which reserved for the landlord the right to enter the farm for "reasonable purposes", as allowing the landlord to place various monitoring devices on the farm as a means of continuing inspection. 

These cases in the pipeline will generate huge interest in the rural land market when the courts come to consider them in 2020 and we eagerly await the outcome of both.