The High Court has ruled that Kenneth and Ann Denton cannot rely on their earlier registered deed to defeat Patrick McDonagh’s claim to a plot behind Cowper Road and Fortfield Gardens in Rathmines. The court found that silence by the Dentons’ solicitor in 1996 amounted, in the circumstances, to a representation that they did not dispute McDonagh’s title. It said an equity arose in his favour through proprietary estoppel.
The judgment, delivered by Mr Justice O’Sullivan on 15 April 2005, followed a trial of McDonagh’s claim for injunctions, damages for trespass and a declaration of estoppel. The judge directed that appropriate orders should restrain the Dentons from interfering with McDonagh’s beneficial ownership, occupation, possession and enjoyment of the plot, and said they should surrender the relevant keys. The precise terms of the orders were left for discussion with counsel; the judgment does not record a final order or an award of damages.
McDonagh bought the plot by deed in August 1981. In 1986, the Dentons acquired Fortfield House under a deed that the court found included the same plot, and their deed was registered before McDonagh’s. The judge rejected McDonagh’s argument that the Dentons had not intended to buy it. He also found they had no notice of McDonagh’s prior purchase before their deed was registered. Under section 5 of the Registration of Deeds Act 1707, the later-registered deed would ordinarily be deemed void against the earlier registered deed.
The court’s decision turned on later correspondence. In 1996, McDonagh’s solicitor asserted that his client’s plot had not been included in the Dentons’ purchase. The Dentons’ solicitor did not challenge that assertion. The judge found the silence amounted to a representation that there was no disagreement, taking into account earlier correspondence: in 1987, the vendor’s solicitors had told the Dentons that the plot had been sold to McDonagh. The judge found the Dentons’ solicitor had not been given that earlier correspondence in 1996.
McDonagh later agreed to sell the plot to Cormac MacCartaigh, who brought separate specific-performance proceedings. The judge treated McDonagh’s exposure to those proceedings as substantial detriment, while making no finding about their outcome. He found the required elements of proprietary estoppel were met. The Dentons had spent £7,550 clearing and securing the site in 2001; the judge said they were entitled in principle to repayment, with the matter left for the discussion of orders.