Property & Real Estate Barristers
Burden of Proof: Marc Glover and Katie Gray instructed in appeal to the Supreme Court
22nd August 2018
Marc Glover and Katie Gray are instructed in an appeal to the Supreme Court UKSC 2018/0120 against the Court of Appeal decision in Constandas v Lysandrou [2018] EWCA Civ 613.
The appellant claims an entitlement to a half share in a house on the grounds that in 1959 he contributed £600 toward the purchase price of £1,200. The issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the lower court judge was wrong to fall back on the burden of proof to dispose of the case. The Court of Appeal, having considered the Court of Appeal judgments in Stephens v Cannon [2005] EWCA Civ 222 [§§22-24] and Verlander v Devon Waste Management & Anr [2007] EWCA Civ 835 [§25] concluded that lower court was justified in resolving the claim on the burden of proof [§29] & [§31]. The appeal to the Supreme Court addresses whether the incremental development of Court of Appeal authorities has led to a position whereby lower courts may now too readily resort to the burden of proof to determine a claim.