Year of call 1987
Instructing John
For further information or to instruct John please contact one of our following clerks:
John Buck specializes primarily in family and public law, having had a broad background in criminal and civil litigation, the latter ranging from residential landlord and tenant disputes, professional and clinical negligence and Inheritance Act claims. He is instructed in cases against the police.
His public law practice encompasses Care Proceedings and Court of Protection work. His Private Client work includes Trusts of Land and Financial Remedies, Wills and Probate as well as cases with an international element such as leave to remove and child abduction.
John has considerable experience advising and representing residential landlords and tenants in disputes involving disrepair, dilapidations, service charges and unlawful eviction.
Also advising and representing landlords and tenants of commercial premises in disputes involving the L & T Act 1954 including renewals, rent reviews, liability for repairs and their apportionment.
He has successfully prosecuted a senior court bailiff in a civil jury trial obtaining substantial damages for assault, wrongful arrest and false imprisonment as well as malicious prosecution of a tenant’s husband whose bipolar disorder was reactivated as a result. Successfully argued that his detention in court pursuant to s14 County Courts Act 1984 amounted to a malicious process.
He recently successfully defended a solicitor instructed via direct access in her capacity as tenant in a claim by her landlord for part of the costs of building works to the property of which her flat formed a part. He forced the landlord/agent to discontinue two claims the first on the grounds the claimant had no title to sue in the first place, the second on grounds of non-service or faulty service of statutory notices under L & T Acts 1985 and 1987 as well as the scope of the works amounting to improvement rather than repair.
Regularly instructed on behalf of Local Authorities, parents, grandparents and Guardians, often representing those with severe and unusual personality disorders or those accused of or who are the victims of the most serious violence. Have appeared in all courts to Court of Appeal level. In 2011 he represented a grandfather in a 10-day fact finding accused of the serial rape of his daughter (when a minor) and the grooming of his grandchildren, and the keeping of bestial pornography at the highest end of the scale. In subsequent criminal proceedings on conviction he was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment.
Represented parties in the County Court and the High Court in applications to remove chidlren to Scotland, Japan, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia; also in child abduction cases, on one occasion representing a young mother whose own mother had abducted her child to the Phillipines.
Regularly instructed in the County Court and High Court in private Children Act, TOLATA, financial remedies claims, Wills and Probate. Recently appeared in the Court of Appeal for a Direct Access client in her appeal against a refusal to award her spousal maintenance. Gave seminar on pensions in financial remedies claims, which was published and widely distributed by an association of actuaries.
Experienced in judicial review especially of local authorities in cases involving provision of services to children in care and in housing and homelessness cases.
Considerable experience in civil jury actions, usually against the police, triable in the County Court by a civil jury of 8. Successfully prosecuted a senior court bailiff form his assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution of the husband of a person whose house he was repossessing, obtaining compensation for personal and psychiatric injury (re-activation of a bi-polar disorder). Successfully prosecuted the Sussex police for their negligent bailment of a flock of sheep. Recently involved in an extremely high-profile case against the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.