Dillwyn v Llewelyn
A father who encouraged his son to build a house on the father's land, on the faith of a gift of it, was bound to convey the land to him.
Facts
Mr Llewelyn signed a memorandum stating that he gave a farm to his son, so that the son could build a house on it. The memorandum was not a deed, so it did not transfer the legal title. With his father's knowledge and approval, the son took possession of the land and built a large house there, at a cost of about £14,000. After the father died, the question arose whether the son was entitled to the land.
Legal principle
Lord Westbury LC held that the son was entitled to have the land conveyed to him in fee simple. He said that, although equity will not normally perfect an imperfect gift, the son's expenditure on the faith of his father's promise and with his encouragement gave him a right to call on the father, and those claiming through him, to complete the gift. It would be inequitable for the father's estate to keep the land and the house the son had built on it.
Related cases on contracts for land and proprietary estoppel
- Cobbe v Yeoman's Row Management Ltd [2008] UKHL 55, [2008] 1 WLR 1752
- Crabb v Arun District Council [1976] Ch 179
- Davies v Davies [2016] EWCA Civ 463
- Firstpost Homes Ltd v Johnson [1995] 1 WLR 1567
- Gillett v Holt [2001] Ch 210
- Guest v Guest [2022] UKSC 27
- Habberfield v Habberfield [2019] EWCA Civ 890
- Inwards v Baker [1965] 2 QB 29
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