The legal dispute centred on a hedge separating two homes in Torquay, England, with a disagreement over a few millimetres of land eventually turning into a costly court battle.
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disagreement → centre → battle
A homeowner who lost an appeal over the precise position of the boundary between her property and her neighbour’s has been ordered to pay £108,402 upfront towards 70% of his legal costs, as per court documents.
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who → lose → documents
The case involved Ms Douglas, owner of 43 Mead Road, and Mr Channon, who owns the neighbouring No. 41.
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who → involve → No
Their disagreement concerned whether the boundary ran along the outer edge of a hedge or through the area where the hedge stood.
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hedge → concern → area
Court rules on hedge boundary
The dispute reached Plymouth County Court, where a trial was held from August 18 to 26 last year.
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trial → rule → year
Judge Mitchell considered evidence from surveyors, photographs and other material before determining the boundary.
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Mitchell → consider → boundary
Mr Channon’s expert, civil engineer Mr Barber, had identified a line known as A-H-B as the boundary between the properties.
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expert → identify → properties
Ms Douglas argued that the boundary should instead run along the hedge’s outer edge because she maintained that the hedge belonged to her property.
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hedge → argue → property
The hedge had already been removed, making it impossible for the court to examine its exact position.
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court → remove → position
The judge considered the legal principles governing boundaries formed by hedges.
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judge → consider → hedges
He found that where a hedge belongs to one property, the boundary would generally follow the outer edge of its stems or trunks, rather than the furthest point reached by its leaves.
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boundary → find → leaves
However, the judge found that the difference between that position and Mr Barber’s A-H-B line was only a matter of millimetres.
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difference → find → millimetres
He therefore applied the legal principle of
de minimis, which means a difference is so small that the law treats it as insignificant, and declared A-H-B to be the boundary.
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B → apply → it
Homeowner challenges the decision
Ms Douglas appealed, arguing that the trial judge had identified one boundary under the applicable legal principle but then adopted a slightly different line as the property's actual boundary.
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judge → challenge → boundary
Her lawyers also argued that experts should first have been required to establish the precise legal boundary.
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experts → argue → boundary
If they could not agree, they said, the court could then have considered the issue at another hearing.
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court → agree → hearing
The Court of Appeal rejected those arguments.
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Court → reject → arguments
The appeal court noted that the trial judge had considered the expert evidence, photographs and other material and had personally visited the properties.
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judge → note → properties
It found that he was entitled to conclude that the difference between the competing lines was only a few millimetres.
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difference → find → lines
The court also rejected the argument that the ruling effectively deprived Ms Douglas of part of her property.
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ruling → reject → property
Any difference in the amount of land involved was considered too small to have legal significance.
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difference → involve → significance
Other claims added to the dispute
The boundary was only one part of the wider case.
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boundary → add → case
Ms Douglas had also brought allegations involving trespass and nuisance against Mr Channon and a previous owner.
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Douglas → bring → Channon
She sought damages and other remedies, including claims related to work that she said had destabilised her land.
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she → seek → land
Mr Channon denied the allegations and filed counterclaims of his own.
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Channon → deny → own
They included claims involving nuisance, trespass, alleged harassment and the value of his property.
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They → include → property
His counterclaim was worth more than £200,000, although much of it was unsuccessful.
The judge also found that Ms Douglas's main claim had failed, including her allegations concerning stabilisation work.
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claim → find → work
Appeal court upholds £108,402 costs order
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court → uphold → order
Ms Douglas argued that she should not have to pay such a large share of Mr Channon's legal expenses because she had successfully defeated most of his counterclaim.
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she → argue → counterclaim
The Court of Appeal disagreed.
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Court → disagree → Appeal
It said judges can consider which party succeeded on the main issues, how much those issues contributed to the overall case and how the litigation was conducted.
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litigation → say → case
The trial judge had already taken Mr Channon's unsuccessful counterclaims into account when deciding the costs.
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judge → take → costs
Instead of making Ms Douglas responsible for all of Mr Channon's costs, the judge ordered her to pay 70%.
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her → make → %
The Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal, leaving both the boundary ruling and the costs order in place.
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Court → dismiss → place
Ms Douglas must therefore pay £108,402 upfront towards Mr Channon's costs, with the final amount to be determined under the 70% order.
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amount → pay → order
The court battle ultimately turned on a boundary difference measured in millimetres, but the wider litigation involved expert evidence, multiple claims and substantial legal costs.
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litigation → turn → evidence
The Aporia
