“I see trouble up ahead
Where the river boat
Swayed beneath the sun”
Ocean Colour Scene (1996)
When is a riverboat moored?
The High Court in London recently considered this question in the context of committal proceedings.
Background
The Defendant operated riverboats on the River Thames. This brought him into conflict with the Claimant Council, which manages the riverbank.
By July 2023, that conflict culminated in an interim injunction prohibiting the Defendant from mooring his boat, the Kupe, in trespass to the Council’s land, specifically the riverbank.
The Council brought committal proceedings to have the Defendant imprisoned for breach of that injunction. The Defendant, a litigant in person, contended that he was not moored on the Claimant’s land. Instead, the Kupe was anchored a little offshore by driving scaffolding poles into the river bed, which the Crown owns.
Judgment
It was held that the Defendant was moored in contravention of the Council’s bye-laws. An injunction had been granted prohibiting him from mooring any vessel within three metres of the riverbank unless in compliance with the bye-laws.
The judge was, however, critical of the Council’s approach:
“…[the Claimant] ’s pursuit of [the Defendant]… has been zealous to a fault, to the point of being heavy handed… [with] misplaced zeal… in inverse proportion to the dwindling merits of its case…”
An application for committal was dismissed. The existing order was extended until 2028.
Comment
The Defendant breached the injunction by failing to remove the Kupe. He had since transferred ownership and moved in with friends. Although he was unrepresented, it was not his first brush with authority.
When dealing with unrepresented opponents, there is a duty to ‘see trouble up ahead’, keeping the court informed of points that could assist the other side. This duty applies even where the other side is a “…difficult character with an abrasive and sometimes… discourteous manner”.
For more information about this article or any other aspect of property law, get in touch with your Napthens Solicitors in Preston, Kendal, Fylde Coast, and across the North West, today.
