Crabb v Arun District Council [1976] Ch 179 (23 July 1975)
Crabb v Arun District Council [1976] Ch 179 is a judgment from United Kingdom on 23 July 1975. Search it by the party names, or United Kingdom judgment.
united-kingdom
July 23, 1975
UNITED KINGDOM
Crabb
v.
Arun District Council [1976] Ch 179
Proceeding. Judgment. United Kingdom.
Held. Where a person has been encouraged to act to his detriment in the belief that he has or will obtain an interest in land, equity will prevent the other party from insisting on its strict legal rights.
CRABB v ARUN DISTRICT COUNCIL [1976] Ch 179; [1975] 3 All ER 865 Court of Appeal 23 July 1975
Judges: Lord Denning MR, Lawton LJ, Scarman LJ
Facts
The owned land. The , the local council, led him to believe he would be granted a right of access at a particular point. He sold part of his land in reliance on that belief and was left landlocked. The council later refused the access.
Held
The Court of Appeal held that the plaintiff was entitled to an easement. Lord Denning MR stated that equity will intervene where one party has encouraged another to act to his detriment in the belief that he has or will obtain an interest in land, and it would be unconscionable to allow the first party to go back on that assurance.
Key Principles
1. Proprietary requires an assurance, reliance, and detriment.
2. The remedy is the minimum equity to do justice — it may be an easement, a licence, or a transfer of the land.
3. The doctrine applies to public authorities as well as private landowners.
Why It Matters in Sierra Leone
Crabb v Arun is persuasive authority on proprietary estoppel in Sierra Leone land disputes. It is cited where a party has built or improved land in reliance on an informal assurance and the legal owner later seeks to rely on strict title.