Owners facing a property dispute should consider how it might be resolved before assuming that a full trial is the only route. The Churchill decision is important to that discussion, but it does not mean every landlord and tenant must reach a settlement before using the courts.
What the case decided
In Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, decided on 29 November 2023, the dispute concerned alleged Japanese knotweed encroachment from neighbouring council land. It was not a decision about whether a particular tenant should be evicted.
The Court of Appeal concluded that a court can pause proceedings or require parties to engage in a non-court dispute-resolution process. That power must preserve the substance of the right to a judicial hearing and be proportionate to resolving the dispute fairly, promptly and at reasonable cost.
The court declined to impose a rigid checklist for every case. It also declined to order a stay in the particular circumstances then before it. The judgment therefore needs more careful reading than a headline suggesting that mediation is automatically compulsory in all housing disputes.
How the current rules fit
Part 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules includes promoting or using alternative dispute resolution within the court’s overriding objective. Active case management includes ordering or encouraging its use and helping parties settle all or part of a case. Parties are required to assist the court in furthering that objective.
These rules concern the management of proceedings. They do not establish that a complaint is valid, determine the amount owed or guarantee an agreed result. The relevant process and any directions still need to be checked for the individual dispute.
Prepare for a useful discussion
A practical starting point is a short chronology, the documents supporting each disputed point and a clear description of the outcome sought. Separate agreed facts from issues that need evidence. For example, the parties may agree that work is needed while disagreeing about its scope, responsibility or cost.
Ask an adviser how a proposed process fits with existing deadlines and court orders. Keep complying with directions unless they are changed; do not assume that an invitation to discuss settlement pauses the case. This article explains a procedural development, rather than recommending a litigation strategy for an individual claim.
Sources: https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Churchill.APPROVED-JUDGMENTS-1.pdf https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part01