Cases - Dent v Auction Mart Company
Record details
- Name
- Dent v Auction Mart Company
- Date
- (1866)
- Citation
- LR 2 Eq 238
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Rights of light
- Summary
-
The plaintiffs were the freehold and leasehold owners of 2 properties. The defendant bought houses backing on to the plaintiffs' properties and proposed to rebuild these considerably higher and closer to the boundaries with the plaintiffs' properties. The plaintiffs claimed injunctions preventing the defendant from interfering with their rights of light. The defendant argued that the loss of light might be remedied by the use of white enamelled tiles and was willing to face the back wall of the development with such tiles.
The judge rejected this argument, saying that it was quite preposterous for a defendant to say: 'Let us damage you, provided we apply such and such a remedy'. He pointed out that a person who wished to preserve his light had no power to compel his neighbour to preserve the tiles, or a mirror (which might be better) or to keep them clean. Nor would he have covenants that he could enforce against future owners to compel them to do this.