Cases - Myers v Catterson

Record details

Name

Myers v Catterson

Date

(1889)

Citation

43 Ch D 470

Keywords

Rights of light

Summary

A railway company sold a house and land to the plaintiff. The house had been built close to the railway line and 2 of the windows in the plaintiff's house received some light through 2 of the railway arches on the railway line. The conveyance to the plaintiff stated that the land retained by the railway company would be required for constructing the railway and it contained no express words granting the plaintiff a right to light. A few years later, the railway company sold the land opposite the plaintiff's house and leased the railway arches to a third party. The defendant bought the land opposite and the lease from the third party and blocked the arches with hoardings. The plaintiff brought an action against the defendant arguing that the hoardings substantially obstructed the light to his windows and claimed a mandatory injunction requiring the defendant to take down the hoardings.

The Court of Appeal held that the vendor of one part of a property with a house on it has an implied obligation not to interfere with the light to the house sold. This was based on the principle that a grantor cannot derogate from his grant, but that he is bound to allow the premises sold to be enjoyed so far as they reasonably can be. However, in order to determine the extent of the vendor's implied obligation, it held that a court must look at the reason for the obligation and the surrounding circumstances. The surrounding circumstances showed that the obligation not to interfere with the plaintiff's light was limited in that the railway company was entitled to do anything required for the construction of its railway. Nonetheless, the hoardings had not been erected by the defendant for the purpose of the railway and he was therefore not entitled to interfere with the plaintiff's light in this way.