Neighbour row explodes as couple face £200k bill after losing three High Court appeals to save house built 16 inches too close to next door

A retired Essex couple have been slapped with a £200,000 legal fee after losing three consecutive High Court appeals in a boundary dispute with their neighbours.

Samuel and Kathleen Horton built a wall 16 inches too close to their neighbours’ garden when converting their garage into a home – leading to a five-year legal battle.

After neighbours took them to court, the judge has now urged the pensioners to end their legal fight after their third failed appeal.

The Hortons had originally sold their £815,000 three-bedroom Essex home in 2020 but, before selling, they had converted their detached garage next door into a smaller two-bedroom property for them to live in.

Judge Robert Duddridge later declared that the new build had been “controversial” from the start.

Multiple complaints of trespass onto the Orchards’ land were lodged with planners at Chelmsford County Council.

The Orchards had been living at their property since 1999, while the Hortons moved in next door six years later.

In July 2020, Chelmsford Council informed the Orchards that the Hortons had built a retaining wall 40cm (16 inches) too close to the boundary, prompting the Hortons to obtain a surveyor’s report claiming the garden fence was actually on their land.

With parts of the fence removed for construction work, the Hortons’ surveyors placed wooden stakes on the Orchards’ side, marking what they claimed to be the true boundary – a belief which the Orchards disputed.

Initially seeking an injunction to halt the work, the Orchards eventually went to court for a definitive ruling on the boundary location.

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In July 2023, Judge Duddridge ruled in favour of the Orchards, finding their expert evidence was correct about the true boundary location and, last year, ordered the Hortons to pay £35,000 in compensation for trespassing over the boundary.

Nevertheless, the couple continued to pursue their legal battle with three separate High Court appeals – all of which were unsuccessful.

Their barrister, Dr Sandy Joseph, argued that new evidence from a 1958 title document suggested a different boundary line, and claimed Judge Duddridge had failed to review all evidence and gave insufficient weight to alleged physical discrepancies.

Dismissing their latest application to appeal, Mr Justice Miles said: “I don’t consider there is any proper basis for the introduction of the new evidence, which all concerns a challenge to the original decision of July 2023.”

He added: “They must face up to the fact that the boundary is where the judge has ordered. There must be an end to litigation.”

The judge noted the case had “a very long history” and that the Hortons had “shown that they are simply not prepared to accept the rulings of the court”, describing their latest attempt as “doomed” and “totally without merit”.

The judge emphasised the principle of finality in litigation, stating the Hortons “must abide by the order of the court”.

The retired couple, who are both on state pensions, now face an astronomical bill of approximately £200,000.

Joseph told the court: “The judge ruled that their inability to pay should not affect his decision.

The Orchards’ solicitor Carl Brewin argued: “They are in the position they are because they have contested every application, contested the claim and they have lost.”