Genevieve Screeche-Powell acted for the successful local authority in unusual possession proceedings case concerning succession rights.
The case was significant because the defendant had exceptionally been permitted to run a public law defence – which was that the local authority had misapplied its housing succession policy.
The case raised issues of:
- the justiciability of public law defences of this nature
- whether a party taking the benefit of a public law defence must also take the burden (ie raise complaints promptly within 3 months).
The defendant also claimed the local authority’s succession policy discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexuality and disability and counterclaimed damages.
The local authority was successful in recovering possession. And the defendant’s counterclaim was dismissed.