Sarah Douglas, managing director of South Hams-based estate agency Marchand Petit, faces a legal bill of more than £200,000 after losing a boundary dispute with her neighbour. The dispute, which began in 2018, centred on the precise location of the boundary between her Torquay home and the adjoining property.
The disagreement escalated after her neighbour, Ronald Channon, erected a fence where a hedge had previously stood. Douglas maintained that part of the fence was on her land, arguing the boundary extended to the hedge's "southernmost leaf."
Plymouth County Court rejected Douglas's argument, ruling that the boundary followed the southern outer edge of the hedge stems, later accepting a line through the middle of where the stems had stood. The court found the difference amounted to millimetres. Douglas was ordered to pay 70% of Channon's legal costs, estimated at over £300,000, with an upfront payment of £108,402.
Douglas challenged the ruling in the High Court, arguing that the dismissal of Channon's £200,000 counterclaim should have resulted in a different costs order and disputing the adopted boundary line. However, Mr Justice Linden dismissed her appeal, upholding the county court's decision and the costs order.