Defence admits liability. Flannery breach. Cohen admitted insufficient time.
Recorder Cohen granted summary judgment on 19 Aug 2025 on a Defence validated by a void DDJ Wood order (MacFoy cascade). The Defence itself contains sworn admissions conceding liability. Three independent Flannery breaches: (1) Cohen asserted "there are other reasons besides exclusive possession that determine a licence from a lease" but never identified what those reasons are. Under Street v Mountford [1985] AC 809 at 826G (Lord Templeman): "If the agreement satisfied all the requirements of a tenancy, then the agreement produced a tenancy and the parties cannot alter the effect of the agreement by insisting that they only created a licence." Exclusive possession + term + rent = tenancy as a matter of law. Cohen's unidentified "other reasons" cannot displace this. (2) Cohen described harassment as "very complicated" but the statutory test is straightforward. Protection from Harassment Act 1997 s.1(1): "A person must not pursue a course of conduct which amounts to harassment of another." Section 7(3): "A 'course of conduct' must involve conduct on at least two occasions." The facts are admitted: Michael gave a police warning on 17 February 2023 (Defence para 10.7.3). The defendants then locked him out on at least two further occasions (27 April and 20 May 2023, Defence para 10.11). That is a course of conduct after actual knowledge. The s.7(3) threshold is plainly met from the Defence alone. Treating this as "complicated" to deny relief is itself a Flannery breach. (3) Cohen admitted insufficient time to read the applicant's evidence and adopted counsel's draft order without modification. Flannery v Halifax [2000] 1 WLR 377 requires the judge to identify the issues vital to the conclusion and explain why they were resolved as they were.
MacFoy [1962] AC 152; Flannery v Halifax Estate Agencies [2000] 1 WLR 377
What the opponent will argue, and why they are wrong.
Cohen heard the evidence and made a judicial determination on the merits.
Cohen admitted insufficient time to read applicant's evidence. Adopted counsel's draft order. Defence admits 6 lockouts (para 10.5.2) and no adjustments (para 17.4). These CONCEDE liability. SJ granted despite admitted liability = wrong in law. Plus Flannery breach: 'other reasons besides exclusive possession' never identified.
Summary judgment is appropriate where there is no real prospect of success.
The Defence itself concedes the elements of the claim: 6 lockouts (establishing breach), no adjustments provided (establishing failure to accommodate), padlocking admitted. Street v Mountford: exclusive possession creates a tenancy regardless of label. With these admissions, summary judgment FOR the claimant was warranted, not against.
Formal admission binding under CPR 14.1(5). Signed by Zulfikar Virani under Statement of Truth.
Timestamp is objective. Deadline was 27.09.2024. 27 days late.
Complete 8-year revenue history. Verified from accounting records.
The sealed order itself records the unidentified reasons. Self-proving Flannery breach.
DDJ Wood validated the late Defence on MHCM Day 9. That validation is void. Cohen's SJ was founded on the validated Defence. The entire chain collapses.
Three scenarios: conservative GBP 3.3M, moderate GBP 4.7M, historic GBP 17.1M. Midpoint GBP 11.82M.
Payment dates varied throughout term: 31 Dec 2021, 14 Jan 2022, 16 Jan 2022, 14 Feb 2022.
Fallback: Two independent void routes (MHCM cascade and jurisdiction) bypass need to prove Cohen was wrong on merits.
Independence: Partially dependent on other grounds succeeding.
| Date | Judge | Type | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 August 2025 | Recorder Cohen KC | Summary Judgment Order | VOID |