''Hughes v

Metropolitan Railway The Metropolitan Railway (also known as the Met) was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933, its main line heading north-west from the capital's financial heart in the City to what were to become the Middlesex su ...

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877 __NOTOC__ Year 877 ( DCCCLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – King Charles II ("the Bald") sets out for Italy, accompanie ...

is a House of Lords case considered unremarkable for many years until it was resurrected by Lord Denning in the case of '' Central London Property Trust Ltd v High Trees House Ltd'' in his development of the doctrine of

promissory estoppel A promise is a commitment by someone to do or not do something. As a noun ''promise'' means a declaration assuring that one will or will not do something. As a verb it means to commit oneself by a promise to do or give. It can also mean a capacity ...

. The case was the first known instance of the concept of promissory estoppel.

Facts

Thomas Hughes owned property leased to the Railway Company at 216

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...

. Under the lease, Hughes was entitled to compel the tenant to repair the building within six months of notice. Notice was given on 22 October 1874 from which the tenants had until 22 April to finish the repairs. On 28 November, the tenant railway company sent a letter proposing that Hughes purchase the tenant's leasehold interest. Negotiations began but later broke down, at which point the landlord demanded the repair of the building from 6 months since the original notice. The tenant claimed he should have had 6 months from the time the negotiations broke down, based on promissory estoppel.

Judgment

Court of Common Pleas

The Court of Common Pleas held in favour of the landlord, Mr Hughes. Metropolitan appealed. Lord Coleridge CJ delivered the leading judgment, with which

Brett J Brett derives from a Middle English surname meaning "Briton" or "Breton", referring to the Celtic people of Britain and Brittany, France. Brette can be a feminine name. People with the surname * Adrian Brett (born 1945) English flutist and writer ...

and Lindley J concurred.

Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal (1875–76) LR 1 CPD 120 reversed the decision of Court of Common Pleas. James LJ, Mellish LJ, Baggallay JA, Mellor J, and Cleasby B gave judgments.

House of Lords

The House of Lords affirmed the Court of Appeal. It ruled that with the initiation of the negotiations there was an implied promise by the landlord not to enforce their strict legal rights with respect to the time limit on the repairs, and the tenant acted on this promise to their detriment.

Lord Cairns LC Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns (27 December 1819 – 2 April 1885), was an Irish-born British statesman who served as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain during the first two ministries of Benjamin Disraeli. He was one of the most ...

gave the lead judgment, with which Lords O'Hagan, Selborne, Blackburn and Gordon concurred. 1st Earl Cairns

In this instance the rights of the landlord were suspended only temporarily, allowing the tenant more time to repair.

References

{{reflist

External links

UKHL 1
House of Lords cases 1877 in case law Lord Blackburn cases English enforceability case law English estoppel case law 1877 in British law Railway litigation in 1877