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Moody v Steggles (1879) 12 Ch D 261

ResourcesMoody v Steggles (1879) 12 Ch D 261

Facts

  • The plaintiff, Moody, owned the Lion Brewery public house.
  • For over forty years, successive owners of the brewery attached a sign advertising the business to a wall belonging to the defendant, Steggles.
  • Steggles, despite being aware of the long-standing presence of the sign, intended to remove it.
  • Moody sought a court order to restrain Steggles from removing the sign.

Issues

  1. Whether the right to display a business sign on neighbouring land satisfied the requirements for being an easement.
  2. Whether the right benefited the dominant tenement itself, rather than being merely a personal right of the present owner.
  3. Whether such a right could pass to future owners or tenants of the dominant property.

Decision

  • The court held that the right to keep the sign on the defendant’s property satisfied the requirements for an easement.
  • It was found that the sign directly benefitted the dominant property, as it was necessary for the usual operation of the business on those premises.
  • The easement was not merely personal; it was attached to the dominant land and thus would pass to successors in title.
  • An easement must benefit the dominant tenement and be connected to its ordinary use, not just serve the specific owner.
  • Rights aiding a business operated on the land can form valid easements if sufficiently connected to the land’s use.
  • The distinction between personal rights and land-based easements is determined by the right’s relationship to the dominant property’s use, as compared with authority such as Hill v Tupper.
  • Rights meeting the conditions for easements are capable of passing to future owners or tenants of the dominant property.

Conclusion

The case of Moody v Steggles affirmed that rights directly assisting the ordinary business of land—such as signage for a public house—may constitute easements, provided they benefit the land itself rather than just the individual owner, and thus can be enjoyed by future proprietors.

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