Ben Doyle

Ben is a member of COMBAR and regularly acts for companies and individuals on commercial disputes involving breach of contract, sale and supply of goods and services, and actions under the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Ben has particular experience in acting for finance companies. Ben also has considerable experience in debt recovery litigation and enforcement and costs litigation.

Ben is also a member of the Cryptocurrency & Digital Assets team and the Financial Derivatives & Spread Betting team.

Examples of recent work

• Ben advised an art dealer on a multi-million pound contractual dispute involving a Picasso painting.
• Ben acted for the finance division of a multinational bank in a high-value multiple party case involving complex issues including forged signatures, fraud and misrepresentation. Ben successfully represented the claimant at pre-trial review, mediation and a 4 day multi-track trial.
• Ben has successfully represented finance companies in numerous trials relating to motor finance agreements involving rescission pursuant to fully or half-secret commission amounting to a civil bribe and/or breach of fiduciary duty, damages pursuant to s.138D FSMA 2000 and unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
• Ben has successfully represented finance companies in numerous actions involving hire-purchase or hire agreements, recovery of assets, and tortious interference with goods.
• Ben represented the successful creditor on appeal of the dismissal of a final charging order application. The appeal court considered that the company debtor’s debt had not been discharged by payment by the company director in his personal capacity in circumstances where that money was repaid to him by a firm of High Court Enforcement Officers instructed by the creditor, and accordingly the debt remained outstanding.
• Ben successfully obtained set aside of a default judgment on behalf of an interior decorator in circumstances where there was a real prospect of successfully defending the claim and it was right to grant relief from sanctions.
• Ben drafted particulars of claim in relation to a substantial debt claim.
• Ben successfully represented a construction company at trial in a contractual dispute involving allegedly unpaid fees.
• Ben successfully represented a firm of solicitors in recovering unpaid fees under its retainer and defending a counterclaim for professional negligence.
• Ben advised on and drafted pleadings in a multi-track dispute involving a contract for sale of a luxury boat.
• Ben successfully acted for a business leasing company in multiple cases involving breach of contract.

Ben regularly advises and appears in cases involving a wide range of property law including:

• Residential Landlord and Tenant including possessions pursuant to section 8 and section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, deposit protection, rent repayment orders and disrepair
• Housing including termination of licences and trespass claims
• Mortgages, Guarantees, and other Secured Lending including possession proceedings and claims for orders for sale
• Commercial Landlord and Tenant including forfeiture and claims under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954
• Leasehold cases including collective enfranchisement, forfeiture and relief from forfeiture, variation of leases, and service charge disputes involving reasonableness of service charges, the entitlement to recover identified costs against leaseholders and the enforcement of the costs of major works following s.20 consultation
• Restrictive Covenants, Rights of Way and Other Easements
• Boundary Disputes and Neighbour Disputes
• Land torts such as Trespass and Nuisance
• Land Registration, including Adverse Possession and Issues of Title
• Trusts and Co-ownership
• Contentious Trusts including TOLATA, resulting and constructive trusts and proprietary estoppel
• Real Property

Examples of recent work

• Ben successfully represented a landlord as sole counsel in the Court of Appeal on the second appeal of a possession order. The Court of Appeal considered that the provision of services by a tenant (of no quantified monetary value) as consideration for accommodation under a tenancy agreement did not constitute ‘rent’ for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988 and accordingly the tenancy was excluded from being an assured tenancy. Ben’s articles on the case are here and here. Ben also successfully represented the landlord on the first appeal.
• Ben successfully represented a mortgage lender in a case involving an application for a time order pursuant to section 129 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
• Ben successfully represented a mortgage lender in a case involving The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020.
• Ben advised a restaurant on its right to situate a commercial flue in a lightwell in a case involving licences, easements, trespass and rights of light.
• Ben successfully represented leaseholders seeking collective enfranchisement in the First-Tier Tribunal.
• Ben acted for the tenant in a claim for permission to take proceedings for the enforcement of a right of re-entry by reason of breaches of leasehold repairing covenants pursuant to the Leasehold Property (Repairs) Act 1938. Ben successfully argued that the landlord’s only evidence was quasi-expert evidence which was not Part 35 compliant and for which no permission had been given and accordingly the landlord could not prove its case and the claim ought to be dismissed.
• Ben represented the freehold owners of a residential property at trial in a boundary dispute. The judge accepted Ben’s argument that although the properties appeared to share a common boundary, in actual fact they did not, and accordingly the other side’s claim in trespass was doomed to fail. Ben attended a site visit with opposing counsel and the parties and managed to negotiate a mutually agreeable settlement of the dispute.
• Ben advised the management company of a block of flats in relation to whether replacement of windows falls under the leasehold repairing covenants and various other procedural matters.
• Ben advised the prospective purchasers of a high value residential property in relation to whether their purchase of the property pursuant to an order for sale could be unravelled, including in relation to the doctrine of overreaching.
• Ben attended an appeal of a possession order on behalf of the successful landlord. The appeal was dismissed.
• Ben represented a successful landlord at a fast track trial.
• Ben advised and drafted the applicant’s statement of case in an adverse possession/boundary dispute case in the First-tier Tribunal.
• Ben drafted pleadings and represented the claimant landlord at trial in an unusual section 8 possession case involving a disputed oral tenancy and allegations of separate agreements in relation to payments of rent and council tax/utilities meaning that there were no rent arrears. Ben was successful on every point at trial.
• Ben drafted pleadings on behalf of a local authority in an unusual case involving allegations of social housing fraud. Ben successfully represented the landlord at a CPR 55.8 summary hearing and obtained a possession order.
• Ben successfully obtained set aside of a historic section 21 possession order, had the claim struck out and obtained an indemnity costs award on the basis that the landlord had failed to comply with several mandatory statutory requirements and was unable to prove its case.
• Ben drafted pleadings on behalf of various landlords in landlord and tenant cases involving disrepair.
• Ben successfully acted for the applicant in a boundary dispute in the Property Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal via the direct access scheme and then successfully represented the same client on appeal in the Upper Tribunal.
• Ben acted for executors of an estate in TOLATA proceedings and successfully obtained an order for sale.
• Ben drafted pleadings in a high value mortgage possession claim.
• Ben advised on a neighbour dispute involving breach of covenant, easements, trespass and nuisance via the public access scheme.
• Ben drafted pleadings on a neighbour dispute involving trespass, nuisance, return of deposit, unjust enrichment and proprietary estoppel/constructive trust.
• Ben successfully represented the claimant and obtained declaratory relief in a fractious neighbour dispute via the public access scheme.
• Ben advised on a disrepair claim and drafted pleadings.
• Ben obtained judgment and costs in a long-running service charge dispute.
• Ben acted for the landlord in a case involving a service charge dispute and appointment of a manager.
• Ben advised on a hoarding dispute and represented the landlord in a mediation.
• Ben acted in a complex party wall appeal in the TCC division.
• Ben obtained possession for a commercial landlord in contested forfeiture proceedings.

Ben is increasingly busy with cases involving contentious trusts and probate. He acts on various types of claim including TOLATA claims and probate claims including claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Dependents) Act 1975.

Examples of recent work

• Ben advised an executor in relation to proving a will that had been unbound and was missing the first original page.
• Ben advised an executor in relation to the administration of a potentially insolvent estate under the Administration of Insolvent Estates of  Deceased Persons Order 1986 and inheritance tax liability.
• V v L – Ben represented the Claimant administrator in a probate case involving removal/replacement of an administrator, an order for sale against a joint administrator and beneficiary, and an order for occupational rent.
• M v S – Ben represented the administrator of a deceased’s estate in a claim under the 1975 Act. Ben appeared in court twice and at mediation shortly before the multi-track trial. The matter was successfully settled at mediation.
• B v B – Ben represented the Claimant in a probate case involving resulting trusts
• P v P – Ben represented the Claimant in a complex ‘house swap’ case involving a resulting or common intention constructive trust. The matter was successfully settled at mediation.
• C v A – Ben represented the Defendant in a TOLATA claim for order for sale and equitable accounting.
• B v S – Ben represented the Defendant in a probate case involving disputed paternity and proprietary estoppel.
• Ben drafted statements of case in a case involving proprietary estoppel and constructive trusts.
• Ben represented a co-owner in a long-running TOLATA claim.

Ben accepts instructions in individual and corporate insolvency and has attended hundreds of petitions in the County Court and High Court, as well as a variety of insolvency applications involving issues such as annulment, restraint of statutory demand, rectification/extension of time for registration of a charge, validation orders and orders for possession and sale.

Examples of recent work

• Ben advised a company in relation to a petition that was substantively opposed and had not been advertised and then represented the company at the hearing of the petition. The petition was dismissed for lack of advertisement by Chief ICC Judge Briggs.
• Ben advised an individual in relation to the presentation of a petition against a company and action against the directors under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.