Colchester and East Essex Co-operative Society Ltd has warded off an Appeal Court challenge to a High Court ruling. In that ruling, Jacob J held that Kelvedon Labour Club & Institute Ltd was not entitled to rescind a licence that it had granted to the Co-op, in 1983, to use land owned by the club at the rear of the store as a car park.
Kelvedon had sought to terminate the licence after the Co-op had placed all its properties into a single holding company, the freehold of the store being transferred to that company.
The club claimed that it was entitled to do this under the terms of the licence. This provided that the licence would terminate automatically “in the event of the licensee entering into liquidation whether compulsorily or voluntarily… or in the event of the licensee no longer being seised of the freehold of the said adjoining premises (the store) or in actual occupation thereof and trading therefrom.”
The High Court had held that the clause did not cover situations in which the store remained in occupation of the premises and continued to trade.
However, backing the High Court ruling, the Court of Appeal has found that it had been right to look at the realities of the situation in which the store had continued to trade, and not at the formalities of the ownership of the land.
Colchester and East Essex Co-operative Society Ltd v Kelvedon Labour Club and Institute Ltd Court of Appeal (Sir Andrew Morritt V-C and Buxton and Laws LJJ) 30 October 2003.
References: EGi Legal News 3/11/03
