Edwin Johnson  QC 1987 (QC 2006)

ejohnson@maitlandchambers.com

Profile

Edwin Johnson was called to the Bar in 1987 and joined 9 Old Square in 1988. He joined Maitland Chambers on its merger with 9 Old Square in 2005.

Edwin was appointed Standing Counsel to the Rent Assessment Panel in 2000, was Chambers & Partners Real Estate Junior of the Year in 2005, was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2006, and was nominated for Chambers & Partners Real Estate Silk of the Year in 2012.

Expertise

Edwin appears regularly in Courts and Tribunals at all levels. His most recent success at the highest level has come in the Supreme Court in Hosebay. This followed consecutive successes in four House of Lords cases Shalson, Boss Holdings, 26 Cadogan Square and Atlantic Telecasters. With these five victories Edwin has never lost a case at the highest level.

Edwin’s practice is in property, chancery and commercial litigation and advisory work. His experience includes property disputes (including rights of light, mineral rights, all aspects of landlord and tenant, leasehold enfranchisement, break clauses, development contracts, conveyancing, mortgages, easements, restrictive covenants), professional negligence (solicitors, surveyors, valuers, architects, other construction professionals, accountants and insurance brokers), and general commercial and chancery work including trusts disputes, insolvency, development and other commercial contracts, building and construction work, insurance work and competition law.

Clients range from individuals and small companies through to large estates, global corporations, public authorities and nation states. Edwin has particular experience of acting for public authorities in relation to their property holdings, including the complex area of service charges in leases of public authority housing stock. Rights of light are another area of particular expertise, as are disputes over break clauses and conditional contracts/development contracts.

Experience

Recent cases demonstrating Edwin’s experience include:

Property

• Kutchukian v Free Grammar School of John Lyon [2013] EWCA Civ 90 (construction of the break provisions in Section 61 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993)
• Morshead Mansions Ltd v Mactra Properties Ltd [2013] EWHC 224 (Ch) (construction of service charge provisions and obligation to provide an annual account of the service charge)
• Day v Hosebay [2012] UKSC 41 (whether properties are houses within the meaning of Section 2(1) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967)
• Extra MSA v Accor [2011] EWHC 775 (Ch) (whether conditional contract subject to implied term that party could not take advantage of own wrong)
• Hosebay Ltd v Day [2010] EWCA Civ 748 (whether properties are houses within the meaning of Section 2(1) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967)
• Hotgroup plc v Royal Bank of Scotland plc [2010] EWHC 1241 (Ch) (whether service of a break notice effective)
• Earl Cadogan v Atlantic Telecasters Ltd [2008] UKHL 71 (whether hope value included in valuation of price on leasehold enfranchisement)
• Howard de Walden Estates Ltd v Aggio; 26 Cadogan Square Ltd v Earl Cadogan [2008] UKHL 44 (whether a tenant of a flat and other premises not included in the flat was a qualifying tenant of the flat for the purposes of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993)
• Boss Holdings Ltd v Grosvenor West End Properties [2008] UKHL5 (whether a property was a house within the meaning of Section 2(1) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967)
• Warborough v Central Midlands Estates [2006] PLSCS 139 (validity of a notice in a rent review)
• St. George’s Investment Co. v Gemini Consulting [2005] 1 EGLR 5 (setting aside of award in rent review arbitration for misconduct)
• Fattal v John Lyon’s Charity [2005] 1 All ER 466 (valuation of price on leasehold enfranchisement)
• Shalson v John Lyon’s Charity [2004] 1 AC 802 (disregard of improvements on leasehold enfranchisement)
• Muscat v Smith [2003] 1 WLR 2853, (exercise of right of set off against assignee of reversion)
• Edwin’s current and recent workload ranges across the full spectrum of property related disputes, from the recent appeal in Hosebay, heard in the Supreme Court last year, through the disputes arising out of the administration of Halliwells LLP, to rights of light disputes, disputes over the operation of break clauses, and disputes over conditional contracts/development agreements.

Professional Negligence

• Malmesbury v Strutt & Parker [2007] EWHC 999 (QB) (claim in surveyor’s negligence in relation to the grant of leases of premises for use as airport car parks)
• Montlake v Lambert Smith Hampton [2005] 3 EGLR 149 (claim in valuation negligence in relation to Wasps rugby ground)
• Rind v Theodore Goddard [2008] EWHC 459 (Ch) (whether claim in solicitor’s negligence could be made by beneficiary of estate suffering a tax loss)
• Edwin is currently acting in professional negligence claims involving allegations of solicitors’ negligence in relation to freehold acquisitions, collective enfranchisements, lease extension claims, the operation of a break clause, the extent of liability on a yielding up covenant in a lease. Edwin has also recently acted on a multi million pound professional negligence claim arising out of dealings with a commercial lease structure.

Insolvency

• John Thomas v Ken Thomas Limited [2006] EWCA Civ 1504 (rights of forfeiture in respect of arrears of rent compromised by a company voluntary arrangement)
• Current and recent work includes acting in the disputes arising out of the administration of Halliwells LLP, acting in a claim by a commercial landlord of an industrial estate against an insolvent tenant, advising a major bank on its security in relation to a London estate, and advising in connection with the restructuring/administration of various substantial property portfolios.

Commercial/chancery

• Shell UK Ltd v Total UK Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ 180 (recoverability of damages in respect of economic loss)
• Malmesbury v Strutt & Parker [2008] EWHC 424 (QB) (the impact of exaggeration of a claim on costs/taking conduct in a mediation into account in relation to costs)
• Patel v Brent London Borough Council (No. 2) [2005] EWCA Civ 644 (dispute over status and expenditure of a Section 106 contribution)

In the last two years Edwin has acted for a major housebuilder in an arbitration and for the same major housebuilder in an expert determination, in each case involving a conditional contract for a development site. Current work includes acting for another major housebuilder in a dispute over a sale and leaseback transaction, two major rights of light disputes, and advising on the restructuring of a substantial high street retail chain. Other recent work has included a claim in fraudulent misrepresentation in relation to the purchase of a property subject to regular flooding, the trial of which attracted considerable media interest, a dispute over a major industrial site in relation to environmental contamination, advice to the organisers of the 2012 Olympics, advice on the ownership of minerals in relation to a major development site, a dispute over a conditional contract for the grant of a lease of part of a motorway service station, a number of rights of light disputes and most recently, a major trial concerned with the management of assets in a pension fund.

Memberships
Edwin is a member of the Chancery Bar Association, the Professional Negligence Bar Association, and the Property Bar Association.

Qualifications
BA (Oxon) First Class