Stephen Morris - Partner

Stephen is head of the Dispute Resolution Department.

He heads the Property Disputes team, which deals with a broad range of issues arising from the ownership, letting and occupation of commercial and residential property. He specialises in disputes concerning restrictive covenants, rights of way and rights of light, boundaries and other property rights.  He is also very experienced in dealing with the full range of legal principles relating to commercial leases.  He frequently advises on professional negligence issues arising from property matters, in particular solicitors' negligence. 

Recent highlights include:

• Advising the developer of a block of luxury flats in relation to the claim by a neighbour that the development amounted to a breach of a restrictive covenant of which he claimed to have the benefit
• Following on from that claim, successfully pursuing the developer's claim against his former solicitors in relation to the advice given on the acquisition of the property to be developed
• Advising a commercial client which owned office/warehouse premises with regard to a complex dispute arising when the owner of the neighbouring commercial property made a series of claims relating to the land lying between their respective properties, including challenges to rights of way essential to the client's business and ownership of key parts of the properties, leading to a negotiated resolution of the issues
• Advising the landlord of a Central London property in relation to a series of breaches of lease covenants by its long-term tenant
• Advising a private client in respect of a challenge by a neighbour in relation to the enforeceability of a restrictive covenant benefitting their property,  the purpose of which was to limit the development of that neighbour's land.

Stephen also works closely with  Mundays' Private Wealth team in advising on disputes in respect of wills, probate and trusts.  He regularly advises clients on claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, disputes regarding the validity of wills and claims arising in the administration of trusts and estates. 

Recent highlights include:

• Acting on behalf of one of two orphaned daughters in relation to two related sets of proceedings arising in respect of their late mother's estate, including a claim under the Inheritance Act  and a dispute with regard to the conduct of the executors, leading to a successful outcome whereby the executors were replaced and the estate restructured
• Acting on behalf of one of three sisters in a disupte with her siblings with regard to the validity of their mother's will, resulting in a negotiated outcome
• Acting for adult children in a dispute with their deceased father's second wife over the disposition of his estate, where a home-made will had allegedly failed to make adequate provision for her.  Complex negotiations resulted in an outcome satisfactory to all parties
• Advising a trustee in relation to challenges to their administration of several linked family trusts
• Acting for the partner of an individual who had died without having clarified their relative interests in their shared home, in a dispute with his sons over the size of her interest in the property; this matter was resolved through mediation involving all interested parties
• Acting for the principal beneficiary of the will of a wealthy farmer, challenging the validity of a later will on the grounds of his loss of capacity, resulting in the beneficiary receiving a substantially increased legacy.

Stephen is a trained mediator and brings to the resolution of disputes a wealth of experience in mediations in relation to a wide range of disputes.

Education

University of Manchester
College of Law, London

Professional Associations

Property Litigation Association
The Law Society

Tel:	01932 590500
Fax:	01932 590220
Email:	stephen.morris@mundays.co.uk