Two Recent Milestones In Japanese Knotweed Litigation

Network Rail Court of Appeal decision

In a previous article ( April 2017) the case of Williams & Waistell v Network Rail was discussed. In this landmark case, a Cardiff Court found Network Rail responsible for an actionable nuisance for failing to take steps to prevent Japanese knotweed from blighting properties lying close to its railway embankment. Network Rail appealed and the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in July 2018 and found against Network Rail, albeit on different reasons than the Court of first instance (Network Rail Infrastructure Limited v Williams & Waistell [2018] Civ 1514).

In brief the Court of first instance found that even though there was no physical damage and no effect on the utility of the land of Williams and Waistell, that the amenity value of a property is not simply the use and enjoyment of the land, but can include the ability to dispose of it at a proper value. The Court rejected this as being equivalent to pure economic loss and