Duncan Kynoch

Duncan specialises in commercial and property litigation.

His general Chancery practice involves commercial contracts, sale of goods, company disputes, insolvency, civil fraud, asset tracing/recovery, wills and probate.  Duncan's practice encompasses all major areas of real property law and the law of landlord and tenant (including commercial and residential landlord and tenant; the sale of land; constructive trusts and proprietary estoppel claims; rights of way, light and boundaries).  His expertise extends to professional negligence and insolvency disputes arising from property matters. 

featured cases 

In 2011, Duncan was has appeared in the Court of Appeal cases of Acre 1127 Limited (in liquidation) v. De Montfort Fine Art Limited [2011] EWCA Civ 130 CA (Civ Div) (Maurice Kay LJ, Jackson LJ, Tomlinson LJ) a seller was entitled to claim damages for loss of profits for a buyer's failure to place orders under a rolling supply agreement in respect of the period during which the seller no longer expected a buyer to fulfil its obligations and in Rubin v. Coote EWCA Civ 106, CA (Civ Div) (Ward LJ, Patten LJ, Black LJ) which provided guidance on the court's exercise of its discretion in sanctioning a liquidator's compromise against the wishes of the majority creditor of the insolvent company.

In 2010, Duncan has succeeded in the Court of Appeal in defending an attack on the first instance decision in Tracey Ann De Bruyne v. John Adrian De Bruyne & others [2010] EWCA Civ 519 CA (Civ Div) (Thorpe LJ, Patten LJ, Sir Paul Kennedy) where the court upheld the trial judge's finding that a constructive trust arose in relation to family shares procured by a father which were intended for the benefit of his children.  In Maxine Hardy v. Washington Green [2010] EWCA Civ 198 (Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury MR, Longmore LJ, Smith LJ) Duncan acted for the successful appellant in persuading the Court of Appeal to overturn the findings of fact of the trial judge where the judge hearing the case had erred in drawing an adverse inference that a senior officer of the client gallery was personally and dishonestly liable in respect of the misappropriation of a valuable painting in circumstances where it had not been pleaded that he was a thief and he had not given evidence.

In 2009 Duncan succeeded in the Court of Appeal in the leading English case concerning implied rights to park in a residential context Waterman -v- Boyle [2009] EWCA Civ 115 (Waller LJ (V-P), Arden LJ, Moore-Bick LJ); and won a bitterly contested High Court battle over the ownership of a company (Jordan & Fazzani v. Roberts, Binns & Home Assistance Services Ltd [2009] EWHC 2313 Ch.D, a dispute between 50/50 shareholders of a company over a fraudulent shareholders' agreement and bogus share allocations by directors.

Other reported cases:

Lidl GMBH v Just Fitness Ltd Ch.D [2010] EWHC 39 
Reasonableness of a landlord's consent to assignment; whether arbitrator had jurisdiction to determine the issue.

Hellenic Republic v Yannis Valambous QBD LTL 29/9/2008
Dispute over the "Icon of Greece".

Carmel Southend Ltd v Strachan & Henshaw Ltd TCC [2007] EWHC 1289 (TCC); [2007] 3 E.G.L.R. 15
Construction of a repairing covenant in a dilapidations case; whether roof replacement within the repairing covenant.

Howcutt v GS Property Developments Ltd Ch.D [2006] EWHC 3271 
Grounds to set aside a statutory demand.

Capita Trust Co. Limited v Chatham Maritime J3 Developments Ch.D LTL 29/8/2006
Injunctive relief compelling a company to grant an underlease of a retail unit where the landlord's failure to grant the underlease amounted to a breach of good estate management.

Proforce Recruit Limited v Rugby Group Limited CA [2006] EWCA Civ 69 
Where admission of extrinsic evidence permissible in interpretation of contracts where the parties themselves had given a meaning to ambiguous contractual words.

Friarwood v Champagne Cattier CA [2006] EWCA Civ 1105 CA
Retrial ordered where the trial judge had applied the wrong test of satisfactory quality to a consignment of champagne.

The Representative Body of the Church in Wales v Newton & others QBD [2005] EWHC 631 Agreement for the sale of a business including the assignment of a lease was void under s.2 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989 in the absence of writing and where no constructive trust arose.

Shahar v Tsitsekkos and Others Ch.D The Times 30.11.04
Where a defendant wished to claim against a non-party outside the jurisdiction he should apply to the court for an order adding that person, and that claim had to be treated as if it were a counterclaim under CPR Part 20.3 and 20.5.

Jacey Property Co Limited v Miguel De Sousa & others CA [2003] EWCA Civ 510 CA
Construction of leasehold user and repairing covenants.

Branchempire Limited v Coote Ch.D LTL 16/6/2003
Landlord companies appealing against judgments for residential disrepair for £858,000 had to show good credible reason why they could not fund their appeals in seeking to set aside financial conditions attached to permission to appeal.

Batooneh v Asombang QBD LTL 31/7/2003
Whether loan interest of 25% p.a. was appropriate under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Bradbury v Hoolin Ch.D LTL 12/5/98
Whether a resulting trust in favour of claimant arose in relation to money used to purchase a property.