St Ives Chambers

Mr Haynes is a Barrister specialising in Business, Property and Family Finance.

Matthew Haynes’s work includes contentious probate work, including issues relating to the validity of wills, forged wills, the construction and rectification of wills, testamentary estoppel and the removal of executors.

Year of Call: 1991

Family Finance

Matthew undertakes court and advisory work in relation to all aspects of ancillary relief. His work in this area includes:

TLATA Issues of companies Partnership assets Bankruptcy Agricultural issues Dissipation of assets Pensions Third party interests

Notable Cases

RE C (A CHILD) 2015] EWFC 79:  a case relating to an application for the disclosure of medical records concerning, in particular, a patient’s mental health, in order to vindicate a psychiatrist’s reputation following the patient’s allegations to the press.

DR v GR & Ors (Financial Remedy: Variation of Overseas Trust) (2013) [2013] EWHC 1196 (Fam):  acted for a group of companies in a matrimonial finance case involving off-seas trusts in which the court gave guidance on the principles applicable to the joinder of trustees and/or underlying companies of a trust in variation of settlement cases.

Business & Property

Matthew Haynes’ practice encompasses all aspects of property litigation, traditional chancery disputes and related professional negligence matters.

Described by Chambers UK as “an absolute gentleman and a fine advocate”, Matthew is an established, highly regarded senior junior who has appeared in a wide range of courts and tribunals including the Court of Appeal.

Matthew has a particular interest in cases within an agricultural setting. Additionally, he undertakes work relating to trusts and estoppel.

Property

Boundary disputes Adverse possession Easements Restrictive covenants Leasehold enfranchisement Commercial property Dilapidation

Chancery

Inheritance Act 1975 Validity/forgery of wills Forgery Testamentary estoppel Presumption of Death Act 2013 Trust of Land

Commercial/Business

Professional Negligence Mortgage and partnership disputes Care home litigation Injunctive relief

Notable Cases

SABAH KHAN v UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS [2018] EWHC 912 (Ch):  a case involving a student alleging breach of contract by a university.

M-v-P (2018) (confidential); case relating to whether a business is in breach of a restrictive covenant that limits activities to agricultural.  Other issues relate to the construction of boundaries and/or adverse possession.

(1) PAUL FRASER HARRISON (2) THERESA JANET HARRISON v JUSTIN JOHN BRADING [2016] EWHC 3267 (Ch)  a boundary dispute, involving adverse possession and construction of plans, where prior conveyancing plans were at variance with the placement of existing walls and fences.

T-v-D (2017) (confidential);  ongoing case in the Property Chamber relating to issues of mistake in the register and whether a right of way has been acquired by prescription or implication.

Boot-v-Bromford Housing (2017);  case in the Property Chamber in which the landlord successfully resisted an application for adverse possession, partly on the basis that the applicant’s predecessors in titles had been its tenants.

X-v-Y (2016) (confidential);  this was a High Court Case where the court determined the boundary between two neighbouring properties in circumstances where prior conveyancing plans were at variance with the placement of existing walls and fences. Neither party was found to have acquired any land from the other through adverse possession or a boundary agreement.

Parmar & Ors v Upton (2015) [2015] EWCA Civ 795:  acted for the successful respondent in a boundary dispute relating to issues of construction of conveyances, adverse possession of a ditch and the application of the hedge and ditch rule.

John Leonard Kynnersley & Kevin Styles v Wolverhampton City Council & Alan John Grainger (2007) [2008] WTLR 65:  A residuary gift to the management of a local authority care home at which the testator was living was a valid gift to be held on trust to be applied for the benefit of persons employed at the home, and the renunciation of trusteeship by the local authority did not cause the gift to fail.

Recommendations

Legal 500: “Noted for his expertise in contentious probate cases.”

Legal 500: “Clients like him as he is conscientious and personable.”

Legal 500: "He engenders respect without a hint of arrogance, and is calm and collected when under pressure on his feet."

Legal 500: “He has a down-to-earth and knowledgeable style.”

Legal 500: St Ives Chambers’ Matthew Haynes is “a barrister of the highest quality who inspires confidence in his clients”

English

Family Law Bar Association

Midlands Chancery and Commercial Bar Association

MA (Oxon)