Vivian Chapman Q.C., MA. LLM.
Overview
Vivian Chapman's practice encompasses a wide range of chancery and civil areas. He has a particular expertise in real property litigation and advice. He was called to the bar after taking a double first in law at Christ's College, Cambridge. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2006. He is a former head of chambers at 9, Stone Buildings, Lincoln's Inn. He has appeared in numerous reported cases.
He has a special interest in and is an acknowledged expert on the law relating to commons and greens and was described
- by Lord Hoffmann in R. v Oxfordshire County Council ex p Sunningwell PC [2000] AC 335, as "a barrister with great experience in this branch of the law",
- by Lightman J. in Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council [2004] Ch 253, [2004] EWHC 12 (Ch.) as "a senior barrister with wide experience in this field"
- by Lord Hoffmann in Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council & Robinson [2006] 2 AC 674, [2006] UKHL 25 as "a member of the Bar expert in the law of commons and greens", and
- by HH Judge Waksman in R (Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust & Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust) v Oxfordshire County Council [2010] EWHC (Admin) as having "very extensive knowledge and experience of this area of the law and has often acted as Inspector in relation to TVG applications."
He has now taken part as Inspector or counsel in over 60 public inquiries into village green applications including the Sunningwell, Trap Grounds, Redcar & Warneford Meadow cases. He acted as inspector or counsel in 6 such public inquiries in 2011. His report and recommendation to North Yorkshire County Council in a village green case on a tricky point of prescription has recently (December 2011) been upheld by the High Court on judicial review: R (Barkas) v North Yorkshire County Council [2011] EWHC 3653 (Admin)
Chambers UK Guide to the Legal Profession (2012) states:
"Vivian Chapman QC of 9, Stone Buildings is commended for his "Rolls Royce service" when tackling his village greens and rights of way practice. "An absolute master, his cross examinations are economical and to the point", say interviewees"
He is recommended as a Leading Silk in Property Litigation by the Legal 500 in its current 2011 Edition which says that he has "vast experience in village green issues".
Recent notable court cases include:
- Piper Land Development (Solihull) Ltd. v Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council & Jones [2011] EWHC 3591 (Ch) (time limits on application to challenge registration of new green)
- Llewellyn v Lorey [2011] EWCA Civ 37 (Court of Appeal: prescriptive right of way)
- McLaren v Kubiak [2007] EWHC 1065 (Town or village green)
- Fraser v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance (No 2) [2006] 1 AC 377 (House of Lords. School Sites Acts)
- Sangster v Biddulphs (a firm) [2005] PNLR 33 (Partnership- professional negligence)
- R (Richards) v Pembrokeshire County Council [2005] BLGR 105, [2003] EWHC 2532 (Admin) (Court of Appeal: judicial review: ECHR art 6 & 1st Protocol art. 1)
- Crest Nicholson Residential (South) Ltd v McAllister [2004] 1 WLR 2409, [2004] EWCA Civ 410 (Court of Appeal: restrictive covenants)
- Massey v Boulden [2003] 2 All ER 87, [2002] EWCA Civ 1634 (Court of Appeal: rights of way)
- Padgham v Rochelle [2003] WTLR 71, [2002] WTLR 1483 (undue influence)
- Bettison v Langton [2002] 1 AC 27, [2001] UKHL 24 (House of Lords: rights of common)
- Carapeto v Good [2002] WTLR 801, 1305 & 1311 (probate)
- Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association Ltd [2001] 1 AC 27 (House of Lords: landlord and tenant)
- Fraser v Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance (No. 1) [2001] Ch 669 (Court of Appeal: Schools Sites Acts)
- Barclays Bank Trust Co Ltd v McDougall (2001) 2 WTLR 23 (trusts: construction of settlement)
- R v National Assembly of Wales ex p Robinson (2000) 80 P&CR 348 (public rights of way: deletion from definitive map)
- Price Meats Ltd v Barclays Bank plc [2000] 2 All ER (Comm.) 346 (Banking: constructive notice of forgery)
He has been appointed to act as Inspector in numerous non statutory inquiries relating to applications to register new town or village greens by many local authorities, including:
- Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council
- Bradford City Council
- Bristol City Council
- Cardiff City Council
- Cornwall County Council
- Cumbria County Council
- Denbighshire County Council
- Hampshire County Council
- Hertfordshire County Council
- Kent County Council
- Norfolk County Council
- Oxfordshire County Council
- Portsmouth City Council
- Reading Borough Council
- Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council
- Shropshire County Council
- Slough Borough Council
- Staffordshire County Council
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- West Sussex County Council
He is a bencher of Lincoln's Inn and a Recorder, in which capacity he regularly sits as a part time judge.
He is co-author (with Lana Wood of these chambers) of a new book about Town or Village Greens (2011) and General Editor of "Chancery Litigation Handbook" Jordans (2005). He has also written numerous articles.
He regularly speaks on property law and litigation at conferences and seminars and on webinars.
He is married to Sheila, a retired consultant paediatrician, and has two daughters, Alex (who is a ski instructor in France) and Vicky (who is a school teacher at Cheltenham Ladies' College) and a collie dog (Abbie). His leisure interests include the theatre, opera, walking and skiing. He and his wife have walked the whole of the South West Coastal Path from Poole in Dorset to Minehead in Somerset (about 630 miles).
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| Practice Areas |
- Land and property
- Commons / village greens
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Call: 1970
MA, LLM
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