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LATEST NEWS & EVENTS Neighbourly disputes 'deserve high standards of judgment'  Any private client who has exhausted mediation services in a dispute with a neighbour should have their case decided by the same high standards as parties pursuing any other kind of action, a top judge has said. Lord Justice (LJ) Mummery, sitting at the Court of Appeal in London, made the comments while presiding over "unfortunate litigation" in a case pertaining to a right of way dispute in Shropshire. "Contested rights about property of modest value can matter as much to the parties as large sums or big issues matter to the parties in more complex cases," he stressed. The judge emphasised that people should do their upmost to avoid taking action in court as it can be "potentially ruinous, in financial and human terms, for both sides". Increased home ownership has been the prime cause of these disputes, he remarked, adding that they present a problem to an overstretched justice system. Rick Munro, head of dispute resolution at Lamport Bassit, said: "Whilst it is difficult to argue with what LJ Mummery has said in neighbour disputes, the legal issues are only one element of the dispute. Emotions run very high and even after a trial the neighbours will still need to live along side one another. "The financial cost is often huge to both sides too. A trial in such disputes should be very much the last resort." Recently, a traffic policeman was arrested after his neighbour and ex-superintendent complained about how his car was parked. Posted by Gaby Hamerton 
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