Practice Summary

Thomas Jefferies is an experienced specialist in property litigation. In his early years he worked in the litigation department of Freshfields, where the bulk of his work was planning and commercial landlord and tenant. He gained invaluable experience of the needs of solicitors and clients, which helped him develop a user friendly style when he began practice at the bar.

His practice includes all areas of property litigation,  and associated professional negligence claims. His cases give a flavour of the range of his work.

He has expertise in all areas of leasehold enfranchisement,  and regularly appears at hearings in the LVT, Lands Tribunal and courts for tenants of the big London Estates and both landlords and tenants elsewhere. He has acted for one of the main groups of tenants at all stages of the Sportelli litigation, a landmark case on valuation of the freehold reversion and hope value. In the last few years he has acted for tenants of super prime properties resisting claims for development value, such as the 2 Herbert Crescent case and the 39 Wilton Crescent case. He has acted in a number of cases about lease terms, and is currently awaiting a decision where a tenant has resisted the wholesale imposition of the Cadogan standard form of lease.
 
His expertise includes all kinds of valuation disputes, such as business tenancy renewals, expert determinations, rent review (including arbitration appeals) and allegations of undervalue sales against mortagees and public bodies. He is co-author of Rent Review, a casebook published by the RICS, and an article on the duty to obtain best value.

In his early years of practice he was involved in planning enquiries and appeals, and he now enjoys bringing his experience to bear in disputes raising planning and highways issues. In addition to the Castlebay, Goodmayes and Oakmesh cases, ongoing cases include;

• enforcing a s106 agreement where the developer resists payment of sums payable on the grounds that the formula for calculating contributions has since been changed
• defending a claim for £5m damages for failure to use reasonable endeavours to apply for planning permission

He has considerable experience of the enforcement of mortgages and other securities, and is the author of Halsburys Laws section on Mortgages, Fifth Edition, 2010.
He considers careful analysis and preparation essential to success, and likes to play a pro-active role where he can. Where the case cannot settle he relishes a court hearing, and has frequently enjoyed success against silks, including the former Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer.

Mediation

He is a CEDR accredited mediator, and takes great satisfaction helping parties reach a settlement out of court. Examples of cases where he has acted as mediator include;

• a service charge dispute, with counterclaims for  breach of repairing covenants
• a dispute between participating tenants in a collective enfranchisement as to  their rights to share in the freehold
• a dispute as to whether advertising hoardings were a trespass, and what damages were payable
• a dispute as to rights of access to residential development land
• a claim for damage to valuable works of art caused by flooding
• dispute over rights over a common driveway.

Recommendations in the Legal Press

Thomas is recommended in the property litigation sections of Chambers & Partners 2009 ("Hands on and sensible". "His commerciality really distinguishes him"), 2010 (“His "sound advice, proficient legal skills and inventive ideas" see his profile rising in this market.” ) the Legal 500 ("practical and commercial advice" and "hugely user friendly") and also in Legal Experts.