Practical experience behind the case summaries
Karmjit Grewal is the senior surveyor at Coburns Party Wall and has advised on around 10,000 party wall and neighbourly matters across residential and commercial projects.
His approach is practical and evidence-led: identify the point that actually matters, test the legal and technical basis for it, and avoid unnecessary delay, cost and dispute.
Why write about case law?
Party wall practice can become overly dependent on standard wording, inherited practice and templates. Those tools can be useful, but they should never replace analysis. Surveyors exercising statutory functions should be prepared to question assumptions, test requests against the Act and relevant authorities, and distinguish what a judgment actually decided from what later commentary says it decided.
This case-law library is intended to make that process easier by putting the facts, legal question, decision and practical lessons side by side.
Professional approach
The emphasis throughout is on independence, proportionality, clear reasoning and practical outcomes for both building owners and adjoining owners.