Metro Edgley Pty Ltd & Anor v MK & JA Roche Pty Ltd & Ors

Metro Edgley Pty Ltd and another party (the applicants) sought to restrain MK & JA Roche Pty Ltd and other parties (the respondents) from continuing construction of a building. The applicants alleged that the respondents' building works encroached upon their adjoining land. The matter came before the High Court of Australia on appeal from the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the respondents' building, by reason of its projection over the boundary line between the parties' properties, constituted a trespass upon the applicants' land. This involved a consideration of the common law principles governing boundaries and the rights of adjoining landowners, particularly in relation to encroaching structures.

Gummow and Callinan JJ held that a physical encroachment onto adjoining land, even if slight, constitutes a trespass. Their Honours reasoned that the right of a landowner to exclusive possession of their land extends upwards and downwards from the surface. The court applied the established principle that any unauthorised physical intrusion onto another's property is actionable as trespass, irrespective of the degree of interference or damage caused. The appeal was allowed, and orders were made to restrain the continued encroachment.