STOCKDALE & STOCKDALE

In *Stockdale & Stockdale*, the parties were the owners of adjoining rural properties. The dispute concerned the location of a boundary fence, with the plaintiff alleging that the defendant had erected the fence on the plaintiff's land, thereby encroaching onto their property. The matter came before Burchardt J in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The central legal issue before the court was to determine the correct location of the boundary between the two properties, as defined by the registered plan of subdivision and the accompanying survey. This determination was crucial to resolving the plaintiff's claim for trespass and the defendant's defence that the fence was erected on their own land.

Burchardt J's reasoning focused on the interpretation of the survey plan and the evidence presented by surveyors for both parties. The court applied the principles of boundary determination, which prioritise the original survey marks and measurements as depicted on the registered plan. After considering the expert evidence and the relevant survey data, the court found that the fence had indeed been erected on the plaintiff's land, contrary to the registered boundary. The court ordered the removal of the encroaching fence and the erection of a new fence on the correct boundary line.