Street v Fountaine

The Street Trustees, the trustees of the Street Trust, sought declarations that they were entitled to easements in respect of two farms, Waikaramu and The Downs. The farms are in the Ahiaruhe Valley, and the farms are used to supply stock water to other properties in the area. The lower scheme was installed to supply stock water to the farms in the area, and the scheme involved the installation of water pipes over Waikaramu and The Downs. The respondents are the owners of Waikaramu and The Downs, and they argued that the presence of the scheme infrastructure on their properties was pursuant to a gentlemen’s agreement terminable at pleasure. The Street Trustees argued that the presence of the scheme infrastructure on Waikaramu and The Downs was pursuant to an easement. The parties had been involved in a dispute over the scheme for some time, and the Street Trustees had sought relief in the High Court. Clifford J dismissed the Street Trustees’ claim. The Street Trustees appealed. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the Street Trustees were entitled to equitable easements in respect of Waikaramu and The Downs. The Court of Appeal also found that the respondents were not estopped from denying the existence of such easements. The Court of Appeal allowed the Street Trustees’ claim, and ordered that they be granted registered easements over Waikaramu and The Downs, subject to certain conditions. The Court of Appeal quashed the costs orders made in the High Court, and fixed costs on a band 2B basis. The respondents were ordered to pay the Street Trustees’ costs on a band A basis.