Alfred Thompson Denning, Baron Denning (23 January, 1899–6 March, 1999) was a British barrister from Hampshire who became Master of the Rolls (the senior civil judge in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales) and was generally well liked, both within the legal profession and outside it. Lord Denning was a judge for 38 years, retiring at the age of 83 in 1982.
He became well known for his judgments, which frequently pushed the law in novel directions. Even in his early career his decision in the now world renowned High Trees case: Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd [1947] K.B. 130 brought him into the forefront of judicial reasoning for his innovative approach to legal reasoning when he developed the principle of equitable estoppel as applied to contract law.
Commentators on Denning's career on the bench always draw attention to his unusual style of writing. It was characterized by short and succinct sentences, a staccato cadence, lively and entertaining content, and a directness of thought which resulted in "crystal clarity" (Professor Smith's phrase). Lord Irvine said his judgments were "models of simple English which ordinary people understood". They were influenced by his instinctive championing of "the little man", and of course by his innate patriotism and his fondness and respect for the traditional English way of doing things.
That style has also been described as taut, concrete, vigorous, and clear. "There is a pleasing sound to his words. Clichés are avoided. . He has a horror of an unbroken page of print. The central principle of his style is that, when you write or speak, you should always be thinking of the reader or the hearer", says Denning's biographer. He reports that Professor Cameron Harvey read through all Denning's reported judgments to discover the best writing. Harvey concluded: "He is an inveterate storyteller. It was his distinctive style to recount the facts in the form of a story". And, as Mr. Heward points out, a storyteller always tries to capture the attention of his hearers immediately.
Whatever the truth of it, Lord Denning became immensely popular for his judgments which often bent the law into interesting directions, and his unusual prose style in giving judgment. Examples of some opening lines, or opening paragraphs, from five of Denning's judgments are set out below:
Broadchalke is one of the most pleasing villages in England. Old Herbert Bundy, the defendant, was a farmer there. His home was at Yew Tree Farm. It
went back for 300 years. His family had been there for generations. It was his only asset. But he did a very foolish thing. He mortgaged it to the bank."
---Lloyds Bank v. Bundy [1973] 3 All ER 757
"
In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short . . . [y]et now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has ordered that they must not play there anymore . . . [h]e has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket.
This newcomer has built . . . a house on the edge of the cricket ground which four years ago was a field where cattle grazed. The animals did not mind the cricket."
---Miller v. Jackson (1977) Q.B. 966, 976
"This is a case of a barmaid who was badly bitten by a big dog"
---Cummings v. Granger (1977) 1 All E.R. 104, 106
"It happened on April 19, 1964. It was bluebell time in Kent"
---Hinz v. Berry (1970) 2 Q.B. 40, 42
"Old Peter Beswick was a coal merchant in Eccles, Lancashire. He had no business premises. All he had was a lorry, scales, and weights. He used to
take the lorry to the yard of the National Coal Board, where he bagged coal and took it round to his customers in the neighbourhood. His nephew, John Joseph Beswick, helped him in his business. In March 1962, old Peter Beswick and his wife were both over 70. He had had his leg amputated and was not in good health. The nephew was anxious to get hold of the business before the old man died. So they went to a solicitor, Mr. Ashcroft, who drew up an agreement for them"
---Beswick v. Beswick (1966) Ch. 538
Famous Denning Quotes:
Regarding Anton Piller Injunction [civil search warrant]:
"It does not authorize the plaintiff’s solicitors or anyone else to enter the defendants’ premises against their will. It does not authorize the breaking down of any doors, nor the slipping in by a back door, nor getting in by an open door or window . . . The plaintiffs must get the defendants’ permission. But it does do this: It brings pressure on the defendants to give permission. It does more. It actually orders them to give permission – with, I suppose, the result that if they do not give permission, they are guilty of contempt of court."
---Anton Piller KG v. Manufacturing Processes Ltd., [1976] 1 All E.R. 779 (C.A.)
"What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both."
---Packer v. Packer [1953] 2 AER l27
"No customer in a thousand ever read the conditions [on the back of a parking lot ticket]. If he had stopped to do so, he would have missed the train or the boat.
None of those cases has any application to a ticket which is issued by an automatic machine. The customer pays his money and gets a ticket. He cannot refuse it. He cannot get his money back. He may protest to the machine, even swear at it; but it will remain unmoved."
---Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1971] 1 All ER 686
Many of Denning's efforts to change the law were vindicated by the passage of time (and legislation) – in particular, his efforts to establish an abandoned wives' equity, small print exemption clauses, inequality of bargaining power, negligent mis-statement, liability of public authorities, and contractual interpretation.
Chronological list of cases in which Lord Denning sat as a judge. In most cases he played a decisive role in the final outcome and changed the law in a major way.
Central London Property Trust Ltd v. High Trees House Ltd [1947] K.B. 130 — Denning resurrects the lost doctrine of Promissory Estoppel.
Solle v. Butcher [1950] 1 K.B. 671
Errington v. Errington (1951) K.B.C.A. — Denning creates the equitable doctrine of "part performance" to save an incomplete contract.
Combe v. Combe (1952) Eng. K.B. — Denning elaborates his stance on Promissory Estoppel; calls it a "shield", not a "sword".
Drive-Yourself-Hire v. Strutt, [1953] 2 All E.R. 1475.
Entores Ltd. v. Miles Far East Corp. (1955) 2 ALL ER 493 — Decides that the "moment of acceptance" in a contract using a telex (electronic communication) happens on the receivers side.
Ward v. Bynham (1956) Eng.C.A.
Hornal v. Neuberger [1956] Eng.C.A.
Ward v James [1965] Eng.C.A.
D & C Builders Ltd. v. Rees (1965) Eng.C.A. — To resolve a debt there must be "accord and satisfaction" where the agreement cannot be made under duress.
Beswick v. Beswick (1966), Eng.C.A., [1968] A.C. 58 — Denning allows a poor widow to reclaim the assets of her late husband when it was taken from her husband's nephew.
E.R. Ives Investments Ltd. v. High [1967] 2 QB 379
Gallie v. Lee (1969), Eng.C.A.
Gould v. Gould (1970) 1 Q.B. 275 — Denning dissented to the idea that a husband's promise to help out his wife "as long as [he is] able" should be enforcable.
Lewis v. Averay (1971), Eng.C.A. — The purchaser of stolen goods should not bear the costs of re-embursing the victim of theft.
W.J. Allan & Co. v. El Nasr Export & Import Co [1972] 2 Q.B. 189
Lloyds Bank Ltd. v. Bundy (1975) Q.B.
Courtney and Fairbairn Ltd. v. Tolaini Brothers (Hotels) Ltd. [1975] 1 All E.R. 716 — A contract cannot have terms that are to be negotiated on at a later point.
British Crane Hire Corporation Ltd. v. Ipswich Plant Hire Ltd. [1975] Q.B. 303
Anton Piller v Manufacturing Processes [1976] C.A.
Esso Petroleum Co. Ltd. v. Mardon [1976] Q.B. 801 (C.A.) — Denning decides to turn representations made by parties with expert knowledge and experience into warranties of the contract.
Butler Machine Tool Co. Ltd. v. Ex-Cell-o Corp. Ltd. [1979] 1 All. E.R. (C.A.)
Brikom Investments v. Carr [1979]
Photo Productions v. Securicor Ltd. [1980] All E.R. 556
His many books include
1. The Changing Law (1953),
2. The Road to Justice (1955),
3. The Discipline of Law (1979),
4. The Due Process of Law (1980),
5. What’s Next in the Law (1982), and
6. Landmarks in the Law (1984).
Lord Denning was perhaps the greatest law-making judge of the century, the most controversial and certainly its "most colourful". His achievement was to shape the common law according to his own highly individual vision of society, died on Friday, March 5, 1999 after celebrated his 100th birthday.
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