Appeal court slashes trespass award in Manchester land row

THE COURT of Appeal has slashed a $400,000 damages award to $150,000 while upholding a finding of trespass against the Simmonds family in a long-standing Manchester land dispute between neighbouring families.

The Morgan family – comprising Marylyn Morgan, her sister Melva Morgan, and her son Jason Salmon – took the Simmonds family to court in 2017, alleging trespass after members of the family began constructing a house on land in Swaby’s Hope, Spur Tree, Manchester, which the Morgans claimed to have possessed and used for over 40 years.

The Morgans subsequently filed a plaint in the Manchester Parish Court, seeking damages for trespass and an injunction to restrain the Simmonds family from further trespassing on the disputed property.