I sat in a court, today, as a lawyer sought to have a land case thrown out with a claim that the lease in hand was not valid as it had never been stamped to show stamp duty: and, thus, no case should be heard.
It was bizarre, because the landlord is responsible for paying stamp duty and the lawyer was representing that landlord. I don’t know if a case can get squashed on an initially illegal letting and there be no penalty for the landlord on that illegality itself. But court cases are a curious and extraordinary journey for we passers-by.
