Oliver Foy
Call: 2016
- LLB (Queen Mary University of London)
- LLM (University College London)
Ollie is an avid football fan and long-suffering Sunderland supporter. He is no stranger to resilience, loyalty and eternal optimism.
Instructing Oliver Foy
Would you like to know more?
If you require help or advice please contact our clerking team.
Call +44 (0)20 7353 0711 or email clerks@pumpcourtchambers.com.
Oliver Foy is a civil and family practitioner. Ollie has developed a reputation for straightforward advice and robust representation. He brings a calm authority and pragmatism to his cases.
Ollie undertook a common law pupillage and his diverse skill set is reflected in the quality and depth of his advice, drafting, and advocacy. Ollie accepts instructions at any stage of civil or family proceedings, including mediation and other forms of ADR.
Legal Services
Ollie is regularly instructed in family finance matters. He has built up considerable experience in all stages of financial remedies, from first appointment to final hearing.
Ollie’s experience extends across the full range of associated applications. He has dealt with contested divorces, freezing injunctions and jurisdictional issues.
Selected Cases
Ollie was instructed to represent the intervenor to establish beneficial ownership of a substantial property portfolio. The case involved an interesting application of familiar trust principles, with the court relying on second-hand evidence to ascertain the intentions of the Husband’s late father. (https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWFC/OJ/2024/86.html)
Final hearing in which Ollie successfully achieved a significant departure from equality in line with Sharp v Sharp and a costs order in his client’s favour notwithstanding that this reduced a needs award.
Ollie was instructed by the Official Solicitor, who was appointed after it was determined that the wife lacked capacity. The case centred on various health assessments of the wife and the impact on housing needs.
Final hearing chiefly concerned with the beneficial interests in foreign property situated in Pakistan. The case centred on expert evidence and the influence of non-disclosure.
Application for a financial remedy based on a (disputed) concluded agreement, the key issues being the existence of a concluded agreement and whether that agreement was fair within the meaning of the MCA 1973.
Ollie is ideally suited to cohabitation and co-ownership disputes due to his combination of experience in financial remedies and traditional Chancery work.
He has an established TOLATA practice, with a strong track record of advising and representing clients across a wide spectrum of co-ownership disputes. His work frequently involves issues of constructive trusts, proprietary estoppel and equitable accounting, where he brings both technical precision and strategic insight.
Ollie also has experience in claims under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 and accepts instructions in cases involving financial provision for children, particularly when combined with an application under TOLATA.
Selected Cases
TOLATA cross-applications with both parties asserting a beneficial interest in the other’s property. Aside from classic common intention constructive trust and proprietary estoppel arguments, the case involved an interesting abuse of process argument. Ollie successfully argued that the other side’s case amounted to a collateral attack on an earlier decision of a court, which had made a finding in respect of beneficial ownership.
Application for sale of the family home made by a trustee in bankruptcy, involving establishing beneficial interests under TOLATA and the possibility of a transfer at an undervalue.
Successful mediation between former cohabitees involving the proceeds of sale for a property constructed by Ollie’s client and in the context of an express declaration of trust, which was alleged to have been superseded by a constructive trust.
Advising in a case involving an order for sale made against cohabitants but complicated by a pre-emption right held by the local authority.
Application for an occupation order under s.36 FLA 1996 and injunctive relief under FPR 20.2 in order to protect ongoing Schedule 1 proceedings by preventing a scheduled eviction.
Ollie provides advice and representation across the spectrum of property matters, both residential and commercial. His experience ranges from possession claims to boundary disputes.
Ollie enjoys writing and speaking about the subject. He has written various articles and is a regular speaker at Pump Court’s annual Property Law Update.
Selected Cases
Advice on a transfer of land including an apparent unilateral increase to the scope of dominant land benefitting from an easement and the availability of a prescriptive right of way.
Advice on the existence of a right of way by necessity, prescription or proprietary estoppel after several parcels of land were left by will 20 years previously.
Successful application to the High Court for an interim injunction restraining the sale of a property by receivers.
Advising the purchasers of a property which was affected by the undisclosed presence of Japanese knotweed. The particular issues in the case were the requirements of fraudulent misrepresentation and the associated measure of damages.
Application for the renewal of a business lease, complicated by the fact that the landlord company had been struck off and it was unclear whether the freehold had been assigned or reverted to the Crown Estate by escheat.
Ollie has a growing inheritance practice, which fits well with his established family finance and property practice. Ollie can advise or represent clients across the full range of contentious probate.
Selected Cases
Acting for the claimants of an additional claim within proceedings for the administration of an estate. The initial claim was premised upon overvaluation of liabilities relating to a property and the binding nature of an agreement reached in matrimonial proceedings. The additional claim was brought by the occupants of the property and introduced further issues of proprietary estoppel and unjust enrichment.
Advice on whether an estate had any interest in a property which had been purchased as part of a sub-selling arrangement in 2008 but title was never registered and whether the estate had any right to claim a proportion of the rent paid by the tenants in situ.
Advising executors where a beneficiary wished to disclaim her legacy but there were significant concerns as to her capacity.
Advice on whether a joint tenancy was severed before death, considering in particular the authority of Dunbabin v Dunbabin.
Advice on a claim against an estate arising from monies sent to the deceased shortly before his death. The estate’s liability was disputed on the ground that the monies were a gift rather than a loan.
Ollie has a very good grounding in civil work having been a County Court Advocate prior to commencing pupillage.
Ollie has built on this experience by advising and representing clients in a diverse range of commercial matters. This includes breach of contract claims, bankruptcy, Company Act claims and claims under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
Selected Cases
Application to the High Court for an injunction to restrain the respondents from presenting or advertising a winding-up petition. The dispute related to the application of a share purchase agreement, in particular whether the parties had waived or amended terms pertaining to determination of the price payable for the shares.
Claim made by a selling agent seeking damages for an unpaid invoice when the sale of a development site collapsed after exchange of contracts. The key issues were incorporation of terms and promissory estoppel.
Drafting the defence in response to a claim for a purported introduction agent’s commission, the central issue being the existence of actual or ostensible authority to act on behalf of the principal.
Trial on whether a sum of money lent by an uncle to a nephew to discharge his mortgage was a loan or a gift.
Advice on a proposed claim arising out of defective building works. The works were completed over six years previously and a breach of contract claim was time-barred. The advice concerned the availability of a tortious claim for pure economic loss.
Ollie undertook part of his pupillage under the supervision of Heather Platt, head of the employment team. He has experience spanning the full spectrum of employment disputes, including in the EAT.
Selected Cases
Appeal to EAT focusing on whether allegations of paedophilia can fall within the definition of sexual orientation in the Equality Act 2010 and, consequently, whether the claimant’s pleaded case included a harassment claim.
Appeal to EAT based upon the employment judge’s failure to assess the reasonableness of the decision to dismiss an employee, instead substituting his own view, and the elision of the test for unfair dismissal with the test for a Polkey deduction. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6842fca75e925395728060eb/Hendy_Group_Ltd_v_Daniel_Kennedy__2024__EAT_106.pdf)
Final hearing, representing the respondent. The claimant brought claims of unfair dismissal, race discrimination/harassment and sex discrimination, which were successfully opposed in their entirety. The interesting feature of the case was the extent to which the claimant was complicit in “banter” that was later relied on as harassment related to race. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64103d068fa8f5560d320b2f/Mr_J_MacArthur_v_Allen_Ford__UK__Ltd_-_3205192_2021_-_Judgment.pdf)
Final hearing, representing the claimant. The claimant succeeded in his claim for unfair dismissal after being dismissed for ill-health capacity arising from an injury sustained in the workplace. It was found that there was inadequate medical evidence before the respondent on which to base its decision to dismiss, as well as various breaches of its own policies. (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/641d6eabba5ac9000cb1a7f7/Mr_M_Peters_v_London_General_Transport_Services_Limited_t.a_Go-ahead_London_2301431.22_Peters_written_reasons_.pdf)
Preliminary hearing considering whether a purported notice of termination of employment was admissible in proceedings given that it was contained in a without prejudice email.
- LLB (Queen Mary University of London)
- LLM (University College London)
Ollie is an avid football fan and long-suffering Sunderland supporter. He is no stranger to resilience, loyalty and eternal optimism.
Instructing Oliver Foy
Would you like to know more?
If you require help or advice please contact our clerking team.
Call +44 (0)20 7353 0711 or email clerks@pumpcourtchambers.com.
