UK - Banker couple wage 'war' on elderly lady. Lose a fortune

A retired banker and his wife waged 'war' on their elderly, deaf neighbour over a 12 inch wide strip of land. It was the elderly lady's 'right of way' out of the backyard of her home, where she'd lived for decades.

She was given a whiplash injury from being shaken and grabbed and the Bayliss's even tried to get the lady - a former churchwarden and current carer for the disabled - certified into a mental health institute and removed from her home.

The judge called retired banker Peter Bayliss and his artist wife Kim 'dishonest and devious' and condemned 'the sheer awfullness of their attempts to get her sectioned under the Mental Health Act'.

He ordered them to pay damages and a legal bill of £330,000 (about $553,000). This is likely to exceed the entire value of the house, which Mr Bayliss 'was set' to inherit from his mother. His mother isn't reported to ever have had any problems over the strip of land.

Sounds like his mother is still alive and owns the house but no longer lives there. Can't help wondering where she has ended up......

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...2-inches-of-land-in-kent-village-9123330.html

Oh wow, this is the deaf, 'elderly' victim. She is 69! She looks fantastic. She's spent her life caring for others so maybe it's a case of good on the inside showing on the outside?

The Mail says the Bayliss's aim was to increase the value of their property by gaining the narrow path and getting their victim declared insane. That worked well then. Not.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...es-land-boost-value-house-inherit-mother.html

zwiebel said:

Oh wow, this is the deaf, 'elderly' victim. She is 69! She looks fantastic. She's spent her life caring for others so maybe it's a case of good on the inside showing on the outside?

The Mail says the Bayliss's aim was to increase the value of their property by gaining the narrow path and getting their victim declared insane. That worked well then. Not.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...es-land-boost-value-house-inherit-mother.html

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Are you sure this is the 69 year old woman? Gosh she doesn't look much over 50. Amazing.

The poor woman! She surely deserves every penny of that settlement and the banker and his wife will inherit the house only to have to sell it with that little easement in place. God bless the law. That's such a wonderful bit of justice.

Answer to if I'm sure the pic's of 69 yr old

Yes, I'm sure though I had to double check! She just looks very young - I think quite naturally. Lucky thing, though maybe not with her neighbors....

The people who lost the case against her look older (imo) although they are actually much younger.

zwiebel said:

Answer to if I'm sure the pic's of 69 yr old

Yes, I'm sure though I had to double check! She just looks very young - I think quite naturally. Lucky thing, though maybe not with her neighbors....

The people who lost the case against her look older (imo) although they are actually much younger.

Click to expand...

It's the stress of being so greedy that ages them. The woman who is a caretaker by trade looks younger because she's an angel and we all know angel's never age (much). LOL

zwiebel said:

A retired banker and his wife waged 'war' on their elderly, deaf neighbour over a 12 inch wide strip of land. It was the elderly lady's 'right of way' out of the backyard of her home, where she'd lived for decades.

She was given a whiplash injury from being shaken and grabbed and the Bayliss's even tried to get the lady - a former churchwarden and current carer for the disabled - certified into a mental health institute and removed from her home.

The judge called retired banker Peter Bayliss and his artist wife Kim 'dishonest and devious' and condemned 'the sheer awfullness of their attempts to get her sectioned under the Mental Health Act'.

He ordered them to pay damages and a legal bill of £330,000 (about $553,000). This is likely to exceed the entire value of the house, which Mr Bayliss 'was set' to inherit from his mother. His mother isn't reported to ever have had any problems over the strip of land.

Sounds like his mother is still alive and owns the house but no longer lives there. Can't help wondering where she has ended up......

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...2-inches-of-land-in-kent-village-9123330.html

Click to expand...

BBM ..From the article linked above ... "When Mrs Bayliss went into care in autumn 2008, leaving her son in charge, the couple instigated the dispute over the right of way and possession of a tiny strip of back garden. Judge Gerald condemned the “sheer awfulness of Mr and Mrs Bayliss’s attempts to get her sectioned under the Mental Health Act”."

Wonder if he pulled the same tricks on his mom to get her go "into care". I think the judge needs to check on her and evaluate and assess her independently of whatever her obviously greedy, manipulative and parasitic son said.

May 2018:
Banker lied about his dead mother being anxious about land dispute | Daily Mail Online
Mother died in August 2010.

CarolinaMoon said:

The poor woman! She surely deserves every penny of that settlement and the banker and his wife will inherit the house only to have to sell it with that little easement in place. God bless the law. That's such a wonderful bit of justice.

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Though the settlement is poetic justice, depending on the jurisdiction, it could be a largely symbolic award.

Here in the United States, several states including Kansas, Texas, and Florida have laws that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to force the sale of what is legally a 'homestead'.

Narrow exceptions such as back taxes or child support do exist. But Court ordered settlements and horrible actions by a defendant do not matter.

Though the United Kingdom is not Texas or Florida, the evolution of Common law there may grant similar protections. I have no idea if this is the case.

But.... in the end, being awarded a settlement by a Court and actually being able to collect it can be two very different things.

FrostOwl said:

May 2018:
Banker lied about his dead mother being anxious about land dispute | Daily Mail Online
Mother died in August 2010.

Click to expand...

from the article - nasty scammers:

Mr Bayliss claimed that, as both he and his wife are bankrupt, court proceedings could only be brought against them with special permission from a judge.

And the couple were also in contempt of court because they had remortgaged Betty Bayliss' Toad Cottage, Westerham, home for £250,000 and hidden much of the cash to avoid paying Mrs Saxton what they owe, the barrister claims.

Cryptic said:

Though the settlement is poetic justice, depending on the jurisdiction, it could be a largely symbolic award.

Here in the United States, several states including Kansas, Texas, and Florida have laws that make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to force the sale of what is legally a 'homestead'.

Narrow exceptions such as back taxes or child support do exist. But Court ordered settlements and horrible actions by a defendant do not matter.

Though the United Kingdom is not Texas or Florida, the evolution of Common law there may grant similar protections. I have no idea if this is the case.

But.... in the end, being awarded a settlement by a Court and actually being able to collect it can be two very different things.

Click to expand...

yes, from the article:

'The reality of the situation is that Mrs Saxton and her solicitors have no chance of recovering any debt from these people,' he told the Central London County Court judge.

Banker lied about his dead mother being anxious about land dispute | Daily Mail Online