Edgware couple's hell over £21k wheelie bin dispute

4:50pm Thursday 16th August 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Chris Hewett

Liaquat and Liphe Ali have been tormented since the civil action was started by their neighbour Iqban Suleman in July last year Liaquat and Liphe Ali have been tormented since the civil action was started by their neighbour Iqban Suleman in July last year

An Edgware couple went through “a year of hell” when a neighbourly dispute over the placement of a wheelie bin ended up in court with a £21,000 legal bill.

Liaquat and Liphe Ali have been tormented since the civil action was started by their neighbour Iqbal Suleman in July last year.

Mr Suleman claimed the bin blocked him from driving his car through the shared driveway between their homes in Brook Avenue.

Mr Ali initially moved the bin to ensure it did not block the drive.

But the self employed computer analyst was shocked to receive a letter from Lyons Davidson solicitors in July last year seeking an injunction, damages, interest and costs for the inconvenience caused.

Despite Mr Ali moving the bin to the back end of the house, Mr Suleman’s representatives took the matter to two civil court hearings and are now demanding almost £21,000 in legal costs.

The firm is acting under a conditional fee agreement, meaning they are guaranteed to be paid regardless of the outcome under the claimant's house insurance.

Lyons Davidson’s latest demands follow what the Alis described as "12 months of harassment” from the lawyers, who sent numerous letters demanding compliance and threatening further legal action.

The stress of the situation forced the couple to install CCTV down the side of their home and endure sleepless nights trying to resolve the issue.

Father-of-two Mr Ali, 49, said: “There have been threats and more threats. We feel like we’re living under house arrest. Every time the post arrives we’re worried.

“When you go through something like this your whole life becomes topsy-turvy. It is affecting our children as well. They’re getting upset by the amount we’re talking about it.

“It has taken over our lives – we just want it finished. It is a living hell.”

Part-time carer Mrs Ali, 38, added: “I got sick through all the stress. I can’t tell you the days and nights I have cried, wondering what is going on. It still makes me upset now.”

The fear of legal action became so great, the couple even cancelled their waste collection in May and have since removed the rubbish bin altogether.

Mr Ali said: “We’re worried the bin men will put it back down the side of the house like they do with all the other drives – we don’t want to risk breaching anything.”

Despite the bin being removed, Mr Suleman continues to pursue a claim for the substantial costs.

His solicitors compiled a 40-page evidence document, to which the Alis responded with their own file containing almost 300 pages of photographs and witness statements.

At a county court hearing on August 2, Mr Ali agreed to settle the matter by paying some of Mr Suleman’s legal costs, though both parties are now in dispute over the amount.

Mr Ali, who has spent more than £2,000 on legal advice himself, said: “Lyons Davidson has been very unhelpful and aggressive in their dealings with us. They just seem to want to rack up their bill.”

Mrs Ali added: “I’m angry at the court – this should have been sorted a long time ago. £21,000 is a lot of money over a wheelie bin. I keep asking myself why has it come this far and why are we being put through this?”

Land registry plans suggest the driveway is shared, but the claim is being made on the point of a right of access for Mr Suleman, who parks his car on his paved back garden.

On the legal action, Mr Ali added: “It is like taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut. We’ll be so relieved when this is all over.

“It’s ridiculous, absurd. It’s a waste of the courts’ time, a waste of taxpayers’ money. We’re not criminals and yet we have been put through so much.”

Richard Bridges, a solicitor at Kirkwoods who has been giving legal advice to the Alis, said: “I haven’t seen anything like this in my 23-year career.

“It is one of the most trivial cases I have come across. It needn’t have got this far – they could have just knocked on the door and asked them to move their bin.

“Like most cases of this nature, if people were a bit more neighbourly it could be avoided. These things often don’t get to court because people are more sensible.”

The Times Series has been unable to contact Mr Suleman, while Lyons Davidson declined to comment on the case on behalf of either themselves or their client.

Comments(24)

OhWiseOne says...
6:10pm Thu 16 Aug 12

Shows why no win no fee legal practices should be banned in the UK.

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poada says...
12:21am Fri 17 Aug 12

Life's too short. Sounds like this odious individual should grow the **** up.

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Nickyisgod says...
6:27am Fri 17 Aug 12

It's highly unlikely that Lyons Davidson have taken on this case on a no win, no fee basis.

What is more likely is that their client has the benefit of a Legal Expenses policy of some sort, probably taken out with their home insurance. This means that Lyons Davidson are guaranteed their money whatever happens, hence the appetite for them to just carry on no matter how trivial the matter is.

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Neiltheboss says...
12:07pm Fri 17 Aug 12

When you live next door to complete prats like this you have no idea what they will think of next.

Take out no win no fee legal claims - this neighbour is a total nasty piece of work. Unbelievable - all over a bin which takes two seconds to move if he wants to park. Man needs to get a life

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SilentReaper says...
5:33pm Fri 17 Aug 12

Just reading through the posts and I agree with the comments thus far, particularly this guy next door being a nasty piece of work! I'm just wondering though... now the news is out, I know of dozens and dozens of low-life's in Barnet who hate their driveways being blocked by their neighbours (no names mentioned) and so if there is a flood of applications for the same nonsense to the Courts (I'm assuming it must be Barnet County Court), I hope they will be able to cope with these as I think through their complicity OR even duplicity, they are party to setting up a dangerous precedent. Never mind more mega bucks and commission for Lyons Davidson at the Barnet Council's expense when the Council will, no doubt, have to work out new bin arrangements on a case by case basis for other Claimants, maybe even in their hundreds or thousands and who, no doubt, will also follow this crazy case. In my humble opinion of course.

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Outrageous says...
5:52pm Sat 18 Aug 12

The best neighbour in gods eyes is the one who is best behaved towards his neighbour. You are supposed to be kind and generous to your neighbour. This guy is the antithesis to being everything a good neighbour would be. To present a neighbour with a law suit over a bin is disgusting. The guy is only concerned about his own rights and not of his neighbours right to co-exist peacefully. I hope he reads these comments and feels regret and can reconciliate by doing the right thing and returning any settlement back to his neighbour- this should never have gone to court.

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CMDLights says...
6:31pm Sat 18 Aug 12

Is life not hard enough already by mortgages, bills, fuel costs etc. Then we have someone claiming for a wheelie bin. What next? Am I going to get sued for breaking wind in public? **** you, didn't your parents teach you any values in life. If you have children shame on you. I feel sorry for them.

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SilentReaper says...
7:24pm Sat 18 Aug 12

One thing that confuses me from the report, is how did this low life get a conditional funding or whatever it was over a wheelie bin? I wonder what he put down on his claim form to his insurer assuming there was a CFA funding in the first place? Also I have a friend who works in the insurance industry and he told me an incident date would be critical to any claim! The point then is how did he make up an "incident date" over a wheelie bin? May be he said the bin crashed into his car on this or that date, who knows? This stinks of some sort of insurance scam that perhaps went wrong when the poor people pictured on the photo decided not to play ball with the low life and so Lyons Davidson decided to drag the whole thing on until one or the other party gave in, hence their costs to date! I personally think these sort of cases should be banned in the UK and I hear next year new legislation will be put into place by the government. My sympathies to the couple pictured. I hope the judge sees common sense, morality and decency and does the right thing and award any costs in their favour instead. My opinion of course but it seems this couple have been put through the frying pan and into the fire by this "law" firm. In my humble opinion of course.

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
2:27pm Sun 19 Aug 12

The fear of legal action became so great, the couple even cancelled their waste collection in May and have since removed the rubbish bin altogether."

Hello there - I am the wheelie bin and I wish to remain anonymous, however here is my statement on behalf of Mr and Mrs Ali:-

"Life used to be so good when I was looked after by the Ali's. They used to care for me and wash me, keep an eye on me and feed me to my hearts content.

I enjoyed this privilege for over 11 years durIng my tenure at the property, happily residing in the (shared) alleyway until May of this year when I was suddenly without any warning evicted from my home!

Life now is very lonely in the wheelie bin refugee camp and I'm missing all my other wheelie bin pals from my old home :-(

I hope one day that justice is served and those sons of a **** who call themselves "solicitors" at Lyons Davidson are exposed for what they're worth.

I hope Mr and Mrs Ali will come to visit me sometimes as I miss them dearly.

On a serious note and pardon the pun - Lyons Davidson, you're full of rubbish!

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mamma mia 66 says...
10:45pm Sun 19 Aug 12

Neiltheboss wrote:
When you live next door to complete prats like this you have no idea what they will think of next.

Take out no win no fee legal claims - this neighbour is a total nasty piece of work. Unbelievable - all over a bin which takes two seconds to move if he wants to park. Man needs to get a life
i totally agree with you neiltheboss
this complete prat only had to jump out of his car & spend 2 seconds moving the bin to get his car past


there was no need to take this to court & put these people through all this worry the neighbour sounds like a complete nightmare to live next to,

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mamma mia 66 says...
11:10pm Sun 19 Aug 12

All this harassment over a wheelie bin ! It's nothing more than pure greed you can see the stress on this couples faces & they should counter sue for the distress & worry this has caused..

Mr suleman sounds like a typical bully dragging this family through the court and for what ? he could not get his car passed the wheelie bin, utter madness doesn't even come close !! Is he too blinded by greed to possibly think of knocking on the door & asking for the bin to be moved ?

with the greed of this man as well as the solicitors getting their greedy fee's if the court's do not put a stop to this we will all be potential targets for such ridiculous claims... whatever will this man claim for next ? the rain falling the wrong way in his garden !!!!

I feel so sorry for this family having to live next to such a mean control freak with a no moral's legal team.....

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SilentReaper says...
1:42pm Mon 20 Aug 12

What I don't still understand is nowhere in this article has this low life claimant identified what his injury, losses and damages were to date nor was their anything in this report to state this lowlife's car was blocked in by a wheelie bin... this gets more hilarious as I type! As such if as I suspect, there were no injury, losses, damages or obstruction to date, the question then is how did this "law" firm manage to rack up a £21K legal bill which they now expect Mr Ali to pay for? Even in the most stupid of cases (ref http://www.telegraph
.co.uk/news/uknews/1
330817/Dinner-party-
ends-with-a-sting-in
-the-tail.html and again courtesy of Lyons Davidson again) the Claimant still put in a claim, in this example for an buttock injured whilst sitting on a dining room chair at a friend's dinner party and as such I am struggling to understand what this wheelie bin trial is over and as such this must be a legal first! If my assumptions are correct, I think I'm going to put in a claim now for something I will try and concoct, knowing it may be safe not to worry about any injury, damages or losses as my "friend" Lyons Davidson will be happy to be on the payroll.

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SilentReaper says...
8:05pm Mon 20 Aug 12

Bearing in mind the Defendants sent over 300 pages of evidence and witness statements, I think this clearly shows they were attempting some sort of dialogue with this "law" firm. If so I can only assume this excuse for a firm was blanking the Defendants, ignoring their evidence possibly because it did not fit into the grand schema of things that they pre- planned and based on the Claimants agenda. The other thing is why was this not resolved in a Small claims Court? This would be the normal course of action to take and I am sure from what I have read in the news report, there must have been plenty of opportunity for both parties to do so and which would possibly have cost no more the £40 to put in a claim? This story analogous to a bent and crooked taxi driver instead of taking you from A to B for a fiver, decides to be "kind" enough to also do a round London Sightseeing Tour and then charge you £100 for the privilege. Something definitely stinks here!

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SilentReaper says...
9:43pm Mon 20 Aug 12

This wheelie bin story appears to be going viral... seen it being referenced in over 20 Google pages!... Here is a really funny one from, want of a better name, Wheelie bad:-

You must be joking! I know America is a nation for lawsuits but the UK and for a wheelie bin! What is this country coming to? It must be the economic downturn that is turning some people to put these sort of claims in! I need to think one up now... erm... its raining Monday morning on my way to work... need to put in a claim against the Meteorological Office for giving me the wrong weather forecast... wet my expensive Italian suit. Need a solicitor: found one. Lyons Davidson will do nicely!

Reference: http://www.topix.com
/forum/uk/edgware/T9
7LJI1IC6PLDOFCP#last
Post

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jackdaw says...
11:04am Tue 21 Aug 12

It was wheelie bin collection day today. The bin men left my bins and my neighbours bins on the pavement. I brought my neighbours bins and my own bins back on to our properties.

What if I had left them and a pedestrian had injured themselves. Would they have consulted a solicitor to sue myself and Harrow Council?

Just imagine the costs to the Councils, the courts etc that are being racked up by these type of solicitors.

Folks see also comments made in on www.edgwaretimes.co.
uk

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SilentReaper says...
2:50pm Tue 21 Aug 12

See JackDaw's post above but in relation to "a pedestrian had injured themselves", I am still struggling to establish if Suleman was injured by Ali's wheelie bin? I assume not, so I think the fact that Harrow Council left the empty bins on the pavement must have caused an interference with pedestrians' rights of way to use the entire length of the pavement to pass and as such they should contact Lyons Davidson to file letters of claim to Harrow Council for quote "costs, damages, interest as well as seek an injunction" for the inconvenience caused by the wheelie bin men! In a nutshell I think this is what Suleman did with his poor neighbour and worst still when the bin was on the neighbour's own property!

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
5:56pm Wed 22 Aug 12

Hello everyone: it is the Orphaned Wheelie bin here again. I have just read through most of the comments above and would like to thank everyone for their support. My current carer is talking to the Social Services Bin Department but he told me there is no chance, at the moment at least, of being re-united with Mr and Mrs Ali however I should be patient and wait and see! I have been a good wheelie bin and listen to and respect my foster carers all the time. On a serious note again: I am wheelie, wheelie sad at the treatment given to me and I hope justice prevails!

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F..kedupBarnet says...
2:18pm Thu 23 Aug 12

Surely being a SHARED driveway, Mr and Mrs ALI should counter sue for the neighbours car disturbing their peace and quiet when driven up and down the driveway, there must be an equally pathetic insurance company out there willing to take their case up. As for you Mr Suleyman, you are a pathetic excuse of a human being..

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
2:35pm Thu 23 Aug 12

Yes I thought it was shared too! Apparently I heard from another one of my wheelie bin friends, there was a similar case a few years ago near Pavillion Way in Edgware, again to do with parking and wheelie bins and that person there (wouldn't be surprised if it was Suleman again), managed to sue his neighbour over the wheelie bin too... rumours but may be worth checking out! I am trying to locate this wheelie bin from that address and find out first hand what that wheelie bin has to say and possibly whether or not those facts are true. Seems like we wheelie bins are really having a bad time at the moment!

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Alshobuj says...
11:59pm Mon 27 Aug 12

I cannot believe this Suleman individual had the audacity to press charges against this family over something so trivial!! What makes it even worse is that this Lyons Davidson solicitors are even wasting their time taking up this case! That says a lot about them……
I personally think Mr Suleman should grow the hell up and have some self respect! I feel embarrassed for him! Absolutely pathetic!!!!

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
12:21am Thu 30 Aug 12

I appeal to my parents to contact their local MP to sort something out! I believe not having a bin at their property (i.e. myself) is harassment and a breach of human rights for the fear of not able to live in dignity, to eat, sleep and have your rubbish disposed off in peace. If you are listening: email is matthew.offord.mp@pa
rliament.uk

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
9:45am Tue 4 Sep 12

I'm cut and pasting this posting from another website www.topix.com as I think it is very relevant from someone called "send em back":

"I was checking up on Lyons Davidson "solicitors" and noticed there is a high hit rate where they acted for defendants with foreign sounding names in dodgy motor insurance claims where the people they represented (sometimes Claimant or sometimes Defendant) lost and in some cases, the fraud investigation teams were called in. Please don't quote me on it but check out the following links for example:-

http://www.horwichfa
rrelly.co.uk/kamal-s
ial-v...

http://www.horwichfa
rrelly.co.uk/wajiha-
syal-...

http://www.horwichfa
rrelly.co.uk/carol-s
totha...

In most of these cases ,the Claimant was ordered to pay the Defendant's costs. Do I need to say more. Check the web and you will find plenty of hits and Lyons Davidson seem to be the common denominator in each case."

End of quote.

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
10:59am Wed 12 Sep 12

Just back on again... I heard from one of my wheelie bin friends in Brook Avenue that Mr and Mrs Suleman have become very attached to their wheelie bins and, when everyone else spends about 10 seconds bring their bins in, they spend up to 3 hours in the morning escorting their bins back to their property, fearful Mr Ali's CCTV cameras could otherwise capture these bins in the alleyway when the bin men drop them off! Definitely an own goal scored to Mr Suleman and if this is true, he is a complete **** as obviously any claim he was thinking of bringing in Court is frivolous, meritless and vexatious as shown by his own antics now!

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The-Orphaned-Wheelie-Bin says...
4:30pm Wed 12 Sep 12

This is an interesting quote and seems to tie up with my parents (Mr & Mrs Ali's) scenario:-

A very sad story above but one which is not unusual. It sums up the inadequacies of the justice system when dealing with families. I know of similar scenarios where one party is being unreasonable (probably because they are being funded by the taxpayer) and the opponent (usually the working father) is being crippled in legal fees.

It is an unfairness seen everyday. The vexatious, the fraudsters and the feckless prosper in a perverse system at the expense of the hard working and decent. The lawyers support such a system because they make money from it.

http://www.lawgazett
e.co.uk/news/all-rou
nd-roasting-family-j
ustice-reforms

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