Lord Denning was a famous British lawyer and judge who is commonly revered by young lawyers trained in the common law. What I love about him is the fluidity of his prose. Few people, let alone lawyers, are capable of using the English language to such stunning effect as Lord Denning. Whenever I read his judgments, I weep for what has become of the English language. Some excerpts from his judgments are below:
"Broadchalke is one of the most pleasing villages in England. Old Herbert Bundy, the defendant, was a farmer there. His home was at Yew Tree Farm. It went back for 300 years. His family had been there for generations. It was his only asset. But he did a very foolish thing. He mortgaged it to the bank." (Lloyds Bank v. Bundy [1973] 3 All ER 757)
"It happened on April 19, 1964. It was bluebell time in Kent." (Hinz v. Berry (1970) 2 Q.B. 40)
"In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short ... yet now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has ordered that they must not play there anymore. ... He has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket. This newcomer has built ... a house on the edge of the cricket ground which four years ago was a field where cattle grazed. The animals did not mind the cricket." (Miller v. Jackson (1977) Q.B. 966)
"No customer in a thousand ever read the conditions [on the back of a parking lot ticket]. If he had stopped to do so, he would have missed the train or the boat. None of those cases has any application to a ticket which is issued by an automatic machine. The customer pays his money and gets a ticket. He cannot refuse it. He cannot get his money back. He may protest to the machine, even swear at it; but it will remain unmoved." (Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking [1971] 1 All ER 686)
"What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both." (Packer v. Packer [1953] 2 All ER 127)
"Broadchalke is one of the most pleasing villages in England. Old Herbert Bundy, the defendant, was a farmer there. His home was at Yew Tree Farm. It went back for 300 years. His family had been there for generations. It was his only asset. But he did a very foolish thing. He mortgaged it to the bank." (Lloyds Bank v. Bundy [1973] 3 All ER 757)
"It happened on April 19, 1964. It was bluebell time in Kent." (Hinz v. Berry (1970) 2 Q.B. 40)
"In summertime village cricket is the delight of everyone. Nearly every village has its own cricket field where the young men play and the old men watch. In the village of Lintz in County Durham they have their own ground, where they have played these last 70 years. They tend it well. The wicket area is well rolled and mown. The outfield is kept short ... yet now after these 70 years a judge of the High Court has ordered that they must not play there anymore. ... He has done it at the instance of a newcomer who is no lover of cricket. This newcomer has built ... a house on the edge of the cricket ground which four years ago was a field where cattle grazed. The animals did not mind the cricket." (Miller v. Jackson (1977) Q.B. 966)
"No customer in a thousand ever read the conditions [on the back of a parking lot ticket]. If he had stopped to do so, he would have missed the train or the boat. None of those cases has any application to a ticket which is issued by an automatic machine. The customer pays his money and gets a ticket. He cannot refuse it. He cannot get his money back. He may protest to the machine, even swear at it; but it will remain unmoved." (Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking [1971] 1 All ER 686)
"What is the argument on the other side? Only this, that no case has been found in which it has been done before. That argument does not appeal to me in the least. If we never do anything which has not been done before, we shall never get anywhere. The law will stand whilst the rest of the world goes on; and that will be bad for both." (Packer v. Packer [1953] 2 All ER 127)