Pig farmer’s son, 47, who was pulled out of school aged 13 to look after his father’s animals is locked in a bitter £1.4m court battle with his mother, 76, over the land, court hears

• Barry Harding says he ‘continually worked’ at Cornerfields Farm since he was 13
• His father Trevor died in 2017 and he later fell out badly with his mother Joan
• The 76-year-old is now suing him for her share of the farm, the profits and loans

A pig farmer’s son who was pulled out of school to look after his father’s animals is locked in a £1.4million court fight with his mother over the family land.

Barry Harding says since the age of 13 he has ‘continually worked’ at Cornerfields Farm, in Denham, Buckinghamshire, which has been in his family for nearly 80 years.

He says that having to look after the pigs even as a child meant he was ‘prevented from going to school and achieving any educational attainments’. He also claims that his own time, labour and money rescued the farm from financial disaster. 

Mr Harding’s father Trevor died in 2017 and he fell out badly with his mother Joan, 76, leading to her leaving the farm, and claiming Barry changed the locks.

She is now suing, accusing her son of ‘forcing her out’ of her home and demanding around £500,000 compensation for her share of the farm business, and profits and loans she says she is owed.

Barry Harding (pictured), 47, who was pulled out of school to look after his father’s pig farm is locked in a court fight with his mother over the family land

Mr Harding’s father Trevor died in 2017 and he fell out badly with his mother Joan (pictured), 76, leading to her leaving the farm, and claiming Barry changed the locks

The dispute, which could cost the warring sides half-a-million pounds in lawyers’ bills alone, reached Central London County Court as Barry, representing himself, insisted it was his endeavours that turned the farm into a success.

Mr Harding disputes what his mother’s share is worth, claiming his own investment of time, labour and money rescued the farm from financial disaster.

His parents had made no financial contribution to the purchase of the farm from the council in 2008, other than using his father’s right-to-buy discount, and he had since invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in improvements, he says.

Mr Harding told Judge Mark Raeside KC: ‘I have been conscious of the farm and the importance of it to my family since I was six years old.

‘I continually worked on the farm from the age of 13. Because of the work required of me by my father, I was prevented by my parents from going to school.

‘I went out to collect swill with my late father and I helped with the pig-farming business because this was required of me when my older brother left in 1988.

‘These actions prevented me from going to school and successfully achieving any educational attainments.

‘By my own endeavours and physical labour, I also created a skip hire business, bought cattle and built additional farm buildings at the farm.’

Mr Harding says since the age of 13 he has ‘continually worked’ at Cornerfields Farm (pictured), in Denham, Buckinghamshire, which has been in his family for nearly 80 years

The court heard that the Harding family started breeding pigs at Cornerfields Farm in 1948.

Mr Harding told the judge he started working on the farm under his father and grandfather, sacrificing his education after being pulled out of school to help out with the pigs.

The farm ceased pig-breeding around 20 years ago, but Mr Harding says that since then he has toiled and invested over £500,000 to transform it into its current skip-hire and cattle feed business.

The farm was bought by the family from the council in 2008, with Mr Harding and his ex-partner putting in cash and his father’s right-to-buy discount being treated as his parents’ contribution.

His parents’ shares were then put into life trusts, entitling them to benefit from the farm during their lifetimes, but to then pass to Mr Harding and his ex, Sarah Cox, on death.

However, Mrs Harding now claims the decision to put her share into trust was the result of ‘undue influence’ from her son, with her barrister Michael Barrow saying he had been in prime position to influence his parents.

Mr Barrow told the judge: ‘He initiated the preparation of the deeds and settlements, found and instructed the solicitors and presented the documents thereafter.

‘Joan’s evidence is that both she and Trevor felt they had no choice other than to sign and execute the documents.

‘As Joan’s and Trevor’s son, all living together at the property, Barry was in a position to exercise control and undue influence over his parents.’

Mr Harding, however, denied being in a ‘position of dominance’ over his mother and Mr Barrow accepted in court that evidence of actual ‘undue influence’ in 2008 was ‘limited’.

Joan insists that she, her husband Trevor and her son were in partnership, jointly running the farm until Trevor’s death in 2017 and that their son has deprived her of her share of income in recent years.

She claimed she had also put time and money into the business over the years, including her wages when she worked elsewhere.

The court heard that the Harding family started breeding pigs at the farm (pictured) in 1948

But her son insisted: ‘The business I took over was of no value,’ adding: ‘any investment my mother claims she put in was worthless’.

‘My parents were never in any position to be able to buy the property, as their income was always limited and the pig farming business eventually collapsed.’

Joan said she had lived and worked at Cornerfields from the 1960s, sharing it with Trevor and Barry until she was allegedly ‘excluded’ by her son in January 2017.

Her barrister said she claimed her son was ‘impossible to live with and that she had to leave for her own sanity.’

Mr Harding denied putting any pressure on his mother, adding that she had voluntarily chosen to go and stay with her sister and brother-in-law.

He insisted his mother could have returned to the farm ‘any time she wanted to,’ although Mr Barrow said this had proved impossible as Barry had changed the locks.

‘She returned to the property to retrieve her belongings and you refused access. You changed the locks,’ he claimed. ‘No I have not,’ Mr Harding replied.

The court dispute initially also involved Mr Harding’s ex-partner, who was suing both mother and son for a stake of the farm.

But her claim settled at the door of the court, leaving Mr Harding and his mother to carry on fighting it out. 

In her claim against her son, Joan wants to overturn the deeds putting her and her husband’s shares into trust so that she can liquidate her share of the farm.

Alternatively, she wants him to hand her hundreds of thousands of pounds for excluding her from the farm, plus her share of profits and repayment of loans.

However, Mr Harding says the trusts were legitimately made and disputes what the value of his mother’s share is, claiming it was only his investment that made it a success. He wants to keep the farm business in the family.

The judge reserved his ruling in the case.

Source: Read Full Article