The High Court in Belfast has ruled that disputed outbuildings on a County Tyrone farm property pass to the daughter of a deceased farmer, finding that an error in his 2013 will did not override the clear intention to leave her the dwellinghouse and all associated structures at 19 Rossmore Road, Dungannon.

The case was brought by Howard McLean, a solicitor acting as executor of the estate of Thomas Fleming, who died on 20 March 2020. Fleming's will, made on 2 December 2013, left his daughter Pamela Kidd the property at 19 Rossmore Road described as falling within Folio 32112, County Tyrone. His son Ashley Fleming was left the remainder of lands within Folio 27075. The dispute centred on a twin garage, a large shed and a smaller shed - all of which sit within Folio 27075 but in close proximity to the dwellinghouse.

Mr Justice Scoffield, delivering judgment on 26 March 2026, found that the will contained an inherent drafting error. The Land Registry map attached to the will showed a rectangular boundary for Folio 32112, while the separate Farm Map from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development showed a larger, L-shaped field. The disputed outbuildings fell outside Folio 32112 but within what the court accepted had always been understood as the property at No 19.

The judge found that the will's first paragraph - which specifically referred to the dwellinghouse, gardens, outbuildings and property at 19 Rossmore Road - expressed a clear intention to leave Pamela Kidd not just the house but everything associated with it. He noted a contrast with the devises to the three brothers, which referred only to "lands", while paragraph one expressly used the word "outbuildings". The court found that this distinction displaced the general statutory presumption under Article 26(1)(e) of the Wills and Administration Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, which would otherwise have treated a gift of "lands" as including all buildings on them.

Attendance notes compiled during the drafting of the will provided additional support for that conclusion. A note from 31 May 2011 recorded that Fleming had told his solicitor he wished to leave his daughter "his dwelling house, garden front and rear and all outbuildings". A further note from 26 March 2012 acknowledged that the boundary of Folio 32112 did not fully reflect what the testator intended to leave her, and raised the possibility of boundary rectification that was never carried out. The final attendance note, from the date the will was executed, recorded that the testator had the word "outbuildings" expressly added to paragraph one of the will - a change the court found significant in demonstrating his intent.

Ashley Fleming had argued the will was clear on its face, leaving him the entirety of Folio 27075 save for Field No 6, which was left to his brother Nigel. He contended the disputed structures were farm buildings used in connection with agricultural activity on those lands. The court rejected that characterisation, finding the evidence on farming use of the outbuildings vague. The judge also found that the construction urged by Ashley Fleming would leave the dwellinghouse without practical access to its oil tank, garages, firewood store and rear garden, which he concluded the testator could not have intended.

Scoffield J granted a declaration that, on the true construction of the will, the portion of land comprising the dwellinghouse, gardens, outbuildings and property at 19 Rossmore Road is devised to Pamela Kidd, as outlined on a map appended to the construction summons. The court noted that Ashley Fleming's access to his own field, Field No 5, was not obstructed by the declaration. Costs and any consequential matters are to be heard separately.