Estoppel and Telent Technology Services

In Aesop’s fable of the ‘Fox and the Goat’ an unlucky but wily fox falls into a well and finds himself unable to escape. However a thirsty goat approaches the well and the fox having successfully tricked the goat into getting into the well leaps out on the other animal’s back. The poor goat is left knee-deep in water at the bottom of the well.

In the Upper Tribunal (UT) case of Telent Technology Services Limited [2024] UKUT 00183 (TCC) TTSL resembles the fox: unfortunate but with no shortage of brains and ingenuity. However it has not so far been able to persuade any goats into coming down into the well to enable it to escape its travails. In these circumstances we might rename this tale ‘Estop’s Fables’ for reasons which will become obvious and...