A Somerset woman has been awarded more than £1 million in damages following a High Court case about the inheritance of a family farm.

Lucy Habberfield, who was advised by the inheritance and trust disputes team at Stephens Scown LLP, received the substantial damages in recognition of the work that she had carried out at the family farm over a period of 30 years.

The case related to Woodrow Farm near Yeovil. Lucy Habberfield started to work on the family farm when she left school. She worked with her father to reintroduce a dairy herd to Woodrow and went on to develop and run the dairy business.

Over 30 years Ms Habberfield worked for low wages and with few holidays. In 2007 she was joined on the farm by her partner Stuart Parker on a full-time basis and together they brought up four children while running the business.

Ms Habberfield claimed that her father had assured her that she would take over the farm when he retired. However, when he died in 2014 her father’s promises and assurances were not carried out.

The High Court case, which was heard by Mr Justice Birss, related to compensation for broken promises. Ms Habberfield's mother opposed the claim.

Ms Habberfield said: “I worked hard on the farm for so long and following my fathers drop in health, my siblings, with the help of my mother, made it impossible to stay on the farm. To start with I didn’t know I could do anything about the situation – I think a lot of people in farming are not aware of this law and how it could help them. Once I realised there was something I could do, I knew I had to try for my children’s sake and to give them a secure future."

Phil Gregory, partner in the inheritance and trusts disputes team at Stephens Scown advised on the case. He explained: “For 30 years Lucy worked seven days a week for low wages on the family farm on the understanding that she would one day take over the farm from her father.

“After hearing evidence from more than 20 witnesses, many of whom were local farmers and farm workers, the judge ruled in favour of Lucy. He found that she had kept her side of the bargain. To compensate her for the detriment that she had suffered over the years she was awarded a sum equivalent to the value of the Woodrow farmland and farm buildings.”

Mr Gregory added: “The area of law involved is called Proprietary Estoppel. It is a developing area, with a series of high profile cases, particularly relating to farms, over recent years. We are delighted for our client that the court found in her favour and awarded her a fair amount for the work she put into the farm over a very long period of time.”