Ryan Small

Ryan Small

Associate
Bristol The Paragon Counterslip Bristol BS1 6BX
Mobile 0788418 1256

Associate

Ryan specialises in dispute resolution. He is a key member of Thrings’, nationally recognised Agriculture Team which is ranked in the ‘Top Tier’ and ‘Band 1’ by the leading legal directories, representing farming clients all over the country.

Ryan joined Thrings in September 2019 and trained with the firm including a seat in commercial litigation. Ryan now specialises in the full range of agricultural disputes, particularly on behalf of our many NFU member clients, including commercial contract disputes such as defective machinery, and land disputes such as rights of way, boundary disputes and adverse possession. Ryan is also building his experience in farm business ownership disputes such as those relating to farm partnerships including proprietary estoppel claims.

  • Agriculture
  • Agricultural disputes
  • Contract disputes
  • Property disputes

  • advising a land owner in connection with a claim concerning a disputed boundary, adverse possession and conflicting evidence from surveyors, and negotiating agreed settlement.
  • advising a client on a variety of claims made against them including trespass, nuisance, harassment and breach of covenants and the optimal strategy to defend these, leading to a successful settlement following a full one-day mediation.
  • advising a farming business on multiple land disputes in the First-Tier Tribunal.
  • advising a farming client in a contested adverse possession claim in the First-Tier Tribunal.
  • advising multiple land/farm owners in relation to their property rights specifically dealing with claims for rights of way by prescription (long user) and intensification of use.
  • advising on a breach of contract claim in respect of a renewable heating system and separately on another matter relating to defective machinery specifically a seed drilling machine.
    advising client in relation to a trespass and nuisance claim, and successfully negotiating settlement with the other side.
  • advising client in an equestrian negligence claim.
  • advising multiple clients on professional negligence claims.
  • assisting in acting for the successful appellants in the Supreme Court proprietary estoppel case of Guest v Guest [2021] and other proprietary estoppel claims most notably Spencer v Spencer [2023] where Ryan attended the trial in the High Court in June 2023.
  • successfully advising and negotiating the settlement of a breach of contract claim concerning imported farming goods held by a company following shipment. The goods had a daily rental charge increase of several hundred pounds and Ryan negotiated settlement of 22% of the demanded cost and delivery of those goods.
  • acting for clients in recovery of outstanding debt and enforcement of judgments.