Increased awards for pupil barristers – but also debts – Legal Futures

Posted March 14th, 2024 in barristers, debts, news, pupillage, remuneration by sally

‘Pupil barristers are receiving increased awards for their work but debt levels are also rising, a survey by the Bar Council has found.’

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Legal Futures, 14th March 2024

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Coroner criticises benefits rules after vulnerable claimant’s death – The Guardian

‘A coroner has criticised the Depart­ment for Work and Pensions (DWP) after a woman died from an overdose in the wake of a six-month official investigation that left her with soaring universal credit debts.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2024

Source: www.theguardian.com

Post Office scandal victim feels ‘survivor’s guilt’ after compensation – BBC News

‘Former sub-postmaster Jo Hamilton says she feels “survivor’s guilt” after settling with the Post Office over the Horizon IT scandal for an undisclosed sum.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Chestnuts Old and New – Hailsham Chambers

Posted December 20th, 2023 in chambers articles, debts, judgments, news by sally

‘As we all know, the Judgments Act 1832 (s.17) and orders made under it prescribe the rate of interest ordinarily payable on a judgment debt. The rate, which is rarely changed, used normally to be significantly higher than the likely cost to an ordinary borrower of borrowing. One can say that, as a matter of both principle and commercial sense, the judgment creditor should be paid by the judgment debtor at least as much interest as the creditor may be
losing by any delay, and that it should be made more expensive for the judgment debtor to delay payment rather than to pay promptly. (The problem has yet to be addressed that in the wider world the rates of interest payable by private individuals on overdrafts or credit cards substantially exceed the Judgments Act rate).’

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Hailsham Chambers, 28th November 2023

Source: www.hailshamchambers.com

Patisserie Valerie: Four face fraud charges over collapse – BBC News

Posted September 14th, 2023 in auditors, debts, false accounting, fraud, news by tracey

‘Four people have been charged with fraud connected to the collapse of bakery chain Patisserie Valerie in 2019.’

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BBC News, 13th September 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Litigant in person made ‘unacceptable’ threats to judge – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The solution for a dissatisfied litigant is not to threaten the judge, an Insolvency and Company Courts judge has noted, revealing ”deep concern’’ at threats made as he delivered judgment.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th August 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Drunk’ gambler must honour £590,000 cheque, judge rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 8th, 2023 in alcohol abuse, cheques, debts, disclosure, gambling, news by tracey

‘Mayfair casino Aspinall’s has succeeded in a claim against a high rolling gambler who maintained that his £590,000 losses were unenforceable because he had been drunk when he placed his bets. In Aspinall’s Club Ltd v Lester Hui, Mr Justice Cotter lamented that the 10-day hearing had been “beset with difficulties” including unsatisfactory disclosure and a trial bundle containing “well over 1,500 pages”.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th August 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Satisfying judgment from scheme assets following bankruptcy discharge – Pensions Barrister

Posted July 27th, 2023 in bankruptcy, debts, injunctions, judgments, news, pensions by sally

‘Handed down on 26th July, the latest in a long line of cases in which a judgment creditor has sought to enforce their debt from the pension scheme assets of the debtor is Cohen v O’Leary [2023] EWHC 1939 (Ch), a decision of Louse Hutton KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court.’

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Pensions Barrister, 27th July 2023

Source: www.pensionsbarrister.com

Unpublished policy and unlawful detention: a case note on R (MXK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In R (MXK) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2023] EWHC 1272 (Admin), the Administrative Court held that:
the repeated detention of the claimants – foreign nationals with limited leave to remain – when they returned to the UK from travelling abroad, so that they could be questioned about their NHS debts, was unlawful;
the policy pursuant to which the claimants were detained (the “Policy”) was unlawful because it contained a positive statement of law which was wrong or, alternatively, because it failed to provide a full account of the legal position;
the Policy was unlawful because it was unpublished; and
the Secretary of State for the Home Department (“SSHD”) was in breach of the public sector equality duty (“PSED”) under s.149 of the Equality Act 2010.

In reality, the facts carried the day. This was true not only in relation to the unlawful detention issue, but also on some other points – for example, the SSHD failed to evidence any public interest in not publishing the Policy or any consideration given to the equality impacts of the exercise of the relevant powers of detention. Insofar as there are lessons to be learned, they are likely to be found in the criticisms levelled at the evidence (or lack thereof) provided by the SSHD.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th June 2023

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Repayment prevented by sanctions – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted May 30th, 2023 in debts, interest, loans, news, repayment, Russia, sanctions by sally

‘In a novel application of the ancient equitable jurisdiction that protects a debtor’s right to redeem mortgaged property, after a short trial, Mr Justice Green granted Fortenova Grupa’s redemption action against LLC Shushary Holding – a subsidiary of VTB Bank PJSC, sanctioned in the UK, EU and US. The action concerned €1.157bn of senior secured floating rate notes issued by Fortenova and due to mature in September 2023; 38% of the notes were owned by Shushary.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Husband and wife joined people smuggling ring to get out of debt – The Independent

Posted February 21st, 2023 in debts, married persons, news, sentencing, trafficking in human beings by tracey

‘A husband and wife who joined a people smuggling ring to make money to pay off debts have been sentenced. Pamela and Nicholas Fullwood along with a third defendant, Azad Ahmadi, appeared at Canterbury Crown Court in Kent for sentencing on Monday.’

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The Independent, 20th February 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Unravelling a mental health moratorium – Nearly Legal

Posted February 2nd, 2023 in debts, enforcement, mental health, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

Mr Kaye applied “to cancel the Current Moratorium pursuant to Regulation 19 on the grounds that (1) Mr Kaye’s interests as a judgment creditor are unfairly prejudiced by the moratorium and (2) there has been a material irregularity in that Ms Lees did not meet the relevant eligibility criteria when the application for the Current Moratorium was made (Reg 17(2)) and that the application was not made bona fide.” He also sought an injunction to restrain Ms Lees from entering a further moratorium for a period of 60 days.

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Nearly Legal, 1st February 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Trustpilot reviews of law firm defamatory, judge rules – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 30th, 2023 in debts, defamation, fraud, harassment, internet, news by tracey

‘A debt recovery firm is taking legal action against the review website Trustpilot in relation to 20 different reviews left which include allegations of fraud and harassment.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Call to end forced installation of UK prepayment meters after millions suffer without power – The Guardian

Posted January 12th, 2023 in debts, elderly, energy, news, utilities by sally

‘Ministers are being urged to stop the forced installation of prepayment meters after revelations that 3.2 million people – the equivalent of one person every 10 seconds – were left with cold and dark homes last year as they ran out of credit.’

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The Guardian, 11th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Calls for UK ban on pre-payment meter installations made under court warrants – The Guardian

Posted November 30th, 2022 in consumer protection, debts, energy, news by sally

‘Campaigners have called for an immediate ban on pre-payment meter (PPM) installations made under court warrants because of fears that energy suppliers are using them to disconnect the poorest, most indebted customers “by the back door”.’

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The Guardian, 29th November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court rules on directors duty to act in interests of creditors – OUT-LAW.com

‘Company directors need to remain wary of their duty to consider the interests of creditors in certain circumstances, despite a new UK Supreme Court ruling that they are likely to welcome, experts have said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2022

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Unravelling – the effect of a debt moratorium on enforcement steps taken during it. – Nearly Legal

Posted May 16th, 2022 in damages, debts, enforcement, housing, leases, mental health, news, repossession by tracey

‘Lees v Kaye (2022) EWHC 1151 (QB). This is another judgment on the operation of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England & Wales) Regulations 2020. (The first was part of the Brake v Axnoller litigation, the denouments of which I have yet to write up). The case highlights the potential impact of a moratorium and the importance of paying attention to them, because it can give rise to great difficulty in unravelling what has been done.’

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Nearly Legal, 15th May 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

People left out of pocket by traders say UK county court system ‘unfit for purpose’ – The Guardian

Posted May 3rd, 2022 in county courts, debts, enforcement, judgments, news, small claims by sally

‘Customers say judgments against firms lead nowhere and compound their misery.’

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The Guardian, 2nd May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Case Preview: Stanford International Bank Ltd (In Liquidation) v HSBC Bank Plc – UKSC Blog

Posted April 27th, 2022 in appeals, banking, damages, debts, insolvency, liquidators, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘On 19 January 2022, the Supreme Court heard the appeal in Stanford International Bank Ltd (In Liquidation) v HSBC Bank Plc. The appeal turns on whether a company in liquidation can be considered to have suffered loss where, while it is still trading, its bank pays money out of the company’s accounts to discharge debts owed by the company. It is likely that this case will further set out the limits of the Quincecare duty, following a spate of recent high-profile cases in this area.’

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UKSC Blog, 26th April 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

JCT’s insolvency payment regime – how does it work? – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted April 11th, 2022 in construction industry, contracts, debts, insolvency, news by tracey

‘The case of Levi Solicitors LLP v Wilson and another considered the impact of contractor insolvency on debts owed to an employer under a JCT contract.
Significantly, the court helpfully clarified how the payment regime under JCT contracts operated in the context of insolvency. This blog takes a closer look at the case.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 6th April 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com