Win the war, not just the battle

14/09/2018


If you obtain a Judgment against the other party after protracted litigation, often your main concern is to be able to enforce the Order. However, for one reason or another people find that they cannot enforce the Order and after the passage of time issues arise about the enforceability of a money Judgment. 

Generally speaking enforcement proceedings are not subject to any deadline in the same way as typical Court proceedings.  The Court’s attitude to enforcement is from a starting point that they should assist the creditor to recover the debt due to it by actioning enforcement within the Court Rules.  Technically speaking enforcement proceedings are part of the same proceedings by which the Judgment was obtained – the proceedings reach completion by the Judgment creditor getting the money (or other thing) awarded to him – rather than enforcement being the start of a fresh action. 

Conversely, a typical claim would be subject to limitation periods (usually set out in the Limitation Act 1980) which tend to be 6 years from the date that the cause of action arose or twelve years in certain circumstances (Personal injury claims are different with a limitation period of three years from the date of knowledge of the breach giving rise to a claim). 

If you have obtained a Judgment and failed to enforce it against the debtor you should take stock of your options and carry out a risk v benefit assessment of the value in enforcing the Judgment.  Sometimes it will not make commercial sense to enforce against a debtor who cannot pay.  That said, because there is no limitation it is worth speaking to a legal advisor about your options in order to protect your rights and attempt to recover some – if not all – of the award that the Court made in your favour. 

If you have any questions about a Judgement or Order contact our team of Litigation Solicitors on 0114 272 9721.

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