Debt Recovery Case Studies

Debt Recovery Case Study 1

Our client was a care home provider and in May 2006 our client entered into a contract with the Second Defendant, under an Enduring Power of Attorney for her father. The contract was for the provision of accommodation and care services by our client to the father at prescribed rates.

Invoices were raised by our client from June 2006 to September 2011 and submitted to the Second Defendant. A deficit amount of £69,085.54 arose however, with the account being in substantial arrears by September 2009. The Second Defendant at this time sought to negotiate through its agents, methods that the account may be brought up to date. Substantial correspondence was exchanged between our client and the Second Defendant at this time with a number of promises being made by the Second Defendant as to how the deficit amount would be cleared, this included a promise in her personal capacity to pay the sums due.

Payment was however not forthcoming from the Second Defendant and nor did the other promises for payment materialise, such as a re-mortgage, personal loan or the sale of her property. At the beginning of December 2010, the father left our client’s care home. On the 10th November 2010, a final payment was made by the Second Defendant in her personal capacity.

There were concerns that the Second Defendant in her capacity as an Attorney for her father, had misappropriated his funds, which had resulted in the deficit amount arising. The property owned by the father was sold but the Second Defendant failed to fully account as to how those funds had been utilised by the Second Defendant.

Our client therefore sought to bring a claim against both the estate of the father following his passing as the First Defendant and the Second Defendant.

The Proceedings:

A claim was filed with the County Court at Central London on the 31st October 2016, which was sufficiently ahead of the limitation date. The Court however refused to issue the claim on the incorrect assertion that there needed to be a representative appointed for the estate of the father before the proceedings could be issued. It was the experience of both our firm and instructed counsel that such a claim would be issued and a representative appointed at the First Case Management Conference. We also informed the Court that a claim could be brought against the estate of a deceased person where a Grant of Administration or Probate had not been made, such as in this case, which was in accordance with Civil Procedure Rule 19.8(2)(b).

Despite the above, the Court continued to refuse to issue the proceedings and our office was forced to file an application to seek the issuing of proceedings and the appointment of a representative. The other side sought to oppose the issuing of the proceedings on the basis that the limitation date had passed and the claim had not been submitted correctly. An order was however obtained in our client’s favour and the claim was issued with the Second Defendant appointed as the representative for the First Defendant.

The essence of the Defence was that the claim would be statute barred on the basis that it was issued after the expiration of the six year limitation period and the Second Defendant never agreed to contract personally with our client for the payment of the deficit amount.

A meditation was held between the parties in order to try and seek a resolution to the matter. The mediation resulted in a settlement being agreed between the parties to conclude the proceedings.

Debt Recovery Case Study 2

In December 2015, T G Baynes Solicitors was able to hand over a cheque for £59,000.00 to one of our clients following a complicated case in which the debtor was an elderly lady who had subsequently died. The Estate was insolvent but the debtor had owned property jointly with her daughter. The usual position is that the property transfers outside of the Will to the joint owner but, in circumstances such as this, it is possible to administer the estate so that the share in the property otherwise transferred is returned to the Estate to pay its debts.

Debt Recovery Case Study 3

In October 2015, the firm were successful in dismissing an application to set aside Judgment. The case was unique because this was the third application made by the Debtor, the previous two times our client was represented by a different firm of solicitors who either lost or acquiesced. The Debtors were also ordered to pay all of our client's costs. 
August 2015 saw the civil litigation team making a flurry of Summary Judgment applications all of which were successful before various Courts from Nuneaton to Dartford.

Debt Recovery Case Study 4

In May 2015, our Firm were able to defeat a Personal Representative's application to set aside Judgment following his failure to administer an estate correctly. The PR had admitted that he was aware of the debt but failed to settle the same before distributing the estate to the beneficiaries which coincidentally included himself. The PR, rightly, arranged for settlement and the case did not have to continue against him on a personal level. The following is an example of a successful debt recovery

Debt Recovery Case Study 5

In February 2014, T G Baynes Solicitors won a case against an individual who had defaulted on a Judgement in a foreign Jurisdiction which could not be registered in England and Wales. As well as handling complicated legal points on applicable interest, Judgment in excess of £36,000 was obtained.

The obviously complex matter could be expensive but the Judge said “I think that both costs schedules are (refreshingly, and in these days, unusually) neither unreasonable nor disproportionate and I allow them in full. This was a reasonable application which was far from straightforward, done with commendable economy of time.”.