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Mortgage possession - penal notice? |
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If you act on behalf of a mortgage creditor who is seeking possession,
what do you do about the extreme borrower who ignores all orders, and
who verges on being a vexatious litigant? The answer seems to be to
apply for committal for contempt.
A recent case involved a householder who was made bankrupt in 2000
as a result of a relatively small debt. The householder never accepted the
validity of the original costs order or of any of the other court orders made
against him (he acted for himself and steadfastly refused to accept that
he had lost). Eventually he staged a rooftop protest on the house to stop
it being repossessed. In response, the trustee in bankruptcy applied for
committal on grounds of contempt. That was ordered, with the decision
being upheld by the CA. Needless to say, this was a very extreme case
but it does show that a penal notice can be the ultimate remedy against
a borrower who persistently flouts court orders over a period of time. See
note on Canty v Canty [2007] EWCA Civ 241 in [2007] SJ 558. © Practical Lawyer
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June 2007 |
