Charging Orders And Orders For Sale

Charging Orders and Orders For Sale in relation to the Technology and Construction Court

[rtbs name=”technology-and-construction-court”]One of the most common methods of enforcement involves the making of a charging order over the judgment debtor’s property. There are three stages in the process. The judgment creditor can apply to the Technology and Construction Court for a charging order pursuant to Civil Procedure Rules 73.3 and 73.4. The application is in Form N379 in which the judgment creditor must identify the relevant judgment and the property in question. The application is initially dealt with by the judge without a hearing, and he may make an interim charging order imposing a charge over the judgment debtor’s interest in the property and fixing a hearing to consider whether or not to make the charging order final. The interim charging order must be served in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules 73.5. If the judgment debtor or any other person objects to the making of a final charging order, then he must set out his objection in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules 73.8. There will then be a hearing at which the Technology and Construction Court will decide whether or not to make the charging order final. Ultimately, if the judgment remains unsatisfied, the party who has obtained the final charging order may seek an order for the sale of the property in accordance with Civil Procedure Rules 73.10. Although paragraph 4.2 of PD 73 might suggest that a claim for an order for sale to enforce a charging order must be started in the Chancery Division, there is no such restriction in the rule itself and practical difficulties have arisen for parties who have obtained a judgment, an interim charging order and a final charging order in the Technology and Construction Court and who do not want to have to transfer or commence fresh proceedings in another division in order to obtain an order for sale. The Technology and Construction Court will, in appropriate circumstances, in accordance with the overriding objective, make orders for sale in such circumstances, particularly if the parties are agreed that is the most convenient cost-effective course: see Packman Lucas Limited v Mentmore Towers Ltd [2010] EWHC 1037 (Technology and Construction Court). In deciding whether or not to make an order for sale, the Technology and Construction Court will consider, amongst other things, the size of the debt, and the value of the property relative to that debt, the conduct of the parties and the absence of any other enforcement option on the part of the judgment creditor.