Post-judgment freezing injunctions and business expenses
26th September 2019 by Rob Kelly
Many businesses get involved with litigation and some may find themselves facing an order of the court to freeze their assets pending the outcome of a particular dispute. These ‘freezing orders’, which are often made before judgment, limit what businesses can do with their assets until the dispute has been resolved. Many pre-judgment freezing injunctions include a provision which allows a business to continue to trade and to deal with or dispose of their assets in the ordinary course of their business, despite the freezing injunction being in place. This is known as the ‘Angel Bell’ exception.
The Court of Appeal has recently drawn a distinction between pre-judgment and post-judgment freezing orders and upheld a decision of the lower courts to dis-apply the Angel Bell exception when a creditor has obtained a judgment which remains unsatisfied. The Court of Appeal deliberately avoided establishing a principle that the starting point in post-judgment applications for freezing orders should be that the Angel Bell exception is dis-applied, but it held that “it will sometimes and perhaps usually be inappropriate” to include the exception in a post-judgment freezing order.
If a business which is made subject to a post-judgment freezing order is not going to be able to deal with its assets in the ordinary course of its business, this means of enforcement has become more attractive to creditors as a consequence of this judgment.
If you would like any further information with regard post-judgment freezing injunctions please contact Rob Kelly on r.kelly@laceyssolicitors.co.uk or 01202 755980.
Rob Kelly
Senior Associate Solicitor — Dispute Resolution
Direct dial: 01202 377871
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“Rob Kelly has been absolutely exceptional in resolving this litigation and so thorough in everything and basically gave the opposition a masterclass of his work that he is so good at.”
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“I have had the pleasure of working with several members of the team at Laceys regularly over a period of years. I found Rob Kelly in particular, who worked on a successful litigation case for me over a period of several years to be outstanding in all aspects of the work he undertook, and the manner in which he did it. I now consider him a friend. I would not - and have not - hesitated to recommend Laceys to my family and friends, and continue to use them for all legal matters.”
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“ I just wanted to thank you for your great work on the professional negligence case and other cases you have represented Indian Ocean and Tiien through the last few years.”
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“A case that was initially very straightforward became difficult and, for me, very frustrating. Rob Kelly's calm, lucid and very professional advice and planning were invaluable and led to a good outcome.”
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“Their Fee Management was exemplary and the expertise provided by Rob was exactly what we required.”
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“I've worked with a fair few lawyers over the years and Rob Kelly is the most on the ball and efficient lawyers I've ever come across. I'm looking forward to working together for many years to come.”
Rob practices in two main, complimentary areas of work – contentious wills, probate and trust disputes, and property disputes.
Contentious wills, probate and trusts
More than half of Rob’s time is spent dealing with the contentious aspects of wills, probate and trusts, an area in which he has practiced continuously for over 20 years. He advises and acts in disputes relating to wills and inheritance, trusts, the duties of trustees and personal representatives, and the administration of estate.
Rob’s practice embraces:
- Personal representative and trustee disputes (including personal representative and trustee disagreements, removals / substitutions and alleged misconduct)
- Disappointed beneficiary claims
- Will disputes (where the validity of a will is challenged on the grounds of undue influence, lack of testamentary capacity, lack of knowledge and approval of the contents of a will, and fraudulent calumny)
- Financial provision claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
- Proprietary estoppel claims
- Disputes about the proper construction, and rectification, of wills
- Caveats
- Professional liability claims arising from the preparation of wills and trusts and the administration of estates
He has mediated (either as appointed mediator or as a representative) dozens of disputes involving contentious wills and probate issues.
Property disputes
The other side of Rob’s practice is contentious property work. This embraces:
- Residential and commercial landlord and tenant disputes
- Disrepairs
- Repairing covenants
- Possession claims
- Lease termination and lease forfeiture
- Dilapidations
- Service charge disputes
- Interpretation and enforcement of leasehold covenants
Rob’s style is a mix of listening, asking (tough) questions, diplomacy and reality testing. He’s interested, flexible, and pragmatic. He offers a common sense, realistic approach to assist his clients in searching for solutions to their disputes and brings straight talking and integrity to his work.
Rob is a Solicitor. He successfully completed training as a mediator under the ADR Chambers / Harvard Law Project Scheme in June 2006 and is a member of the Civil Mediation Council.
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