A spate of similar High Court applications in apparently unconnected cases revealed a seeming plan to subvert possession proceedings which left the High Court unimpressed.
In Lewis v The West Brom and other actions [2023] EWHC 1361 (KB), Master Thornett struck out and commented upon a number of cases where High Court applications were being used as a tactical device to delay county court possession proceedings and the enforcement of properly obtained county court possession orders.
The cases consisted of a number of High Court applications which had been issued by seemingly unrelated claimants. Each asserted that a state of factual affairs had arisen where by mortgagors had been released from their mortgage debt (and were in fact owed money by their mortgagees).
The court identified that the similarities in phrasing and purported basis of the legally whimsical applications were such that there must be an unidentified guiding hand or hands behind them. As abuse was suspected, the actions were all listed together and a written judgment handed down.
At the hearing several of the defendants were able to explain how the High Court applications were being used to delay or thwart mortgage possession proceedings which the defendants were pursuing in the county court. A common tactic was that the High Court claims would be referenced but not produced in the county court causing uncertainty and delay.
Master Thornett was careful to emphasise that the court time and expense devoted to dealing with theses High Court applications should not be seen as indicating that they had any merit. They were neither realistic nor rational.
Whilst there was some suggestion that certain interest groups could be behind the orchestrated attempts to subvert the possession clams, the court’s concern was not with the philosophy that fuelled such applications but to stem what appeared to be a concerted plan to subvert the county court procedure. It warned that such an abuse , if proven, could be extremely serious for all involved (and go well beyond the waste of time money and resources that has occurred).
Elizabeth Haggerty is a barrister
