London law firm Norton Rose is seeking an order for the sale of a £1.6m Macclesfield family home in order to recoup £870,000 in unpaid legal fees.
The solicitor claims that, between March 2003 and January 2004, inventor Paul Davidson employed the firm for legal services on “various matters”, but has failed to pay the outstanding invoices.
According to the claim, Davidson owes more than £24m to various creditors but in the event of his bankruptcy, he will have around £4m in available assets.
Consequently, according to Norton Rose, “there does not appear to be any prospect of Davidson discharging the debt other than by the sale of the property”.
The property, known as Marsden Manor, in Macclesfield Road, Prestbury, is home to Davidson, his wife, Karen, and their two teenage children.
The entrepreneur made his fortune with the invention of a pipe connector, and founded York-based contract pipe-fitting firm Oystertec in 1999. In November 2004, he received a three-month suspended prison sentence for contempt of court during a lengthy patent dispute with Oystertec.
The house is allegedly subject to a £966,000 Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage. Another creditor, Mark Warbuton, a partner with solicitor Addleshaw Booth, is said to have filed a unilateral notice against the property in respect of a £300,000 loan.
Norton Rose acknowledges that the sale will “involve the court interfering in the defendant’s right to respect for their home”, but says that it has no other way of recovering the outstanding sum, for which it obtained judgment in default in June.
The firm declined to comment further.
Norton Rose v Davidson and another Chancery Division
Claim Number: HC04C02998
Claim Date: 23 September 2004
Issued By: Norton Rose
