(Published in the Spring 2016 issue of The Bankers' Statement)
Introduction
Either from our prior posts here and here, or from the great posts from Stone and Baxter’s Plan Propon
The Claim
In an earlier Judgment the Court at first instance ruled that Countrywide Surveyors Limited (the “Defendant”) was liable in deceit to Mortgage Express (the “Claimant”), in relation to 39 loans, further to property valuations produced by the Defendant.
Appointment of receivers in respect of a group entity takes “control” of that entity outside the group for tax purposes, but does this decision have more far reaching consequences?
The First Tier of the Tax Tribunal heard appeals against closure notices issued by HMRC denying claims for group relief by a group of companies, including a company over whose assets a fixed charge receiver (FCR) had been appointed (the Borrower).
The question of who is entitled to payment of compensation for PPI where a debtor has been discharged from his/her Protected Trust Deed (PTD) has given rise to conflicting judicial decisions in Scotland. In our previous article, we highlighted the uncertainty created following the decision of Sheriff Reid in the case of Donnelly v The Royal Bank of Scotland and the decision of Lord Jones in Dooneen Limited, t/a Mcginnes Associates and Douglas Davidson v David Mond.
The UK Commercial Court has dismissed the Claimant's application for a stay under Article 28 of the Judgments Regulation.
Litigation
Lender not obliged to advise borrower about onerous term
In Finch and another v Lloyds TSB Bank Plc and others, the High Court considered whether a lender had a duty to advise a borrower about a clause in its loan agreement making it liable for the bank's hedging break costs if the borrower chose to repay a fixed rate loan early.
It is estimated that there were almost 40,000 Protected Trust Deeds (“PTD”) entered into between 2005 and 2010. Similar to an IVA, a PTD is a voluntary arrangement in which the debtor conveys his estate to an insolvency practitioner (“the Trustee”) to be held on trust for the benefit of creditors. A large number of those who enter into a PTD do so because of borrowing that they have incurred on credit cards.
The facts