Tom Price
Partner
Head of the CIS and CEE desk
Article
9
Whilst receiving a judgment in your favour may feel like the culmination of a potentially lengthy legal process, it may be just the first step (though an important one) on the path to financial recovery. In our latest insight, we look at how and when you can enforce a judgment to realise payment of any damages or costs which have been awarded.
When can I enforce my judgment?
Methods of enforcing judgments in England & Wales
Enforcement describes the process of recovering what you have been awarded in a judgment. It is often used as a catch-all term for a number of technically distinct legal processes on the way from judgment to realisation, which may include, depending on the circumstances:
In this article, we focus on enforcing money judgments of the courts of England & Wales within the jurisdiction. Many of these methods are however equally applicable to enforcing domestic arbitration awards. Under the Arbitration Act 1996, where an arbitration seated in England & Wales (or Northern Ireland) produces an award, that award can, with leave of the court, be enforced in the same manner as a court judgment to the same effect.
Unless a different period is specified in the judgment, a party must comply with a judgment or order for the payment of a sum of money (including costs) within 14 days of the date of judgment. The party with the benefit of the judgment (the judgment creditor) should ensure that the judgment is served on the judgment debtor. If payment is not made within 14 days (or by such other time as specified in the judgment) then the judgment creditor can seek to enforce the judgment. If the judgment provides for payment by instalments, then a missed instalment can also be a trigger to enforcement.
It is however possible for the judgment debtor to ask the court to stay execution of the judgment (i.e. order that it cannot be enforced) while they appeal the judgment. If such a stay is granted, then the judgment creditor won't be able to enforce the judgment pending the outcome of the judgment debtor's appeal. However, judgment debtors should note that enforcement of a judgment is not automatically stayed when a judgment is appealed. If you wish to stay enforcement while challenging the underlying judgment, you need specifically to seek and receive a stay of execution from the court. Such an application should be made promptly on learning of the judgment, not raised as a defence only when the judgment creditor takes enforcement action.
Whilst there is not a formal limitation period for enforcing a judgment[1], judgment creditors should not delay too long in taking action. Delay in taking enforcement action may give the judgment debtor opportunity to dissipate their assets, and may also weigh against the judgment creditor where an execution method is at the discretion of the court (e.g. seeking to obtain a charging order).
There are various methods of enforcing (or executing) a judgment in England & Wales. Which to choose will depend on what assets the judgment debtor is known to have. For instance, does the judgment debtor own land or property; valuable goods (cars, boats, business stock); bank accounts; or have an employment income?
Ideally you should ascertain your opponent's assets (and means of satisfying any judgment) at an early stage of proceedings, and if there is any doubt about their ability or willingness to satisfy a judgment, take steps to protect your position. For example, if there is a risk of your opponent dissipating their assets, it may be possible to obtain a freezing order; or a defendant may be able to obtain security for costs (an order requiring the claimant to provide funds or a guarantee to cover the defendant's legal costs of the proceedings).
If the judgment debtor's assets are not already known at the point of judgment, then there are processes by which the judgment creditor can ascertain them. These include simply asking the judgment debtor to volunteer the information; seeking a court order that the judgment debtor give that information under oath; making enquiries with third parties (e.g. banks, company and land registry searches) or instructing an enquiry agent to obtain evidence on the debtor (by legal means). Some of the most common methods of executing a judgment are as follows:
If there is doubt about your opponent's ability or willingness to satisfy a judgment debt, then there may be steps that can be taken in advance to give you protection, e.g. obtaining a freezing order, or a defendant may be able to seek security for their costs of defending the claim.
[1] Although s.24(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 provides "an action shall not be brought upon any judgment after the expiration of six years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable", the court has held that this limitation period applies only to fresh actions, not to proceedings to enforce a judgment.
NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Information made available on this website in any form is for information purposes only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. You should not rely on, or take or fail to take any action based upon this information. Never disregard professional legal advice or delay in seeking legal advice because of something you have read on this website. Gowling WLG professionals will be pleased to discuss resolutions to specific legal concerns you may have.