On 4th October 2018, we wrote an article about reversing European or foreign court judgments. Here’s a real life example about how things can go horribly wrong if you’re sued in a foreign or European court.
Mark & Tracey Kelynack embroiled in litigation in Spain about a property they owned, they weren’t even aware of any claim against them. They only became found out once the Spanish Court Judgment was registered in the High Court in London. They then faced losing their own home in England in order to repay the money they allegedly owed in Spain. They maintained they didn’t owe any money in Spain!
They were facing a claim in the Southend County Court for a sale, yes a sale, of their family home in England. Their UK home had plenty of equity, earned through years of hard work and effort running their own business. Now Mark and Tracey faced losing everything.
The Judgment in Spain had snowballed into an English High Court Judgment, a charge was placed against their home, and now they were faced with the potential sale of their home. In addition to all this they had run up tens of thousands of pounds of legal costs, almost thirty thousand in fact.
Mark & Tracey needed help, they could no longer just ignore the problem. At this point they instructed BTMK Solicitors, on the recommendation of a Spanish Lawyer based in Southend-on-Sea.
After years of fighting and using specialist legal representation to argue points of European enforcement regimes in the County Court in Southend, they finally got they break they needed and deserved, a sympathetic Court agreed to give them some time to try and overturn the original Judgment in Spain, over a legal case they knew nothing about.
The end outcome was that the judgement in Spain was successfully overturned using specialist lawyers abroad. The registration of the Judgment in the High Court in England was successfully set aside using BTMK, and most importantly, the charge on their home and the order for a sale of their property was averted.
Unfortunately, the whole saga has still cost Mark & Tracey a significant sum of money, money that they hope to recover from their opponents in the future. But this case serves as a perfect reminder that situations like this, particularly when dealing with foreign courts or different jurisdictions must never be ignored. At BTMK, our litigation and dispute resolution team have vast experience in unravelling situations such as this, using the best representation available in England and locating and instructing lawyers in Europe and around the world to assist in dealing with any foreign elements or foreign Courts.
It’s not just individuals that we have helped in these situations. Many English companies that trade abroad can find themselves being sued in a foreign country, and before they know it, insolvency or enforcement action can begin in England. We can help with all of these situations – it’s vital that you act quickly and decisively, and that begins with finding the right lawyers, those expert individuals that have extensive experience in dealing with complex legal problems, with the foresight to know the urgent steps to be taken and what to do next.
You can contact Adam Fleming at [email protected], or by phone during office hours on 01702 238519.
For more information on BTMK’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution services. You can contact our experienced team 24/7 on 03300 585 222.
With offices in Southend, Leigh-on-Sea, Rayleigh and London, we’re always local to you.
