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Our client had purchased a commercial property at auction with multiple tenancies in place. Shortly after completion, he quickly faced an urgent legal challenge, being served with a draft application for interim relief and a claim for relief from forfeiture with less than two clear days before the scheduled hearing. In other words, the tenant had been evicted for breach of lease by our client and was now applying to court to overturn the lease forfeiture, despite forfeiture taking place more than six months ago.
We had to move fast because the outcome of an interim relief hearing is often crucial to the final outcome of a dispute. In other words, defeating an interim application can often lead to the whole matter being concluded by withdrawal or settlement on favourable terms, of the underlying case.
Our focus was on :
Assessing the breaches of lease which led to the forfeiture - our investigation revealed that the Claimants were in serious breach of the Lease, including unauthorised sub-letting, unauthorised residential use, and structural alterations. These breaches were irremediable and constituted sound reasons legally why forfeiture was lawful. In other words, our client had good prospects of defeating the claimant’s application.
Arguing in relation to the timing of the application - the applicant sought interim relief despite being out of occupation for nearly 6 months. Such a delay is not generally helpful in making a claim for interim relief, which normally relies on urgency.
Tactics – we knew that if we could defeat the application and gets a costs order, this would make the claimant think very carefully about continuing with the underlying claim.
Our client successfully defeated the application. The court ordered the applicant to pay our client’s costs, placing the claimant immediately under financial and procedural pressure.
When the Claimant failed to pay the costs awarded, we immediately applied for an “unless” order. They had seven days to pay, or their claim would be struck out. We successfully obtained this order and an additional costs order for the application itself, further increasing pressure on the claimant.
aleThe outcome of this matter highlights the importance of tactical skill in Property Litigation. By acting decisively, our client secured a strategic victory, shifting the psychology of the matter and positioning our client for the best possible outcome in the ongoing dispute.
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