Potential Court Proceedings??

jaycee401 | 09:52 Thu 22nd Aug 2013 | Civil

30 Answers

In 2008 I won a tribunal case. My ex tried unsuccessfully to put a notice on my property to stop me from selling, it took 3 years but eventually I won. He wanted me to pay him £30k. The £30k included £15k of debts he ran up in his sole name! There was never any agreement or discussion about this. I bought him out in 2005 all legal and above board. To prevent him from stopping me selling and any court costs etc plus all the hassle I reluctantly offered him £10k which he refused. The adjudicator on his summing up did say he preferred the applicants evidence that we did agree for me to pay him monies some time after me buying him out, but the only way the applicant (him) could claim would be a simple debt, unsecured in any way. He even said that I had promised him some money from my later fathers estate which was due to come in after I bought the house, again all lies as it was this inheritance which enabled me to buy the house! I am now selling the house and the ex has got wind of this, so in June I received a solicitor letter, not the same solicitors who acted for him before, saying that ifI pay £15k within 56 days Mr X would accept this and it would prevent going to court. They are saying (on word from ex as they say they have not got any of the correspondance from the case from the other solicitors) that the finding of the adjudicator was that I agreed to pay the sum of £28k, which is rubbish. I ignored this letter and today I have received another saying if I do not respond then ex will take me to court for the full amount. And he will apply for court costs if I do not respond. His solicitor at the time after I won the case sent a letter saying that to ease my consicounce I should pay him the £28k as that would be the right thing to do. I had 28 days to pay it, that was in Oct 2008 and I never heard a thing since! Its amazing that he left it 5 years and has only reared his ugly head cos the house is on the market! So do I now reply to this letter or sit back and wait to see if he takes me to court. At least in court I can prove he did sign the letter offering to sell me the house and I have the evidence my inheritance enabled me to buy the property. What I will also bring up is the fact he committed mortgage fraud when he first bought the property as unknown to me he was already on a mortgage with negative equity in another part of the country! When I found this out after we had been living in the house for over a year I made him sell the other property dam quick and even gave him the £3k in which he was in negative equity with!!

Wills - Still On Going For Me

Inheritance Tax

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buildersmate

If the adjudicator has determined that there is no claim against the property and the only way of claiming against you is as an unsecured debt, that sounds clear. Either your ex hasn't clocked that or he is trying it on (again).

If he hasn't clocked it, he presumably believes that raising the claim again will in some way delay or prevent you selling - because any buyer (well, their solicitor) will uncover this and fear it will turn into a delay. But I don't see how that can work, if what you say the adjudicator said holds true.

The other way he might be thinking about it (if he has clocked that he has no claim on the property), is that he knows house-selling is a stressful business, and he might just manage to increase the pressure on you enough by re-raising the claim again that you crack. Especially since he will presume that once sold, you will have a source of funds.

jaycee401

Question Author

Spot on buildersmate! He obviously noticed the for sale sign, but I have now let the property out via a letting agent. they have took the lease on for 12 months so no sale will be going through for some time. That was definitely the adjudicators summing up. One thought is as I have never acknowledged any debt and this first occurred in 2006 is this not now statute barred?? Or can they start from 2008 when we had the decision from the land registry adjudicator?

jaycee401

Question Author

Can I just ask as well how would any buyers solicitor discover a dispute like this, as there is no notice or anything on the register? Just wondering.

buildersmate

My belief is that it is statute barred, because 6 years has passed.

I don't see how a buyer's solicitor finds about this either - or that he could conclude it has any relevance to the sale.

jaycee401

Question Author

thanks buildersmate

FredPuli43

Jaycee, my observations apply to all litigation solicitors too!

Hypognosis

Hi jaycee,

I've just relocated this thread and caught up with Friday's postings. Thanks for the extra detail. Luckily the legal eagles have descended to help you out.

Would it be daft of me to suggest that he waited this long because the two of you had a shared habit of binning old correspondence after about 5 years?

My understanding of the house sale based on your figures is that he sold you a straight 50% stake of the 2008 value, such that he has gained somewhat from the home improvements. If anything, he owes you a debt, not the other way round.

So, I concur with the others that you should ignore the letters.

jaycee401

Question Author

Hi, I have kept everyone of my papers :) I doubt he has! I intend to ignore the letter. If it did go to court I have plenty of ammunition!