Our Banking and Finance Team with the assistance of Counsel, Mr Alexander Kingston-Splatt successfully secured a judgment which deals with several key guarantee and indemnity points. To read the judgment in full please see link below:
https://uk.westlaw.com/Document/I49BCB9B0E28B11EDBAE3E9B9724BBBC7/View/FullText.html
Factual Background
In summary, our client, entered into an unregulated hire purchase agreement with the First Defendant, a limited company, for the hire of a vehicle. The Second and Third Defendants entered into guarantees and indemnities with our client. As the First Defendant failed to pay the monthly rental installments due under the hire purchase agreement, our client terminated the agreement and demanded that the First Defendant deliver up the vehicle.
Regrettably, the Defendants failed to deliver up the vehicle and the same could not be located.
Proceedings were issued against the Defendants. The Second Defendant alleged in their Defence that our client had failed to mitigate its loss by registering the conversion of the vehicle. This Defence was ultimately struck out on procedural grounds. However, on the assessment of damages, the Second Defendant sought to re-argue this point again.
The Judgment:
The claim came before His Honour Judge Worster at the Business and Property Courts in Birmingham, Circuit Commercial Court. The judgment provides useful and technical points regarding the issues of mitigation, specifically the fact that the Claimant has no duty to mitigate their losses in respect of an indemnity.
Ultimately, our Banking and Finance Team were successful in obtaining a substantial judgment, together with costs against the Second and Third Defendant.
The judgment demonstrated the highly technical nature of these claims and the expertise of the Banking and Finance Team in dealing with these types of claims.
