Hughmans Solicitors v Central Stream Services Ltd (in liquidation) and others [2012] EWCA Civ 1720, [2012] All ER (D) 260 (Dec)
Court of Appeal, Civil Division, Ward, Hughes LJJ and David Richards J, 20 December 2012
A Tomlin Order directing the sale of a property and the payment of a fixed sum to a company may create a proprietary interest in the property in favour of that company.
Mark Warwick (instructed by Hughmans Solicitors) for the solicitors. Gary Cowen (instructed by Moon Beever) for the defendants.
The appellant was a firm of solicitors. It acted for D, who was the registered proprietor of a property. Proceedings were brought against D by the first respondent company. Those proceedings were compromised and a Tomlin Order was made. Under the Tomlin Order, the property was to be sold by D, and £100,000 of the proceeds were to be paid to the company. Following a dispute about unpaid fees, the solicitors brought their own proceedings against D. They obtained a charging order over the property to cover those fees. Notice of the solicitors’ charging