Obtaining an interim and final injunction as part of a development finance dispute

Our Real Estate Disputes team recently assisted our client, a real estate finance organisation in successfully obtaining an interim and final injunction to restrain the presentation of a winding-up petition by a party connected to a defaulting borrower.

The matter arose as part of a wider, complex development finance dispute, which has seen the defaulting borrower placed into administration. A party connected to the defaulting borrower in this dispute served on our client a statutory demand for a sum of money being held by our client as an independent agent due to a separate disagreement between the defaulting borrower and one of the principal contractors of the development.

Due to the serious financial implications and time sensitivities associated with being served a statutory demand, we immediately wrote to the party on behalf of our client, insisting that they withdraw the demand and provide undertakings that they will not issue a petition, or if they already have, that they will not advertise this petition in the Gazette. We gave a firm deadline for the party to respond, before stating we would apply to the court for an injunction.

The party refused to withdraw the demand and/or provide the undertakings. Accordingly, an application to the court was made and we were successful in initially obtaining an interim injunction against the party, and subsequently in obtaining a final injunction, which restrained the party from presenting and advertising a petition against our client for “any sum(s) allegedly due” from our client to the party.

We were successful in obtaining the final injunction by demonstrating to the court that there was a genuine dispute on substantial grounds around the sum of money the party was attempting to claim. As well as granting the injunction, the court also ordered the party to pay our client’s costs on an indemnity basis.