Century Property (Leeds) Ltd v Aldiss & Anor [2025] EWHC 1348 (KB)

Thomas Horton (instructed by Humphries Kerstetter LLP) for the Applicant

ANDREW KINNIER K.C. sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court :

Introduction

• By an application (dated 16 October 2024) Century Property (Leeds) Limited (“Century Property“) applies for mandatory injunctions against Dr Jason Aldiss, the First Defendant, and Embark Pensions Trustees Limited (“Embark“), the Third Party, to enforce a judgment debt against the First Defendant’s self-invested personal pension of which Embark is the trustee (“the application“).

• In the same application notice Century Property also asks, under CPR 19.2(4) and/or CPR 19.4(11), to be substituted as the Claimant (“the substitution application“).

• In support of its application, Century Property, which is represented by Mr Thomas Horton of counsel, relies upon the third statement of Mr Toby Starr (dated 16 October 2024) and its exhibits.

• Dr Aldiss represents himself. He has served no evidence in response either to the application or the substitution application.

• Neither the Claimants, the Second Defendant nor Embark have participated in the progress or hearing of the application or the substitution application. None has served any evidence, attended the hearings or sought to make submissions.

PART 1 – the relevant background

The Tomlin order and the enforcement proceedings

• On 27 July 2023, Master Eastman approved a Tomlin order which contained the terms on which the Claimants and Dr Aldiss had compromised the original proceedings (“the Tomlin order“). Dr Aldiss agreed to pay £450,000 to the Claimants in two instalments: £150,000 on or before 28 October 2023 and the balance of £300,000 by 28 September 2025. The latter instalment was to be paid from Dr Aldiss’ personal pension scheme which was described as “Options SIPP Re JK Aldiss, account number FW1013766SIP” (“the pension fund“). It was also agreed that if Dr Aldiss failed to pay the first instalment of £150,000 in full by 28 October 2023, the entire settlement sum of £450,000 would become immediately due and payable.

• Dr Aldiss paid the sum of £47,500 on 30 October 2023 but he did not pay all the first instalment on or before 28 October 2023. Therefore, the balance of £402,500 became due and payable immediately. By an order of 31 October 2023, Master Eastman entered judgment against Dr Aldiss (“the judgment order“) in the sum of £402,500 (“the judgment debt“).

• Dr Aldiss has not paid the judgment debt or any part of it. On the application of Century Property, on 23 April 2024, Master Eastman made an interim charging order over the pension fund (“the interim charging order“). That order was made final on 29 May 2024 (“the final charging order“).

• It is now some 22 months since the parties’ settlement, as contained in the Tomlin order, was approved and there has been no effective challenge to that settlement, the Tomlin order or the judgment order. There was no appeal against, or any application to vary or set aside, the interim or final charging orders.

The first hearing

• The first hearing of the application was before me on 12 February 2025 (“the first hearing“). It had been fixed in December 2024, some two months before. In pre-hearing correspondence with Century Property’s solicitors, Dr Aldiss said that he would make various applications, but none was made and no evidence was served by him.

Continue reading this Judgment here.