Case study - defending an interim injunction and relief from forfeiture application

We were approached by our client who is the freeholder of a building in London. The building consists of commercial units which are leased separately to various tenants. Our client recently purchased the building with the benefit of the tenancies via Auction and only inspected after the gavel went down!

Challenges

Our client approached us on a Thursday afternoon, informing us that he had been served with an application for interim relief (an injunction) and a claim for relief from forfeiture. The application hearing was to be heard on the Tuesday, less than two clear days after receiving draft papers.

The applicant was seeking interim relief notwithstanding the fact he has been out of occupation for nearly six months. This was successfully defeated, and a significant cost order was made against the applicant which it has failed to pay. We made an application to the court seeking an unless order that the Claimant pay the costs within 7 days or their claim be struck out. We successfully obtained the order plus an additional order that the opponent pay the costs of our application.

The underlying claim

Once the injunction application was successfully defeated significant consideration needed to be given to the claim for relief from forfeiture as a defence was to be submitted. The evidence is strong that the Claimants were in wide-ranging breach of their lease.

Once of the issues to determine is whether the breaches complained of were redeemable or irredeemable breaches. We believe that the breaches which led to a section 146 notice and forfeiture were irredeemable and our client had a sound defence to the claim.

Current position

We are instructed to continue vigorously defending the claim and are confident we will successfully do so. The claimant is on the back foot having failed with the injunction application and being under pressure to already pay significant legal fees.