Obtaining Information from a Judgment Debtor under CPR 71

It is often the case where someone is owed money, be that under a judgment debt or not, and the debtor quickly becomes elusive and non-responsive. This makes the enforcement process substantially more difficult as the relevant information needed to pursue the debtor is unavailable or the debtor simply will not provide it. When it comes to enforcing a debt, knowledge is most definitely power, knowledge regarding what assets or finances are available to the debtor or their employment status and this information will prove invaluable in recovering the debt.

Part 71 of the Civil Procedure Rules provides an answer to all of the above problems. This rule allows a creditor to apply to the Court for an Order that a debtor attends at Court to give evidence, under Oath, about his/hers or their assets, their value and their whereabouts as well as any other necessary information for enforcing the Judgment Debt. It is particularly useful prior to the issuance of an application for a Third Party Debt Order (see previously published blog on this topic), where the bank accounts of an individual may not be known.

When the Court makes an Order, it will fix a date and time for the information hearing and will specify that the debtor must bring documents within his control to the hearing and that they will have to answer questions under oath. Therefore, this subjects the answers given to the rules regarding perjury. The questioning is often conducted by a Court officer, but occasionally by a Judge. The Creditor (or their legal representative) can attend and ask questions.

Many people would at this point consider the possibility of the debtor simply not turning up for questioning. If this is the case, the end sanction could be committal to prison for being in contempt of Court. Applications for sanctions of this sort should be conducted pursuant to Part 81 of the Civil Procedure Rules and are outside of the scope of this article. However, Part 81 aside, there are sanctions contained within Part 71 also for non-attendance or refusal to answer questions which in itself contains provisions relating to committal. It should be noted that this course of action will not be taken unless the Creditor has complied with their obligations under 71.4 and 71.5 (to pay travel expenses and file a Judgment Creditors affidavit).

Alternative directions could be made, such as a suspended committal order (which is almost always the case, directing that the Committal Order will not take place if the debtor attends for questioning at a future date and complies). The Judge could also opt for a penal notice to be attached to an Order directing attendance and simply adjourn the first hearing.

In summary, there are a number of procedural elements which need to be closely complied with if such an application is to be successful and it is important that experienced professionals are instructed to deal with the application. Our team is readily available to assist and/or advise on any of the elements to ensure compliance and also to help with the enforcement process generally. If you would like to speak to a member of our litigation department, please contact mbh@wigansolicitors.com or call us on 01942 206 060 to discuss further.