High Court grants mandatory injunction against pension to enforce judgment debt (Century Property v Aldiss)
Pensions analysis: Century Property sought mandatory injunctions against Dr Aldiss following his failure to pay instalments in accordance with the terms of a Tomlin Order, and his subsequent failure to satisfy the judgment debt when he did not adhere to the terms of the Tomlin Order. The High Court (Andrew Kinnier KC sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court) allowed Century Property’s application for mandatory injunctions against Dr Aldiss’ pension, a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), meaning that the outstanding debt of over £400k could be enforced against the assets in the SIPP when Dr Aldiss turned 55. The injunctions follow a line of cases beginning with Blight v Brewster, where the court has allowed creditors to enforce against personal pensions, either by obtaining an injunction that the debtor drawdown the pension funds, or in the event of a default, allowing the creditor to instruct the trustees to allow the creditor to make the drawdown directly, once the pension is payable. Written by Elizabeth Grace, barrister at Outer Temple Chambers.