Malcolm Johnson & Co. obtains another freezing injunction in the High Court against an abuser

Today, Malcolm Johnson & Co. obtained a freezing order against the property of a convicted child abuser. The man (now serving a prison sentence) had abused our client over a number of years. The matter was reported to the police, and he was prosecuted. Following the trial, our client sought our advice but was not entitled to public funding and so we set up  a conditional fee agreement with a legal expenses insurance policy from Accident Line. We then issued proceedings against the abuser (the Defendant), and applied to the High Court for a freezing injunction. The effect of the injunction stops the Defendant from selling or disposing of his property in any way. He owns at least one property which is worth a substantial sum of money.

If a Defendant has no substantial assets to meet a judgment, then it is difficult to justify the issue of proceedings. This means that the Claimant will be left with no compensation, although there is the possibility of claiming against the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, or in certain cases against a care authority such as social services.

Freezing injunctions also known as “Mareva” injunctions are not easy to obtain, since they effectively stop a person from dealing with their property. However we are glad to report that the High Court judge granted our injunction and our client got the costs of the application as well. The claim can now proceed against the Defendant and we hope to have a final judgment soon.

See Malcolm Johnson’s article on Freezing Injunctions.