Tenet recently acted for an individual in a dispute where an enforcement order was sought for delivery up of an item. The parties had previously been involved in a series of contentious disputes which had escalated.
After judgment was ordered for delivery up of an item, at an agreed valuation, the impossibility of compliance saw our client served with a claim for aggravated damages and for a monetary judgment in lieu of the item at a valuation higher than previously ordered. The claim sought to renegotiate the valuation and refused to consider our client’s attempts at resolution. For example, our client had sought to rectify the non-compliance by transferring payment in the sum of the agreed valuation to the opponent, in lieu of the physical item.
We worked with our client to procure a resolution of the matter at the hearing. Our approach included preparing a witness statement indicating the opponent’s refusal to seek alternatives to litigation, the serious deficiencies in their case and attacking the basis for seeking aggravated damages. We obtained expert evidence on the valuation of the item and explained the non-compliance. We were ultimately able to resolve the claim for significantly less than what the opponent was seeking. By arguing that the valuation had been agreed and monetary compensation provided for in the judgment, we persuaded the court to maintain its previous decision to order payment of a sum in lieu of the delivery. Furthermore, there were no damages ordered. The client was delighted with the outcome.
