LBPC Business

BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS IN LIVERPOOL

DISTRIBUTION OF BUSINESS

It may be useful to set out for the benefit of Court users the kinds of case that the Business and Property Court covers in Liverpool, and an outline of which level of Judge is likely to deal with which aspects of it.   

AREAS COVERED

High Court

  • The Business List: general business (BL), financial services and regulatory (FS), pensions (PE)
  • Property Trusts and Probate List: Property Trusts and probate (PT)
  • Insolvency and Companies List: Insolvency List (BR); Companies Court (CR)
  • Circuit Commercial Court (CC)
  • Technology and Construction Court (HT): NB this includes adjudication disputes; public procurement matters, as well as the general TCC list.  HHJ Wood QC also deals with TCC matters
  • Competition List (CP)
  • Intellectual Property List: (Intellectual Property (IL); Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court ‘IPEC’ (IP); Patents Court (HP)

County Court

Any Business and Property Court business e.g.

Claims for possession of land; s14 Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act claims; personal insolvency; business claims; boundary and easement disputes; mortgages and charging orders; proceedings under Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.

ALLOCATION OF CASES TO LEVELS OF JUDICIARY

High Court

In the areas covered, the following are to be allocated to HHJ Cadwallader or another suitably authorised s.9 Judge, rather than to a District Judge 

In any BPC Court:

  • search orders
  • freezing orders
  • appeals from District Judges

In the Chancery Division (that is in particular in the Business List, the Property Trusts and Probate List and the Insolvency and Companies List)

  • (Unless the supervising judge or a nominee has consented)
    • Approval of compromises (except under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975) for a person under disability where their claim or fund is worth more than £100,000; or approving compromises for absent, unborn or unascertained persons –
    • Final orders under s.1(1) Variation of Trusts Act 1958 (except for the removal of protective trusts where the interest of the principal beneficiary has not failed or determined)
    • giving permission to executors, administrators and trustees to bring or defend proceedings, or to continue the prosecution or defence of proceedings, and granting an indemnity for casts out of the trust estate
    • Granting an indemnity for costs out of the assets of the company on the application of minority shareholders bringing a derivative action
    • making an order for rectification (except for rectification of the register under the Land Registration Act 1925 or alteration or rectification of the register under the Land Registration Act 2002)

In the Circuit Commercial Court

  • Everything, including all case management in Circuit Commercial matters
  • NB Any Circuit Commercial case that is large or complex enough to be likely to require the attention of a High Court Commercial Court Judge is brought to the attention of the Court as early as possible, so that any necessary arrangements can be made with the Commercial Court in London

In the Technology and Construction List

Any public procurement case (e.g. under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015) is to be brought to the attention of HHJ Cadwallader as early as possible, since he is likely to case manage it

In the Insolvency and Companies List: Insolvency List (BR); Companies Court (CR)

  • The following:
    • applications for an administration order;
    • applications for an injunction pursuant to the Court’s inherent jurisdiction (e.g. to restrain the presentation or advertisement of a winding up petition);
    • interim applications and applications for directions or case management after any proceedings have been referred or adjourned to a High Court Judge;
    • applications for the appointment of a provisional liquidator; and
    • applications for an injunction (other than those referred to above) pursuant to s.37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981, including an ancillary order under CPR 25.1(1)(g)
  • NB Applications for a scheme of arrangement will be referred to the Vice-Chancellor
  • The following applications (unless with the consent of the supervising judge or nominee they may be listed before a DJ)
    • applications pursuant to the Court’s inherent jurisdiction (e.g. to restrain the presentation or advertisement of a winding up petition);
    • interim applications and applications for directions or case management after any proceedings have been referred or adjourned to a High Court Judge
    • Any insolvency proceedings transferred in to Liverpool from outside on the basis that it is not Local Business, under paragraph 3.6 or 3.7 Practice Direction Insolvency Proceedings [2018] B.C.C. 421.  These will be listed before HHJ Cadwallader or other s.9 Judge for review on paper as soon as possible, for them to determine where the application (or any part of it) can most fairly be determined.

In the Competition List (CP)

NB Although Competition List matters can be issued in Liverpool, arrangements for them to be heard by a specialist judge in those areas will need to be made in each case and these matters should therefore be referred to HHJ Cadwallader for directions.  

In the Intellectual Property List: (Intellectual Property (IL); Intellectual Property and Enterprise Court ‘IPEC’ (IP); Patents Court (HP)

NB Although Intellectual Property List matters can be issued in Liverpool, arrangements for them to be heard by a specialist judge in those areas will need to be made in each case and these matters should therefore be referred to HHJ Cadwallader for directions.  

The same applies to IPEC matters unless they are small claims matters, in which case they should go to the authorized BPC DJs in Liverpool.

County Court

In the areas covered, the following are to be allocated to HHJ Cadwallader or another suitably authorised s.9 Judge, rather than to a District Judge 

  • If a district judge cannot grant an order in the High Court, they cannot grant it in the County Court either. (There are some exceptions, however: see.2BPD.8).
  • freezing injunctions
  • injunctions involving consideration of the balance of convenience
  • appeals from District Judges  
  • even if they are in the small claims track, or FastTrack, or in the multitrack, but only because they are Part 8 claims, trials of the following proceedings should normally be allocated to HHJ Cadwallader or another suitably authorised s.9 Judge:
    • under Part 1 Landlord and Tenant Act 1927
    • claims for new business tenancies or terminations of business tenancies
    • orders varying leases or insurance provisions in leases under ss 38 or 40 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.

Multi-track trials of BPC work in the County Court may be released to be heard by a BPC District Judge.

HHJ Cadwallader.

Specialist Civil Circuit Judge,

Liverpool.