Suspended Possession Orders

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Does anyone know what the notification requirements are for an impending County Court hearing where a lender is applying for a Suspended Possession Order?

Is the obligation on the court to notify the defendant ie the mortgagee of the forthcoming hearing, or is it the legal duty of the claimant ie the lender or their solicitors?

If the court has to notify the defendant, what happens when the lender's solicitors deliberately mislead the court by not citing the defendants actual address, but tell the court the defendant is living at the property they wish to repossess?

-- Mary Contrary (julywarned@hotmail.com), May 19, 2002

Answers

Couple of things - you are the mortgagor (the Lender is the mortgagee) and yes, the Court should have notified you of the hearing, which I suspect it did at the repossessed address they were given. You have to prove that the Lender intended to deprive you of your right to attend - which, I have to tell you, will be a toughie. The other option is to apply to have to the order set aside (the most simple route I think), if you can prove that the Lender knew where you were. What will happen is that the Court will say that you should have been aware of the proceedings anyway if you were in contact with the Lender, but they may consider your application on the grounds that there is some doubt. Be aware that they don't have to consider it at all, depends on the circuit judge. They're not a very sympathetic lot.

-- Too scared to say (iwasduped@yahoo.com), May 19, 2002.

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