across the bar

anti-dissipation interdicts

by Steve - Posted 15 October 2008

If you are owed a lot of money by a debtor and you know that they are not going to be around by the time you get your day in court (current defended matter in the CT High Crt takes approx. 2-3 years to reach finality), a useful tool to use is the anti-dissipation interdict. Basically, you ask the court to prevent the debtor from getting rid of their assets so that when it is time to pay up, they have nothing left to meet your claim.

The success or failure of your action turns on whether you can prove to the court that the debtor intends to get rid of his assets to defeat your claim. I.e. you have to show the court that the debtor has that particular state of mind. You can't use the application as a way to control a debtor's spending in the normal course of running their business so that there are funds left over for you.   

The factors you would need to prove to the court:

a) that you have a valid cause of action against the debtor

b) that the debtor has assets within the jurisdiction of the court

c) if the debtor is not stopped from doing so, they will remove those assets from the court's jurisdiction or otherwise get rid of them

d) the debtor's intention is to frustrate or render hollow a judgment that you expect to obtain against him.

The application can be brought in the high court in a relatively short space of time. It will be expensive to obtain and the normal risks of not recovering your legal costs from the debtor may apply. However, if the amount you need to recover is substantial, may be a useful tool to use.