C – Charge or equitable interest
20/12/12
HUGHMANS SOLICITORS v CENTRAL STREAM SERVICES LTD [2012] EWCA Civ 1720
A settlement agreement which provided for the sale of a property and payment to a company of the net proceeds, did not create an equitable charge on the property because it did not impose an obligation on the defendant to pay a particular sum to the company so as to create a debt, but merely an obligation to sell the property and apply the proceeds in a particular manner. But by agreeing to hold the property on terms which appropriated it for the benefit of the company, an equitable interest in the property had been created in the company’s favour. As this interest was first in time, it took priority over a subsequently granted charging order, even though the charging order had been protected by unilateral notice.