Key Facts
- •Application to restrain presentation of a winding-up petition based on a Lebanese judgment for USD $776,907.51.
- •Judgment obtained in Lebanon on 13.7.2010, upheld on appeal in 2014 and 2017.
- •Applicant made a payment in Lebanon in 2022, which was later deemed invalid by a Lebanese court.
- •Applicant argues the debt is time-barred, the judgment debt satisfied, and the petition inappropriate.
- •Respondent argues that the debt is still owed and the application is an abuse of process.
Legal Principles
Injunction to restrain winding-up petition requires a substantial dispute about the debt.
Re Tallington Lakes Ltd, Argyle Crescent Ltd, Angel Group v British Gas
Foreign judgments can be recognized in England & Wales through statutory registration or common law.
Case Law
Under the Insolvency Act 1986, a debt needs to be owed, liquidated, unsecured, and the debtor unable to pay it for a winding-up petition.
Insolvency Act 1986, s267
Limitation Act 1980, s5 applies to simple contracts, s24(1) applies to actions on judgments.
Limitation Act 1980
Insolvency proceedings are not an 'action on a judgment', so s24(1) Limitation Act 1980 does not apply.
Ridgeway Motors v ALTS Ltd
A foreign judgment, even if unregistered, is a debt for insolvency purposes if it's final and conclusive.
Drelle v Servis-Terminal LLC
A foreign judgment is not a simple contract for limitation purposes.
Lenkor Energy Trading DMCC v Puri
Outcomes
Application to restrain the winding-up petition refused.
No substantial dispute about the debt; no limitation defense; debt incontrovertibly owed; no satisfaction of debt.
Issue of interest and costs adjourned to a further hearing.
Dependent on the outcome of the appeal in Lebanon regarding the validity of the payment.
Costs of the application adjourned to a further hearing.
Determination of costs influenced by whether the principal sum was paid.