Barclays Bank UK Plc v Shaun Richard Terry & Anor
[2023] EWHC 3113 (Ch)
Barclays Bank UK Plc v Shaun Richard Terry
23 October 2023
[2023] EWHC 2726 (Ch)
High Court
A bank accidentally removed mortgages from many customers' properties due to a computer mistake. The judge said the bank could put the mortgages back on for two customers right away, but it needed to check with everyone else individually to make sure it was fair.
Key Facts
- •Barclays Bank (claimant) mistakenly discharged mortgages for approximately 5,141 customers due to a computer program error.
- •The error occurred during a project to identify and discharge redeemed mortgages that hadn't been formally discharged.
- •The bank seeks to rescind the discharges and reinstate the charges on the properties.
- •The claim is brought under Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules against two named defendants as representatives of the other affected parties.
Legal Principles
Representative proceedings under CPR rules 19.8 and 19.9
Google LLC v Lloyd [2022] AC 1217
Summary judgment under CPR rule 24.2
CPR rule 24.2
Rescission for equitable mistake
Kennedy v Kennedy [2014] EWHC 4129 (Ch); Pitt v Holt [2012] 2 AC 108
Alteration of the Land Register
Schedule 4, paragraph 2(1) of the Land Registration Act 2002; NRAM Limited v Evans [2018] 1 WLR 639
Outcomes
Summary judgment granted for the named defendants (Mr. and Mrs. Terry).
The court found it unconscionable for the Terrys to retain the benefit of the mistake, and no other compelling reason for a trial existed.
Summary judgment not granted for the represented customers.
Further investigation is required to assess the unconscionability of each case individually.
Order to alter the Land Register for the named defendants.
The court has the power under the Land Registration Act 2002 to rectify the register, and no exceptional circumstances justify not doing so.
Bifurcated procedure ordered.
Common issues will be decided first for all represented parties, followed by individual assessments for unconscionability.
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