Summary
This was an application for registration of a Belgian judgment in England. The application was made by Ms Plummer acting as liquidator of a company which was successor of company QFSL.
The value of the claim was of approximately $ 1 million. The sum of money was due under an insurance contract entered with Baltic, a Lithuanian Insurance company.
The registration order was granted.
An appeal was made by the defendants on the ground that the Belgian judgment was rendered in default of appearance.
The order was affirmed against two of the judgment debtors, Mr Allany and Mr Thomas. However, the order was set aside against Mr Reeve because he had appealed against the Belgian judgment.
Mrs Justice Simler held:
“30 [...] Although I accept fully that service was effected in accordance with Belgian law, because it was served by providing a copy to the Belgian public prosecutor in circumstances that applied in this case and therefore service was duly effected, the originating summons did not in fact come to the attention of any of the appellants at any time before the hearing on 25 March 2013, through no fault of theirs. None of them was able, therefore, as a matter of substance, to arrange for his defence based on such service and in advance of that hearing.
31 That, however, is not the end of the matter because, as I have described, art.34(2) provides that the judgment shall not be recognised if the defendant was not properly, for the purposes of art.34 , served “unless the defendant failed to commence proceedings to challenge the judgment when it was possible for him to do so”.”[30-31].