Limitation

Gotham v Doodes [2006] EWCA Civ 1080; CA TLR 14 August; NLJ 1 September

Where a charge has been imposed on a bankrupt’s home in favour of the trustee in bankruptcy, an application by the trustee for an order for the sale of the property more than 12 years later was not time-barred because the trustee’s right to receive the proceeds of sale did not accrue until an order for the sale of the property had been made by the court. Section 20(1) of the Limitation Act 1980 provides: ‘No action shall be brought to recover— (a) any principal sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge on property … after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the right to receive the money accrued.’ If s20(1) was to apply, then the ‘right to receive’ had to be a present not a deferred right. It could therefore not pre-date an order for sale of the property. Time would not start to run until an order for sale had been made.