Fernhill Properties (NI) Ltd v Mulgrew (Paul)
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Deeny J |
| Judgment Date | 2010 |
| Neutral Citation | [2010] NICh 20 |
| Date | 21 December 2010 |
| Court | Chancery Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No. [2010] NICh 20 Ref:
DEE8020
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
21/12/10
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
CHANCERY DIVISION
________
FERNHILL PROPERTIES (NORTHERN IRELAND) LIMITED
Plaintiff;
-and-
PAUL MULGREW
Defendant.
________
DEENY J
[1] In this action Fernhill Properties (Northern Ireland) Limited have sued
Paul Mulgrew. By the statement of claim endorsed on the writ of summons
they contend that Mr Mulgrew had contracted to purchase from them
apartment No. 4D at College Court Central, College Court, King Street,
Belfast. The consideration for the Building Agreement and related Agreement
for a Lease, dated 10 April 2007, was the sum of £186,000. The defendant on
16 April paid a deposit of £18,100 in addition to an earlier holding deposit of
£500 making a total of 10% of the purchase price. The plaintiff proceeded to
construct the block of apartments in question. On or about 10 July 2009 the
solicitors for the plaintiff notified the defendant that the premises were
complete and ready for occupation and fixed the date for completion. The
defendant did not complete. The solicitors for the plaintiff, Messrs
Worthingtons, on 21 August 2009, served a notice to complete, but again the
defendant did not complete. The plaintiff subsequently issued a writ of
summons bearing the date 3 February 2010 against the defendant. The first
relief sought on foot of the statement of claim endorsed on the writ was
specific performance. That is a remedy which is normal in regard to a breach
of a contract for the sale of land. As I have observed before, there is a
difference between a purchaser who wishes to insist on acquiring a particular
property which he has agreed to buy and the vendor who is in effect merely
seeking to be paid for what he has agreed to sell, in this case a newly
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1 cases
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Fernhill Properties (NI) Limited v Robert Scullion
...interest per annum (on unpaid balances) but Mr Humphreys accepts the decision of this court in Fernhill Properties (NI) Limited v Mulgrew [2010] NICh 20 establishing that that interest rate is not enforceable as it is a penalty. [9] It is appropriate to point out two things which are not in......
1 books & journal articles
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PRINCIPLES, DEFINITIONS AND MODEL RULES OF EUROPEAN PRIVATE LAW. DRAFT COMMON FRAME OF REFERENCE (DCFR). FULL EDITION. Ed by Christian von Bar and Eric Clive Oxford: Oxford University Press (www.oup.com), 6 vols, 2010. xxi + 6,563 pp. ISBN 9780199573752. £750.
...example, default interest rates which, as drafted, are unenforceable penalties (e.g. Fernhill Properties (Northern Ireland) Ltd v Mulgrew [2010] NICh 20). Thirdly, terminology: one can only imagine how difficult it must have been to develop a neutral terminology in English (for other langua......