PROPERTY CORRUPTION

TLT’s Obstruction of a Live Pre-Action Claim

Ignoring Existing Pre-Action Materials

Before NatWest instructed TLT, the Editor had already issued pre-action materials concerning a claim against Oakley Property and NatWest for loss of property value. These materials were served and placed firmly within the pre-litigation landscape. TLT, upon instruction, had a duty to acknowledge and engage with these materials as part of their client’s overall legal position.

Refusal to Engage

Instead, TLT deliberately ignored multiple emails concerning this live pre-action claim. By refusing to acknowledge the materials, and characterising follow-up correspondence as “repetitive,” they attempted to sidestep their duty to engage with matters already on record. This conduct amounts to selective blindness.

Breach of Protocol and Professional Duty

  • Pre-Action Protocols require parties to act reasonably and to engage with all relevant issues. Ignoring a pre-action claim while advancing repossession proceedings breaches both the letter and the spirit of the Protocol.
  • SRA Principles require solicitors to act with integrity, uphold the rule of law, and not take unfair advantage. Suppressing one party’s pre-action claim while pressing forward with their own is obstruction.

Obstruction by Design

The repetition of questions that TLT complain about is their own making—caused by refusing to respond to questions and evidence already served. This is not neutral conduct. It is a deliberate tactic to frustrate the ability to litigate fairly.

Consequences

  • Evidence of obstruction and bad faith to be placed before the court if proceedings are issued.
  • Possible referral to the SRA for unfair and obstructive practice.
  • Potential costs consequences against NatWest/TLT under CPR 44.11 for misconduct in litigation.

Conclusion

By ignoring emails and pre-action materials already issued, TLT are not acting as neutral officers of the court. They are obstructing the right to litigate, undermining protocol obligations, and exposing themselves and their client to regulatory and judicial consequences.

Also see: litigation summary.