Tarnjit Singh Gill v Sanjay Anand & Anor

On an assessment following judgment after striking out a defence, the court determines the claimant’s contractual entitlement from the pleadings and admissible evidence. An annual interest rate may operate only as a yardstick for calculating a fixed payment during a loan’s agreed duration. It does not, without an express or implied term, create continuing contractual interest after maturity. Where no contractual interest term is proved, the court may award statutory interest under Senior Courts Act 1981, section 35A. The rate must fairly compensate for deprivation of the money. A further adjournment may be refused where no definite timetable is offered for a proposed relief-from-sanctions application, provided enforcement can be stayed to preserve fairness.

The claimant sought assessment of sums due under six oral loan agreements made with the first defendant in January and February 2018. The first defendant’s defence had been struck out for non-compliance with an unless order, and judgment had been entered for a sum to be assessed under CPR 3.5(2)(b)(ii). The assessment concerned repayment of the capital and contractual or statutory interest. The first defendant disputed the proposed interest calculations and sought a further adjournment to pursue relief from sanctions. The central issues were the duration and effect of the agreed interest terms, whether any further contractual interest was established, and the appropriate statutory interest.

1. Assessment and adjournment. The assessment was limited to giving effect to the monetary entitlements appearing in the pleadings and evidence, pursuant to the judgment and subsequent directions. The struck-out defence could assist in identifying matters not in dispute, but did not itself provide a basis for defending the claim. A further adjournment was refused because no definite timetable was given for the proposed relief application. Fairness could instead be preserved by staying enforcement for 14 days after judgment.
2. Contractual interest. For loans 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, the evidence established fixed-duration loans with specified payments due at their respective conclusions. References to annual rates quantified those payments pro rata; they did not establish continuing contractual interest after the agreed maturity dates. The sums assessed were therefore £360,500, £757,500, £195,000, £340,000 and £820,000 respectively.
3. Loan 5. The pleadings and evidence did not establish an agreed interest term. The court declined to imply a reasonable-interest term and assessed the capital due as £925,000.
4. Statutory interest and order. Interest accruing after the relevant maturity or loan date was awarded under section 35A of the Senior Courts Act 1981. A rate of 4% per annum was reasonable and fairly compensated the claimant for deprivation of the money. The total capital sum due was £3,280,000, together with statutory interest at 4% per annum until judgment. Enforcement was stayed pending any relief application made within 14 days.