header-logo header-logo

In the frame

07 February 2014 / Stephen Boyd
Issue: 7593 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail
web_boyd

Stephen Boyd advises debtors on the best course of action when faced with a camera crew

There seems to be an endless appetite for reality television programmes. The viewer seems to find actual real-life drama even more entertaining than the made-up stuff.

The latest twist on the theme is the so-called “tag-along raid” when a film crew accompanies bailiffs when enforcing judgments at the debtor’s premises (eg The Sheriffs are Coming , BBC One).

What, if anything, can a debtor do about this, or must he be an unwilling participant in the television stations’ quest for viewers?

There are two possible avenues, one of which is more promising than the other.

Defamation

In showing the enforcement officer attending at premises, the innuendo would be that the subject of the execution was a judgment debtor. This would be actionable, if false.

The difficulties with this course are that in Bonnard v Perryman [1891] 2 Ch 269, [1891-4] All ER Rep 965 the Court of Appeal held that an interim injunction will not be granted

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll