Swiss bank UBS scored a victory in its attempt to foreclose on a mortgage loan on a London property of Vijay Mallya as the judge in the case approved its application to strike out certain parts of an amended defence submitted in May by the businessman’s legal team, on almost all counts.
The case at the business and property courts of the Royal Court of Justice has been ongoing as the bank has sought to take possession of the property in prime central London, over the £20.4 million interest-only mortgage granted.
The bank says that Rose Capital, through which the house was originally purchased in 2005, had not repaid the loan, which was stated to be for a period of five years and subject to early termination by the claimant.
Mallya’s legal team has sought to fight the application from UBS on a number of grounds, including a failure to recognise occupation rights and an allegation that UBS had “delayed and frustrated” the defendants’ attempts to refinance the loan.
In his judgment the judge said that striking out a claim was a step that the court would “not take lightly,” and only took place if a claim was “bound to fail.” He said that aside from one issue – the defendants claim that UBS had pledged to roll over the debt for another five years after the initial five-year period – the case, based on 10 other issues, was “bound to fail” and it was appropriate for them to be struck out of the amended defence. The one remaining issue could remain within the amended defence document ahead of a trial that is set to commence next year.