Bleasdale’s Colorado home sale under spotlight in court
16 January 2015
The High Court in London yesterday heard allegations that the founder of Healthcare Locums (HCL) Kate Bleasdale was bringing a “speculative” legal counterclaim relating to the sale of a multi-million pound Colorado ski lodge in the US to delay paying £3.3m in damages owed to a former business associate.
Fri, 16 Jan 2015 | By Colin CottellThe High Court in London yesterday heard allegations that the founder of Healthcare Locums (HCL) Kate Bleasdale was bringing a “speculative” legal counterclaim relating to the sale of a multi-million pound Colorado ski lodge in the US to delay paying £3.3m in damages owed to a former business associate.
The claim was made by Paul Marshall, a senior counsel for Debbie Forster, founder of Stayput Solutions, who is seeking to make Bleasdale bankrupt to recover debts of £3.3m owed to her, after Forster was ousted from the firm in 2008. This week recruiter.co.uk reported how on 4 December, High Court bailiffs raided a property owned by Bleasdale and her husband John Cariss in Kingston-up-Thames, seizing items as part of Forster’s efforts to recover the debt.
Marshall argued that the only grounds for not ordering a bankruptcy order against Bleasdale immediately was “if there was a very real prospect of the debt being paid in a reasonable time”. However, he told the court that because of a “speculative” counterclaim totalling £10m made by Bleasdale against Forster in the US, there was “no prospect of the fine being paid in a reasonable time” and that therefore an order should now be made.
The dispute in which Forster won two High Court judgements, in December 2011 and again in March 2013 ordering Bleasdale to pay her damages and interest of £3.3m, already goes back a number of years, with legal costs estimated to run into seven figures.
Referring to the counterclaim, Mr Justice Henderson said it related to allegations that Forster’s actions led to Bleasdale’s ski lodge in Colorado being sold for $8m (£5.26m) less than it was worth by “creating an atmosphere that led to a distressed sale”. According to a Daily Telegraph report in February 2012, the eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom property was put on the market in December 2011 for $18.5m. The actual selling price was not disclosed in court.
The judge went on to question why Forster as a creditor of Bleasdale would do this, given it appeared to be “a case of shooting yourself in the foot”.
Marshall told the court that the counterclaim, which had not yet been formally been made in the US, was part of a pattern of behaviour by Bleasdale and her husband John Cariss during the long-running dispute. “If enough paper and allegations are thrown up in the air, they have the historic effect of depriving Ms Forster of her crystallised rights as a judgement creditor. There is a real prospect of injustice,” he said.
Marshall told the court: “There is no real prospect of the [outcome] of the counterclaim being determined” within the foreseeable future.” In response, Mr Justice Henderson said: “The other side [meaning Bleasdale] has the right to be heard.”
David Isaacs, representing Bleasdale, argued that it wouldn’t be right for the court to pre-empt legal proceedings that were in any case due to be heard on 13 February in Kingston-Upon-Thames County Court. After further legal argument, Mr Justice Henderson ruled that the bankruptcy case be transferred from Kingston County Court to the High Court in London to be heard by a bankruptcy registrar with an estimated one hour hearing.
Bleasdale, who founded HCL in 2003, was dismissed by the company in March 2011, after accounting irregularities were discovered at the firm. This led to an ultimately unsuccessful £12m claim by Bleasdale for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.
The claim was made by Paul Marshall, a senior counsel for Debbie Forster, founder of Stayput Solutions, who is seeking to make Bleasdale bankrupt to recover debts of £3.3m owed to her, after Forster was ousted from the firm in 2008. This week recruiter.co.uk reported how on 4 December, High Court bailiffs raided a property owned by Bleasdale and her husband John Cariss in Kingston-up-Thames, seizing items as part of Forster’s efforts to recover the debt.
Marshall argued that the only grounds for not ordering a bankruptcy order against Bleasdale immediately was “if there was a very real prospect of the debt being paid in a reasonable time”. However, he told the court that because of a “speculative” counterclaim totalling £10m made by Bleasdale against Forster in the US, there was “no prospect of the fine being paid in a reasonable time” and that therefore an order should now be made.
The dispute in which Forster won two High Court judgements, in December 2011 and again in March 2013 ordering Bleasdale to pay her damages and interest of £3.3m, already goes back a number of years, with legal costs estimated to run into seven figures.
Referring to the counterclaim, Mr Justice Henderson said it related to allegations that Forster’s actions led to Bleasdale’s ski lodge in Colorado being sold for $8m (£5.26m) less than it was worth by “creating an atmosphere that led to a distressed sale”. According to a Daily Telegraph report in February 2012, the eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom property was put on the market in December 2011 for $18.5m. The actual selling price was not disclosed in court.
The judge went on to question why Forster as a creditor of Bleasdale would do this, given it appeared to be “a case of shooting yourself in the foot”.
Marshall told the court that the counterclaim, which had not yet been formally been made in the US, was part of a pattern of behaviour by Bleasdale and her husband John Cariss during the long-running dispute. “If enough paper and allegations are thrown up in the air, they have the historic effect of depriving Ms Forster of her crystallised rights as a judgement creditor. There is a real prospect of injustice,” he said.
Marshall told the court: “There is no real prospect of the [outcome] of the counterclaim being determined” within the foreseeable future.” In response, Mr Justice Henderson said: “The other side [meaning Bleasdale] has the right to be heard.”
David Isaacs, representing Bleasdale, argued that it wouldn’t be right for the court to pre-empt legal proceedings that were in any case due to be heard on 13 February in Kingston-Upon-Thames County Court. After further legal argument, Mr Justice Henderson ruled that the bankruptcy case be transferred from Kingston County Court to the High Court in London to be heard by a bankruptcy registrar with an estimated one hour hearing.
Bleasdale, who founded HCL in 2003, was dismissed by the company in March 2011, after accounting irregularities were discovered at the firm. This led to an ultimately unsuccessful £12m claim by Bleasdale for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.
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