stay of proceedings

A stay of proceedings in UK Courts is a court order which suspends the whole of the litigation or part of it. The effect of the stay is that no party may take any step in the litigation until the stay is lifted. Stays may be obtained by consent between the parties, or by the court’s own volition. Although the parties may agree to suspend the proceedings, it is only when the Court has approved a consent order that it is effective.

Stays are made in a variety of circumstances.

1. Mediation: The parties wish to mediate their disputes. These stays are usually for a limited period of time, such as one month. The court may grant leave to extend the stay on the application of the parties, which is usually completed by way of consent order.
2. Tomlin Orders: Stays are used when parties compromise and settle their disputes which have been the subject of proceedings, and there is a process or further events to take place to finalise the performance of the terms agreed for settlement. The form of order is known as a tomlin order. For instance, one of the parties might agree to pay a sum of money as part of the settlement over an extended period time, rather than in a single lump sum. The proceedings are stayed and effectively over, unless or until one of the parties applies to the Court to lift the stay for the purpose of enforcement of the agreement recorded, because a party has failed to comply with its terms.
3. Security for costs: Courts will usually stay proceedings pending payment of security for costs by the claimant.
4. Related Proceedings: There are related proceedings which should be heard and determined before the present proceedings progress, as the decision from the other proceedings may affect the outcome of the present proceedings. For instance, a point of law may be due to be decided by a higher court, such as the Court of Appeal.
5. Bankruptcy: legal proceedings against a debtor may be stayed against a judgment debtor by a Bankruptcy Court after a bankruptcy petition has been presented.

Partial Stays

Legal proceedings may also be stayed in part, for instance a claim may be stayed pending some event while a counterclaim may be permitted to proceed.

Lifting of Stays

Stays may be lifted for a specific purpose only, or dissolved in their entirety. When court orders are made imposing a stay, the Order should specify the date and if not the conditions which must be satisfied for the stay to be lifted.

Stays and Appeals

Filing an appeal of a judgment, decision or order of an English Court does not grant a stay of execution. Appeals are initiated by filing an Appellant’s Notice. These court forms include an option for the appellant to apply for a stay pending the outcome of the appeal.

Therefore, the Appeal Court may consider granting a stay pending the determination of the appeal at an early stage. Reasons for a stay must be provided for an Appeal Court to properly consider whether a stay should be granted, which usually includes evidence and a transcript of the decision in the lower court.

Stays of Execution

Enforcement proceedings may also be made the subject of stay. A stay of execution might be granted on the application of a judgment debtor pending the outcome of an appeal of the decision giving rise to liability. In debt recovery proceedings, a stay such as this would prevent a judgment debtor from obtaining or executing a third party debt order, charging order, writ of control, prevent a receiver from acting after an appointment for equitable execution over specified property.

High Court Stays

The power of the High Court and Court of Appeal to stay proceedings is expressly granted by section 49(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 and CPR 3.1(2)(f). This is the jurisdiction most often relied upon, however Courts have an inherent jurisdiction to stay proceedings before it. The County Court also has power to stay proceedings.