Tomlin Order

A Tomlin Order is a court order which stays a claim on agreed terms which are set out in a schedule to the court order. The contents of the schedule, which remains confidential between the parties and brings the disputes between the parties and the litigation to an end other than for the purpose of enforcement proceedings, if required.

Form of the Court Order

These court orders are recognised by Part 40.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules and generally take the form:

'The parties having agreed to the terms set out in the attached schedule

IT IS ORDERED BY CONSENT:

1. That all further proceedings in this claim be stayed except for the purpose of carrying such terms into effect.

2. Liberty to apply.'

Any direction for money to be paid out of corut or payment and assessment of costs should appear in the body of the order, and not in the schedule.

Where the Order contains a confidential schedule setting out the terms of settlement, that schedule should be sent to the court with a request to keep it in a sealed envelope, and not to open it other than with the permission of the court. The party submitting the envelope should mark it “Not to be inspected without the permission of the master or judge”.

The schedule should contain a legally binding contract between the parties. Masters and judges do not read terms of settlement and are not taken to have approved them.

Tomlin Orders are an alternative way of settling disputes or parts of disputes in English Courts, as a substitute to say entering into a compromise agreement with the involvement of the Court. Tomlin Orders are a useful means of settling disputes where further steps are required to be complete the terms of settlement would in all likelihood require the involvement of the Court if there was a default on the part of one of the parties.

For instance, the terms of settlement may provide the defendant to the proceedings is required to pay sums each month for 12 months after the settlement agreement is signed. In this case, the claimant to the proceedings would probably wish to enforce the terms of the Tomlin Order by coming back to Court to sue on the debt. This would avert the need for fresh legal proceedings to be brought and expedite the process of enforcement, as the Court would have a copy of the confidential schedule on the Court file.

Enforcement of Tomlin Orders

In the event of a breach of the terms of the schedule, and steps are required for enforcement a standard application notice (Form N244) is prepared to lift the stay of proceedings imposed by the Order, and obtain appropriate relief. An application notice is filed with the Court and served on the relevant party(ies), with evidence in support that shows that the terms of settlement have not been complied with.

Tomlin Orders are simply a stay of proceedings agreed by the parties with terms of the agreed settlement attached. The terms of the agreement recorded in the schedule do *not* form part of the Order, and thus cannot be directly enforced as an order of the court, by committal or otherwise. A further order is required to do so.  To do so, the innocent party would apply for an injunction, specific performance, order for the payment of money, as appropriate.

Variation of Tomlin Orders

A variation of the terms of a Tomlin Order, is in reality a change to the terms of the agreement reached between the parties. It is likely that a new Tomlin Order would be required to be prepared, referring to the previous Tomlin Order in the recitals of the Order, and replacing the previous version.