Court error leads to £90,000 compensation being paid to defendant instead of claimants

A couple residing in Sussex has voiced their dissatisfaction with the judicial system after £90,000 in compensation was erroneously paid to the individual they had sued. Gilly and Nigel Cutts acquired what they believed to be their ideal flat in Arundel, but following the emergence of issues, they successfully pursued a claim against the building’s owner. However, their local county court instead remitted the funds intended for them back to one of the defendants. Nine months later, the court service has issued an apology and stated its commitment to resolving the situation. The Cutts purchased the apartment, situated in “a beautiful early Georgian building” on the town’s High Street, in December 2015. Shortly thereafter, they and other leaseholders began encountering difficulties, including water penetration through the brickwork. “Whenever it rained hard water would just pour in through the ceiling,” said Mr Cutts. “It got to the point where we’d dread the weather being wet.” The couple, along with two adjacent flat owners, became sufficiently exasperated to initiate legal proceedings against the building’s proprietor. Following an extended legal process, a judge ruled that they should be awarded £90,000 in compensation collectively, yet no funds have been received by them to date. This situation arose because Brighton County Court, during the payment processing, instead dispatched the sum to the defendant holding the building’s freehold – an individual who has been unreachable subsequently. “To say we were speechless just doesn’t cover it,” said Mr Cutts. “We won our case, so where’s money? It was paid to the wrong person – it’s pure madness,” added Mrs Cutts, who confessed to having “sleepless nights” over the ordeal. The couple stated that the court service sent them a letter of apology for its mistake but did not propose to reimburse them. “What they need to do is put right what’s gone wrong,” said Mr Cutts. A spokesperson for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service said: “We apologise to the claimants for this administrative error and remain committed to resolving the matter as quickly as possible.” “A judge has ordered the defendant to return the funds and we have additionally referred them to the police for investigation. “We’ve taken steps to prevent something like this from happening again.”