Alliance & Leicester plc v Slayford [2001] 33 HLR 743

The Court of Appeal held that it is not an abuse of process for a mortgage lender, who cannot get a possession order because the borrower's wife has an equitable defence, to sue on the borrower's personal covenants and bankrupt the borrower, even though this may result in the trustee in bankruptcy selling the property in which the wife has an equitable interest.

This seems to undermine the 1996 Act which seems calculated towards helping borrowers. In fact, by encouraging banks to proceed on these lines, it has made a defaulting borrower’s situation even worse.