A return of “Nulla Bona”
by David Carter on 15 December 2010
Quite simply, Nulla Bona is Latin for “No Goods”.
When a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) has been unable to enforce a judgment they will cease enforcement and notify the judgment creditor of the reasons for this. They will also charge the industry regulated abortive fee accordingly.
However, the creditor may wish to use other methods of enforcement or use a different HCEO.
To do this, the creditor will often require a formal return of No Goods (Nulla Bona). This return is in a prescribed format and can be requested from the HCEO who will endorse it. It confirms that the HCEO is unable to either seize any goods belonging to the judgment debtor or the goods are insufficient to clear the debt and that execution of the judgment has now ceased.
You might be inclined to think that there is no point in instructing a different HCEO. However each firm has different methods and differing success rates and sometimes a different approach may work. For example, The Sheriffs Office was recently instructed to enforce a writ which had been declared Nulla Bona by another HCEO and we were able to collect the £19,000 debt in full on our first attempt.
The process for in instructing a new HCEO is for the new HCEO to go to court with the original writ and the Nulla Bona to get the name of the HCEO amended. Both should be provided readily by the initial HCEO – the writ belongs to the claimant, not the HCEO.
So, if you want to use other methods of enforcement or instruct another HCEO, don’t forget to request a Nulla Bona.
© Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd. Please contact us to request permission to reproduce this article.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
