Asset freezing
A freezing order will usually only be made where the claimant can show that there was at least a good arguable case that they would succeed at trial and that the refusal of an injunction would involve a real risk that a judgment or award in their favour would remain unsatisfied.A Norwich Pharmacal order is form of pre-action discovery that allows an aggrieved party to trace otherwise hidden or dissipated assets, with a view to their preservation.While it is not advisable to obtain such an order on purely strategic grounds,[13] asset freezing has a persuasive effect on settlement negotiations.The claimant will have no restrictions on legal fee spending, putting huge financial pressure on the defendant,[15][16] and negotiation and settlement avoid the return to court.[22] Since January 2017, a uniform European Account Preservation Order has been implemented in all EU member states (other than Denmark and the United Kingdom).[27] In place of Mareva, US civil jurisprudence relies more on prejudgment writs of attachment,[28] preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders,[29] which have a more limited scope of application.In 2007, Lord Bingham declared: Mareva (or freezing) injunctions were from the beginning, and continue to be, granted for an important but limited purpose: to prevent a defendant dissipating his assets with the intention or effect of frustrating enforcement of a prospective judgment.Such devices may be employed in cases where a victim of fraud suspects that targeted funds or assets may be transferred to another location where it might be impractical to gain access to them.