Alpha Court Chambers
Tel 0800 634 9650
Clifford Payton
Head of Chambers
Head of Chambers
Clifford specialises in Commercial and Chancery Law.
His areas of practice now include banking, contracts, commercial leases, company law, insolvency, consumer credit, sale of goods, payment systems, international trade, equitable interests, estates and probate, property, trusts, landlord and tenant, mortgages, professional negligence, partnerships and LLPs, and employment law; in courts throughout England and Wales.
Successful cases include:
Platform Funding Ltd (Formerly Halifax Plc) (CA) [2009] QB426v Bank of Scotland Plc
In this case Clifford successfully argued that a surveyor may owe an unqualified obligation under contract (in this case to inspect the right property) in addition to the usual professional obligation to exercise reasonable care and skill (instructed by Glenisters).
Heath v Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited [2009] EWHC 103 (Ch)
Clifford successfully arguing that an agreement to re-mortgage involving additional money is not a multiple agreement under s18 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (instructed by Glenisters).
Affirmed on appeal 5th November 2009 (CA).
North East Property Buyers Litigation [2010] EWHC 2991 (Ch)
This was another successful result in which it was decided that a seller under a sale and lease-back arrangement does not have an overriding interest in priority to that of the purchaser's mortgagee.
Bassano v Toft Bassano v Toft [2014] EWHC 377 (QB), [2014] Bus LR D9
Acting for Borro who had a pledge over a valuable viola under a regulated Consumer Credit Act 1974 agreement, established that the execution of that agreement by clicking a box marked “I accept” on a computer screen was a sufficient compliance with the requirements of the CCA. Also that re-taking of the viola by Mrs Bassano did not lead to loss of Borro’s rights as pledgee.
Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited v Green [2018] EWCA Civ 854, [2018] 2 P & CR 168. Established that depression amounting to a disability did not give the borrower a right to require a mortgage loan to be converted from repayment to interest-only. The first authority on the application of the Equality Act to mortgage lending.
Kensington Mortgage Company Limited v Mallon [2019] EWHC 2512 (Ch), [2019] PLSCS 190
Successfully resisted a defence by a person, Zaman, claiming rights by way of proprietary estoppel and (unpleaded) constructive trust, and also as on interpretation of the Land Registration Act 2002. The Court held that even were the Zaman to establish such rights, they would not take priority over Kensington’s rights as mortgagee. PTA refused by the Court of appeal.
Leon v Attorney-General [2019] EWCA Civ 2047, [2020] 1 BCLC 40
Acting for Kensington Mortgage Company Limited. In a claim between the lessor of a property let to a company that had been dissolved, and the owner of that company, the lease having subsequently been disclaimed by the Crown as bona vacantia, established that Kensington, as mortgagee of the lease, was entitled to have the lease vested in itself by way of security for its outstanding advance.
Clifford is a member of the Chancery Bar Association and the Professional Negligence Bar Association.
Before returning to the bar in 1993 he was the Head of Legal Affairs at the banking organisation known as APACS, responsible for CHAPS and overseeing the innovation of the debit card systems now known as "Switch" and "Delta", working alongside Theresa May.
He also represented the UK both at the United Nations, in the UNCITRAL Working Group on International Payments which developed the Model Law on international payments, and in Europe, in the Council of Europe Committee on Data Protection and Banking.
Commercially he has also acted as Chief Legal Counsel to an international computer software consortium.
Until its merger with the Southern Housing Group on 30 September 2010, he was the Chairman of the James Butcher Housing Association. He was also a member of the Board and Audit Committee of the Southern Housing Group.
Clifford is located near Stratford-Upon-Avon and covers all of England and Wales.
Clifford Payton,Called 1972
MA (Oxon), BCL (Oxon)