Earl of Cardigan is being sued for £27,000 by barrister who helped him stop sale of family portraits aristocrat was being forced to auction to clear £2m overdraft
- Lawyer Henry Hendron helped stop the Earl of Cardigan’s portraits being sold
- Eight family portraits were almost sold by trustees to clear a £2 million overdraft
- The lawyer is now suing the Earl, David Brudenell-Bruce, for not paying him
An aristocrat is being sued for more than £27,000 by the barrister who previously helped him stop the sale of his family portraits to clear his overdraft.
Lawyer Henry Hendron managed to secure a late injunction for David Brudenell-Bruce, 67 – also known as the Earl of Cardigan – in 2011, to stop the sale of eight paintings at an auctioneers the following day.
The trustees of the earl’s Savernake Forest estate, located near Marlborough, Wiltshire had planned to sell the artworks to reduce the £2 million overdraft on his account.
However, Mr Hendron now claims that the Earl failed to pay him for his work and he has filed papers to Swindon County Court suing the aristocrat for £27,720.
David Brudenell-Bruce, 67 – also known as the Earl of Cardigan – is being sued by his former barrister for not paying his legal fees
Lawyer Henry Hendron managed to secure a late injunction for the Earl of Cardigan in 2011, to stop the sale of eight paintings at an auctioneers the following day to clear his overdraft
Although Mr Hendron’s order saved the paintings initially in 2011, a judge refused to renew the injunction just a week later, branding the legal battle ‘a sad state of affairs for a very distinguished family’.
A month after that, the courts made an order temporarily preventing the Earl from selling estate property.
The trustees complained he had tried to sell estate silverware under a number of pseudonyms.
It was during this High Court hearing that Mr Hendron described his client as down and out, saying he had no money and needed to raise money or go hungry.
The comments were later dismissed by the Earl, who told reporters: ‘I am not down and out.’
A final High Court hearing ruled against the Earl in April 2012 as Mr Justice Newry said the paintings were held by the trustees and not the peer.
Mr Hendron now says he was contacted in the first week of July 2011 by debt adviser David Bloom, who was working for the peer, setting out his client’s dispute with trustees over the paintings up for auction.
A final High Court hearing ruled against the Earl (pictured at Tottenham House at his estate in Wiltshire) in April 2012 as Mr Justice Newry said the paintings were held by the trustees and not the peer
At a meeting at Lord Cardigan’s lodge a couple of days later, Mr Hendron claims the peer told him he had no money ‘to eat, let alone pay legal bills’.
They agreed legal costs would be payable at the conclusion of the court case.
The case ended in April 2012 when the earl lost his High Court battle – but Mr Hendron says he has still not been paid.
Sitting last month, District Judge Peter Hatvany set the matter down for a one day hearing on a date to be fixed.
The hearing is expected to take place over the summer. The Earl was not represented.