civil action againest me, is family home protected

hi, looking for advice, just been notified that a civil action is being taken againest me for an incident at work, i would presume my employers and i will both be named. can i be forced to sell family home to pay an award againest me, it is in joint names. is there any other risk to the family home i am worried married with several children, any advice or information welcome,i will of course be taking legal advice also but, would like to know position to put my mind at rest in the interim

If there is a judgement against you, you will be obliged to pay up. If you are not in a position to pay and further action is taken against you then you will have to file a statement of means which will include your earnings and assets. Does the incident at work put your family home in potential jeopardy even if a judgement goes against you? If so, the matter must be fairly serious.

thanks for prompt reply declan, i do not think the matter is serious enough to run to family home type costs , but case is unusual and it is hard to estimate the possible award, i dont really want to go into the actual details in a public forum for obvious reasons. but wanted to know worst case scenario, could i be forced to sell home or is there legal protection on family dwelling

Hi there,
Personally I think it is highly unlikely that you will be compelled to sell your family home, particularly when it is in joint names. If the plaintiff does get a large award that you cannot pay up front, it is most likely that they will get a garnishee award against you, so that some of your earnings each month go towards the debt. They may also register a judgement mortgage against your home, so that, if you sell your home, you will have to pay them from the sale proceeds. Your bank will have priority over this charge so the mortgage will be paid first before anything goes towards the debt.

Kate.

while you may be named in the proceedings, your employer is more than likely to be held vicariously liable for your actions.

so long as you were acting in the course of your employment, there is very little chance of you being held liable yourself.

you should of course seek legal advice but the best option would be to try and get your company to indemnify you in relation to these proceedings so you don't have to worry about legal representation.