Action Fraud Reporting Enough To Recover Your Money?
Action Fraud reporting enough if scammed by fraudsters? There are few things in life more certain than death and taxes. However, if you have been defrauded do you know what…
Wrongful Trading Suspended Again
Wrongful Trading suspended again from today and just in time for Black Friday! Initially, Wrongful Trading was suspended for a period of time earlier this year until the end of…
Insolvency Mediation Helps Settlement – Or Is It A Hindrance?
Insolvency Mediation Helps Settlement – Or Is It A Hindrance? Does it help insolvency litigation? Well, let’s kick off with what happens at a mediation. What Is Mediation? Mediation is…
HMRC Winding Up Petitions – Calm Before The Storm
HMRC Winding Up Petitions – Calm Before The Storm considers the potential matter of winding up petitions that are conceivably likely to rocket from HRMC in the new year. Covid-19…
Wholly And Exclusively For Trade – Duality Of Purpose
Wholly And Exclusively For Trade – Duality of Purpose is a post about expenditure deductible for tax purposes. It arises from the decision in Osborne v Revenue & Customs [2020]…
Litigation Insurance Time Bombs Diffused
Litigation Insurance Time Bombs Diffused is about watching out for some of the potentially overlooked dangers that might be lurking around in After The Event (“ATE“) insurance policies. Such policies…
Are You Ready To Liquidate?
Are You Ready To Liquidate? Sounds like a vulture eyeing up their next feast? Far from it. Are you ready to cross that bridge and take the plunge? Liquidation is…
Do Not Blame Your Marriage For A Late Tax Return
Do Not Blame Your Marriage For A Late Tax Return is a post that arises from what the Tax Tribunal had to say in the case of Balogun v Revenue…
How To Avoid Liability For Fraud By Someone Else
Liability For Fraud By Someone Else is a post that considers the circumstance in which an innocent party could have some liabilities flowing from the fraud by somone else. Can…
“difficult to take seriously”
The case of Brake & Ors v Lowes & Ors [2020] EWCA Civ 1491 (“Brake“) had a fascinating reference to that fruitful Liquidator case of Walker Morris v Khalastchi [2001]…
De Facto Director, Company Records, Fictitious Character And A 4pm Lunch
The judgment of The Official Receiver v Duckett [2020] EWHC 3016 (Ch) is replete with the word “implausible“. This gives you a clue as to matters of the reliability of…
Muddy Litigation
Muddy Litigation and apparently pejorative mudslinging did not assist the applicant in Moulds Fencing (Torksey) Ltd & Ors v Butler & Ors [2020] EWHC 2933 (Ch). According to the Court…
The Director’s Loan Account
The Director’s Loan Account is a post arising from the case Manolete Partners Plc v Matta & Ors [2020] EWHC 2965 (Ch). So what happened when Manolete met Matta in…
Investigate Transactions Through Accountant’s Files
Investigate Transactions Through Accountant’s Files is a post flowing from the liquidators’ claims in the case of Solid Homes Ltd, Re [2020] EWHC 2913 (Ch). The judge did not appear…
Ouch! Director Dividends, Director Loans and Director Liability.
Director Dividends, Director Loans and Director Liability arises from the case of BM Electrical Solutions Ltd & Anor v Belcher [2020] EWHC 2749 (Ch). Compared with the post in relation…
Wow! Company Payments, Company Directors and Company Records – keep a copy!
Wow! Company Payments, Company Directors and Company Records – keep a copy! The case of Hunt (As the Liquidator of Wow Internet Ltd) & Anor v Majid [2020] EWHC 2890…
Trip Down Judgment Lane – Part 2
More notable extracts from judgments following on from an earlier post Trip Down Judgment Lane: Fage UK Ltd & Anor v Chobani UK Ltd & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 5…
Trip Down Judgment Lane
A few notable quotes from judgments: Top Brands Ltd & Ors v Sharma & Ors [2014] EWHC 2753 (Ch) – legal advice reliance when you might be close to being…
Check Your Witness Statement Before Signing
Check Your Witness Statement was something that sprouted as an issue in the case of Patel & Anor v Barlows Solicitors (a firm) & Ors [2020] EWHC 2753 (Ch). The…
Should Pleadings Be Dropped From Insolvency Claims?
Should Pleadings Be Dropped from Insolvency Claims? By insolvency claims, this is intended to refer to insolvency office-holder claims. The purpose of pleadings is to ensure that the opposing litigant…
Taxpayer’s Duty to Come Clean to HMRC
Taxpayer’s Duty to Come Clean to HMRC arises by virtue of the regime governing how HMRC becomes aware of what each taxpayer owes it or alternatively what it owes to…
Is HMRC An Ordinary Creditor?
Is HMRC An Ordinary Creditor? Is HMRC just like any other unsecured creditor? Well, there is a school of thought that says HMRC in respect of an unsecured claim is…
Creditors Who Want Transparency
Creditors who want transparency have a number of options available to them. Little could arguably be more frustrating for a creditor than having to deploy Stakhanovite fervour to extract information…
Creditors Who Want Their Money
Creditors Who Want Their Money is a post about proactive and fully engaged creditors. It is sparked following a recent meeting that I had with a creditor in a case…
Wrongful Trading is Back!
Wrongful Trading is back! The suspension of Wrongful Trading ended on 30 September 2020. The suspension that took effect from March this year is now no longer in force. The…
Control and Administration
The case of Barrowfen Properties v Patel & Ors [2020] EWHC 2536 (Ch) has quite a few interesting facets. If today’s desideratum is an exegesis of iniquity, well it is…
Where Are The Records?!
What did we learn from Bramston v Pye [2020] EWHC 2473? This was an absolute classic. A case that might elbow its way onto the shelves of every liquidator in…
Simply Sloppy; Out Of The Norm No
The case of Swift v Brake & Ors [2020] EWHC 2416 (Ch) elbowed its way into the Bailii listings this month with some interesting comments on indemnity costs. It was…
Get Your Solicitor Files
Get Your Solicitor Files. I frequently seek out the files of a company’s solicitors for which I am a liquidator and often seem to have to go to some considerable…
Unhappy With An Insolvency Practitioner?
What Can You Do If Unhappy With An Insolvency Practitioner? Unhappy With An Insolvency Practitioner is a post to highlight that no creditor needs to suffer in silence if they…
Weak But Still A Winner
Nosnehpetsj Limited Liquidator Succeeds at Trial This post “Liquidator Succeeds at Trial” is a tale of three judgments to date in respect of the liquidation of Nosnehpetsj Limited (“the Company”).…
What is a transaction at an undervalue?
What is a transaction at an undervalue? What is a transaction at an undervalue? It is a transaction that has been entered into at a relevant time. For the purposes…
How to Spot Fraud
How to Spot Fraud How to spot fraud. Fraud is usually a simple thing to spot. Fraud by its nature may sound sophisticated but in reality, it can often be…
What is a Preference?
What is a Preference? What is a preference? In simple terms a preference is a transaction that results in a party being placed into a better position than they otherwise would…
How Does Liquidation Help?
How Does Liquidation Help? How Does Liquidation Help? How could a liquidation help you? A Liquidation could help you because it stops the clock ticking by bringing trading to a…
A Game of Cat and Mouse
I frequently embark upon information gathering procedures to reconstruct records. A recent matter has led to my filing a complaint after a game of ‘cat and mouse’ broadly as follows:…
What does Liquidation Involve?
What does Liquidation Involve? What does Liquidation Involve? The answer is, it is an orderly wind up of a company’s affairs. It is in effect usually the end of the…
Section 236 Insolvency Act 1986 Limit
Section 236 Insolvency Act 1986 Limit Section 236 Insolvency Act 1986 Limit is a post that flows from the case of Re Akkurate Limited [2020] EWHC 1433 (Ch). The Joint…
Wind Up A Company
Wind Up A Company Can You Wind Up a Company with a Disputed Debt? Wind Up A Company was the focus in the case of Colt Technology Services v SG…
Statutory Order of Payment
Statutory Order of Payment Statutory Order of Payment in insolvency proceedings is a post about the division of duty between the duty to realise assets and the duty to distribute…
Totally Without Merit
Totally Without Merit ‘Totally Without Merit’ is a post about attempts to restrain the presentation of winding-up petitions that appear to have been unsuccessful. Dismissed in reasonably strident terms as…
Enough To Evidence Insolvency?
Enough To Evidence Insolvency? ‘Enough To Evidence Insolvency’ is a post that focuses its sights on the explanation as to insolvency in paragraph 94 in the case of Toone v…
Appeal of Tax Assessment
Appeal of Tax Assessment ‘Appeal of Tax Assessment’ flows from the case of Re GP Aviation Group International Ltd [2014] 2 All ER 448. The case involved a misfeasance application…
Back to the Baggage
Back to the Baggage ‘Back to the Baggage’ is a quick look back at the matter of Emerald Supplies Ltd v British Airways [2015] EWHC 2201 (Ch) in which the then…
Tax Avoidance: Too Good To Be True?
Tax Avoidance: Too Good To Be True? This post “Tax Avoidance: Too Good To Be True?” arises by virtue of what Mr Michael Green QC sitting as Deputy Judge of…
Don’t distance yourself from your taxes because…
Don’t distance yourself from your taxes because… “Don’t distance yourself from your taxes because…” is a post about the case of Cham v Wilmot (7 May 2020) (“Cham”) and is…
Director Duties: Wasted Opportunity?
Director Duties: Wasted Opportunity? ‘Director Duties: Wasted Opportunity?’ is a post about the no conflicts rule following the case of Davies v Ford & Ors [2020] EWHC 686 (Ch) (“Davies”).…
How the records can rescue a company director
How the records can rescue a company director How the records can rescue a company director is quick post taking a look at how company records can help a Director…
Anticipating Insolvency of the Company
Anticipating Insolvency of the Company Anticipating Insolvency of the Company was considered in paragraphs 477 and 478 of BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana S.A. & Ors [2016] EWHC 1686 (Ch).…
Suspension of Wrongful Trading: Wrong Trade-off?
Suspension of Wrongful Trading: Wrong Trade-off? Suspension of Wrongful Trading: Wrong Trade-off? The Government announced the suspension of the Wrongful Trading provisions with the following message on its website in…
Appeal against Proof of Debt: Who Pays the Costs?
Appeal against Proof of Debt: Who Pays the Costs? Appeal against Proof of Debt: Who Pays the Costs? This particular matter has seen quite a few cases in recent years…
Material Irregularity from Own Interests
Material Irregularity from Own Interests Material Irregularity from Own Interests is a post following on from a case concerning an application by Royal Bank of Scotland plc (“RBS”) against an…
Alternative Analysis not Fanciful: Strike Out or Summary Judgment Not Warranted
Alternative Analysis not Fanciful: Strike Out or Summary Judgment Not Warranted Alternative Analysis not Fanciful: Strike Out or Summary Judgment Not Warranted was part of the judgment of Sir Alastair…
How to use accounts to avoid bad debts
How to use accounts to avoid bad debts How to use accounts to avoid bad debts and get paid, concerns review of certain key features that seem to sprout with…
How to avoid losing your creditor rights
How to avoid losing your creditor rights How to avoid losing your creditor rights is a post that flows from the case of Brake & Ors v Lowes & Ors…
How to challenge Trustee in Bankruptcy’s Fees and avoid appeal being refused
How to challenge Trustee in Bankruptcy’s Fees and avoid appeal being refused How to challenge Trustee in Bankruptcy’s Fees and avoid appeal being refused is one of the points arising…
How you might look steer clear of fraudulent trading and dishonest assistance
How you might steer clear of fraudulent trading and dishonest assistance Someone seeking to discover how you might steer clear of allegations of fraudulent trading and dishonest assistance might fancy…
How to deal with a GDPR Personal Data Request
How to deal with a GDPR Personal Data Request How to deal with a GDPR personal data request. This arose from an experience that I had recently which was interesting.…
Will I have to repay my director dividend?
Will I have to repay my director dividend? Will I have to repay my director dividend is a post focused on dividends paid by directors that in effect asset strip…
Reliance Upon Legal Advice
Reliance Upon Legal Advice Reliance Upon Legal Advice is an interesting proposition given “lawyers rarely give unequivocal advice” as everyone knows, said Lord Justice Lewison in the case of Allen…
How can I get my money back?
How can I get my money back? How can I get my money back? If you are owed money you need to be honest with yourself. How good a client…
What To Do If You Have Been Scammed
What to do if you have been scammed by fraudsters? There are few things in life more certain than death and taxes. However, if you have been defrauded do you…
Satellite Litigation with a spin of Insolvency
Satellite Litigation with a spin of Insolvency Satellite Litigation with a spin of Insolvency. The case of Bell & Anor v Ide & Ors [2020] EWHC 230 (Ch) is a…
Fielding the Director’s Nomination for Liquidator
Fielding the Director’s Nomination for Liquidator Fielding the Director’s Nomination for Liquidator. Dare I say it; here we go again. Yet another Fielding v Seery [2004] BCC 315 type of case,…
Comet, Confidentiality & Conflict
Comet, Confidentiality & Conflict Comet, Confidentiality & Conflict. Now let me set you up for what is a piece of insolvency litigation that is as remarkable as it is fascinating.…
Medically Unfit to Stand Trial Application
Medically Unfit to Stand Trial Application ‘Medically Unfit to Stand Trial Application’ sprouts by virtue of the application on such grounds in the case of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) v…
Comet, Confidentiality and Regulatory Intervention
Comet, Confidentiality and Regulatory Intervention Comet, Confidentiality and Regulatory Intervention. Readers of the intriguing judgment in the case of Lambert Carton-Kelly v Edwards [2020] EWHC 131 (Ch) will not need…
Director Duty to Creditors
Director Duty to Creditors Director Duty to Creditors. In the case of Systems Building Services Group Ltd, Re [2020] EWHC 54 (Ch) a company Director, Mr Mitchie, acquired property of…
Show Me the Money!!! It Won’t Be ‘In The Till’
Show Me the Money!!! It Won’t Be ‘In The Till’ The case of Auden McKenzie (Pharma Division) Ltd v Patel [2019] EWCA Civ 2291 was an appeal against Summary Judgment. The…
Not Misfeasance but a Breach of Duty – in the first instance decision
Not Misfeasance but a Breach of Duty – in the first instance decision Not Misfeasance but Breach of Duty in the first instance decision: Flatman v Wiles [2019] EWHC 3338…
Petitioning Creditor News: thought limit of liability to the Official Receiver was the “deposit”, well sorry chaps and chapesses think again …
An interesting decision was handed down by Deputy Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Frith in the case of Revenue And Customs v Direct Affinity Events Ltd & Ors [2019] EWHC…
Administrators’ Appointment Terminated: Reasons – Motive, Duty, Potential Conflict
Administrators’ Appointment Terminated: Reasons – Motive, Duty, Potential Conflict A fascinating judgment sprouted in the matter of Koon v Ltd v Bowes & Ors [2019] EWHC 3455 (Ch), where Mr…
Liquidator Third Party Funding
Liquidator Third Party Funding The matter of Burnden Holdings (UK) Ltd & Anor v Fielding & Anor [2019] EWHC 2995 (Ch) was interesting in terms of how this dealt with the…
Indemnity Costs Order Upheld Against Joint Liquidators
Indemnity Costs Order Upheld Against Joint Liquidators In Hellard & Anor (As Joint Liquidators of Guardian Care Homes (West) Ltd) v Graiseley Investments Ltd & Anor [2019] EWHC 2994 (Ch)…
Dividend Danger: Sweeping up the Balance Sheet
Dividend Danger: Sweeping up the Balance Sheet In the matter of Re Implement Consulting Ltd [2019] EWHC 2855 (Ch) we see that the Court appears to have been unwilling to…
Costs of Assessment: Administrators’ Fees
In the matter of Re Nortel Networks France SAS [2019] EWHC 2778 (Ch) the question of the Administrators’ fees was considered by an Assessor to assist the Court. The Assessor…
Transparency in Insolvency Proceedings
Transparency in insolvency proceedings appears a cardinal principle for any office-holder: The Civil Service Code (CS Code) (which seems applicable to the Insolvency Service) arising from Section 5 of the…
Court Consistency: Evidence
Is there any mismatch between these two statements in two different judgments on the point of the evidence a litigant deploys? :- “I agree with the submission that it is…
Leave from Director Disqualification
Permission for leave to act as Director not granted, yet: Rwamba v The Secretary of State for Business Energy And Industrial Strategy [2019] EWHC 2669 (Ch): “Gabriel Rwamba makes his…
Serafin v Malkiewicz & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 852
Serafin v Malkiewicz & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 852 – fascinating Court of Appeal decision; overturned findings of fact and judicial fairness appears to have been germane: “In our view,…
Green v Group Limited [2019] EWHC 954 (Ch)
Green v Group Limited [2019] EWHC 954 (Ch): is this demonstrable of an instance where some delayed transparency led to uneasiness and disquiet for a creditor? Could a review of…
Fry v Pagden [2019] EWHC 540 (Ch)
Majority Rule rejected in Fry v Pagden [2019] EWHC 540 (Ch) – a fascinating judgment: Submission for the Liquidators (about the application(s) for removal) “… in reality they all pursue…
Brewer v Iqbal [2019] EWHC 182 (Ch)
Brewer v Iqbal [2019] EWHC 182 (Ch) – this case appears to have some interesting facets. The case involved an Insolvency Practitoner who was held liable for damages for having…
Bookkeeper to assist Liquidator
Bookkeeper to assist Liquidator Bookkeeper to assist Liquidator under Section 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986: Wallace v Wallace [2019] EWHC 2503 (Ch) https://lnkd.in/dmexBpd: “Mr Wallace is not a third…
Submissions in Statements
Submissions in Statements Submissions in statements was yet again a topic that we can see caused a Chancery Judge to refer to an apparent breach of paragraph 19 of the…
Not at Counsel’s Convenience
Not at Counsel’s Convenience Not at Counsel’s convenience featured in the seemingly unhappy case of Horler v Rubin [2019] EWHC 2487 (Ch). The case now turned to the question of…
Real People Go to Court
Real People Go to Court Real people go to court (including the court’s own officers), not fictional ‘reasonable’ characters that may populate the so-called legal village as creatures of judgments…
Director Not Necessarily an Agent
Director Not Necessarily an Agent Director not necessarily an agent was considered in the case of Poole v Hinton [2019] EWHC 2331 (Ch). The case concerned the setting aside of…
Liquidator’s duty of Confidentiality and Privacy: Company Records
Liquidator’s duty of Confidentiality and Privacy: Company Records A Liquidator’s duty of confidentiality and privacy where company records is concerned sprouted in the case of Henderson v Walker [2019] NZHC…
Directors do not need to be Accountants
Directors do not need to be Accountants Unlawful Dividends In the matter of Burnden Holdings (UK) Ltd v Fielding & Anor [2019] EWHC 1566 (Ch) Mr Zacaroli when considering if…
Insolvency Practitioners could be excused from cross examination?
Insolvency Practitioners could be excused from cross examination? Insolvency Practitioners could be excused from cross examination – as a proposition this is confined to claims where the Insolvency Practitioner is…
Insolvency Practitioners deserve huge pat on the back from creditors?
Insolvency Practitioners deserve huge pat on the back from creditors? Insolvency Practitioners deserve huge pat on the back from creditors?Certainly not, I fear some of you might say! Let’s have…
Director Misfeasance: there’s no “might” about it
Director Liability for Misfeasance Fail 100% as a Director to protect the company from the loss suffered, then you ‘might’ well find yourself ordered to pay 100% of that loss,…
Liquidator Removal: Open Your Eyes and See
The removal of a Liquidator requires just cause. If the Liquidator has generally been honest and effective the Court is unlikely to remove him or her. It is not intended…
Bankruptcy’s not so clean slate
In the matter of Oraki v Hall [2019] EWHC 1515 (Ch) the continuing litigation in this rather unfortunate bankruptcy appears to continue. It was now the turn of HHJ Simon…
Putting the Creditors First
It is a classic paradox that the whole insolvency process is underpinned by the interests of creditors. However, the remarkable irony is that creditors although considered the primary stakeholder in…
Failure to Safeguard Estate Monies
An apparent failure to safeguard estate monies leads to a 9 year and 7 year ban for two Directors who had IVA and Protected Trust Deed clients. The sums at…
Insolvency is a Class Remedy
In the matter of Fraser Turner Ltd v Pricewaterhousecoopers LLP & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 1290 which can be read here https://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/format.cgi?doc=/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2019/1290.html&query=(insolvency)+AND+(is)+AND+(a)+AND+(class)+AND+(action) the Court held that the general body of…
Court not bound by Nominee
In the matter of CFL Finance Ltd v Bass (Good faith to voluntary arrangements : consumer credit law) [2019] EWHC 1839 https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2019/1839.html the Court suggested that the investigations undertaken by…
