Creditors Rights In Insolvency

Creditors’ Rights in Relation to Insolvency Practitioner Remuneration, Expenses and Information

This article is split up into two sections as follows:

1. Court Application rights to challenge Insolvency Practitioner Remuneration and Expenses.
2. Information creditor rights in respect of the Insolvency Practitioner Remuneration and Expenses of the Insolvent Estate.

Excessive Remuneration And Expenses

Creditors’ rights – Rules 18.9 and 18.34 of the Insolvency (England & Wales) Rules 2016 – Rule 18.34

Creditors Rights in Insolvency – Remuneration and expenses: application to court by a creditor or member on grounds that remuneration or expenses are excessive

(1) This rule applies to an application in an administration, a winding-up or a bankruptcy made by a person mentioned in paragraph (2) on the grounds that-

(a) the remuneration charged by the office-holder is in all the circumstances excessive;

(b) the basis fixed for the office-holder’s remuneration under rules 18.16, 18.18, 18.19, 18.20 and 18.21 (as applicable) is inappropriate; or

(c) the expenses incurred by the office-holder are in all the circumstances excessive.

(2) The following may make such an application for one or more of the orders set out in rule 18.36 or 18.37 as applicable-

(a) a secured creditor,

(b) an unsecured creditor with either-

(i) the concurrence of at least 10% in value of the unsecured creditors (including that creditor), or

(ii) the permission of the court, or

(c) in a members’ voluntary winding up-

(i) members of the company with at least 10% of the total voting rights of all the members having the right to vote at general meetings of the company, or

(ii) a member of the company with the permission of the court.

(3) The application by a creditor or member must be made no later than eight weeks after receipt by the applicant of the progress report under rule 18.3, or final report or account under rule 18.14 which first reports the charging of the remuneration or the incurring of the expenses in question (“the relevant report”).

Information Creditor Rights On Remuneration And Expenses

Creditors’ rights – Rules 18.9 and 18.34 of the Insolvency (England & Wales) Rules 2016 Insolvency (England & Wales) – Rule 18.9

Creditors’ and members’ requests for further information in administration, winding up and bankruptcy

(1) The following may make a written request to the office-holder for further information about remuneration or expenses (other than pre-administration costs in an administration) set out in a progress report under rule 18.4(1)(b), (c) or (d) or a final report under rule 18.14-

(a) a secured creditor;

(b) an unsecured creditor with the concurrence of at least 5% in value of the unsecured creditors (including the creditor in question);

(c) members of the company in a members’ voluntary winding up with at least 5% of the total voting rights of all the members having the right to vote at general meetings of the company;

(d) any unsecured creditor with the permission of the court; or

(e) any member of the company in a members’ voluntary winding up with the permission of the court.

(2) A request, or an application to the court for permission, by such a person or persons must be made or filed with the court (as applicable) within 21 days of receipt of the report by the person, or by the last of them in the case of an application by more than one member or creditor.

(3) The office-holder must, within 14 days of receipt of such a request respond to the person or persons who requested the information by-

(a) providing all of the information requested;

(b) providing some of the information requested; or

(c) declining to provide the information requested.

(4) The office-holder may respond by providing only some of the information requested or decline to provide the information if-

(a) the time or cost of preparation of the information would be excessive; or

(b) disclosure of the information would be prejudicial to the conduct of the proceedings;

(c) disclosure of the information might reasonably be expected to lead to violence against any person; or

(d) the office-holder is subject to an obligation of confidentiality in relation to the information.

(5) An office-holder who does not provide all the information or declines to provide the information must inform the person or persons who requested the information of the reasons for so doing.

(6) A creditor, and a member of the company in a members’ voluntary winding up, who need not be the same as the creditor or members who requested the information, may apply to the court within 21 days of-

(a) the office-holder giving reasons for not providing all of the information requested;

or

(b) the expiry of the 14 days within which an office-holder must respond to a request.

(7) The court may make such order as it thinks just on an application under paragraph (6).