Key points
- There have been conflicting decisions on whether a person may be made the subject of any income payments order (IPO)
- This case suggests that the court will not make an IPO in respect of unelected pension entitlements
The facts
Facts
The husband and wife were directors and shareholders of a company (‘C’). The husband was adjudged bankrupt in June 2014; the petitioners were appointed as his trustees in bankruptcy. Among the assets vested in the trustees under s 306 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986), was the husband’s shareholding in C. However, the trustees were not registered as members of C until March 2015.
FACTS:
InHinton v Wotherspoon [2016] EWHC 623 (CH), Jason Freedman and Aziz Abdul successfully secured an Income Payments Order (“IPO”) on behalf of the Trustee in Bankruptcy.
The court also provided useful guidance on the correct position where a bankrupt has made an election to draw down from his private pension but not given specific instructions as to application of the funds.
LEGAL BACKGROUND:
The Facts
A owned two properties, one of which had been divided into two separately rateable properties for council tax purposes. R presented a bankruptcy petition against A based on a purported debt of £14,097.59 owed by A in respect of unpaid council tax for which it had obtained liability orders from the Magistrates Court.
The Facts
On 31 July 2012, a bankruptcy order was made in respect of Mr Dean Jonathan D’Eye on the basis of a statutory demand dated 11 July 2011.
During their investigations, his trustees in bankruptcy discovered that Mr D’Eye had made a payment of £321,919 to his father on 24 January 2012 (the Payment) and, after the presentation of the bankruptcy petition on 28 May 2012, a significant portion of this money had then been used to purchase a flat (the Flat).
The Facts
Mr Shlosberg, a Russian businessman domiciled in England who was made bankrupt in January of last year, has obtained an injunction restraining Dechert LLP from acting on behalf of the main claimant, Avonwick Holdings Limited (Avonwick) in proceedings in which he is a defendant.
The Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016 (the “Act”) received Royal Assent on 28 April 2016 and is expected to come into force by the end of the year.
The Act is only the second piece of primary consolidation legislation to have passed through the Scottish Parliament and brings together the various laws on personal insolvency into a single piece of legislation.
At the moment, the law is rather unwieldy and difficult to follow in practice.
Varden Nuttal Ltd v Michelle Louise Baker (2016)
It was decided that a bankruptcy order should have been made in circumstances where the debtor had misled the creditors when agreeing and entering into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (“IVA”).
Background
Key points
Creditors petitioning for bankruptcy must carefully consider offers to settle debts and make a reasonable decision based on the circumstances.
The facts
A bankrupt sought permission to appeal his bankruptcy order on the basis that the Deputy District Judge incorrectly held that the petitioning creditor did not act unreasonably in rejecting the bankrupt’s offer to compound the debt and, therefore, ought to have dismissed the petition pursuant to Section 271(3) of the Insolvency Act 1986.
The decision