If your company is approaching insolvency, you may be wondering if voluntary liquidation is a possibility. Perhaps if you do not act quickly a secured or unsecured creditor could take the future of the company out of your control, at the same time exposing you and other directors to accusations of wrongful trading?
A Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) provides a way for companies in distress to pay off their debts over a fixed period of time, and offers the opportunity to address issues surrounding management and operational systems that were not working.
Pressure from suppliers can be overwhelming when your company is experiencing financial difficulties. Even if it is only a temporary downturn in company fortunes, the fact that a supplier can apply for a winding up order leaves you exposed to compulsory liquidation and closure.
If suppliers have tried unsuccessfully to recover their monies, and your company has failed to respond or been unable to pay, their decision to take legal action could be disastrous.
Finally a decision on whether a bankrupt can be compelled to draw down a pension: The Court of Appeal has finally handed down its long-awaited judgment in Horton v Henry [2016] EWCA Civ. 989, the case determining whether a Trustee in Bankruptcy can compel a Bankrupt to draw down his pension even though the pension is not in payment because the Bankrupt has elected not to call it down.
If you’re a company director then circumstances can arise in which you decide to offer personal guarantees in support of a loan application or your pursuit of a line of credit. Where these guarantees are given, a lender will take some reassurance that they could pursue a director personally for debt repayments in the event of the company becoming insolvent.
The question of whether and under what circumstances a director might find themselves liable for their company’s debts upon entering insolvency can quickly become a very pressing concern.
A summary of recent developments in insurance, reinsurance and litigation law.
This Week's Caselaw
Essar v Norscot: Court confirms that arbitrators can award the costs of litigation funding/time limits for challenging a corrected award
I can show that a company is insolvent and that it is reasonably likely that the statutory purpose can be achieved. I can have an administration order, right? Eh, actually no.
Creditors issued applications for administration orders against two hotel-owning companies. The companies sold hotel rooms as leases, which provided for repurchase in certain circumstances.
Campbell v Peter Gordon Joiners Ltd (in liquidation) and another (2016) UKSC 38 considered whether an employee could successfully bring a civil action against a director of a company in liquidation for having failed to obtain appropriate employers' liability insurance.
C was an apprentice joiner employed by a company who suffered an injury at work whilst working with an electric saw. The company held employers’ liability insurance but it did not respond to C's claim as the policy excluded claims arising from the use of “woodworking machinery” powered by electricity.
An attempt to rely on Libyan sanctions as a reason not to pay a debt due fails.
The creditor lent money to a company, guaranteed by the debtor. There was no dispute that the debtor owed the debt, but the debtor contended that to pay it would contravene sanctions in place against Libya. He applied, albeit five months out of time, to set aside a statutory demand served on him for the debt.
At first instance, the Judge granted an extension of time in respect of the set aside application and also set aside the statutory demand, agreeing with debtor’s position.