A Trustee in Bankruptcy is granted a wide statutory power under section 366 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (“the Act”) to ask the Court, at any time after the Bankruptcy Order has been made, to privately examine any person believed to be in possession of the Bankrupt’s “property” or of information relating to his affairs, to assist with his or her statutory investigations.

There have been a number of decisions over the past decade concerning the interpretation of section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1989 (“IA 1986”) together with section 11 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 (“WRPA”) in respect of whether a trustee in bankruptcy has the ability to compel a bankrupt to draw down payments from his personal pensions where he was eligible to make such an election but had not done so.

The legal position

Parties in the construction sector seeking to enforce an adjudicator’s decision against a

company with the benefit of a statutory moratorium were given fresh guidance in the recent case of South Coast Construction Ltd v Iverson Road Ltd [2017] EWHC 61.

Facts

In September 2013 Iverson Road Ltd (“Iverson”) engaged South Coast Construction Ltd (“SCC”) to complete various building works in London. In June 2016 SCC halted the work for non-payment of sums due by Iverson.

Summary

The insolvency legislation contains an unusual provision pursuant to section 375(1) of the Insolvency Act 1986 enabling the court to review its own decision. The issue in this case was whether the High Court could review its own decision where that decision was an appeal of a bankruptcy order made by a District Judge in the County Court.

The Facts

After three years in the making the new insolvency rules[1] will come into force on 6 April 2017. The new rules create a consolidated, restructured and modernised take on the 1986 rules to take account of various legislative changes[2]. 

In two months' time the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 will come into force (with effect from 6 April 2017). This date has been long in the making the first draft of the new rules was published in September 2013.

The new rules are not intended to change the law. Their main aim is to consolidate provisions in order to reduce repetition, ensure that there is a more logical structure and modernise and simplify the language (including gender neutral drafting).

This briefing highlights a few of the key changes.

An employment tribunal has recently confirmed that employees who have been unfairly dismissed from an insolvent employer can bring an action against a connected successor company.

The tribunal held that there was a ‘commonality of ownership’ between the original and successor companies and that it was correct as a matter of public policy that employees should be able to sue the newco born from the ashes of the insolvent company.

For officeholders seeking to recover sums pursuant to s.127 Insolvency Act 1986, the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Express Electrical Distributors Ltd v Beavis and Others[2016] EWCA Civ 765 provides an interesting development (equally in relation to retrospective validation applications).

The recent case of Re Newtons Coaches Limited [2016] EWHC 3068considered whether a partnership falls within the remit of s.216 Insolvency Act 1986 (“IA 86”).

Summary: The Insolvency Rules 2016 will come into force on 6 April 2017. This article highlights some of the main areas of change.

The long awaited Insolvency Rules 2016 (the “2016 Rules”) were laid before Parliament on 25 October 2016, and will come into force on 6 April 2017. The Insolvency Rules 1986 (the “1986 Rules”) and all amending legislation will be repealed. The 2016 Rules aim to: