Eleanor Temple has been successful in an appeal involving the interpretation of Section 265 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
Judgment in the case of David George Charlton v (1) Funding Circle Trustee Limited & (2) Joanne Wright 2019] EWHC 2701 (Ch) Barling J VC, was handed down yesterday. Eleanor was instructed in the matter by Vanessa Stuart of Kuits Solicitors and acted for the Appellant.
The Court allowed the appeal, set aside the Bankruptcy Order and dismissed the Bankruptcy Petition. Mr Justice Barling considered whether a person has carried on a business for the purposes of Section 265 of the Insolvency Act (bankruptcy) by reason of engaging in share sale discussions, particularly in the context of a corporate rescue attempt (as compared to the position in Gate Gourmet Luxembourg IV Sarl and another v Morby [2015] EWHC 1203 (Ch) where a sale transaction had been concluded). In a decision which makes new law the former Vice-Chancellor decided that Mr Charlton had not carried on a business within England and Wales in the relevant period and that the jurisdictional gateway for obtaining a bankruptcy order where a person is domiciled and resident out of the jurisdiction (in this case in Australia) had not been met at the time the Bankruptcy Order was made in 2017.
The judgment also addresses whether statements made by directors in documents filed at Companies House are sufficient evidence of residence/the truth of their contents (considering the decision of Chief Master Marsh in Key Homes Bradford Limited and Ors v Patel [2014] EWHC B1 (Ch)), or whether that evidence, as the Judge found, is relevant but nevertheless can be of insufficient weight when set against direct witness evidence from the individual director.
The judgment is an interesting read for those advising in this area. It addresses the test for presentation of a Bankruptcy Petition on the basis that an individual has carried on business in England and Wales in the period of 3 years ending with the day on which the Petition is presented and the consequences of that test not having been met for a petitioning creditor if a Bankruptcy Order is wrongfully obtained.
A copy of the judgment can be viewed here.
36 Young Street, Manchester, M3 3FT DX: 718188 MCH 3 Direct Dial: 0161 832 9082
5 Park Square, Leeds, LS1 2NE DX: 713113 LEEDS PARK SQ Direct Dial: 0113 242 1123
Embassy House, 60 Church Street, Birmingham, B3 2DJ DX: 13023 BIRMINGHAM Direct Dial: 0121 200 3570
Register now for our upcoming #courtofprotection webinar with Arevik Jackson! She will provide a comprehensive ov… https://t.co/OvnZBK1GF6 Kings Chambers 4 days, 15 hours ago..
Team @Kings_Chambers were thankful for a bit of sunshine on the Legal Walk yesterday evening! A big thank you to… https://t.co/IREGKfhzAZ Kings Chambers 5 days, 16 hours ago..
Team @Kings_Chambers are limbering up for the @ATJFYorkshire Leeds Legal Walk! The Leeds #LegalWalk gathers the lo… https://t.co/XI0xTe3xzH Kings Chambers 6 days, 8 hours ago..
Congratulations to @stephenrloxton, Gary Smith and the team for completing the C2C challenge! Despite a few hurdles… https://t.co/52VkvDmTw1 Kings Chambers 6 days, 11 hours ago..
Kings Chambers is delighted with the results of The Planning Law Survey 2022, published on 24th June, with 14 membe… https://t.co/awBOtqm3xr Kings Chambers 1 week, 2 days ago..
© Copyright 2022 Kings Chambers. All rights reserved.